Category: Corona Virus

The global tally for confirmed cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 climbed above 117 million on Tuesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while the death toll rose above 2.6 million. The U.S. has the highest case tally in the world at 29 million, or about a quarter of the global tally, and the highest death toll at 525,816, or about a fifth of the global toll. The U.S. added at least 98,513 new cases on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker, and at least 815 people died. The U.S. has averaged 64,722 new cases a day in the past week, down 3% from two weeks ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released preliminary guidelines Monday week on how Americans should behave once they have been vaccinated, and said vaccinated people could mingle with other vaccinated people in small groups in an indoor setting without wearing face masks. The agency will update the guidance once it learns more about the vaccine response. Brazil has the second highest death toll at 266,398 and is third by cases at 11 million. India is second worldwide in cases with 11.2 million, and fourth in deaths at 157,930. Mexico has the third highest death toll at 190,923 and 13th highest case tally at 2.1 million. The U.K. has 4.2 million cases and 124,801 deaths, the highest in Europe and fifth highest in the world.

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Coronavirus tally: Global cases of COVID-19 top 117 million and U.S. has more than 29 million of them - MarketWatch

PROVIDENCE, R.I. The numbers began ticking up in September. After a quiet summer, doctors at Rhode Island Hospital began seeing one or two patients with Covid-19 on each shift and soon three. Then four.

Cases climbed steadily until early December, when Rhode Island earned the dubious distinction of having more cases and deaths per 100,000 people than any other state in the country. The case rate still puts it among the top five states.

Where did this tightly knit state go wrong? Former Gov. Gina Raimondos pauses on economic activity were short-lived and partial, leaving open indoor dining, shopping malls and bowling alleys. But the shutdowns were no patchier than those in many other states.

Until late summer, she was lauded for reining in the virus. Even now, few residents blame her for the bleak numbers. (Ms. Raimondo was sworn in as the secretary of commerce on Wednesday night.)

Experts point instead to myriad other factors, all of which have played out elsewhere in the country but converged into a bigger crisis here.

The fall chill sent people indoors, where risk from the virus is highest, and the holidays brought people together. Rhode Island is tiny you can traverse it in 45 minutes. But crammed into that smallish area are a million people, for a population density second only to that of New Jersey. If everyone in the world is connected by six degrees of separation, Rhode Islanders seem to be connected by maybe two.

Central Falls, the epicenter of Rhode Islands epidemic, has a density of 16,000 people per square mile, almost twice that of Providence. Just imagine, 16,000 people per square mile I mean, thats amazing, said Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, a member of the government committee that guides Covid vaccine distribution in Rhode Island. It doesnt take much for the spark to create an outbreak.

Apart from its density, Rhode Island has a high percentage of elderly residents in nursing homes, accounting for the bulk of deaths. Packed into the state are multiple urban areas Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence where language barriers, mistrust and jobs have left immigrant families in multigenerational homes particularly vulnerable. The state is also home to multiple colleges that set off chains of infection in the early fall.

For months, the hospitals in Rhode Island were understaffed and overwhelmed. Doctors and nurses were trying to cope with rising caseloads, often without the protective equipment they needed, with constantly shifting guidelines and with their own resilience stretched to the limit.

Dr. Megan Ranney, a researcher and public health advocate, is also an emergency room physician at Rhode Island Hospital who has witnessed the full scope of the states crisis firsthand. What she saw unfold over a single shift offers a window into what happened.

One day in late December, as the crisis reached new heights, Dr. Ranney girded for a long eight-hour shift. The sores behind her ears, where her glasses and the straps of the N95 and surgical masks dug in, still had not healed. But how could she complain, Dr. Ranney said, when her medical residents eat, sleep, breathe Covid five days a week?

The patients had it worse, she knew. Anxious and isolated, they became even more discomfited by the masked and unrecognizable doctors and nurses rushing around them. During Dr. Ranneys shift the prior week, she had seen a broad spectrum: elderly people on a downward spiral, otherwise healthy young Latino men, Cape Verdean immigrants with limited English comprehension.

These demographics are partly what made Rhode Island particularly susceptible, said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University in Providence: A lot of poverty, and a lot of multigenerational poverty.

As in most of the country, the Latino community has borne the brunt of the epidemic. In Rhode Island, Latinos have 6.7 times the risk for hospitalization and 2.5 times the risk of death, compared with white people.

In the days before her shift, Dr. Ranney had been working in a part of the hospital intended to deal with non-Covid cases. But even people with other ailments, like ankle fractures, turned out to be positive for the virus, she found.

I never know from day to day how bad the surge will be, she said. Ive just got to plow through it.

It turned out to be an extraordinarily busy day. The E.R. is full, the hospital is full, the intensive care unit is full, Dr. Ranney said. All of our units are moving as quickly as they can, but the patients keep coming in.

Every time she took off masks during a shift, she ran the risk of contaminating herself. She had had four cups of coffee before this shift, and nothing since.

The average age of the patients that night was about 70. One elderly woman who had trouble breathing could not isolate because she lived with her children and grandchildren. At any rate, she arrived at the hospital 10 days into her illness, too late for isolation to matter.

March 10, 2021, 6:47 p.m. ET

Rhode Islands epidemic has been disastrous for immigrant families in multigenerational households. How do you isolate from someone when you have one bathroom? Dr. Ranney said.

Its a problem throughout this diverse state. When Djini Tavares, 60, became infected in July, she was prepared to spend about $120 a night at a hotel a sum many in her Cape Verdean community cannot afford to isolate from her vulnerable 86-year-old father.

Even before the pandemic, Ms. Tavares was fastidious about hygiene, keeping mounds of wipes and cleaning supplies in the house at all times. She could not imagine where she had picked up the virus. The loss of her godmother and a friend to Covid-19 had shaken her.

Cape Verdeans are a close-knit community, and not being able to mourn the dead has been painful, Ms. Tavares said: Culturally, I think its causing us to hurt even more.

On her shift, Dr. Ranney encountered Covid-19 patients who had blood clots or heart problems, or who still needed oxygen weeks after their diagnosis. Many patients had been very careful or said they had but were infected after a family member brought the virus into the household.

The story is told too often in Rhode Island. Abby Burchfield, 58, lost her mother and stepfather to Covid-19 within days of each other at an assisted living center in New Jersey in April. Devastated and afraid, she and her family stayed away from restaurants, washed their hands often, and tried to wear masks everywhere. It wasnt enough.

Ms. Burchfields younger daughter, Lily, 21, became infected at her college in Virginia in August and was hospitalized. Then, in late October, her husband, Jimmy, 58, caught the virus from a co-worker who was infected but did not wear a mask.

Despite Ms. Burchfields best efforts she, too, was infected. She was hospitalized after she collapsed suddenly in the family kitchen. She recovered, but her husband, who was also admitted to the hospital, still has no taste, a limited sense of smell, and continuing fatigue.

My biggest fear right now is protecting my older daughter, Ms. Burchfield said.

Workplace exposures have especially hurt the Latino and Cape Verdean community, many of whom hold jobs that cannot be done from home. But in state surveys, it also became obvious that people still were holding get-togethers of 15 to 20 people even as the virus spread, said Dr. James McDonald, medical director of the Covid-19 unit at the Rhode Island Department of Health.

People werent willing to live differently during the pandemic, he said.

Dr. Ranney said there were several such cases in the emergency room that night.

Its frustrating to see patients come in from car crashes when they were not wearing a seatbelt, or to see patients with a firearm injury because the firearm wasnt stored safely, she said. Its like that to see folks with Covid.

Some nights in emergency medicine, the diagnoses and treatments are immediately obvious.

But on this shift, Dr. Ranney said, there was very, very little that was straightforward or smooth. A number of patients with substance abuse problems appeared, as well as people with mental illness who had become a danger to themselves. And were seeing a lot of people who are just lonely, she said.

Dr. Ranney would get a respite, but many medical residents and nurses in Rhode Island were already burning out. Some felt that hospital administrators had not protected them.

Early in the pandemic, most health care workers in Rhode Island, as in other parts of the country, did not have N95 masks. The masks are single-use, but when the nurses received an N95 each, they were asked to place them in paper bags at the end of their shift and put them back on again the next day.

They stunk, they were slimy, they were disgusting. They made your face break out, said a nurse at Rhode Island Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the hospital had instructed employees not to speak to the news media.

If a strap broke, the mask would be returned with new straps stapled on. The staples would dig into your face, the nurse said.

Many nurses got just 40 hours of sick time a year, which roughly translated to three 12-hour shifts; a fourth day out might earn a reprimand.

Because of this, many nurses werent tested, and some came to work even when they were sick. At Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston, R.I., ill staff members led to an outbreak of at least 29 employees and nine patients. Its a phenomenon seen in hospitals throughout the United States.

The rules for patients dont always accord with the science, said one nurse at Rhode Island Hospital. At first, the hospital did not allow anybody up from the E.R. until test results were back. But as the first surge ebbed, the rules became lax.

Patients were sent up with pending test results, potentially exposing other patients as well as the nurses who cared for them. After treating one such patient, at least nine nurses tested positive for the virus, the nurse said.

The policy at most hospitals in Rhode Island now is to have health care workers wear N95 respirators or similar reusable masks at all times, and to test anyone suspected of having Covid-19. But that does not account for patients who might be asymptomatic and who come in for other ailments.

Rhode Island has adopted one unusual approach: Officials are distributing vaccines to anyone who will take them in Central Falls, regardless of age. Its a strategy that few other jurisdictions have tried.

We decided to do that because of the horrific toll of the pandemic in those communities, said Dr. Rodriguez, the vaccine committee member. Twenty percent of the adult residents have received at least one dose at local clinics, not including those who may have been immunized at work or elsewhere.

The states plan to immunize those at highest risk by age and geography, he added, will put out the fire where it is burning the most intensely.

In recent weeks, the number of cases in Rhode Island have fallen, as they have in the rest of the country. And fewer health care workers are getting sick because they have been immunized, so hospital shifts are better than they used to be, Dr. Ranney said.

But cases in the state are still the third highest per capita in the country. And doctors are continuing to see patients who have so-called long Covid, she said: The trouble is that once patients get admitted, they dont leave.

See the article here:

How Rhode Island Fell to the Coronavirus - The New York Times

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The latest coronavirus stimulus package comes with some new twists in the form of tax benefits that will put money in the hands of many Americans, especially parents and those who were unemployed last year. Plus there are other lingering tax situations brought on by the pandemic.

This is beyond the fairly straightforward formula of $1,400 a person in stimulus money for most people, other than those with higher incomes (phasing out completely at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for joint filers).

So in the midst of of tax season, here are some answers and where things are in limbo.

The new stimulus package, called the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, makes tax-free a big chunk of unemployment benefits people received last year. Heres how it works.

Households with income of less than $150,000 will be able to deduct up to $10,200 unemployment benefits from their 2020 income in filing their taxes this winter or spring.

The value of this will vary depending on where you fall in the tax brackets. For a family with $100,000 in taxable income, this means a savings of $2,244 in taxes. For someone making around $40,000, the savings would be $1,205.

After deductions, income for individuals is taxed at 10% up to $9,875, then 12% from there to $40,124 and then at 22%. For joint filers, income up to $19,750 is taxed at 10%, then at 12% from there to $80,251 and then at 22%.

But passing a tax break for 2020 when the tax filing season has already begun raises some questions. Will the IRS create a new form 1040? What about people who have already filed?

A spokesman for the IRS said, I cant speculate on pending or possible legislation. I think that talking to the bills sponsors would be your best bet.

Its possible that people will have to file an amended tax form if they qualify for this benefit, Sen. Sherrod Browns office said.

But remember an important thing about this tax break. Its only for unemployment income received last year; not for current unemployment income.

As it stands, unemployment checks received this year or later will be fully taxable. (Note: this is different from the stimulus checks, which are tax-free.)

Unemployment benefits are not subject to municipal income taxes in Ohio, so nothing changes there, the Regional Income Tax Agency confirmed.

But unemployment benefits are subject to Ohio income taxes.

Nothing is cast in stone yet, but the most likely scenario is that the $10,200 federal deduction will extend to Ohio.

This could come through legislative action in Columbus. But that wont be necessary if the IRS revises the federal 1040 form to take that deduction before reaching the line on the form where the adjusted gross income is determined. This already is the case for some other deductions or credits.

The starting point for the state income tax form is your federal adjusted gross income.

The expanded child tax credit as written into the law is for 2021. But since this is part of a stimulus bill designed to help cash-strapped families now and help the economy by triggering more spending, congressional leaders would like to get at least some of that money in the pockets of families as soon as possible.

Normally, the child tax credit is claimed at tax time. For 2020, it was $2,000 per child age 5 and under.

This bill expands that credit to $3,600 for children 5 and under, and to $3,000 for older child dependents.

The goal, Browns office said, is for at least part of this credit to be paid as early as July, as an advance on next years tax return.

Brown, the Ohio Democrat, favors making the expansion permanent. This is one area where there may be bipartisan support.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah in February announced the framework of a plan to provide greater financial security for American families by streamlining existing family policies to create one universal child benefit, including replacement of the existing welfare program.

The math for Romneys plan is a lot like the money involved in the stimulus-expanded child tax credit, but instead with payments going out monthly. The Romney plan amounts to $350 a month for each young child and $250 monthly for school-age children. That totals $4,200 a year for young children and $3,000 for others.

This plan would cut child poverty by up to one-third, according to details Romneys office released.

Remote workers who have been paying taxes to what used to be their regular work city, even while working at home in a another city or township because of the pandemic, might get a tax break if they continue to do so.

The provision in the year-old Ohio pandemic law that allowed this taxing authority to continue ends 30 days after Gov. Mike DeWine lifts the emergency he declared by executive order back on March 9, 2020.

DeWine has promised to lift health orders once cases drop to 50 per 100,000 people over a two-week period. Its uncertain, however, whether the lifting of the heath orders would also include this emergency order.

But at some point, it will go away. When is unclear, because there are many things tied to the order that go beyond the widely publicized health-safety measures imposed by the administration.

Meanwhile, three court cases are pending that question the legality of this part of the law, essentially arguing that it is not legal to tax people where they neither work nor live - pandemic or not.

If the suits are successful, its possible workers could receive rebates, though they may encounter new tax liabilities for where they live. RITA has a form to submit claims now, while the cases are pending. Clevelands Central Collection Agency does not have a form specifically addressing the COVID-19 work issue.

The local income issue largely deals with people working at home. But what about state taxes if someone working remotely headed to Florida or Arizona to beat the winter for a few months?

They still owe Ohio taxes, because despite such temporary arrangements, they still are considered Ohio residents, the state tax department said.

Long story short, there arent any special rules or state tax treatments for wages earned remotely during the pandemic, the tax department said. The wages are taxed using the same rules that have always existed.

Rich Exner, data analysis editor, writes cleveland.coms and The Plain Dealers personal finance column - Thats Rich! Follow on Twitter @RichExner.

Email questions and suggestions to rexner@cleveland.com. Include your hometown and first name for publication. And to help me sort through the clutter of my email box, try to remember including Thats Rich! in the subject of the email.

Previous Thats Rich! columns

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More here:

How to claim your unemployment tax break under new stimulus; other coronavirus-related tax matters - Thats R - cleveland.com

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now passed 117.5 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 2.61 million.

Zimbabwe has authorized the emergency use of four COVID-19 vaccines, including Russias Sputnik V and Chinas Sinovac, the minister of information said on Tuesday.

The United States has administered 93,692,598 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Tuesday morning and distributed 123,232,775 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Pfizer, BioNTech can raise capacity to 3 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses next year, depending on demand and potential requirement of additional boosts to vaccines, CEO Ugur Sahin told Bloomberg News.

Turkey COVID-19 cases hit two-month highs with nearly 14,000 new cases reported on Tuesday, more than a week after President Tayyip Erdogan announced an easing of measures to curb the pandemic.

Bulgaria reported 3,502 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, its highest daily tally in three months.

How cases compare in a snaphot of countries.

Image: Our World in Data

2. WTO chief calls for urgent boost to vaccine production in developing countries

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the new World Trade Organization chief, highlighted the urgent need to boost COVID-19 vaccine production in developing countries.

The fact is that each additional day the vaccine shortage continues, people will pay with their lives, Okonjo-Iweala told a summit on vaccine production, adding that around 130 countries were still waiting for vaccines.

Okonjo-Iweala was previously chair of the board of global vaccine alliance GAVI, and has said health and vaccine access would be a top priority at the WTO.

New vaccine manufacturing sites could be prepared in six to seven months, or less than half the time previously thought, she said at the summit.

Seven of the WTO's 164 members released a document on Tuesday urging Okonjo-Iweala to hold talks with COVID-19 vaccine developers and manufacturers on boosting production.

3. South Korea to prioritize vaccination of auto chip buyers

Business people working to secure supplies of auto chips will be exempt from two-week COVID-19 quarantine requirements and prioritized for vaccination, the South Korean government said on Wednesday.

This comes as a global chip shortage has affected automakers like Volkswagen and General Motors, forcing production cuts worldwide.

South Koreas leading automaker Hyundai Motor has managed to keep factories running, but a Hyundai union official told Reuters that overtime production of less-popular models had stopped and production schedules were changing from week to week.

From April, Koreans and foreigners involved in auto chip imports or production would no longer have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival in the country from abroad, to help deal with the shortage.

For those departing the country for essential purposes such as purchasing and procuring auto chips, COVID-19 vaccines would be made available.

Excerpt from:

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 10 March - World Economic Forum

Still, when it did spread to the United States, she wasnt that surprised.

I knew we had a long road ahead of us, understanding that it would be really hard to stop it from spreading without making some tough decisions, which we eventually saw, she added.

Maybe the watchword of the past year, for Allen and others, was flexibility. Everyone had to learn to adapt.

I would say overall Ive become more flexible, she said. For a long time I was working remotely. Im back in the office now. But my childrens situation is still fluid. Were still figuring out child care. Theyre back in school. I think Ive learned to just be more flexible.

I think overall that most people Ive seen have just learned that, hey, things happen and you just have to roll with it, Allen said. Were less rigid than we we were before.

Read more:

Coronavirus a year later: Holly Allen, I knew we had a long road ahead of us - dayton.com

Precautions like wearing masks and using hand sanitizer still remain in place as a counterbalance to the risk of spreading the virus.

Nursing home residents vaccinated against COVID-19 can get hugs again from their loved ones, and indoor visits may be allowed for all residents, the government said Wednesday in a step toward pre-pandemic normalcy.

The policy guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, comes as coronavirus cases and deaths among nursing home residents have plummeted in recent weeks at the same time that vaccination accelerated. People living in long-term care facilities have borne a cruel toll from the pandemic. They represent about 1% of the U.S. population, but account for 1 in 3 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Government officials acknowledged that isolation deepened the misery for residents and their loved ones as long-term care facilities remained locked down much of last year. The ban on visits went into effect almost one year ago and only in the fall were facilities allowed to begin socially distanced outdoor visits and limited indoor ones.

"There is no substitute for physical contact, such as the warm embrace between a resident and their loved one," CMS said in its new guidance, "Therefore, if the resident is fully vaccinated, they can choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor while wearing a well-fitting face mask and performing hand-hygiene before and after."

So while hugs are OK again for residents who have completed their vaccination, precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizer remain in place as a counterbalance to risk. CMS also underscored that maintaining 6 feet of separation is still the safest policy, and outdoor visits are preferable even when residents and visitors have been vaccinated.

"Now that millions of vaccines have been administered to nursing home residents and staff, and the number of COVID cases in nursing homes has dropped significantly, CMS is updating its visitation guidance to bring more families together safely," Dr. Lee Fleisher, a senior agency medical officer, said in a statement.

Before the pandemic, there was a lot of flexibility when visiting a loved one living in a nursing home or getting rehab care. Family members came and went at different hours of the day. At the height of the pandemic, the closest many could get was waving on the other side of an exterior window.

The CMS guidance moves back in the pre-COVID-19 direction, saying that nursing homes "should allow indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status." Several exceptions are flagged, such as when a resident is known to be infected or in quarantine.

Compassionate care visits should be allowed at all times, the guidance said, even if there's an outbreak or a resident is unvaccinated. The term "compassionate care" doesn't refer just to situations when a resident is near death, but also encompasses circumstances in which a patient is having trouble adjusting.

Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that nursing home cases peaked around the end of December and then declined sharply, particularly since the middle of January. Deaths among residents fell from 7,049 the week ending Dec. 20 to 1,350 the week ending Feb. 28.

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Nursing home residents are now able to get hugs, federal government says - 11Alive.com WXIA

Drugmakers Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said a small study found its Tamiflu-like pill reduced the infectious virus in some of the people tested.

WASHINGTON An experimental COVID-19 pill has shown promising results in a preliminary study, the companies developing the drug said Saturday.

In a press release, drugmakers Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said a small study found its Tamiflu-like pill molnupiravir helped reduced the amount of time someone was infected.

The study showed after a five-day treatment, 42% of the 182 non-hospitalized participants had reduced COVID-19 infections compared to the placebo. Other studies on the drug are still underway, so the full results haven't been released at this time.

Merck Research Laboratory's Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development and chief medical officer, said the company is continuing to make progress investigating the drug in both outpatient and hospital settings. He added that the company plans to release more updates on molnupiravir "when appropriate."

Officials said of the 202 treated participants, there were four serious adverse events, however, none were considered to be drug-related.

We are very pleased to share our initial Phase 2 infectivity data at this important conference, which remains at the forefront for critical clinical scientific information in infectious diseases, shared Dr. Wendy Painter, Chief Medical Officer of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. At a time where there is unmet need for antiviral treatments against SARS-CoV-2, we are encouraged by these preliminary data.

The lead investigator on the study, Dr. William Fischer, said in a statement that if more findings support molnupiravir's treatment of the coronavirus, this "could have important public health implications, particularly as the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to spread and evolve globally."

For most people, the new coronaviruscauses mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

The United States has more than 28 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of Monday, the U.S. had more than 525,000 deaths from the virus. Worldwide, there are more than 116 million confirmed cases with more than 2.5 million deaths.

Originally posted here:

Coronavirus pill shows promising feedback in early testing - KHOU.com

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., seen here talking to reporters on Thursday, has called for bipartisan support for the House vote on the Senate-amended coronavirus relief legislation. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., seen here talking to reporters on Thursday, has called for bipartisan support for the House vote on the Senate-amended coronavirus relief legislation.

House Democrats are expected to pass the final version of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Tuesday, thus delivering on Democrats' campaign promises and cementing a major legislative victory for the Biden administration.

The Senate voted 50-49 to approve the plan on Saturday, with all Democrats voting in support of the measure and all Republicans opposed following a marathon debate of more than 24 hours. President Biden lauded the Senate passage in remarks Saturday.

The colossal package would bring a new round of payments to Americans still battling against the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and it includes an increase to the child tax credit and an extension of supplemental unemployment benefits through Sept. 6.

Democrats are eager to get the final bill to Biden's desk for his signature before current federal unemployment benefits expire on March 14.

In a statement on Saturday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he expects the president to be able to sign the legislation early this week.

"Democrats are delivering on our promise to take action to defeat this virus and provide the assistance the American people need until our economy can reopen safely and fully," the Maryland Democrat added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on Saturday that the package, known as the American Rescue Plan, will "save lives and livelihoods."

"The House now hopes to have a bipartisan vote on this life-saving legislation and urges Republicans to join us in recognition of the devastating reality of this vicious virus and economic crisis and of the need for decisive action," she said in a statement.

But bipartisan support is unlikely. Republicans have roundly criticized the legislation and Democrats' strategy of going it alone in the Senate via the process of budget reconciliation to pass the package without any Republican support.

In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called the bill a "wish list from the progressives," a label that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., echoed on the Senate floor Saturday.

"Democrats decided their top priority wasn't pandemic relief," he said. "It was their Washington wish list. It was jamming through unrelated policy changes they couldn't pass honestly. A colossal missed opportunity for our nation."

See the rest here:

House Poised To Pass Biden's $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill On Tuesday - NPR

Multitude of coronavirus variants found in the US but the threat is unclear  Nature.com

Link:

Multitude of coronavirus variants found in the US but the threat is unclear - Nature.com

This is the third in a series of stories by AL.com to reflect on the 1-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic reaching Alabama. Each day leading up to March 13 we will elevate the voices of those impacted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested health care workers like few others.

For the past year, Alabamas healers have faced a crucible of dying patients, long shifts, limited equipment, makeshift ICUs, and overrun vaccination sites. All of that while crowds wont wear a mask, some still calling the virus a hoax, and armchair experts convinced theyve figured out more than the entire medical scientific community.

Then, when the days dying efforts are done, many return home to children struggling with virtual school, partners who carry them through trying times and extended families they havent seen in months, always worried that they could be spreading the same virus they work so hard to fight.

I felt like at its worst it was like going into battle every day, said Dr. Elizabeth Marshall-Smith, chief operations officer of the Pinnacle Physician Group in Tuscaloosa. I could potentially get sick, I could bring it home to my family. Thats hard to deal with. I appreciate my kids and husband.

For the more than 10,000 Alabamians whove died of COVID -- and thousands of other patients who got close -- health care workers in full personal protective armor were the patients only links to the outside world, thanks to visitation restrictions.

With no visitors for COVID positive patients, patients and families put their trust in me, a complete stranger, to take care of them in the most critical time of their life, said ICU travel nurse and Fairhope native Rebekah Roe.

It takes a toll.

There have been times I have felt extreme sadness, said Kristopher Haskins, nurse manager of the COVID-19 unit at USA Health University Hospital in Mobile. I have witnessed people pass away while their families could only watch over social media platforms, health care professionals break down in tears and society lose faith in each other and their political leaders.

For their efforts, they are often hailed as heroes, but some also talked of being pulled unwillingly into the political conflicts and conspiracy theories of the day as the pandemic raged on.

A national medical emergency turned into a political stand, said Felicia Sanders, an occupational therapy worker at UAB. Wearing a mask meant this. Not wearing a mask meant this. Coronavirus doesnt have anything to do with politics and it has killed so many people.

But a lot of people didnt care because they thought it was a hoax.

Even those who werent on the front lines of COVID units felt the strain, as their everyday lives were turned upside-down just like the rest of us.

I grew overwhelmed with the blurring boundaries between work and home, feeling like a failed mother struggling to educate three children at home, building a home workout space and trying to stay COVID-free, said Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox, a psychiatrist in Hoover.

Health workers also had to miss out on personal triumphs and tragedies, births and funerals, family reunions and holidays.

I have lost several loved ones, said Janel A. Lowman, an associate manager of community outreach at USA Health Michell Cancer Institute in Mobile. And during those times, it was especially hard for family members not being able to grieve together because of the pandemic.

Teri Killough, a 20-year veteran neonatal nurse from Odenville, had to wait outside as her daughter gave birth to her first grandchild.

I wasnt able to be in hospital with my daughter and son in law but had an awesome tailgate party in the parking lot, Killough said.

Many described feeling a sense of gratitude for the things that werent taken away.

It makes you so grateful for life, said Dr. Richard Menger, a surgeon in Mobile who deployed with the Navy Reserve to New York City in the early months of the pandemic. Its impacted my day-to-day interactions. These small problems arent real problems.

Brooke Olson, a registered nurse at USA Health Childrens & Womens Hospital in Mobile, said she felt a sense of pride in watching her coworkers rise to the occasion of the pandemic.

Of all the emotions experienced during the pandemic, most of all I feel proud, Olson said. Proud to watch my coworkers and community pull together to come up with new ideas to navigate the challenges the pandemic has brought on. Ive seen nurse leaders pray over their staff, community praying over local hospitals during lights on Mobile, as well as nurses stepping out of their comfort zones to help where needed.

And for Olson and many others, there is a sense of optimism that there are better days ahead.

I believe like a bone heals stronger than it was before it was broken, we will come through this pandemic with a new strength and resiliency, Olson said.

You can read the stories of these and other health care workers impacted by the pandemic in the posts below:

Firefighter Ben Thompson: COVID gave a better understanding of what keeps us safe

Healthcare worker Felicia Sanders: I still meet people who think (COVID)s a hoax

Nurse Brooke Olson: Well come through COVID with new strength and resiliency

Dr. Elizabeth Marshall-Smith on COVID: It was like going into battle every day

Community outreach manager Janel Lowman: COVID started an emotional rollercoaster

Dr. Amy Thompson hopeful but frustrated during COVID

Neonatal nurse, grandmother Teri Killough on COVID: I miss hugs

Dr. Leesha Ellis-Cox chooses to find the light, even in the midst of COVID

ICU travel nurse Rebeckah Roe: COVIDs lessons will change us for the better

Nurse Jill Stone: Pandemic has made me feel exhausted

Nurse manager Kristopher Haskins: COVID brought sadness, moments of complete awe

Surgeon Richard Menger: Seeing New York COVID deaths left me grateful for life

Professor Errol Crook: COVIDs unequal impacts create sense of urgency

Nurse anesthetist Katherine Thompson: COVID worrisome ... because whats next?

To see all the stories of Alabamians impacted by COVID, go here.

See more here:

COVID in Alabama: For health care workers, battling coronavirus took a toll - AL.com