Category: Covid-19

Another 16 businesses have been cited in Michigan for COVID-19 safety violations in the workplace.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration has now cited 103 businesses for COVID-19 violations since the pandemic began. The fines can range up to $7,000 per citation; 15 of the 16 businesses recently cited were also fined.

Violations include keeping an employee working who was suspected of having COVID-19, not telling the health department when there were known positive COVID-19 cases in the workplace, not requiring masks, not training employees, not screening employees and more.

Employers and employees with questions about COVID-19 workplace policies can call the MIOSHA hotline at 855-723-3219. To file a complaint against a workplace, go to Michigan.gov/MIOSHAcomplaint.

Businesses have 15 days to contest the penalties. MIOSHA cuts the penalties in half for businesses that agree not to appeal and show theyve fixed the problems.

MIOSHA isnt the only state agency going after businesses ignoring COVID-19 precautions. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have also punished violators.

Heres the list of businesses to be cited by MIOSHA in the last batch of penalties. Click on the business name to read the full citation document.

Belle Tire

Location: Woodhaven

Fine: $4,000

Reasons: Not removing an employee from the workplace suspected of having COVID-19, no physical barriers installed and inadequately training employees on safeguards related to COVID-19. The inspection was initiated in response to an employee complaint.

Adrian Urgent Care

Location: Adrian

Fine: $0

Reasons: Not maintaining daily health screenings for all visitors that enter the workplace. The inspection was initiated in response to an employee complaint.

Bloxsom Roofing and Siding Company

Location: Traverse City

Fine: $7,200, but only $2,800 for COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Not developing a preparedness and response plan, no documentation of daily health screenings, no disinfectant, no COVID-19 safety coordinator and no face coverings worn on site. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Bush Brothers Asphalt Paving Inc.

Location: Farmington Hills

Fine: $400

Reasons: Lack of a preparedness and response plan. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Dana Incorporated

Location: St. Clair

Fine: $4,000

Reasons: Failure to require face coverings when social distancing could not be maintained, not contacting the local health department when three known positive COVID-19 cases were detected at the workplace and not maintaining a record of employee COVID-19 training or daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as part of the MIOSHA COVID-19 Retail State Emphasis Program.

Multi-Shores Development LLC

Location: Traverse City

Fine: $8,100, but only $1,000 for COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Lack of a preparedness and response plan and no face coverings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Allied Gutter Co.

Location: Romulus

Fine: $3,700

Reasons: Lack of a preparedness and response plan. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Complete Maintenance and Cabinetry Inc.

Location: Algonac

Fine: $5,360, but only $2,800 for COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain 6 feet of social distancing. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Spartan Precision Machining Inc.

Location: Wixom

Fine: $2,800

Reasons: Not developing and implementing a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, not conducting daily entry self-screen protocols, not requiring face coverings to be worn when employees cannot consistently maintain 6 feet of separation and not providing training to employees on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. This inspection was initiated in response to an employee complaint.

J&N Electric Inc.

Location: Ishpeming

Fine: $2,000, but only $400 for COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Not developing a preparedness and response plan, no documentation of daily health screenings, not providing COVID-19 training and no face coverings worn on site. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Royal Roofing

Location: Lake Orion

Fine: $8,400, but only $3,000 from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Lack of a face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain 6 feet of social distance from other employees. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Fusco Construction LLC

Location: Dundee

Fine: $4,100, but only $1,000 from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Lack of a preparedness plan, no face coverings, no hand sanitizer or washing facilities, not performing daily health screening of employees and no COVID-19 safety coordinator. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Custom Electric LLC

Location: Wixom

Fine: $2,800

Reasons: Failure to train employees on COVID-19, failure to conduct the daily health screening including a questionnaire, failure to require face coverings and failure to maintain social distancing. The inspection was initiated in response to a reinspection assignment.

Stork Construction LLC

Location: Bingham

Fine: $1,000, but only $500 from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID- 19 control strategies, lack of social distancing and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain 6 feet of social distancing. The inspection was initiated as a planned-program inspection.

ACME Wire and Iron Works

Location: Detroit

Fine: $4,400, but only $400 from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Failing to conduct the daily health screening and not ensuring face coverings were used. The inspection was initiated in response to a programmed assignment.

AMB Construction LLC

Location: Mount Clemens

Fine: $2,900, but only $2,100 from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain 6 feet of social distancing. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

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Michigan tops 100 COVID-19 workplace safety violations with latest batch - MLive.com

Dr. Nirav Shah said that when Northern Light Health staff reviewed their scheduled appointments, they found many openings

BANGOR, Maine Northern Light Health and the Maine CDC are urging eligible Mainers to fill open appointment slots for the COVID-19 vaccine at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah made the announcement Thursday during a coronavirus briefing. He said that when Northern Light Health staff reviewed their scheduled appointments, they found many openings.

The appointments are only for people eligible under the state's phased approach: currently, that includes Mainers age 70 and older, and those in Phase 1A.

Northern Light said they also have appointments at clinics in Palmyra, Presque Isle, and "a limited number" of appointments in Blue Hill.

Wednesday, Northern Light Health's senior physician executive, Dr. Jim Jarvis, announced that staff are vaccinating hundreds of people per hour, and could do 5,000 shots per day if they had enough doses.

Jarvis announced that staff at the Cross Insurance Center had opened another section of the concourse, allowing them to give more shots.

"There have been several times over the past week where we have approached that 440 patients being vaccinated in an hour, and that's what we would do to reach that 5,000 mark," Jarvis said. "It is quite common for us to be vaccinating over 200 people an hour in the facility right now as things stand, and that puts us at about that 2,000 to 3,000 per day mark. And like I said, we have reached 400 an hour. So we know we can hit that 5,000 mark if we had to."

Maine is getting 3,510 more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government in next week's shipment, Shah also announced Thursday.

On Saturday, the state is absorbing another 3,900 doses that had been sitting in a CVS warehouse that had not been assigned yet, Shah added. The state will take those unused CVS doses and re-deploy them to other sites that are able to vaccinate eligible people age 70 and older.

"This is just consistent with our overall approach to maximize the immediate use of every dose that is allocated to Maine," Shah said.

Maine DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said the federal government is doubling the supply it gives to retail pharmacies, such as Walmart and Sam's Club. Those doses are on top of what the Maine CDC gets directly from the feds, but Lambrew said they have not given Maine a specific number yet.

Read the rest here:

Northern Light Health, Maine CDC urge eligible Mainers to fill open COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor -...

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS The Routt County Board of Health decided Friday to take steps to ease restrictions, with a possible move to level yellow on the states COVID-19 2.0 dial, a decision ultimately requiring approval from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The county will decide at its next meeting Wednesday whether or not to submit a letter to the state requesting the change to level yellow.

Taking this first step on amending our local public order is rational and reasonable, Routt County Commissioner Tim Corrigan said. Being cautious is the right thing to do.

The board also implemented a revised local public health order, which requires that personal gatherings follow the states level orange restrictions, permitted for no more than two households and 10 people.

In addition, office-based businesses can move to 25%. The local public health order is in effect until the end of March.

The decision comes after Routt Countys COVID-19 cases have fallen since its spike earlier this year, with 56 positive cases in the past seven days, representing a 5.21 positivity rate.

Dr. Fritha Morrison, Routt County epidemiologist, said she is hopeful cases continue to decline but believes the county should be a bit cautious after this weeks Blues Break, when people may have traveled or gathered in large groups.

I think all of us on the team are hopeful, and I think weve gotten through our worst month of January, said Dr. Brian Harrington, Routt County Public Health chief medical officer. I think that were on a permanent downward trend of cases, but there is always a possibility that we could have another spike.

Harrington and Routt County Public Health Director Roberta Smith both said the county could be underestimating about 20 positive cases due to a decline in testing.

The majority of people who get tested have symptoms, so if our tests are going down that probably means we have fewer people with symptoms, Harrington added.

Routt County has also vaccinated 73% of residents older than 70, which Brooke Maxwell, public health nurse, said means the county can likely move into vaccinating those between 65 and 69 soon. UCHealth is already vaccinating some teachers and those in that age group.

The county is at 17% overall for vaccinated residents, which Maxwell called pretty encouraging.

Due to the storms and cold fronts in other parts of the U.S., the county didnt receive any vaccines this week and likely wont next week either. However, Harrington said the county could see an increase in doses shipped later on, which he said could even things out in the long term.

Gov. Jared Polis announced that the next priority group, which includes essential workers, will start sometime in March. Smith said the county is hoping to receive more direction from the state on how essential workers are classified, but the county is currently working with Steamboat Springs City Council to identify restaurant workers and others working in high-risk environments.

We are hopeful when there is more supply, we can operationalize some large clinics in Routt County, Smith added.

To reach Alison Berg, call 970-871-4229 or email aberg@SteamboatPilot.com.

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As local COVID-19 cases continue to decline, Routt County could ask state next week to move to less restrictive level yellow - Steamboat Pilot and...

February 17, 2021

Nearly 100,000 Multnomah County residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine. And the number of new COVID-19 cases in the County, the percent positivity, and hospitalizations are down across the board. But Public Health leaders caution its not time to let our guard down.

Officials delivered the promising news during a Tuesday, Feb. 16 briefing as the Metro area continued to thaw following a weekend ice storm which left hundreds of thousands of residents without power, stalled transportation, and caused health systems to reschedule vaccine appointments.

Despite the weather-related hiccup, public health experts say there are signs the disease is contracting. Percent positivity has dropped to 2.3 percent and hospitalizations are at the lowest level since spring 2020. Yet disparities continue to exist: the Latinx percent positivity remains at 5 percent which, while being the lowest level since May, is 2.5 times higher than non-hispanic Whites.

Our hospitalizations have continued to level off, Public Health Director Jessica Guernsey told the Board, So we consider this to be a truthful indicator that were continuing to move in a positive direction in terms of the disease overall in our community.

The diseases downward trend also allowed Multnomah County to drop from Extreme Risk to High Risk under Oregons reopening guidelines. That allows indoor restaurants to operate at 25 percent capacity, or 15 people whichever is smaller. Gyms and indoor recreation are allowed at 25 percent, or 50 people. And long-term care facilities can allow indoor as well as outdoor visitors.

Despite the improvement, Guernsey urged people to continue wearing masks and following public health guidelines to keep the pandemic under control.

Moving from Extreme Risk to High Risk does not mean that we stay in High Risk, Guernsey said. We could still move back if we see the numbers change. So were watching that very carefully and have to say that, again, weve seen really good participation from community members around prevention activities that have helped us suppress these numbers.

Citing the displacement caused by the 2020 wildfires, Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson questioned whether the disease could be spread by people needing to relocate due to storm-related power outages.

Are we concerned at all about the number of cases potentially going up because of the power outages that weve experienced? Commissioner Vega Pederson asked. I know a couple of different situations where people have had power out and have gone to friends or family in other parts of the city or county or region where they did have power.

Despite concerns, Guernsey said, health experts didnt observe a dramatic increase in cases after the wildfires. The County has consistently encouraged people who need to leave their homes to continue using the same prevention measures they have been using all along.

We didnt see a particular jump after the wildfires, so I wouldnt say Im not concerned, Guernsey said. I think people have done a great job of really integrating prevention practices into their lives, so I suspect that that will continue and we will continue to push out messaging in regards to that.

So far, 98,000 people in Multnomah County, representing 12 percent of the Countys population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. And 37,000, or five percent, are fully vaccinated.

The State distributes 80 percent of vaccines to hospital systems and the remaining 20 percent to counties. Multnomah County is using those doses to reach people that are likely to face barriers to vaccination due to language, geography, and access to transportation.

Were really working on mobile units that can go out and address some of those barriers that cant be addressed even by a small vaccination group, Guernsey said.

The state of Oregon continues to dictate which populations are prioritized including Phase 1A health workers, first responders, and residents in congregate settings, as well as educators and seniors ages 75 and over.

The Board was also briefed on a COVID-19 outbreak at the Countys largest detention facility, the Inverness Jail. Multnomah County Sheriffs Office detected its first positive case in a person in custody in December 2020. To date, 172 individuals in custody have tested positive, along with 25 staff or household members; Only one person has been hospitalized, and there have been no deaths of people in custody.

While many professions have been able to switch to teleworking during the pandemic, our employees continue their essential in-person work, Sheriff Mike Reese said. They risk their personal safety and health of their families in service to this community.

The County has prioritized vaccinating incarcerated individuals. So far, more than 240 adults in custody at Inverness have been vaccinated. The Sheriffs Office has taken additional measures to manage disease spread including more testing, enhanced screening at booking, reduced jail capacity, dedicated dorms for adults in custody who have tested positive, and five quarantine dorms.

Rapid testing has dramatically increased in 2021. In this year alone, Corrections Health has completed 900 tests, compared to 194 in 2020. If someone tests positive in a dorm then everyone else in that dorm setting is to be tested within 72 hours.

Because we have rapid tests on site, weve performed up to 120 tests in a given day, said Dr. Michael Seele, who directs Corrections Health. So were able to identify individuals in real-time and move them to a more appropriate housing setting.

The Health Department has also provided mental health resources to incarcerated individuals and their families. Despite a 30 percent decline in the Inverness population over last year, the number of mental health assessments have remained stable in that timeframe. That translates to at least a 20 to 30 percent increase in mental health assessments.

I would attribute that in large part to the pandemic and all the other challenges that weve had in the Portland area over the last year, Dr. Seele said. Were trying to provide appropriate access to the people going through this process.

Commissioner Susheela Jayapal, citing concerns for mask policies among staff and adults in custody, asked about mask wearing in jails.

Every adult in custody is given a procedural mask, and double masking is recommended for staff, Sheriff Reese said. When adults in custody leave single-cell housing, theyre expected to wear a mask. Theyre also expected to wear a mask when they leave the facility for medical appointments, for example.

The challenge for us if we were to require masking in the dormitory setting much like you saw in the shelter setting, it would be hard to enforce, Sheriff Reese said. And we dont want to get into a situation where were using disciplinary processes to make people comply with requirements in the dormitories.

At the upcoming board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 18, Auditor Jennifer McGuirk will present the first audit on the COVID-19 Pandemic Response. The presentation will include a description of the report, including highlights from an employee survey informing the audit, and 16 recommendations for moving forward.

The rest is here:

Public and Corrections Health brief board amidst sharp decline in COVID-19 cases - Multnomah County

NASHVILLE Tennessee will begin registering Tennesseans aged 65 and older and those in Phase 1b of the states COVID-19 Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 vaccinations on Feb. 22. Phase 1b includes staff members of kindergarten through 12th grade schools and child care facilities.

Tennessee has administered more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine so far, andweve made substantial progress in protecting our senior citizens who are over age 70 throughvaccination, said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP. While weremain focused on our seniors, who are the highest-risk population, were able to expandvaccine eligibility to these additional groups as our supply continues to grow each week.

Online Scheduling for COVID-19 VaccinationTDH has launched a new online scheduling tool that allows users to book their appointment forCOVID-19 vaccination at participating health department sites when they are eligible to do so.Tennesseans can access the system at covid19.tn.gov and select their county to schedule anappointment. Users will enter their demographic information and will then be able to choose adate and time for their vaccination appointment. Tennesseans who have already registered fora COVID-19 vaccination do not need to re-enter their information in the new system.

Updates to Tennessees COVID-19 Vaccination PlanTDH has updated the states COVID-19 Vaccination Plan by adding pregnant women to Phase1c. Although pregnant women were not included in the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, they areat increased risk for hospitalization and death due to COVID-19. Pregnant women may chooseto receive the COVID-19 vaccine as part of Phase 1c, along with others with high-risk healthconditions. Pregnant women are encouraged to talk with their health care providers to helpthem make informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccination. The Centers for Disease Controland Prevention has guidance for pregnant women to help reduce their risk of COVID-19 atwww.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/pregnancy-breastfeeding.html.

Phase 1b of the states COVID-19 vaccination plan includes operations personnel of firstresponder agencies along with teachers and staff members of schools and child care facilities.

Tennessees COVID-19 Vaccination Plan prioritizes those most at risk of illness and death fromCOVID-19. Tennessee will continue to move through phases of the states COVID-19 vaccinationplan as vaccine supplies increase.

Tennesseans can find information on the phases eligible for vaccination in their county and, when eligible, register for vaccination through their county health department at https://covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/county-vaccine-information/. Due to their independent operations and larger populations, Tennessees metropolitan counties may have different instructions, so residents in these areas should check with local authorities about their plans.

TDH reminds all Tennesseans that in addition to vaccination, wearing a face mask, maintaining social distance and getting tested when exposed or sick are critical to controlling the pandemic.

Tennessees COVID-19 Vaccination Plan is available online at http://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/COVID-19_Vaccination_Plan.pdf. Find answers to frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccination at https://covid19.tn.gov/data/faqs/.

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. Learn more about TDH services and programs at http://www.tn.gov/health.

Connect with TDH on Facebook, TwitterandLinkedIn @TNDeptofHealth!

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Tennessee to Begin COVID-19 Vaccination of Adults Age 65 and Older, Teachers - tn.gov

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Amazon on Tuesday over workplace safety concerns at two of the company's distribution and fulfillment centers in Queens and Staten Island. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Amazon on Tuesday over workplace safety concerns at two of the company's distribution and fulfillment centers in Queens and Staten Island.

Updated at 9:07 a.m. ET

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Amazon on Tuesday, claiming the massive e-commerce company's "flagrant disregard for health and safety requirements" during the coronavirus pandemic put the lives of workers and the general public at risk.

She accused the company of shoddy contact tracing and poor cleaning both designed to prevent the spread of the virus at two New York facilities: a Staten Island fulfillment center and a Queens distribution center. A worker at the State Island plant warehouse died of COVID-19.

The Staten Island facility employs about 5,000 workers, and the Queens distribution center employs several hundred workers most of whom were deemed essential during the pandemic, the filing says.

New York's lawsuit follows one filed by Amazon in a Brooklyn federal court trying to prevent James from filing her own. The company argues that federal labor and safety laws take precedence over New York's laws, meaning James would not have the legal authority to sue Amazon for workplace safety violations.

In response to James' suit, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement, "We care deeply about the health and safety of our employees, as demonstrated in our filing last week, and we don't believe the Attorney General's filing presents an accurate picture of Amazon's industry-leading response to the pandemic."

James began investigating Amazon in March 2020 after receiving several complaints from current and former Amazon employees.

The company "failed to follow health and safety requirements" at its massive distribution hubs in violation of New York's labor laws, James said. Under state guidelines, employers are required to provide "reasonable and adequate protection" to their employees.

Amazon received written notification of at least 250 employees at the Staten Island facility who had positive COVID-19 tests or diagnoses, of which more than 90 workers had worked in the facility within seven days of notifying Amazon.

The complaint says, "In more than 80 of these instances, Amazon failed to close any portion" of the Staten Island facility even after receiving documentation from workers of their positive coronavirus tests.

The attorney general said in her court filing, "Amazon has cut corners in complying with the particular requirements that would most jeopardize its sales volume and productivity rates, thereby ensuring outsize profits at an unprecedented rate of growth for the company and its shareholders."

The complaint notes Amazon's financial success during the pandemic with profits of $130 billion.

James also accused Amazon of illegally retaliating against employees who publicly complained about inadequate safety measures. Last March, Amazon fired worker activist Christian Smalls after he led a protest over conditions at the Staten Island warehouse. The company said Smalls had violated a mandatory quarantine order.

Amazon also issued a final written warning to employee Derrick Palmer, another worker who demanded stronger safety protections. Palmer and two other workers sued Amazon, claiming it failed to follow guidelines set by public health agencies. The lawsuit was thrown out.

This lawsuit comes as nearly 6,000 Amazon employees at a Bessemer, Ala., warehouse are voting on whether to unionize an effort spawned in part over workplace safety concerns during the pandemic. If the workers are successful, it would be the first unionized Amazon warehouse in the U.S.

Editor's note: Amazon is among NPR's recent financial supporters.

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New York Sues Amazon Over COVID-19 Workplace Safety - NPR

Pregnant women in Washington state were infected with COVID-19 at a 70% higher rate than others of similar ages, with nonwhite women shouldering a disproportionate burden, according to a study published yesterday in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Noting that population-based estimates of coronavirus infections in pregnancy are unreliable due to incomplete recording of pregnancy status or inclusion of only hospitalized patients, a team led by researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle analyzed data from 240 pregnant COVID-19 patients at 35 healthcare systems, capturing 61% of the state's annual births, from Mar 1 to Jun 30, 2020.

They estimated that women who delivered 13.9 of every 1,000 newborns had COVID-19, compared with 7.3 of 1,000 state residents aged 20 to 39 years (rate ratio [RR], 1.7). After excluding 45 coronavirus cases detected through asymptomatic screening, the infection rate in pregnant women fell to 11.3 per 1,000 cases (RR, 1.3).

Women of most nonwhite ethnicities had rates of COVID-19 infection two to four times higher than the expected racial and ethnic distribution of pregnant women in Washington in 2018, with the greatest disparities found among Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women. Likewise, the proportion of pregnant women preferring to receive care in a non-English language was 30.4%, versus the 7.6% estimated to have limited English proficiency in the state. Most women in the study (70.7%) were from minority racial and ethnic groups.

"Pregnant women were not protected from COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic with the greatest burden of infections occurring in nearly all racial/ethnic minority groups," the authors wrote. "This data coupled with a broader recognition that pregnancy is a risk factor for severe illness and maternal mortality strongly suggests that pregnant people should be broadly prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine allocation in the U.S. similar to some states."

Specifically, study co-author Kristina Adams Waldorf, MD, said in a University of Washington press release that vaccination plans vary widely by state, "and pregnant women are written out of the allocation prioritization in about half of U.S. States. Many states are not even linking their COVID-19 vaccine allocation plans with the high-risk medical conditions listed by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] which include pregnancy."

The authors said that the 70% higher rate in pregnant women cannot be entirely explained by universal screening at delivery but may be due in part to exposures from children in daycare, their role as a caregiver within an extended family, residence in larger households, or other factors.

"Higher infection rates in pregnant patients may be due to the overrepresentation of women in many professions and industries considered essential during the COVID-19 pandemic including healthcare, education, service sectors," lead author Erica Lokken, PhD, said in the release.

The researchers called for targeted public health messaging.

"Understanding the geographical, racial/ethnic and language distribution of SARS-CoV-2 infections among pregnant patients would enable targeting the public health response to pregnant women at greatest risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated adverse maternal-fetal outcomes," they concluded.

More here:

Pregnancy tied to estimated 70% higher COVID-19 rate - CIDRAP

But those promising results came from rigorous clinical trials, in which participants who met specific criteria were assigned at random to receive either the vaccine or a placebo, allowing their outcomes to be compared. All sorts of people were excluded: pregnant women, people who had previously been infected with COVID-19, and patients with certain cancers, HIV, or severe allergies.

See the rest here:

Can vaccinated people still spread COVID-19? How long does immunity last? Heres what science knows now. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

WINK NEWS

Were learning more each day about the impacts of COVID-19 variants on our pandemic progress.

Florida leads the country with 416 cases of the UK variant as of Tuesday. We know this strain is highly transmissible, so how can we fight it?

It can feel like a deadly game.

Its starting to feel like were in a game of chess with this virus. We made the vaccine your move, virus. Well, it created some new variants that can get around a vaccine, said Dr. Hana Akselrod, assistant professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

In addition to three international variants, seven new variants are in the U.S., and some of those mutations impact vaccine effectiveness.

The vaccines still show efficacy against these variants, but they are not as robust as they were against the previous strain of the virus, said Dr. Bindu Mayi, professor of microbiology at NSUs College of Medical Sciences.

Why? Because our current vaccines create antigens, which target the virus spike protein and the spike is changing.

When were talking about different variants, you might get a slightly different shape of antibody that was produced before thats no longer 100% a match for that three-dimensional binding site, Akselrod said.

But were not out of moves yet. Now, researchers are looking into T-cells to help boost our immunity.

Antibodies typically are generated against whats seen on the surface so the spike protein that the virus uses to get into the cell, for instance. T-cells are generally engineered to fight against proteins that are expressed and exposed once it gets inside our cell, Mayi said.

We will probably keep playing; were in the mid-game now. And our overall goal is to drive the population of the virus down so that theres less of it out there with fewer opportunities to mutate and create newer variants, Akselrod said.

And were playing to win.

Coronaviruses are notorious for being quick to mutate. For comparison, theyre a bit slower than influenza but faster than other familiar viruses, such as measles.

See the original post here:

Progress made in fight against COVID-19 variants WINK NEWS - Wink News

While COVID-19 continues to cause devastating disruption to the global economy more than a year into the pandemic, it is also continuing to force remarkable innovation across different industries. Companies have found new ways to sell, service, and operate during the crisis. But will opportunistic changes made during turbulent times also create opportunities for systematic growth after the pandemic passes?

Its unlikely that fashion brands will still be making protective face coverings a couple of years from now or that barbers will be giving haircuts outdoors. However, many of us may still be working remotely or choose to see our doctors via telehealth appointments rather than losing valuable time to heavy commutes and in-person visits.

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At first glance, the adaptations businesses have made in response to COVID-19 may appear to be nothing more than entirely reactive responses to an unprecedented situation. However, innovation has always been a turbulent process of venturing into the unknown, and recent research can guide businesses to better understand how changes made in the past year can help them emerge from the pandemic stronger than before.1 The first key to this understanding is recognizing that there are two fundamentally different types of innovation; the second key is understanding that each type requires different problem-solving skills to successfully overcome challenges and pursue opportunities for growth.2

Weve analyzed a broad range of organizational responses to the coronavirus crisis over the past year through the lens of the latest research on innovation. The result is a powerful framework that can help business leaders discover new innovation capabilities within their organizations and determine how best to invest resources for long-term success.

Several of the most common innovation methodologies in organizations today design thinking, lean startup, and jobs to be done, to name but a few share a common approach to problem-solving. First, you must identify the core problem or customer need to address. Then you can generate many different approaches to solving the problem and conduct various tests with users to determine the best possible solution. This approach works because it helps business leaders foster a culture of exploration while staying closely aligned with the existing mission and current objectives.

However, this process is not necessarily appropriate for all situations. For example, many businesses are operating in emerging industries such as the internet of things, personal robotics, or biohacking, where the specific customer problems are still unknown. In these situations, rather than trying to anchor on the problem and then searching for a solution, research shows that you can be more successful by anchoring on the solution (such as a new technology or patent) and then searching for a problem.3 Using this emergent innovation process allows organizations to take existing resources and explore entirely new business opportunities.4 Well-known examples include 3M and its invention of the Post-it Note; and Dyson, which has found many ways to reapply its vacuum technology to other product categories, such as hand sanitation, air purification, and hair care.

In the context of COVID-19, many businesses have reflexively adopted one or both types of innovation, resulting in new capabilities they can further refine and strategically deploy in the future. The challenge, however, is knowing which one to use and when.

We have developed a framework to help business leaders conduct this analysis. (See Company Innovation Profiles During COVID-19.) First, you can assess whether your organizations response to the pandemic represents the traditional innovation process (satisfying the same customer demand as before but with a modified approach) or the emergent innovation process (satisfying a new customer demand that emerged from the pandemic). Second, you can forecast how long these changes will last, whether temporary changes that are likely to disappear once the pandemic is over or sustained changes that will become a regular part of your organizations operations going forward.

By identifying where your organization fits in this framework, you can determine how best to leverage your experience from the past year to devise new innovation strategies that align with your future business goals.

Organizations can better understand their responses to the pandemic and assess their future innovation capabilities based on the changes in customer demand they saw and how long those changes are expected to last.

1. The Adapter. The Adapter quadrant of our matrix is reserved for businesses that saw temporary changes to demand for products and services they already produced before the pandemic. This includes scenarios like restaurants creating outdoor dining and consumer-goods company Reckitt Benckiser ramping up production of Lysol disinfectant spray to keep up with global demand. Successful companies in this quadrant have learned to deliver the same products or services but likely with fewer resources.

For example, Flour, the lauded bakery group based in Boston, has nine locations but couldnt balance demand for baked goods across its restaurants when they experienced changes in foot traffic under COVID-19 restrictions. In response, it moved all baking to a central location and allocated goods to each restaurant, enabling it to increase the quality and consistency of food provided to customers with a much smaller workforce. As a result, Flour learned how to reconfigure its resources on the fly to satisfy shifting customer demands. Although these changes are expected to be temporary, the organization gained new problem-solving skills that can be reapplied to other challenges in the future. For example, it now has the ability to quickly respond to new food trends, or it could open new stores in much smaller locations that dont have enough space for a full kitchen.

2. The Optimizer. Successful Optimizer companies also learned how to reconfigure their resources to satisfy existing customer demand, but because that demand will be sustained, they must shift their focus to increasing the efficiency by which they deliver these products and services. Consider Ikea, which had previously invested in augmented reality to help customers choose furniture without physically going to an Ikea store. During the pandemic, with foot traffic all but disappearing at times, the company decided to invest more in this new technology and added more than 2,000 products that customers could visualize from the comfort of their own homes. As retail reopens more broadly once vaccines are distributed and regulations change, Ikea can continue innovating by optimizing its augmented-reality app to complement and enhance the traditional in-store experience.

3. The Trendsetter. Trendsetter companies responded to the crisis by developing entirely new products or services that will continue to be in high demand post-pandemic. For example, like many health care providers across the U.S., Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) began a completely new effort to offer telemedicine appointments during the pandemic. Doctors and nurses were required to learn how to use this new technology, develop new skills for providing care, and implement new routines to satisfy the emergent demand.

Looking ahead, MGH can gain competitive advantage in its industry by continuing to innovate with this service offering and working to develop a gold standard for delivering virtual health care. This includes improving the user experience, reducing overhead, and satisfying its health customers by offering patients more flexibility in scheduling appointments.

4. The Trailblazer. Throughout the pandemic, weve seen many examples of Trailblazer companies those that use existing resources to solve new problems they had never tackled before. Dyson, a company famous for innovation, saw that the world needed more medical equipment during the pandemic and recognized that it could produce ventilators. Interestingly, because Dyson could work only with available resources, it confronted unusual constraints that pushed the company to develop an entirely new ventilator design one that could actually be produced at a fraction of the cost of previous designs. As COVID-19 becomes a distant memory, the need for large quantities of ventilators will diminish, and Dyson will likely withdraw from the industry.

However, the skills that Dysons workforce gained from this experience are everlasting and can be instructive for other companies that engaged in emergent innovation during the pandemic. Many businesses followed a similar process, such as alcohol distilleries producing hand sanitizer, fashion brands producing masks, and pharmaceutical companies repurposing drugs to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms. While these may seem like opportunistic adaptations based on unexpected circumstances, research shows that this type of innovation can actually be systematically used to produce highly innovative products and services on a regular basis.5

As Trailblazer companies look to the future, they may be wondering how best to use this type of innovation for optimal growth. Although emergent innovation can provide new business opportunities and yield tremendous long-term value, it also presents important challenges for organizations to overcome. Companies are often more attuned to using the traditional innovation process, which allows them to address a known problem with more strategic control and direction. The coronavirus crisis has shown that its important for organizations and leaders to become more comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity fundamental parts of the emergent innovation process.

To navigate this ambiguity successfully, companies must remember to anchor their processes on the constraints of the solution rather than the clarity of the problem. This may involve focusing on a narrow set of resources within the business, asking users how their products could be useful in new ways, and iterating through several open-ended domains until a clear and specific problem emerges near the end of the process.

The pandemic has forced companies in almost every industry to innovate in some regard. During this unprecedented moment in business history, some have discovered new business opportunities that will last long into the future, and others have developed new skills that can be reapplied to solve other problems and discover new opportunities they may not have foreseen. By orienting their organizations within our innovation framework, company leaders can better understand how they weathered the storm and leverage newfound innovation skills for long-term success.

Johnathan Cromwell is an assistant professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Strategy, and International Business at the University of San Francisco. Blade Kotelly is an innovation consultant and senior lecturer at MIT and an instructor for MIT Professional Education, where he teaches courses on innovation and design thinking.

1. A.K. Cohen and J.R. Cromwell, How to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic With More Creativity and Innovation, Population Health Management, forthcoming.

2. J.R. Cromwell, T.M. Amabile, and J.F. Harvey, An Integrated Model of Dynamic Problem Solving Within Organizational Constraints, in Individual Creativity in the Workplace, eds. R. Reiter-Palmon, V.L. Kennel, and J.C. Kaufman (New York: Academic Press, 2018): 53-81.

3. P. Andriani, A. Ali, and M. Mastrogiorgio, Measuring Exaptation and Its Impact on Innovation, Search, and Problem Solving, Organization Science 28, no. 2 (March-April 2017): 320-338.

4. S. Sonenshein, How Organizations Foster the Creative Use of Resources, Academy of Management Journal 57, no. 3 (June 2014): 814-848.

5. E. von Hippel and G. von Krogh, Crossroads Identifying Viable Need-Solution Pairs: Problem Solving Without Problem Formulation, Organization Science 27, no. 1 (January-February 2016): 207-221.

Read more:

A Framework for Innovation in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond - MIT Sloan