Category: Covid-19

FILE PHOTO: Funeral and crematorium employees work on a coffin carrying the body of a person who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) before its cremation, as the number of deaths continue to rise due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at San Isidro crematory in Mexico City, Mexico May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicos death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is likely at least 60% higher than the confirmed number, putting it in excess of 300,000, according to government data.

Updated figures here on excess mortality in a table published by Mexico's Health Ministry showed that by the end of the sixth week of this year, 294,287 fatalities "associated with COVID-19" had been registered on death certificates in Mexico.

That was 61.4% higher than the confirmed death toll of 182,301 given as a comparison in the same table.

That figure did not coincide precisely with a specific day from the Health Ministrys daily bulletins, but more than 25,000 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported since mid-February. As of Sunday, the ministrys confirmed toll stood at 201,623.

The government has long said Mexicos real tally of COVID-19 deaths is likely significantly higher than the confirmed toll, which is one of the highest worldwide.

Relatively low testing rates in Mexico mean that many fatalities are not confirmed, but they may still appear in death certificates as suspected cases, experts say.

The higher death toll estimate was based on a word search of death certificates that mentioned COVID-19 and other terms relating to the pandemic, the ministry said.

Total excess deaths in Mexico during the pandemic stood at 417,002 by the sixth week of 2021, according to the data.

Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Paul Simao and Peter Cooney

See the article here:

Mexico says COVID-19 deaths likely 60% higher than confirmed toll - Reuters

Lafayette, LA., (KLFY) As millions more people continue to be vaccinated across the country on a daily basis, some are choosing not to receive the vaccine.

With the possibility of travel restrictions being put in place for those without the vaccine, some are turning to buying and selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards.

There are websites that are being created to sell fake vaccine cards to look like the CDC cards that some people are opting to pay for, instead of actually getting the vaccine, Chris Babin with the Better Business Bureau of Acadiana said.

Officials are now warning against people posting and sharing their vaccine information on social media.

We would caution people against that because your personal information is on that card and not share it because things you put on social media isnt as protected as you might think, Babin said.

Its also possible to be scammed when trying to buy a fake vaccination card, according to Babin.

Your personal identifiable information could end up in the hands of a scammer because they might need that information to fill out your fake vaccine card and also youre going to have to pay for it, so that financial information can be taken by the scammer, he said.

At KLFY, we asked our team to recreate a fake vaccination card. Within 15 minutes, we were able to recreate a fake vaccination card. Since other people had posted their vaccine information online like the lot number, product name, and clinic site, it only had to be copied over.

A Florida man was recently fired from his job for selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards, according to media outlets.

We also reached out to the Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landrys office to see if charges could be pursued against those who forge or use these documents.

A statement was issued saying they are aware of the situation, and at this time, they have not received any reports of this occurring here. However, other states are seeing a growing trend in people doing so.

While we have not received a response from Landry regarding whether or not this could be punishable by law, according to Louisiana statues, this could be considered forgery.

Forgery is considered to be a felony crime which can be punishable in both fines and up to ten years in prison.

Read the original post:

Buying or selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards could land you in hot water - WAVY.com

Powered by Watson:

Our COVID Q&A with Watson is an AI-powered chatbot that addresses consumers' questions and concerns about COVID-19. It's built on the IBM Watson Ads Builder platform, which utilizes Watson Natural Language Understanding, and proprietary, natural- language-generation technology. The chatbot utilizes approved content from the CDC and WHO. Incidents information is provided by USAFacts.org.

To populate our Interactive Incidents Map, Watson AI looks for the latest and most up-to- date information. To understand and extract the information necessary to feed the maps, we use Watson Natural Language Understandingfor extracting insights from natural language text and Watson Discovery for extracting insights from PDFs, HTML, tables, images and more.COVID Impact Survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Data Foundation

Continued here:

Lafayette, LA Coronavirus Information - Safety Updates ...

Some people are actually able to bottle their success, and Mark Kurz SM 95 is one of the lucky few. Kurz is at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 as a manufacturing supply chain leader at Corning, the New York-based pioneer in glass science and manufacturing technology.

Corning produces Valor Glass vials, a primary mode of delivery for vaccines as part of the U.S. governments Operation Warp Speed. In his role as director of Cornings Pharmaceutical Technologies manufacturing and operations, Kurz oversaw a four-fold acceleration of production capacity for vials. Production is slated to increase 10-fold by the end of this year.

Kurz never expected to be at the forefront of a pandemic who does? but his participation in the MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program positioned him well. He joined LGO (known at the time as Leaders for Manufacturing) as an operations professional at Kodak in 1993, receiving his SM from the Department of Mechanical Engineering as well as an SM from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

I was really drawn to the MIT LGO program because it covered three main areas: engineering and technology there's no better school in the world for that but also business management and leadership. Understanding people and how you lead them is so important, and that really drew me to this MIT program. Its been the cornerstone of my career, Kurz says.

Today, MIT LGO students earn an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a masters degree from one of eight participating departments in the School of Engineering while participating in an immersive, six-month research fellowship at partner organizations, ranging from Amazon to Corning.

Kurz says that Corning was the perfect place to bring his operations skills, with its 170-year history in glass production. (In the early days, it helped to develop encasements for Edisons light bulb.) Kurz became part of a team exploring ways to make stronger pharmaceutical glass packaging, a process that hadnt changed in a century making glass that was more efficient to fill, crack-resistant, and more durable for vials.

Valor Glass offers multiple improvements over conventional borosilicate vials by chemically strengthening the glass with molten salt. Not only does Valor Glass provide safety benefits with reduced surface delamination and fewer particles, but it is also more efficient for pharmaceutical filling operations by enabling higher production speeds. Corning also found that it was less prone to breaking during standard lyophilization, a freeze-drying process used with some pharmaceutical products. Cold temperature performance is a critical attribute for some vaccines. Valor Glass addresses expensive pain points for partners like Pfizer and Merck.

When the Covid demand materialized, we had already laid the groundwork. Its this lasting investment [with our partners] that positioned us to be able to go fast. Wed been positioning ourselves for expansion, Kurz says. We had some capacity that was ready to come up if we had the demand. We knew what needed to be done. It turned from planning to execution.

Corning joined Operation Warp Speed to supply the vials, shifting to 24/7 production, delivering in weeks instead of months, streamlining the product line to a standard-sized vial, and focusing on quality and volume. In June 2020, Corning received $204 million in funding from the U.S. government to ramp up manufacturing capacity.

It came back to the fundamentals I learned in the MIT LGO program really challenging technical problems, understanding the business environment you're operating in, and leading people. I've used my MIT background in every job I've ever been in. And this challenge required all three, he says.

One particularly important task? Rapidly spotting defects with a relatively new product. Kurz implemented a machine-vision system to examine every vial for flaws. The stakes were high.

In early manufacturing, there are bugs. We didnt want to throw out good vials. We also didnt want to pass bad products along. So we put a lot of effort into that and actually were able to improve our output by more than 10 percent. If you look at it as doses of the vaccine getting to people, it's inspiring, he says.

Kurz has subsequently shifted roles to focus on global health services, implementing protective measures in Corning factories worldwide. Meanwhile, hes confident that Valor glass will have pharmaceutical uses long after the pandemic fades, such as for cancer treatments. On that note, hes eager to tell the MIT community what a valuable partner Corning is and what a forward-thinking company it continues to be.

Its easy to think, Well, it's just glass, right? Yet we keep innovating, 170 years after the company was formed. We keep investing nearly a billion dollars a year in R&D and finding new ways to take glass into places that its never been before, he says, from Edisons original light bulbs to ultra-durable, anti-microbial Gorilla Glass for wearable devices.

For Kurz, his pride in glass manufacturing is clear.

People want a noble cause to work for. From a leadership standpoint, there cant be a more noble goal than to try to help people overcome Covid, he says.

View original post here:

Supporting the Covid-19 vaccine rollout with extra-strength glass - MIT News

3 things to know

State set to open vaccine eligibility for all adults; supplies expected to jump in April

28 percent with at least one vaccine dose currently; 16.8 percent completely vaccinated

Active cases trending at levels not seen since late January

State public health officials have been going heavy on the racing metaphors recently. Yes, as new COVID-19 cases continue to climb, it does feel like a race to get enough Minnesotans vaccinated quickly to dodge another surge.

There was encouraging news on Saturday, as state health officials reported 77,715 additional vaccine doses administered in Minnesota the highest single-day total yet.

That boosted the daily average over the past week to more than 42,500 vaccinations the highest thats been in nearly two weeks, and a welcome change from days of relatively flat vaccination numbers.

But the seven-day rolling average of new COVID cases reported each day also went up, to about 1,374 the highest that number has been since Jan. 18. The number of active cases in Minnesota also is the highest it's been in more than two months.

Here are Minnesotas current COVID-19 statistics:

6,825 deaths (4 new)

513,833 positive cases; 96 percent off isolation

28 percent of Minnesotans with at least one vaccine dose

80.3 percent of Minnesotans 65 and older with at least one vaccine dose

The increasing pace of COVID cases shows the rising urgency now to widen the vaccine eligibility pool.

Officials are increasingly anxious about caseloads tied to the U.K. COVID-19 variant and to youth sports. Theyve confirmed more than 500 cases of the U.K. strain in recent weeks and believe as many half the states new cases may be tied to that variant.

Heading into the weekend, there was no doubt the vaccination pace could use a bump.

The seven-day trend had been stuck at around 40,000 shots daily, roughly what its been the past few weeks, before Saturdays bump.

As of Saturdays update, more than 936,000 people about 16.8 percent of the states population have completed their vaccinations while more than 1.5 million 28 percent have received at least one dose, including more than 80 percent of people age 65 and older.

For those whove received a complete vaccination, the results look good. Of the hundreds of thousands of people completely vaccinated, the state said earlier this week that its identified only 89 whove subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

Projections by MPR News data reporter David Montgomery.

Health Department leaders expect a major expansion of vaccine doses the first week in April enough to give 300,000 Minnesotans their first shot and an additional 200,000 to provide people with a second shot.

That, together with the expanded eligibility, should go a long way to easing the concerns of a new wave, although officials noted the state wont immediately have all the doses it needs to immediately vaccinate everyone who wants a shot.

We have not achieved that vaccine nirvana but we know its coming, Kris Ehresmann, the states infectious disease director, told reporters Thursday.

After a relatively stable stretch following a late fall surge, warning lights are flashing around Minnesotas COVID-19 disease data.

The number of known, active is cases is rising again. Saturday showed 12,894 active cases marking nine consecutive days with active counts above 10,000, a stretch not seen since late January.

While still low compared to late November and early December, the increase is notable given the worries over the rise of the U.K. COVID-19 strain, which state health officials suspect is driving the current upswing.

Hospitalizations are low compared to the late-fall surge, but those counts are creeping up as well. Earlier this week Health Department data showed 357 people with COVID-19 in Minnesota hospitals; 87 needed intensive care.

Four deaths reported on Saturday raised Minnesotas collective toll to 6,825. Among those whove died, about 63 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems.

The state has recorded 513,833 total confirmed or probable cases so far in the pandemic, including 1,744 posted Saturday. About 97 percent of Minnesotans known to be infected with COVID-19 in the pandemic have recovered to the point where they no longer need to be isolated.

Regionally, all parts of Minnesota are in better shape than they were in late November and early December. Some areas are seeing upticks in cases.

Public health leaders continue to keep watch on clusters in the southwest Twin Cities metro specifically Carver and Scott counties as well as the Mankato area and the eastern Iron Range, centered around the town of Aurora.

Theres also an outbreak now in Ely, northeast of Aurora. St. Louis County public officials say in the past week there have been 33 confirmed cases in Ely. That's about 15 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the entire county. Some of the cases are travel related. Others have been linked to social gatherings and youth sports activities.

Ely school officials report that about two-thirds of the cases in the city have been found in the schools, mostly in the high school. As a result, students are returning to distance learning for about two weeks in an effort to stop the spread.

The state is recommending young people across the state be tested every two weeks for COVID-19, with student athletes tested weekly.

People in their 20s still make up the age bracket with the states largest number of confirmed cases more than 96,000 since the pandemic began, including more than 50,000 among those ages 20 to 24.

The number of high school-age youth confirmed with the disease has also grown, with more than 40,000 total cases among those ages 15 to 19 since the pandemic began.

With kids increasingly returning to school buildings and sports, Minnesota public health officials are urging Minnesota families with children to get tested every two weeks for COVID-19 now until the end of the school year.

Although young people are less likely to feel the worst effects of the disease and end up hospitalized, experts worry youth will spread it unknowingly to older relatives and members of other vulnerable populations. Those with the coronavirus can spread it when they dont have symptoms.

In Minnesota and across the country, COVID-19 has hit communities of color disproportionately hard in both cases and deaths. Thats been especially true for Minnesotans of Hispanic descent for much of the pandemic.

Even as new case counts continue to track well below their late November, early December peaks, the data shows Latino people continue to be hit hard.

Distrust of the government, together with deeply rooted health and economic disparities, have hampered efforts to boost testing among communities of color, officials say, especially among unauthorized immigrants who fear their personal information may be used to deport them.

Walz has acknowledged that distrust by communities of color has been a problem during the pandemic. Officials have offered up some data on vaccinations broken down by race and ethnicity. The state is updating the data weekly.

Jan Malcolm, the state health commissioner, has said the state is committed to doing more to expand vaccine access to people of color, including getting more doses to community pharmacies, partnering with local groups and deploying mobile vaccination clinics.

Data in these graphs are based on the Minnesota Department of Health's cumulative totals released at 11 a.m. daily. You can find more detailed statistics on COVID-19 at theHealth Department website.

A COVID-19 quarantine is forcing one team to miss the Minnesota High School Girls Hockey tournament.

The Centennial High School girls hockey team won't participate in this week's girl's hockey tournament because of a COVID-19 quarantine, according to the Minnesota State High School League.

The team reported it had a positive test.

Centennial, the section 5AA champion, was supposed to play Edina on Saturday. The league said it looked at options for a replacement team but could not make a plan work. Edina will advance to the next round of the tournament as a result.

Peter Cox | MPR News

Minnesota to throw open COVID-19 vaccine eligibility: Beginning next week, Minnesotans 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. But eligibility, state leaders say, wont guarantee an immediate shot, as officials work to inoculate the most vulnerable first.

Latina entrepreneurs find a space online to thrive in pandemic: Facebook Live boutique events provide needed income for entrepreneurs and create a virtual space for community members to come together in an isolated world. One Minnesota entrepreneur is among those finding success.

You make MPR News possible. Individual donations are behind the clarity in coverage from our reporters across the state, stories that connect us, and conversations that provide perspectives. Help ensure MPR remains a resource that brings Minnesotans together.

Donate today. A gift of $17 makes a difference.

Originally posted here:

March 27 update on COVID-19 in MN: Record daily increase in vaccinations as cases also climb - Minnesota Public Radio News

(WSIL) -- Health departments across southern Illinois are reporting 27 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, March 27, 2021.

Franklin County:

Franklin County has had 4,363 total cases and 61 deaths.

Gallatin County:

Gallatin County has a total of 495 lab-confirmed positives of COVID-19, including three deaths.

Jackson County:

Jackson County has had 4,774 cases to date, with 72 related deaths. Of those positive cases, 4,641 individuals released from isolation, including 3 Saturday.

Saline County:

To date, Saline County has had a total of 2,567 lab confirmed positives, including 50 deaths.

Williamson County:

Health officials say the county has had 7,257 positive cases and 119 fatalities.

Illinois Department of Public Health:

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,678 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease Saturday, including 25 additional deaths.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,235,578 cases, including 21,228 deaths across the state.

A total of 5,418,211 vaccines have been administered.

More information can be found here.

Follow this link:

Local health departments report 27 new cases of COVID-19 - WSIL TV

USDA announced today its plans to distribute more than $12 billion under a program called Pandemic Assistance for Producers, which includes aid that had been put on hold as well as funds newly allocated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The program assists farmers and ranchers who previously did not qualify for COVID-19 aid and expands assistance to farmers helped by existing programs. Farmers will need to sign-up only if they are applying for new programs or if they are eligible for CFAP assistance and did not previously apply.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shared details of the new plan during a virtual meeting today with state Farm Bureau presidents and American Farm Bureau leadership.

We appreciate Secretary Vilsacks action to release funds and expand eligibility for farmers hit hard by the devastating effects of COVID-19, said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. USDAs decision to distribute aid based upon previous applications will help deliver assistance quickly. It was good to hear directly from the Secretary today about this program and his priorities going forward.

The funding includes $6 billion to develop new programs or modify existing proposals using remaining discretionary funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act. USDA expects this to include funding for personal protective equipment (PPE), compensation to offset the pandemics impact on biofuels, specialty crops and farmers forced to euthanize animals due to supply chain issues, among other uses.

Another $5.6 billion will be directed to formula payments to cattle producers and eligible flat-rate or price trigger crops. In addition, $500 million in new funding is included for existing programs such as the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Farmers Opportunities Training and Outreach Program, Local Agricultural Marketing Program, Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Economic Adjustment Assistance for Textile Mills Program.

AFBF urges USDA to quickly accomplish the needed regulatory changes to deliver assistance to contract livestock and poultry growers who have yet to receive aid, despite specific authorization from Congress.

Sign-ups for the new program begin April 5, 2021. USDAs announcement can be found here. AFBF Market Intel can be found here.

Contact: Mike TomkoDirector, Communications(202) 406-3642miket@fb.orgBailey CorwineMedia Relations Specialist(202) 406-3643baileyc@fb.org

Visit link:

COVID-19 Aid Released and Expanded to Include More Producers - Farm Bureau News

Beginning today in Geneva County, the Alabama Department of Public Health is holding drive-thru COVID-19 clinics in each of its public health districts across Alabama.

The counties where the clinics will be held in alphabetical order are Colbert, Escambia, Franklin, Geneva, Jefferson, Montgomery and Walker. The next clinic is Monday in Colbert County. Follow this link to see complete schedules and dates.

Drive-thru clinics will also be open in Jefferson County Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (Near the airport terminal off Aviation Avenue at the end of 50th Street North & 18th Alley across from Kaiser Aircraft Industries)

To register for an appointment in Jefferson County, visit http://www.jeffcoema.org and click the green registration button. Or call the Jefferson County Vaccine Call Center Monday Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at (205) 858-2221 to schedule.

Meanwhile, Alabamas National Guard is also conducting free mobile vaccination clinics across 24 rural counties. Visit this Vaccination Clinics page for more information.

Vaccination is free to anyone eligible now: people 55 years old and older, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and all other people in Phases 1a, 1b and 1c in Alabamas COVID-19 Vaccination Allocation Plan.

Use this link to download and complete the sign-up form for any clinic and bring it with you. Follow this link for more details on each clinics schedule for first and second doses.

Read more from the original source:

Drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinics start today in Alabama as shots spread - AL.com

WATERBURY, Conn. This week Community Karen went for her first Covid-19 vaccine and created a video diary of her experience from start to finish to share her thoughts on the occasion and showcase what others can expect to experience when they head to their vaccination locations. Karen's vaccine was administered at Post University in Waterbury, which is a drive-thru vaccination center. She was able to get her appointment through VAMS within 1 week of becoming eligible.

HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS

Download the FOX61 News APP

iTunes:Click here to download

Google Play:Click here to download

Stream Live on ROKU:Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.

Link:

Community Karen: Getting the COVID-19 vaccine - FOX 61

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Five new deaths were reported by theSouth Dakota Department of Health, as hospitalizations increased on Saturday.

According to the latest update, 255 new total coronavirus cases were announced bringing the states total case count to 117,081 up from Friday (116,833).

While the difference in the total case count reported Saturday and Friday equals 248, when you add the PCR, or newly confirmed, cases (191) and antigen, or new probable, cases (64), there were 255 new cases.

The death toll increased by five to 1,933. The new deaths were 2 men and 3 women in the following age ranges: 60-69 (1), 70-79 (2), 80+ (1).

There are 77 current hospitalizations as of Saturday, up from 74 on Friday. Total hospitalizations are at 6,951, an increase of 24 over Friday.

Active cases are now at 2,443, down from Friday (2,480).

Total recovered cases are now at 112,705, up from Friday (112,425).

Total persons negative is now at 325,100, up from Friday (324,344).

There were 1,011 new persons tested in the data reported on Saturday for a new persons-tested positivity rate of 25.22%.

The latest seven-day all test positivity rate reported by the DOH is 10.1%. The latest one-day PCR test positivity rate is 7.0%.

According to the DOH, 197,885 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered with 7,244 doses of the Janssen vaccine and 187,057 of the Moderna vaccine given out to a total number of 242,294 persons.

There have been 70,760 persons who have completed two doses of Moderna and 79,120 who have received two doses of Pfizer, according to the DOH.

When combining state and federal vaccine distribution, the state estimates 41.12% of the population has received at least one dose and 26.88% have received both doses.

Read the original here:

COVID-19 in South Dakota: 255 new total cases; Death toll increases to 1,933; Active cases at 2,443 - KELOLAND.com