Category: Covid-19

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 244.5 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.96 million. More than 6.92 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

All fully-vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to leave the country without a special exemption from 1 November. Australians have been unable to travel abroad for 18 months without a government waiver.

The Canadian province of British Colombia will offer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to everyone over the age of 12 from January, officials have announced.

Bahrain has approved the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 3-11 years old.

Viet Nam will begin vaccinating children against COVID-19 using the Pfizer/BioNTech jab from next month.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews has said his government will not apply for travel permits to allow unvaccinated tennis players to compete at the Australian Open.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases have hit a record high in Bulgaria, with 6,813 new cases in the previous 24 hours.

Ukraine's health minister has urged more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as COVID-19-related deaths hit a daily record of 734 yesterday.

A panel of experts has voted to recommend the US Food and Drug Administration authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.

Image: Our World in Data

The European Union's public health agency has warned that the upcoming influenza season in Europe could be severe for the elderly and those with weak immunity. The agency added that it could put a greater burden on health systems already under strain by COVID-19.

The main reported subtype of the influenza virus seen in the EU and European Economic Area disproportionately affects older people and is associated with lower vaccine effectiveness, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said.

"The early detections of the A (H3N2) subtype are an indication that the upcoming flu season could be severe, although we cannot know for sure what the upcoming flu season will look like," said Pasi Penttinen, ECDC's head of influenza programme.

Penttinen also urged health workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu.

The world's largest economies should create a forum to facilitate global coordination for the next pandemic, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday. A new financing facility should also be created to keep up with emerging threats, the two said in a letter to their G20 colleagues.

"While we are making progress in fighting COVID-19, we also face a stark reality: this will not be the last pandemic," they wrote ahead of Friday's joint meeting of G20 health and finance ministers. "We must not lose this opportunity to demonstrate leadership with a decisive commitment to act."

They said that the forum would allow health and finance ministers to better cooperate and coordinate prevention, detection, information sharing and any necessary response.

The COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship is a coalition of 85 global leaders, hosted by the World Economic Forum. Its mission: Join hands in support of social entrepreneurs everywhere as vital first responders to the pandemic and as pioneers of a green, inclusive economic reality.

Its COVID Social Enterprise Action Agenda, outlines 25 concrete recommendations for key stakeholder groups, including funders and philanthropists, investors, government institutions, support organizations, and corporations. In January of 2021, its members launched its 2021 Roadmap through which its members will roll out an ambitious set of 21 action projects in 10 areas of work. Including corporate access and policy change in support of a social economy.

For more information see the Alliance website or its impact story here.

Written by

Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: Top news stories about the coronavirus pandemic on 27 October - World Economic Forum

Intermountain Healthcare has announced it will require all of its caregivers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to comply with pending federal rules.

Federal officials are moving forward on vaccine requirements for large employers and previously have said government insurers like Medicare and Medicaid will only cover services from health care providers whose employees all are vaccinated.

That would eliminate coverage for about four in every 10 of Intermountains patients, if the network did not require vaccines, said Dr. Mark Briesacher, chief physician executive for Intermountain.

After reviewing the rules that we have received, it really became clear that we need to comply with these rules because this is about caring for people, Briesacher said in a news conference Wednesday. We care for people who have Medicare insurance, Medicaid insurance, other forms of federal health insurance. We have connections to a variety of federal contracts.

About 80% of Intermountains care providers already are fully vaccinated, according to a news statement Wednesday.

That means about one in five are not.

Those employees may seek exemptions on medical or religious grounds, Briesacher said a process thats already in place for an array of other vaccinations that Intermountain requires employees to have, like those for the flu, whooping cough, measles, and other illnesses.

Were going to work through those very thoughtfully, very carefully, in a generous way ... to honor those exemptions, Briesacher said.

Employees have until Jan. 5 to get their first shot of a vaccine. Those who havent at that point will be put on administrative leave, Briesacher said.

We will ... continue that thoughtful conversation to understand what their needs are, what their questions are and get those answered, Briesacher said.

If employees remain unvaccinated and do not have an exemption as of Feb. 9 well then begin to move to separate them from the organization, Briesacher said. Well do that in a very caring and thoughtful and supportive way, helping them land in a place thats right for them and best for them.

Briesacher said he doesnt have a specific number in mind of how many employees may quit or wait to be fired rather than get the vaccine.

Weve seen varying experiences across the United States when different health systems have gone through this, Briesacher said.

While some hospitals have struggled to retain staff after imposing vaccine requirements, surveys of health care workers have generally overstated their actual willingness to quit. Thats according to research in The Conversation, a nonprofit news publication that conducts and covers academic research. In a sample of health care employers that had implemented vaccine requirements, researchers found a vanishingly small percentage of employees actually left their jobs.

Its not clear where else Intermountain employees would seek employment; the states second-largest healthcare system, University of Utah Health, already has required employees to be vaccinated. And all other healthcare providers in the United States fall under under the same federal rules that have prompted Intermountain to require vaccines.

Its also not clear why Intermountain did not previously require the COVID-19 vaccine, even though it requires employees to be immunized against a number of other diseases.

Briesacher said only that every health care organization across the United States has faced this question, and they all have a unique set of circumstances that are specific to them.

Intermountain leaders have been carefully stepping through this as weve deliberated all the information, the information about the vaccines, its effect, their effectiveness, what does the schedule look like? And now, of course, the new variable being the the federal requirements that have been announced, he added.

So I would submit that organizations have made decisions that are right for those that they serve and for that for their organizations and the communities they serve on an individual basis.

But he would not say which circumstances or information weighed against Intermountain requiring the vaccine before federal rules were announced.

Intermountain representatives did not immediately know how many employees have received exemptions from its existing vaccine requirements.

Intermountain has more than 41,000 employees and is Utahs largest health care provider.

President Joe Biden in September announced an array of pending federal vaccination requirements, both for health care providers and for other large employers.

The Utah Legislature has resisted other COVID-19 mandates, including prohibiting a statewide mask mandate. On Wednesday, Utah Speaker Brad Wilson said there is little state lawmakers can do about the federal policy and Intermountains new mandate.

I understand why theyre doing it (implementing the mandate) and I have empathy for them, WIlson said. The federal government has put them in a really tough spot. Because of the federal funding theyre receiving, we (the Legislature) cant intervene in that space very effectively.

Intermountain is doing what the federal government allows, which is providing a medical and religious exemption for their employees, he added. I think theyre trying to manage as best as they can. Theyre a pretty important part of our health care system in the state.

Tribune reporter Bryan Schott contributed to this story.

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Intermountain Healthcare will require its caregivers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 - Salt Lake Tribune

Interim public health director Andy Cambi presented the body with the latest COVID-19 information.

For the past 14 days, we have begun to see an upward trend," said Cambi. "With the COVID cases, with last 14 days, the positivity rate of the daily cases was at 2.13. As of today, we are at 3.21. Cases have been averaging around below 20 but above 14. As you see these past couple of days, we've seen some high higher numbers than usual for what we have been seeing before.

As of October 26th, the city is reporting over 100 actively contagious cases in the community of around 44,000. The daily case rate per 100,000 over the past 14 days is over 32, the highest since mid-April. 67% of residents are fully vaccinated, with 76% of the city with at least one dose in their arm.

The vaccination, we've seen a 1% increase in the one-shot as well as the fully vaccinated," continued Cambi. "We are going to be working with the Berkshire Collaborative to offer vaccines to our, the children that are aged five to 11. So we're on the works for that once we get that approval from the FDA. The BMC data, we have seen a drop from that. We have been remaining below the number 10. And we have had two deaths in the past 14 days. Active cases, as I mentioned, we have seen that rise in numbers. Same with the sewer testing. Again, you can see the virus concentration has spiked up, consistent with what we're seeing in the daily cases.

With the latest deaths, Pittsfield has now lost 80 residents to COVID-19.

The city council heard a petition from Ward 7 city councilor Anthony Maffuccio calling on state Attorney General Maura Healey to investigative the permitting process around a controversial Verizon cell tower.

I think that because we were in a pandemic, that there was not proper public participation for the cell tower," said Maffuccio. "I think that something went wrong to place it within 100 feet of a neighborhood. And I think that we as a council should do some investigating and figure out, did the pandemic plays a role in this, and that's why people didn't have as much participation as they should have. Are we lacking that? Or did somebody take advantage of it and push the permits through and not have that public participation? I'm not pointing fingers. Id rather have somebody look into it, and the only person that I could come up with is the attorney general. And I think the neighborhood deserves it.

Neighbors of the cell tower at 877 South Street have led months of protest against the structure, ascribing medical maladies to its emissions.

Maffuccios fellow councilors fell in behind the petition, after making some amendments to its original language for accuracy.

This goes back to 2017, thats why Im a little confused by the wording of a global pandemic," said Ward 2 city councilor Kevin Morandi. "This started long before the pandemic. People weren't notified. They had no clue this was going on and until they showed up in 2019, I believe. So as far as Im concerned, this definitely needs to be investigated. And so I will certainly support this going to the Attorney General.

A lawsuit from cell tower abutters against Pittsfield and Verizon is ongoing.

It was litigated in Superior Court. And the neighbors lost in the Superior Court and appealed it to the appeals court. Briefs have been filed, and argument will be heard in December. A decision should come probably sometime next time next spring," said city attorney Stephen Pagnotta. It's unlikely that they will take any action on this while the case is pending, because the issue before the appeals court is in fact whether the abutter notifications followed Pittsfields zoning bylaws and state regulation, state law. And I think my assumption is that the AGs office will wait until the appeals court weighs in before it does anything in this matter.

City council president and at-large councilor Peter Marchetti read off the amended version of the petition after debate concluded:

The petition would be, honorable members of the city council and colleagues submitted as a petition to the city council sent a letter to the attorney general for an investigation on the permitting process for the cell tower at 877 South Street.

The measure was approved on a 9-1 vote with only Ward 3 councilor Nick Caccamo in opposition.

I'm not inclined to vote to send a letter to the attorney general for a matter that's actually being litigated with the parties involved, he explained.

The normally 11-strong body was one short with at-large councilor Yuki Cohen absent.

More:

Pittsfield city council gets grim COVID-19 update, votes to bring Healey into ongoing cell tower controversy - WAMC

On October 25, 2021, the White House issued a newPresidential Proclamation(the Proclamation) which rescinds the existingCOVID-19 travel restrictionseffective November 8, 2021 at 12:01AM EST. This Proclamation replaces the COVID-19 travel restrictions with a newCOVID-19 vaccination requirementfor foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States via air travel.

Specifically, starting on November 8, 2021, foreign nationals traveling to the United States by air will need to comply with the following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

In summary, effective November 8, 2021, foreign nationals traveling to the United States will need to carryproof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19and will need to show a negative COVID-19 test.

There are also accommodations for individuals who have documented evidence of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 90 days. The CDC has afrequently asked questionspage on its website with additional helpful information.

The CDC has also published guidance forU.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, and U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents,which outlines the requirements to enter the United States when returning from abroad.

At this time, we are still awaiting further guidance regarding travel restrictions at the land borders between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Until November 8, 2021, any planned travel to the United States will need to comply with theexisting travel restrictions and applicable national interest exceptions.

Given the severe disruptions in consular operations over the past two years, it is expected that there will continue to be severe backlogs in obtaining appointments and visas at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Due to the expected increase of eligible individuals seeking the necessary documentation to travel to the United States, consular appointment delays should be expected.

Employers should identify personnel who may be affected by this new guidance and contact their counsel to discuss strategies and considerations regarding the travel of these employees. Williams Mullen is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as further information becomes available.

Finally, given that the state of COVID-19 remains fluid, travelers are reminded to monitor the CDCsCOVID-19 pagefor the latest developments and alerts for international travel.

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COVID-19 Global Travel Restrictions Will be Lifted for Vaccinated Travelers on November 8, 2021 - JD Supra

The signs points to an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Alhambra on Aug. 30, 2018. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

An In-N-Out in Pleasant Hill was shut down by the local health department Tuesday after employees failed to check customers COVID-19 vaccination status, in violation of a county health order, KTLA sister station KRON in San Francisco reports.

The burger restaurant has reportedly been fined four times, totaling $1,750, in recent weeks for the same health order violation, according to health officials.

The Pleasant Hill locations food permit was suspended by the Contra Costa Environmental Health Department because the business was not in compliance with state and local health regulations.

This posed an immediate hazard to the public, according to health officials.

The reason for the closure is that In-N-Out Associates were not actively demanding vaccine documentation and photo identification from each dine-in Customer before serving them, In-N-Out Chief Legal & Business Officer Arnie Wensinger told KRON.

We fiercely disagree with any government dictate that forces a private company to discriminate against customers who choose to patronize their business. This is clear governmental overreach and is intrusive, improper, and offensive, a statement from In-N-Out read.

The Pleasant Hill In-N-Out isnt the only location in the Bay Area dealing with public health violations.

Pinole and San Ramon have also received notices of violation for the same health order violation, and on Monday the San Ramon location received a $250 notice of fine.

Additionally, the In-N-Out located in San Franciscos Fishermans Wharf also temporarily closed indoor dining, but outdoor and takeout is available at this time.

The fast-food chain has recently become a flashpoint in the debate over COVID-19 vaccine requirements, which could escalate once Los Angeles home to many In-N-Out locations implements its own vaccine mandate for customers of indoor restaurants starting Nov. 4.

Patrons will also have to show proof that theyre fully vaccinated in order to enter a variety of other indoor public spaces, including bars, gyms, movie theaters, shopping malls, spas and salons.

More here:

Another Bay Area In-N-Out temporarily closed amid COVID-19 vaccine controversy - KTLA Los Angeles

International travel into the U.S. will resume on November 8 with strict COVID protocols in place. FOX Business Grady Trimble with more.

A new Fidelity Investments study found that ongoing COVID-19 restrictions are taking a toll on folks who are juggling jobs while caring for loved ones such as parents or children, and that 43% of working caregivers could be forced to choose between their jobs and their home responsibilities over the next year.

Almost half of caregivers surveyed said that they could not handle another year like the last, and 42% of those caring for kids responded that they will "fall apart" if schools or their professional child care situation doesn't return to normal in the near future as pandemic restrictions persist.

A mother hugs her daughter goodbye as she drops her off for the first day of partial in-person instruction at Garfield Elementary School in Oakland, California. Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Getty Images)

MILLIONS OF WORKERS STAY HOME TO WATCH YOUNG CHILDREN AS DAY CARES STRUGGLE

"Caregiving has become increasingly complex over the last few years, placing an uneven weight on many women, who all too often shoulder the brunt of family caregiving duties," said Stacey Watson, senior vice president of Life Event Planning at Fidelity Investments. "While close to two-thirds of caregivers say the emotional toll is their heaviest burden, this may be because so many Americans are doing their best to juggle both caregiving and work. For some, handling both may be becoming too much."

The October 2021 American Caregivers Study was a follow-up from the company's earlier caregivers survey released in May. "With so much taking place and evolving these past six months, not the least of which includes the evolving COVID-19 challenges and the huge exodus we are witnessing in the workplace, we wanted to see if the attitudes of caregivers had changed as well," Watson explained.

A man wearing a mask walks past Fidelity Investments in New York City as the city continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus, Aug. 27, 2020. (Getty Images / Getty Images)

FIDELITY LOBBIES SEC FOR BITCOIN ETF

Forty-four percent of working caregivers shared an array of challenges they were facing by remaining in the workforce, citing struggles like needing to take more time off, being distracted at work, and feeling unable to pursue a promotion due to the extra load.

Roughly 58% of caregivers reported feeling like they do not have time to address their own mental health along with their responsibilities for caring for their loved ones and Watson says it could get even worse into the holidays.

A view of an American multinational financial services corporation Fidelity Investments logo. (Photo by Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket)

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"Although the upcoming holidays can be a time of joy, for caregivers, the season also brings an increased burden," Watson told FOX Business. "On top of care responsibilities, many will find themselves in charge of creating special family moments, making the juggling act more stressful."

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COVID-19 restrictions could force 43% of caregivers to give up their jobs - Fox Business

Wednesday, October 27th 2021, 12:24 pm

By: David Prock

The University of Tulsa will be requiring all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in compliance with President Biden's September 9th Executive Order.

Related Story: President Biden Announces Sweeping Vaccine Requirements

In a statement released on Wednesday, TU officials say that the vast majority of TU employees already are immunized and that the remaining employees will be provided support to get the vaccine by December 8. TU says employees will also be able to request an exemption on medical or religious grounds. The University of Tulsa is a federal contractor.

See the full statement below:

Continued here:

University Of Tulsa To Require Employees To Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19 By Dec. 8 - News On 6

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is nearly 91% effective against symptomatic illness in children ages 5-11, according to new data posted Friday ahead of a major FDA advisory committee meeting on Tuesday.

The vaccine also appeared safe, with none of the children experiencing a rare heart inflammation side effect known as myocarditis. If authorized in children 5-11, the Pfizer vaccine will be given at a smaller, one-third dose.

This efficacy estimate is from the company's clinical trial of2,268 children in which some children got a placebo, and some children got the Pfizer vaccine. During the trial, 16 children who got the placebo shots developed COVID-19. Only three children who got the real vaccine developed COVID-19.

A small number of the children who were vaccinated and later developed COVID-19 experienced symptoms far fewer and milder than the children who were unvaccinated. For example, none of the vaccinated children developed a fever, while a majority of the unvaccinated children developed a fever along with other symptoms.

None of the children experienced serious adverse events. Many experienced typical symptoms like pain at the injection site, fatigue and headache.

The FDA's advisers will meet Tuesday to vote on whether to authorize the vaccine. From there, the FDA itself and the CDC will need to sign off -- a process that can take several days -- before shots could become available to children nationally.

- ABC News' Sony Salzman

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COVID-19 updates: Pfizer vaccine highly effective in children 5-11 - ABC News

A South Korean woman receives her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination centre in Seoul, South Korea April 1, 2021. Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

SEOUL, Oct 23 (Reuters) - South Korea said on Saturday that it has achieved its goal of vaccinating 70% of its 52 million people, paving the way for a planned return to normal next month.

The target, set a month before the country kicked off its inoculation campaign in late February, was reached by 2 p.m. (0500 GMT), with some 36 million vaccinated, said the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The goal earlier met with scepticism as the government grappled with global COVID-19 vaccine shortages and shipment delays. But despite its rough start, South Korea quickly ramped up its vaccination drive, thanks chiefly to expanded supplies and relatively high public acceptance, surpassing the United States and other early starters.

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said last week that the government will begin a phased return to normal activities starting Nov. 1, putting forward the shift initially scheduled for mid-November.

"It's impossible to put an end to the pandemic by reaching herd immunity due to the spread of highly transmissible Delta variant," the KDCA said in a statement.

"But meeting the vaccination goal has significant meaning in reducing severe cases and fatality, and as an important precondition for a transition to phased recovery of our daily lives."

South Korea has largely successfully managed to cope with the pandemic without imposing lockdowns seen in many other parts of the world, on the back of intensive testing and tracing.

But it has struggled to suppress its fourth COVID-19 wave since last summer, with new daily cases topping 3,000 for the first time last month, though they brought fewer critical cases and deaths.

The KDCA reported 1,508 new cases for Friday.

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by William Mallard

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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S.Korea says it reaches goal of 70% vaccinations for COVID-19 - Reuters

FAIRMONT Community Health and Human Services of Faribault and Martin Counties has been tracking local information regarding the Covid-19 pandemic since it began in early 2020. Tim Langer, Public Health Sanitarian, said that while numbers had been going in an upward trend, theyve recently taken a dip.

Its increased weekly until this last week. It appears we may have reached a peak, Langer said.

He went on to say the case rates have been going in a peak and valley trend over the course of the pandemic.

We had the highest peak since the start of the pandemic in the last couple of months, Langer said.

He said that locally we had peaked around Nov. and Dec. 2020. However, he said the cases went way down over the summer months.

Many people thought they we had went through the worst of it, but due to the number of unvaccinated people, we in public health knew we were susceptible to another peak, Langer said.

He said around late August, case rates started going up again, especially with the emergence of the Delta variant.

It spreads very easily. A coupe of weeks ago we were at our highest point of the entire pandemic, he said.

The week of Sept. 5-11, there were 57 new Covid-19 cases in Martin County. The next week, there were 97 cases. In the week of Sept. 26- Oct. 2 there were 146 cases in Martin County. Most recently, number reported on Monday, Oct. 18 showed 112 cases in the county.

Langer is hopeful that the county is turning a curve now as the numbers have gone done in the last week, however, he knows its a fluid situation.

As for vaccinations, Langer said the trend has certainly been downward recently compared to when vaccines first became available.

More recently theyve had some high profile cases in Faribault County and Langer said hes hoping it helps increase vaccination rates in Faribault and Martin counties.

Its critical to ending this pandemic. It will keep spreading as long as theres people who are unvaccinated, he said.

Langer acknowledges that there have been breakthrough cases, but said that theyre typically less severe.

Langer also talked about the boosters that are available. He said a new booster for those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available. A Pfizer booster has been available for certain age groups and those who are immunocompromised.

Moderna will be available for a booster shortly and Im also hearing that in November hopefully there will be some changes that will allow the 5-11 year-olds to receive the Pfizer vaccine, Langer said.

Langer encourages that people take advantage of the boosters.

The third dose, from what Ive been reading, really kicks in your immune system and provides protection, especially against the Delta variant, he said.

When comparing the counties vaccination rates with the rest of the states, Langer said its not as high as some areas, but probably higher than others. According the the Minnesota Department of Health, 77 percent of Martin County age 18 and over is vaccinated.

Langer said if more of the population was vaccinated, we wouldnt be experiencing the large peaks anymore.

In public health, were trying to get people to understand that this is good for them. Its a good choice. We hope people do their research and get vaccinated, Langer said.

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Local Covid-19 cases come in 'peaks and valleys' - Fairmont Sentinel