Category: Covid-19

Duke University in North Carolina has announced that it will require students to have a COVID-19 vaccine when they return this fall. And the list of campuses with such policies is growing.

Rutgers University in New Jersey was the first, and since then more than a dozen residential colleges have followed. The University of Notre Dame; two Ivy League universities, Brown and Cornell; and Northeastern University in Massachusetts are among those requiring the vaccine for fall. Cleveland State University will do so for all students living on campus.

As vaccines become more widely available, its likely that many more colleges will add their own mandates. Thirty-seven states are now vaccinating people over 16 years old, and by April 19, all states in the U.S. will join them.

Vaccinations are an important tool for making the fall semester safe, says Antonio Calcado, who leads Rutgers COVID-19 task force. We felt that just simply encouraging would not have the same effect as a requirement.

Colleges have struggled this year to control outbreaks on campus. Residential campuses are social spaces where viruses can (and did) spread through dorms, off-campus housing and parties. And campuses arent insulated from their communities; there is research to suggest that spread of the coronavirus among students led to nearby deaths in nursing homes.

This is not new

Colleges have long required vaccinations for infectious diseases. In a survey of about 100 four-year institutions representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C., nearly all required at least one vaccine for enrollment. The MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, was required at 87.5% of campuses surveyed.

This is not new, explains Calcado. We have a whole portal for uploading your vaccine history and all those types of things. So thats already in place. And actually, this one just adds another vaccine to whats in place today.

When it comes to enforcement, colleges will most often use a registration hold, barring students from signing up for classes until they have met the requirement. But at some schools, not having proof of vaccination can prevent you from living in campus housing. In some rare cases, students could face expulsion.

Colleges are not new to disease outbreaks either, and in many cases those outbreaks led to vaccination campaigns on campus. In 2015, after an outbreak of meningitis on the campus of the University of Oregon in which a freshman student died, the university set up mass vaccination sites. For that campaign, the school used adhesive bandages with the schools O logo to advertise the vaccine to students.

Is it legal?

Most universities have the power to require vaccines, explains Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. But it does depend on what the college can do generally on vaccines and what theyve done in the past.

Thats because its not just federal law that colleges need to navigate there are also state laws and the regulatory power certain colleges have to make requirements more generally. This can be easier for private colleges than for public ones, though some university systems, including the University of California, have power dictated by the state constitution.

Of course these types of mandates arent new, and their legality has been challenged and upheld for nearly a century. In 1925, a student sued the University of California saying he met all the requirements to attend the school except for having a required smallpox vaccination. The judge upheld the mandate. A 2015 law in California requiring vaccines among school children has also withstood legal challenges.

But current COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization, which introduces a new situation for colleges, says Reiss. Weve never had the vaccine for the entire population authorized under EUA before. So legal arguments have a little asterisk, she says, until vaccines are officially approved by the FDA, which could come as early as this summer.

There almost certainly are going to be legal challenges because the anti-vaccine movement is already preparing for them, says Reiss. The main arguments will include the EUA question and the fact that these vaccines are early [in use].

Most colleges offer some exemptions to their policies, primarily for medical or religious reasons, though Reiss says that under previous jurisprudence, you dont have to give a religious exemption. Because a vaccine mandate is not targeted at religion, its generally applicable.

But she adds, the U.S. Supreme Court has already signaled that its going to be more protective of religious freedom than in the past. So, she says, this is an area of uncertainty going forward.

In December, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance that said no current law would prevent employers from requiring vaccines or needing proof of a vaccination from their employees.

According to an issue brief from the American Council on Education, which represents colleges, the legal right of institutions to require COVID-19 vaccination for students seems likely to be upheld as vaccine availability increases. The brief also includes alternatives to mandates, including offering students incentives to be vaccinated and making online learning options available for those who are not getting the shot.

International students

One lingering question is what to do about international students. For students in countries without vaccine availability, says Calcado of Rutgers, thats a bit easier. We can get them vaccinated. We do it ourselves. Thats not a problem. The main challenge, he adds, comes with students who have been vaccinated with something that hasnt been approved in the U.S., like the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is widely used in the United Kingdom and is the subject of concerns about health risks.

Alternatives to a mandate

Even with large portions of the student body vaccinated, campuses are likely to keep many of the elements that have come to define COVID college: masking, frequent COVID-19 testing and social distancing. Even with a vaccination requirement for fall, Rutgers has said it will continue to test all students and faculty until public health officials advise otherwise.

The University of California San Diego plans to have campus student housing back at 100% capacity by fall quarter. Students without the vaccine will be required to continue weekly asymptomatic testing, currently the norm on campus. Students and faculty who are fully vaccinated in the fall will not be required to complete this testing, though wastewater testing for the virus will continue.

I often refer to these as soft mandates, explains Reiss, who studies vaccine requirements at colleges. You can choose not to vaccinate, but there are going to be some consequences. That incentivizes vaccination.

Getting current students vaccinated

As vaccine eligibility has opened up to include college-age adults, campuses have become vaccination sites. In an interview on WBEZs Reset, Robert Jones, chancellor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says there is an ongoing discussion about vaccine requirements.

In the meantime, he said, the university is focused on getting the vaccine to current students. The important thing for us, at this university and across the whole University of Illinois system, is to make sure that we get all of our students vaccinated before they depart at the end of this semester.

Other campuses are restricted by current eligibility rules. Out-of-state students in Vermont, which represents a majority of enrollment at the University of Vermont, are not able to be vaccinated until April 30. New Hampshire will expand eligibility to out-of-state residents, including college students, starting April 19th.

In addition to becoming a distribution site for the vaccine, Rutgers University will also begin a mass communication campaign to educate the student body and the surrounding community, about the importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Were having students do videos, says Calcado. Administrators are working with the universitys student government to design messages that resonate. We need to take out the noise, and concentrate on what the science says. The message is: What are the facts? What do we know?

Calcado says its not just the current or prospective students he has in mind for this. When our students go back to their communities, to their families, he says, you know theyre armed with good information.

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More Colleges Say They'll Require Students To Have COVID-19 Vaccines For Fall | 90.1 FM WABE - WABE 90.1 FM

Local governments in Wisconsin are set to receive $2.3 billion in the next two years as part of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Now, communities large and small across Wisconsin are sorting through what the money can go toward and how to spend it.

"We're encouraging communities to be strategic with this kind of one-time pot of money that they'll receive, and consider coordinating with other jurisdictions in the area like the county and perhaps the state,"said Curt Witynski, deputy director for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.

The $350 billion included for local governments under the American Rescue Plan Act represents the largest infusion of funding for cash-strapped local governments in decades, according to the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C.

While the funding is significant, it's not without restrictions. The money is primarily set aside for COVID-19 response and economic losses. That would include assistance for households, small businesses and nonprofits in addition to the tourism, travel and hospitality industry. The funding can also be used to offer premium pay to essential workers and backfill any reductions in government revenues due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The city of Madison is projecting revenues will be down by around $67 million through the end of this year compared to revenue projections under the 2020 budget prior to the start of the pandemic, according to the citys finance department. That includes lost revenues from room taxes, the citys parking utility, the Monona Terrace convention center and Metro Transit.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said replacing lost revenues from the COVID-19 response will be one priority for spending the roughly $49 million the city expects to receive under the latest relief bill. That may include replenishing around $8 million in reserves used to balance its $349 million budget.

"We'll be looking at that as a primary use and then also at how we can deploy these funds to the benefit of the community to help the community recover from COVID-19,"said Rhodes-Conway. "Our priorities will be to look through both an equity and the sustainability lens, but also to try and leverage these funds to the best impact in our community."

The city has canceled mandatory furloughs as the U.S. Treasury is set to award the first half of funding allotments to local governments in May. Communities will receive the second half the following year. David Schmiedicke, the city's finance director, said during an April 5 finance committee meeting that priorities for funding will include COVID-19 response, housing, food, child care, business recoveryand broadband internet.

City officials and others are exploring potential gaps in those receiving assistance under the federal relief bill to better target areas in need. Gov. Tony Evers has said he intends to spend $3.2 billion earmarked for the state to support small businesses, pandemic response, infrastructure and the states tourism industry. GOP lawmakers have put forward their own plan to fund infrastructure, tourism and businesses along with several other measures that may not be allowed under the federal relief package.

The American Rescue Plan Act does allow investment in sewer, water and broadband infrastructure. At last Mondays meeting,Rhodes-Conway noted that investing in broadband to improve high-speed internet access mightbe one potential area for collaboration with the Madison Metropolitan School District or state.

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Both Evers and GOP lawmakers support increased funding for broadband expansion. Evers has proposed spending a record $150 million in state funding through the budget while Republicans are planning a multi-year, $500 million bill to improve high-speed internet access through federal COVID-19 relief.

In far northern Wisconsin, the city of Superior has identified broadband investment as one potential priority for spending roughly $17.7 million slated for the city under the federal relief bill. The city has been working with consultant EntryPoint Networks on a roughly $31 million proposal to build a city-owned network that would be used by multiple internet service providers to improve competition and lower rates.

"We have a project that we have investigated and prepared for that we're excited about, and it's also very expensive and that was a cost that we were going to pass to users,"said Superior Mayor Jim Paine.

At a recent City Council meeting, the citys consultant said homeowners would pay an average of $55 per month for the service at 10 times the speed compared to the current average of $81 per month. Some City Council members have expressed concerns over the projects price tag. Superiors mayor said they could also distribute the funding to nonprofits for things like rental and homeowner assistance, as well as grants to small businesses.

While general funding guidelines exist, many questions remain for community leaders on what projects are eligible or which expenses qualify as pandemic-related losses. In Ashland County, officials are wondering whether lost timber revenues stemming from the shutdown of the Verso mill in Wisconsin Rapids would qualify as COVID-related government losses. The U.S. Treasury is expected to release further guidance on appropriate spending of COVID-19 relief money around the time funding is distributed to state and local governments.

Meanwhile, some town officials arent happy with the limits on spending federal relief, including the Town of Richmond in northeastern Wisconsin. Town Chairman Steve Gueths said the town doesnt have many COVID-related expenses after receiving assistance through the first round of CARES Act funding.

He added that the town doesnt have enough funding to put toward the cost of any sewer or water expansion at this time, noting the $180,000 theyre set to receive wouldnt cover the entire cost of such projects. He highlighted the towns most pressing needs are funding for road repairs and equipment.

"If we don't need it for the areas that its supposed to be for, then why send it to us?"said Gueths. "Because we cant use it for what we need it for, it's not worth it to us, and you might as well give it back to the taxpayers and not spend it."

The Leagues Witysnki hoped communities would give the funding serious consideration, but he added it's possible for communities to transfer money to other jurisdictions or the state.

Communities with a population of 50,000 or less will receive funding through the state, which intends to distribute money within 30 days after its received. Larger cities will receive the money directly from the U.S. Treasury in May. Local governments must spend the money by the end of 2024.

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Local Governments Will Get Billions In COVID-19 Relief. Now, They're Figuring Out How To Spend It - Wisconsin Public Radio News

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Gas prices in western Massachusetts have decreased in the past week by 0.8 cents.

According to Gas Buddy, the cheapest price for a gallon of gas in Springfield is $2.45, the most expensive is $2.89 per gallon. Comparing to nearby areas, Worcester is currently $2.70 a gallon, Connecticut is $2.87 a gallon and Hartford is $2.80 a gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has decreased 2.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.85/g Monday. The national average is down 0.5 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands $1.02 per gallon higher than a year ago.

It has been a fairly tame last few weeks at the pump for most areas after a particularly active February and March when prices were screaming higher, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. After surging back then, weve seen the price increases fade, and while we havent seen much of a decline, prices have been holding near their yearly highs. For now, it feels like the risk of seeing the national average climb to $3/gal has been delayed by a recent surge in COVID-19 cases both here and abroad, limiting the upside to gasoline demand, but should things begin to improve, especially as we get closer to the start of the summer, we still have potential to see summer gas prices at their highest levels in years. Make no mistake, gas prices this year will be tied to the hip of the Covid situation.

Drivers in our area are currently paying 4.8cents more per gallon than they were a month ago.

Historical gasoline prices in Springfield and the national average going back ten years:

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Gas prices of $3 per gallon delayed by surge in COVID-19 - WWLP.com

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS Routt County recorded its 20th COVID-19 related death last week the first in nearly four months as cases in Colorado are again on the rise and state officials warn of a fourth wave of the virus.

In pleading with people to not let their guard down and continue to wear masks during a press conference Friday, Gov. Jared Polis said he believes this will be the final wave of the pandemic because of vaccination efforts.

This is a race against the clock; it is really important now more than ever wear a mask around others and avoid social gatherings, Polis said.

The cases behind the fourth wave warnings are largely being driven by spread of various COVID-19 variants that are being increasingly found in Colorado. Public health officials have often made sports- and war-related metaphors about the effort to vaccinate people before variant strains of the COVID-19 virus are allowed to take hold.

Routt County reported 40 new cases of the virus between March 31 and April 6, the highest in a seven-day period since early March. Last weeks death was the first reported since Jan. 15 in the county.

As a whole, Colorados new case totals have been trending in the wrong direction for several weeks, and both cases and hospitalizations have reached levels not seen since February. But this fourth rendition of case increases is different than previous waves because it is primarily affecting people below the age of 50.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, lead epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said this is in large part due to higher vaccination rates among older people.

Cases are continuing to go up, and until we get to a point where we can achieve this plateau or decline in cases like we are seeing with those over the age of 50, we really need to keep using the strategies weve been using, Herlihy said.

About 460 Coloradans were in the hospital because of COVID-19 on Saturday, the highest that number has been since the middle of February. Still, Herlihy said there would be even more hospitalizations if not for vaccinations, which have now reached more than one in every five Coloradans as of Friday.

Like with cases, those being hospitalized in Colorado also tend to be younger than 50 years old. Herlihy said the risk of hospitalization is actually flat for those over 50 years old.

This is an important reminder that severe infections can and are occurring in younger populations, Herlihy said, adding that this is why younger people should be vaccinated as well.

Driving many of these cases are more transmissible variants like the B.1.1.7 strain, first seen in the United Kingdom. This is now the dominant strain of the virus in the United States, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention director said last week. That variant is making up the lions share of new cases in Colorado as well.

More than 50% of positive cases that are occurring in the state are now due to variants of COVID-19, Herlihy said.

Between 43% and 45% of tests screened for variants are coming back as the B.1.1.7 variant, and another 18% to 20% are the B.1.427/429 variant first seen in California, Herlihy said.

In Routt County, there have been eight cases of the B.1.1.7 variant and six cases of the B.1.427/429 variant. At a public health meeting last week, local officials said they are not seeing as high a prevalence of variants locally as in other parts of the state.

Last week, the first two cases of the P.1 variant, first seen in Brazil, were found in Colorado, and that number has quickly increased to 12 cases by the end of the week. Herlihy said they believe there are multiple introductions of this particular variant in Colorado.

The concerns with (the P.1 variant) are increased transmissibility (and) possible increased severity, decreased effectiveness of some antibody treatments, risk of reinfection, Herlihy said, adding that whether this variant would be at all resistant to the vaccines is unclear.

If the variant has any effect on vaccine effectiveness, it would be small, Herlihy said, and vaccines remain highly effective against the virus.

Colorado is now receiving about 400,000 to 500,000 doses of the various vaccines each week, and on Friday, Polis launched the states Power the Comeback campaign to spread information about vaccines and curb hesitancy.

Routt County is also increasing its vaccine messaging, adding a seventh commitment to containment Dont wait. Vaccinate. complete with another poster created by local artist Jill Bergman.

Vaccinating 70% of Routt County residents would get the community closer to herd immunity, said county Public Health Director Roberta Smith. In the latest board of health meeting, Smith said current vaccine supplies should allow the county to reach that 70% mark by June 1 if everyone eligible gets their shots.

Currently, everyone 16 years and older is eligible to get the vaccine.

We dont need to ride a fourth wave of this virus, we can end it, Polis said. We just need to go back to how we were in February and March for another few weeks, and then well have a more or less normal summer after we reach that herd immunity level.

To reach Dylan Anderson, call 970-871-4247 or email danderson@SteamboatPilot.com.

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Routt County records 20th COVID-19 death as officials warn of fourth wave of virus - Steamboat Pilot and Today

Miguel Dominguez and his son, Jesse, filled a few trays with pig-shaped puerquitos and football-shaped bolillos, then stuck them in the oven.

Back when business was good, they would keep going until stacks and stacks of trays were full of the Mexican breads. On this recent morning, they didnt expect to sell much. The ding dong announcing a customers arrival came only a handful of times in an hour.

Dominguez thought that by now, with the COVID-19 pandemic easing locally, there would be more people coming into Marisol Bakery on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles.

A pedestrian crosses Whittier Blvd in East Los Angeles. The area has been hit hard as the economy begins to reopen.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

When he was vaccinated in early March, he imagined others would feel the same sense of relief and desire to get back to normal. But he still steps outside to a quiet street.

The nearby tamale and burger restaurants are gone. On the strip that was once a hub of Latino shopping life, there are more storefronts shuttered by iron gates than open ones inviting customers.

Dominguez is one emergency away from closing.

I thought people might want to go out and spend their money, the 56-year-old said. But no. Nothing has changed. Its a sad situation.

Jesse Dominguez prepares to hand a bag of fresh baked bolillos (French rolls) to customer Genaro Galindo and his nephew, Dylan Arreola, 5.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Californias economy is rapidly reopening a year after the pandemic began, thanks to huge drops in COVID-19 cases and the increasing spread of vaccines.

But this rebirth is playing out more cautiously in places like East Los Angeles, an epicenter of the coronavirus crisis. Like other overcrowded, immigrant communities filled with essential workers, the Eastside was devastated by COVID-19 in ways more affluent parts of Los Angeles could barely imagine.

While some beach districts are seeing surges in business, the recovery in places like Whittier Boulevard is going more slowly and deliberately. Here, people are shellshocked by illness, death and job loss.

Some are scared to venture out. Some are still unemployed and have little money to spend. Others have changed their shopping habits during the pandemic, opting for one-stop shopping at big box outlets, accelerating a trend that had already doomed many of the boulevards mom-and-pop stores.

Even with California on schedule to fully reopen in June, business owners like Dominguez fear their customers will not return. The pandemic may turn out to be the nail in the coffin for the storied boulevard that was an epicenter of the Chicano rights movement, a place to see a movie and to buy shoes, furniture or a First Communion dress.The anxiety along Whittier Boulevard at this moment of optimism is yet another example of the deep inequities brought on by the pandemic.

A Times data analysis showed that while East L.A., South L.A. and other poorer areas were battered by the winter surge, more affluent areas even dense ones like West Hollywood and Marina del Rey felt far less impact. The average COVID-19 death rate among Latinos in L.A. County peaked in mid-January at a daily rate of 48 deaths per 100,000 Latino residents, three times worse than the rate for white residents.

This made reopening a tough proposition, not just returning to the once-bustling shopping districts but whether to immediately send children back to in-person learning.

Some Whittier Boulevard merchants have weathered the pandemic by relying on loyal clientele who still stop in or make appointments online. Others, like Dominguez, need foot traffic to survive.

Miguel Dominguez carries a tray of fresh baked bolillos (French rolls) to the display case.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Dominguez used to deliver bread door to door in Latino neighborhoods in Watts and East L.A. With his wife and son, he also sold bread at swap meets to long lines of dozens of people, adding up to 40% of total sales. They were thinking of hiring a few employees.

But the pandemic brought restrictions on swap meet food sales.

Dominguezs wife, who had been sick with a rare disease that causes protein buildup in vital organs, died last summer. He had to take a break from the bakery, on a section of Whittier Boulevard west of Garfield Avenue, and has had a hard time running the business without her.

Dominguez worries that pandemic shopping habits will become permanent.

People who used to buy from me would tell me that its cheaper there, so they stopped coming, he said. We cant fight against those monsters.

Maria Lopez, 57, of East Los Angeles stood outside Marisol Bakery waiting for someone inside to finish ordering. She is a loyal customer of 12 years who visits twice a week for bolillo and conchas, a Mexican sweet bread.

But she doesnt stop by as often as she did earlier in the pandemic, when she bought bread for family members so they wouldnt have to leave home. Now that their schedules are beginning to fill up again, she doesnt buy for them as much, she said and they may end up going somewhere other than Marisol.

People are still not confident, but I think people will gain confidence to go out and things will get better, she said.

Cecilia Rodriguez, 42, owner of Cecys Eyebrow Threading & Salon.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

A few blocks away, Cecilia Rodriguez, owner of Cecys Eyebrow Threading & Salon, said she had noticed Whittier Boulevard growing quiet even before the pandemic. But her business has done fine because it relies on appointments. During the seven months her salon was closed, she saw clients at home.

Since she returned to Whittier Boulevard, she has been booked all day. Once the economy fully reopens, shell likely stick to appointments only, no walk-ins. Some local residents are still scared to leave the house, and she also feels safer working with clients she already knows, she said.

Rodriguez was expecting an uptick in business after the last stimulus checks were distributed, but that didnt happen, she said perhaps because people spent the money on basic needs.

People dont have money for more than that, said Rodriguez, 42, a Montebello resident.

Isabel Tellez, 49, daughter of the owner, waits for customers at Abuelitas Sewing Machine & Repair.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Next door, Isabel Tellez and her son unlocked the iron gates over the Abuelitas Sewing Machine & Repair shop and pulled out a few rolls of fabric to display outside.

Back in the store, they sat behind the counter and waited. They would be lucky to see two or three pedestrians walk by in one hour, said Tellez, 49, who lives in East L.A. Some days, theyll have a few sales. Other days, no one will come inside.

The store opened on Whittier Boulevard a few months ago. Tellez and her family had to close a much larger location in Commerce after they all fell ill with COVID-19 and couldnt keep up with the rent.

Tellez has taken over for her mother, the owner, who is still not feeling well enough to return to work full-time, a year after contracting the virus.

Tellez herself doesnt feel 100% well. Theres the persistent coughing. But the worst part is the anxiety, which creeps up on her when she enters spaces that are even a little bit crowded, like the grocery store.

She feels a mixture of eagerness and fear at seeing more customers. While she needs the business, she feels nervous when there are even three people in the shop. She shoos her son, who has asthma, to the back room.

Many of her clients and neighbors are older, in the country without proper documentation and dont have access to government aid, she said.

Hispanics are very hardworking people. We dont like to ask for handouts, she said. But we need help.

On Whittier Boulevard near Atlantic Boulevard, Olvera Music is beginning to see some signs of change.

Owner Jose Antonio Olvera said he lost up to 30% of his sales last year. Many regular customers were professional musicians who werent performing, so they werent buying as many instruments and other equipment.

Jose Antonio Olvera, 49, owner of Olvera Music.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

However, pandemic boredom, which led many to pick up new hobbies, helped a little.

Olvera sold inexpensive guitars for new learners and repaired old instruments, perhaps given away by family members. Musicians practicing at home still needed to replace guitar strings and reeds.

Guitars those $100 basic guitars are keeping us alive, he said.

Unlike other business owners, Olvera saw more customers when people got their stimulus checks. In February, a few professional musicians returned, likely in preparation for upcoming gigs.

While shoppers may have gravitated to chain stores for groceries during the pandemic, a small music store offered shorter lines and quicker ins and outs than a large retailer like Guitar Center, Olvera said.

They grab what they need in five or 10 minutes, he said. In a way, it has helped, being a small store.

Even though his store is doing better, Olvera worries about the long-term impact of the pandemic on the Latino community. Some of his customers are immigrants without papers who play music as a side job to make ends meet. Many people are still out of work, or back at work but grappling with a year of unpaid bills.

If the economy isnt better, reopenings arent going to make a difference, he said.

Ice cream vendor Miguel Savala Villa walks past closed businesses on Whittier Blvd.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

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Latino areas devastated by COVID-19 are reopening slowly, with caution and fear about future - Los Angeles Times

The COVID-19 subcommittee of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) has reviewed reports of rare cases of blood clots with low platelets following vaccination with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (including Covishield) since their onset a few weeks ago.

At its most recent meeting on 7 April, 2021, the subcommittee reviewed latest information from the European Medicines Agency along with information from the United Kingdoms Medicines and other Health products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and other Member States and noted the following:

WHO is carefully monitoring the rollout of all COVID-19 vaccines and will continue to work closely with countries to manage potential risks, and to use science and data to drive response and recommendations.

In extensive vaccination campaigns, it is normal for countries to identify potential adverse events following immunization. This does not necessarily mean that the events are linked to vaccination itself, but they must be investigated to ensure that any safety concerns are addressed quickly. Vaccines, like all medicines, can have side effects. The administration of vaccines is based on a risk versus benefit analysis.

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Interim statement of the COVID-19 subcommittee of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine - World Health...

A trip on a nine-seater plane. A three-hour wait in the Texas winter storm. A shot through a car window. As more Americans are becoming eligible to receive a vaccine, many say they will share their tales of their efforts to get the vaccine with generations to come.

It was definitely an adventure, said Daniel Beider, who got a shot after flying across his state in a nine-seater plane.

Here are stories of vaccines to remember:

Amy Kugler joined a long line of people waiting to get their vaccines at an event center in Seattle. It was the first time in more than a year that she had been around so many people, even if they were physically distanced.

Ms. Kugler, a 39-year-old communications and content consultant, had thought she would be one of the last members of her family to be vaccinated.

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How I Got My Covid-19 Vaccine: Tales of Getting the Shot - The Wall Street Journal

VERMILLION, S.D. (KELO) When it comes to studying the coronavirus, researchers are letting nothing go to waste.

Since July 2020, Doctors Lisa McFadden and Victor Huber have been using wastewater in Vermillion to study traces and patterns of COVID-19. Huber specializes in studying influenza and even did research during the 2009 pandemic.

When COVID hit, many researchers thought, Hey, its pretty similar, so maybe we can use similar techniques to try to assess the community spread of COVID as well in wastewater, McFadden said.

In tonights eye on KELOLAND, we take you to their lab, show you what theyve found, and how it can impact how we navigate the pandemic.

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Preview: Finding traces of COVID-19 in wastewater - KELOLAND.com

California is set to make all residents 16 and older eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday.

But many vaccination sites are not waiting until then. This weekend, Los Angeles joined the growing list of areas allowing people 16 and over to sign up for vaccinations.

The changes come as more vaccine supply is coming to California.

To date, providers throughout California have administered almost 22.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, and 38.3% of residents have received at least one shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Roughly 21.1% of Californians are fully vaccinated, meaning theyve either received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or both required doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

Nationwide, 35.9% of Americans have received at least one dose, and 21.9% are fully vaccinated, CDC data show.

But supply issues are emerging with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that could slow progress. Here is what we know:

Los Angeles has opened COVID-19 vaccine appointments to those 16 and older.

On the citys website for COVID-19 vaccine registration, operated by Carbon Health, there is now an option to book an appointment for people 16 and older at city-run vaccination sites.

People who are seeking shots at city-run vaccination sites must provide valid identification and be a resident of Los Angeles County. City-run sites are open from Tuesday through Saturday.

The updated website offers appointments for everyone 16 and older as early as Tuesday two days earlier than when California formally opens vaccinations to all residents in this age range. Currently, the statewide criteria say that only people 50 and older, those with underlying health conditions and workers in certain specified essential job sectors are eligible for the vaccine.

But many local jurisdictions have moved faster than the state in allowing everyone 16 and up to get the vaccine.

The city of Long Beach, the UC Davis Health system in the Sacramento area, and the counties of Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, Fresno, Contra Costa, Butte, Shasta and Nevada have opened up vaccines to those 16 and older; Yuba and Sutter counties have made shots available to all adults.

Orange County and San Francisco are allowing people 16 and older living in hard-hit ZIP Codes to get vaccinated.

Anyone working or living in Alameda County who is 16 and older can also book appointments through the states MyTurn registration system, even at the mass vaccination site at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, according to San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney.

State or local hot lines could be of assistance. The states COVID-19 hotline at (833) 422-4255 is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

In Los Angeles County, those with disabilities or without computer access are encouraged to call (833) 540-0473 between 8 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

UPDATED April 9, 2021 | 5:36 PM

Only in public or around unvaccinated people, according to the CDC. If youre around other fully vaccinated people in a private setting, go ahead and take your masks off.

Yes, you can visit one other household with unvaccinated people, indoors and without masks even, as long as they and anyone they live with are at low risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. Avoid mixing with more than one household at a time.

Be sure to check and follow the rules in place for wherever youre headed, but in general, yes. And you dont have to quarantine when you return home.

The CDC recommends that you do not. In California, stadiums and other large venues that are opening are doing so with limited capacity and physical distancing and other measures in place.

Suggested reading for the vaccinated:

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Recently released federal data are raising new questions as to whether supply will match expectations as the state makes shots available to all adults.

Although Californias allocations of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are expected to remain relatively steady this week, the state along with the rest of the nation will see availability crater for the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Last week, 574,900 Johnson & Johnson doses were allocated to the Golden State. This week, that number will plummet to 67,600, an 88% drop, CDC data show.

The allocation is expected to fall even further the week of April 18, to 22,400 doses, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The free-falling number of available Johnson & Johnson doses stems from a production issue at a plant in Baltimore where the drugmaker said a number of doses (news reports pegged the number at 15 million) failed quality standards and couldnt be used. Johnson & Johnson is now working closely with the [Food and Drug Administration] to resolve any manufacturing issues, as well as installing a new senior leadership team to oversee all aspects of production and manufacturing at the facility, according to Jeff Zients, coordinator of President Bidens COVID-19 task force.

This nosedive for Johnson & Johnson will drive down the size of the states federal allocation from the 2.4 million doses received last week, to 2 million this week and 1.9 million next week.

This would appear to fall far short of the rosier estimates shared last month, when the state announced plans to widely expand vaccine access first to residents who are at least 50 years old, which happened April 1; and then to all California residents 16 and older starting Thursday.

Based on estimates at the time, officials said they expected California to be allocated approximately 2.5 million first and second doses per week in the first half of April, and more than 3 million doses in the second half of the month.

Originally posted here:

What to know as L.A. opens COVID-19 vaccine to 16 and up - Los Angeles Times

EDITORS NOTE: The daily numbers that we report do not line up with the numbers the state is reporting for each day. Every day at 10 a.m. we take the previous days numbers from 10 a.m. and subtract them with the current numbers from the state at 10 a.m. Rather than reporting a day behind, we wish to give you the most updated information.For Black Hawk and Linn Counties,we are reporting numbers from their county COVID-19 websites. For Johnson and Dubuque counties,we are reporting numbers from the states website.

IOWA

(KWWL) There were 146 new, confirmed cases from 10 a.m. Sunday to 10 a.m. Monday,according to the states dashboard,bringing the states total number of cases to 357,039.

The states website says that of the 357,039 people who have tested positive, 337,968 have recovered. This is 197 more recoveries than what the state reported Sunday.

The state is reporting 0 additional COVID-19 death, with a death toll of 5,857.

Subtracting the number of recoveries (337,968) and the number of deaths (5,857) from the total number of cases (357,039) shows there are currently 13,214 active positive cases in the state.

As of Monday morning, there were 30 patients hospitalized in Iowa within the last 24 hours and the total number of hospitalizations is 220, an increase from 212 hospitalized the day before. Of those, 55 are in the ICU (up from 54), and 21 are on ventilators (up from 20).

In Iowa, there were 1,018 people tested in the last 24 hours, and a total of 1,666,612 people have been tested for COVID-19.

As of Monday morning, according to the statesCOVID-19 vaccine dashboard, 1,796,103 total doses have been administered to Iowa residents and 773,878 individuals have completed the series. This is 11,708 more completed vaccinations than Sunday. You can view thedashboardfor more data. You can find more vaccine information and storieshere.

BLACK HAWK COUNTY

As of 10 a.m. Monday, theBlack Hawk COVID-19 dashboardis showing 16 new cases since 10 a.m. Sunday, leaving a total of 16,558 cases. There have been 7 additional recoveries, leaving a total of 14,790. There have been no additional deaths, leaving a total of 306 deaths. In Black Hawk County, 33,001 residents have been fully vaccinated.

LINN COUNTY

As of 10 a.m. Monday, theLinn County COVID-19 dashboardis showing 82 new cases since 10 a.m. Saturday, leaving a total of 20,180 cases. There have been 17 additional recoveries, leaving a total of 18,689 recoveries. There have been no additional deaths, leaving a total of 338 deaths in the county. There are currently 3 patients currently hospitalized in the county. In Linn County, 55,061 residents have been fully vaccinated.

JOHNSON COUNTY

According to thestates dashboardat 10 a.m. Monday, there are 17 new positive cases reported in Johnson County since 10 a.m. Sunday. This brings the total to 13,871 reported cases. There have been a total of 13,160 recoveries, 1 more reported than yesterday. There were no additional deaths reported, leaving a total of 80. In Johnson County, 43,058 residents have been fully vaccinated.

DUBUQUE COUNTY

According to thestates dashboardat 10 a.m. Monday, there were 10 additional positive cases reported in Dubuque County since 10 a.m. Sunday. This brings the total to 13,033 reported cases. There have been 3 additional recoveries reported, leaving a total of 12,306. There were no additional deaths reported, leaving a total of 202. In Dubuque County, 27,694 residents have been fully vaccinated.

View COVID-19 numbers fromSunday here.

Original post:

April 12: Almost 775,000 individuals have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Iowa - kwwl.com