Category: Covid-19

Keith M. Phaneuf :: CTMirror.org

Sen. Cathy Osten of Sprague and Rep. Toni Walker of New Haven, Democratic leaders of the Appropriations Committee.

While the rosy revenue projections have drawn a lot of attention recently, another factor savings is pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into Connecticuts coffers.

Gov. Ned Lamonts administration expects to spend about $630 million less than legislators authorized, an amount nearly matching the cost of the states entire prison system and one-third of the state budget reserve.

And while this massive savings is driven largely by federal coronavirus relief covering costs Connecticut normally pays for itself key lawmakers are questioning whether the state should be redirecting its own dollars, rather than saving them, to meet other pandemic-related needs.

We have people that dont have employment, said Rep. Toni E. Walker, D-New Haven, co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee. We have people that are food insecure. We have schools that cannot do in-person learning. We have a myriad of problems that have evolved and we have not addressed them.

About two-thirds of the extra $630 million Lamont expects to save this fiscal year involves enhanced federal reimbursements for Medicaid services. The remainder largely involves state programs or services that had to be curtailed for health and safety reasons.

Melissa McCaw, Lamonts budget director, said the administration also is using these federal resources to maintain a robust COVID-19 testing program and to ramp up vaccinations against the virus.

The administration has spent nearly all of the $1.4 billion in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds awarded to Connecticut, dividing it among nursing homes, municipalities and local school districts, nonprofit social services, small businesses and state agencies.

The anticipated [savings] are allowing our state to continue its strong record of mitigating the harms of this pandemic and prepare for what is next, she added.

But its also helping Connecticuts coffers to swell when many other states are grappling with huge deficits.

The Office of Policy and Management, Lamonts chief fiscal and policy planning agency, reported a $138 million surplus Wednesday. Its a modest figure at first glance, representing about two-thirds of 1% of the General Fund.

But its stunning for several reasons.

First, Connecticut was bracing just a few days ago for a $640 million deficit until analysts dramatically increased projections for tax receipts.

Second, the true surplus is really much larger.

Another mechanism within state finances forces the state to save tax receipts tied to capital gains and other investment earnings and the recent growth in this area has been particularly robust. Connecticut has another $355 million stored away in this piggy bank that isnt even counted as part of the $138 million surplus projection.

All told, thats almost $500 million headed for the budget reserve, commonly known as the rainy day fund, after the fiscal year ends on June 30.

And because Connecticuts reserve is already at its legal maximum at 15% of the General Fund, or nearly $3.1 billion, that means all of this years bonus is headed for the states cash-starved pension funds.

But they dont have to go there. Most of the rules mandating this savings process were enacted as part of a bipartisan compromise in late 2017 following a nine-month budget debate. The provision that mandates saving a portion of investment-related tax receipts can be modified with a 60% vote of the House and Senate.

And Walker and Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, the Appropriations Committees other co-chair, say there are other crises tied to the pandemic that havent been fully addressed.

Legislators need at least to study the pandemics impact on two key program areas: social services for the disabled and poor, and the states community college system, Osten said.

I think we should be having a discussion about these groups funding needs, she said, adding the community college system is vital for helping the states economy climb out of the current recession. Connecticut still has about 190,000 residents receiving weekly unemployment benefits.

Its very clear to me that were going to have to be rebuilding and repurposing peoples jobs [skills,] she said. We cant just ignore that.

Connecticuts public colleges and universities all face major deficits due in large part to the coronavirus, which has boosted costs while weakening revenue from tuition and room and board fees.

The Board of Regents for Higher Education, which oversees the community colleges and the regional state university system, is trying to cover a $45 million shortfall.

The University of Connecticut faced a $76 million gap when this fiscal year began in July but shrank it to $8 million with hiring freezes, pay cuts, furlough days and cost-saving measures and $20 million in federal coronavirus relief aid funneled its way via the state.

Both the regents and the UConn trustees also have warned legislators of major deficit projections for their systems for the next two fiscal years.

Walker added many local school districts still need help dealing with many challenges posed by the pandemic.

She and Osten also want to increase assistance to the small, nonprofit agencies that deliver the bulk of state-sponsored social services.

Nonprofit leaders say their industry has lost millions of dollars since the pandemic began, due not only to increased safety and cleaning costs but also lost revenues from programs that were scaled back or shut down entirely for health and safety reasons.

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CT budget leaders want to use massive savings to expand COVID-19 relief - The CT Mirror

One year ago, the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the U.S. marking the beginning of a public health crisis that turned Americans' lives upside down.

SEATTLE Its been one year since the first U.S. case of coronavirus was identified in Washington state.

On Jan. 21, 2020, health officials reported that a Snohomish County man in his 30s contracted the virus after returning to the U.S. from Wuhan, China. The man traveled through Sea-Tac Airport on Jan. 15, 2020 and later developed symptoms. He was hospitalized at Providence Medical Center in Everett before being released.

The case prompted health officials to screen travelers for the virus and track down people who the man may have been in contact with.

At the time, health officials said there was a low risk to the public and said there wasnt any reason for people to change their behavior. Gov. Jay Inslee said it was not a moment of high anxiety.

It would be another month until Washingtons second coronavirus case and the U.S.s first COVID-19 death were confirmed, but officials later said they believed the virus was already circulating before the Snohomish County case was identified.

At the end of February, a COVID-19 case was identified in a teen in Mill Creek the second in Washington state and one day later the first U.S. coronavirus death was reported, also in Washington state.

A man in his 50s who was living at the Life Care Center in Kirkland died Feb. 26, 2020, two days after he was admitted to the hospital.

The virus quickly spread through the long-term care facility, becoming the epicenter of COVID-19 cases at the beginning of the pandemic. There were eventually 101 confirmed cases among residents and 55 confirmed cases among staff, reports King County Public Health.

By March, health officials had sounded the alarm on the virus. Inslee ordered public schools to close and a ban on large gatherings before issuing a stay-at-home order.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 294,017 total cases of COVID-19 in Washington state and 3,940 deaths, according to data from the Washington State Department of Health, as of Jan. 18, 2021.

Link:

First confirmed US COVID-19 case was identified 1 year ago in Washington state - KREM.com

6:55 PM ET

Greg WyshynskiESPN

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin and three teammates were placed on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol-related absences list on Wednesday, as the league fined the team $100,000 for a violation of health and safety protocols.

Ovechkin, center Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov were all added to the daily list of players who are "unavailable to play or practice, in accordance with the league's COVID protocols."

This doesn't mean they've all tested positive for COVID-19, as players can end up on the list for reasons ranging from a positive test to "required quarantine as a high-risk close contact."

The NHL fined the Capitals for "social interactions among team members who were in close contact and who were not wearing face coverings."

The players were in violation of NHL safety protocols for grouping together in a hotel room.

"Our training staff has worked extremely hard to create a safe environment for our players and staff to be able to compete this season," the Capitals said in a statement. "We are disappointed by our players' choice to interact in their hotel room and outside of team approved areas. We accept the NHL's decision and once again will reiterate the COVID-19 protocols in place to make sure the players are in full compliance moving forward."

NHL protocols state that each member of a team's traveling party "will be required to stay in a single occupancy room, and no individual shall permit guests or other personnel in their room," other than hotel staff.

"I regret my choice to spend time together with my teammates in our hotel room and away from the locker room areas," Ovechkin said in a statement. "I will learn from this experience."

Teams were put on notice before the season that failure to adhere to the NHL's COVID-19 protocols would result in penalties.

"Established violations of, and/or lack of compliance with, the COVID-19 protocol will result in significant club and individual sanctions, including potential forfeiture of games, fines and reimbursements of expenses, loss of draft choices, and/or ineligibility for participation in training activities," the league said in its official COVID-19 protocols handbook.

It's unclear how long the players will be away from the team because their testing status and other classification under the protocols is unknown.

Concerns about compliance are reported to the team's "facility compliance officer" or directly to the NHL. Players also can contact their NHLPA divisional player representatives if they have concerns regarding compliance.

The Capitals (2-0-2) are in first place in the East Division, with Ovechkin tied for the team lead with five points. At 707 career goals, Ovechkin is one goal away from tying former Capital Mike Gartner for seventh all time in the league.

Kuznetsov is the team's No. 2 center, and Orlov is second on the team in average ice time (20:49). Samsonov was tabbed as the team's No. 1 goaltender entering the season.

Rookie Vitek Vanecek, second-year player Pheonix Copley and 39-year-old veteran Craig Anderson are the other goalies on the Capitals' roster.

Washington lost in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. The Capitals' next scheduled game is Friday at home against the Buffalo Sabres.

More here:

Alex Ovechkin, 3 others on COVID-19 absence list as NHL fines Washington Capitals $100K for violations of protocols - ESPN

While we will urgently execute the strategy, we do need Congress to act and act quickly. Congress must provide the necessary funding in the COVID relief package, the American Rescue Plan, that the president will soon be sending them, Jeffrey Zients, Bidens COVID-19 response coordinator, told reporters Wednesday.

Link:

Coronavirus: Biden signs 10 executive orders related to Covid-19 - KIRO Seattle

On 4 June 2020, The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine each retracted a study on COVID-19 patients.

In June 2020, in the biggest research scandal of the pandemic so far, two of the most important medical journals each retracted a high-profile study of COVID-19 patients. Thousands of news articles, tweets, and scholarly commentaries highlighted the scandal, yet many researchers apparently failed to notice. In an examination of the most recent 200 academic articles published in 2020 that cite those papers, Science found that more than halfincluding many in leading journalsused the disgraced papers to support scientific findings and failed to note the retractions.

52.5%

Share of recent articles citing two retracted COVID-19 papers that did not mention their status.

COVID-19 is such a hot topic that publishers are willing to publish without proper vetting, even in the face of retractions that made global headlines, says Elizabeth Suelzer, a reference librarian at the Medical College of Wisconsin who has written about problematic citations to a retracted 1998 study in The Lancet falsely linking vaccination to autism.

Both of the retracted COVID-19 papers, one in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the other in The Lancet, were based on what appeared to be a huge database of patient records compiled from hospitals worldwide by Surgisphere, a small company operated by vascular surgeon Sapan Desai, who was a co-author on each article. The 22 May 2020 Lancet paper ostensibly showed that hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug promoted by former President Donald Trump and others, could harm rather than help COVID-19 patients. Its publication led to a temporary halt in a major clinical trial and inflamed an already-divisive debate over the drug, which has proved to be useless against COVID-19. The 1 May NEJM article corroborated other evidence that people already taking certain blood pressure medicines did not face a greater risk of death if they developed COVID-19.

Questions soon arose about the validity, and even existence, of the Surgisphere database, however, and the retractions followed on 4 June (Science, 12 June 2020, p. 1167). But of the 200 papers examined by Scienceall published after the retractions105 inappropriately cited one of the disgraced studies. In several cases it was a primary source for a meta-analysis combining multiple studies to draw overarching conclusions. In most, the studies were cited as scientific support or context. Science also found a handful of articles that uncritically cited an influential April preprint based on the same Surgisphere data set, which described the antiparasitic drug ivermectin as beneficial in critical COVID-19 cases. (There is no standard way to retract preprints, however.)

Ivan Oransky, co-founder of the website Retraction Watch, says such blunders occur because people are either willfully or negligently not checking references. Many authors copy and paste lists of apparently relevant citations from similar papers without actually reading them, he says. It's frightening. It's terrible, but common.

Many of the tainted citations appeared in papers published by little-known journals, but at least a dozen found their way into major publications. For example, three articles in PLOS ONE, the prominent open-access journal, cited the retracted papers in discussions of pandemic conditions in Europe. A 28 December paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)one of the most influential journalsdiscussed the risks and benefits of drugs to treat COVID-19, including the Lancet's hydroxychloroquine findings. It called them controversial and only noted the paper was retracted in its citation, without citing the retraction notice directly.

Editors at those two publications said they would correct the references and take steps to prevent such problems in the future. Renee Hoch, a PLOS ONE editor and publication ethics manager, wrote in an email that the publication relies on authors and its outside, volunteer editors to check citations, and she was caught by surprise when contacted by Science. We are currently following up on this issue with high priority in light of the implications for public health and ongoing COVID-19 research, she wrote.

Hoch added that reliance on retracted work, either directly or in the form of supporting references, can be harmful. [W]here the retracted work has clinical implications, this can result in direct risks to patients.

In a written response to questions about the citation of the Lancet paper, May Berenbaum, editor-in-chief of PNAS, said, The authors really should have either removed the citation, added more text about why they included it, or cited the retraction notice itself. Given that no editor or reviewer caught the problem, she said, I plan to discuss with the staff incorporating such screening into manuscript processing. A co-author of the paper, biostatistician Clelia Di Serio of Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, later said the reference to the Lancet paper would be expunged.

Some journal editors noted extenuating factors. In Stroke, a leading medical journal, a December article about ischemic stroke in COVID-19 patients referenced the NEJM paper without mentioning the retraction. Stroke Editor-in-Chief Ralph Sacco wrote in an email that the retraction occurred after the article was initially received. However, a revision of the article was resubmitted months after the event, according to the paper itself. Sacco said he would issue no correction because the retraction is not material to the findings.

A 16 December paper on SARS-CoV-2 genetics in Nature Communications, another high-profile journal, also cited the NEJM article without reference to the retraction. Elisa De Ranieri, the journal's editor-in-chief, told Science her journal does not routinely check for retractions or other postpublication updates. A lead author of the paper, biomathematician Maik Pietzner at the University of Cambridge, said that although the paper was submitted after the retractions occurred, it was written beforehand, and the current pandemic requires immediate response. However, the paper was published 4 months after its submission.

Suelzer says inappropriate citations of retracted articles are hard to excuse. Retraction Watch publishes a free retraction database that has been integrated into a number of automated services to check citations, including scite.ai, Zotero, and RedacTek. The failure to use such tools is a disservice to the readers and researchers, Suelzer says. They are pretty low bars.

Yet Oransky estimates that in biomedicine, up to 90% of citations to retracted papers don't mention their fall from grace. Half the time [as seen with the Surgisphere papers] is an improvement. That's what's shocking about it.

Link:

Disgraced COVID-19 studies are still routinely cited - Science

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) is highlighting a revolutionary new device to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth.

Ramshield, Inc., an Exton-based healthcare product provider, is receiving praise on Thursday by utilizing locally sourced materials to produce its AVF Shield and Cartridge System Kit. The kit uses a replaceable cartridge shield and a patented electroceutical microcell technology to create an electrical charge that renders viruses inactive.

According to Ramshield, Inc.s website, a cartridge can last up to 10-12 hours before needing to be recharged by rewetting. Each cartridge lasts 30 days.

The kit, which retails for $39.99, includes mask, cartridge, filter, filter cover, 3 strap styles; single, double, and earloop along with a carry/storage case.

Ramshield says the shields are designed to provide a comfortable seal and are intended for hours of use. The shield can be used up to one year and easily washed with soap and water or in a dishwasher daily.

Link:

Revolutionary new device combats the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth - ABC27

The researchers behind the study say 20C-US has been spreading rapidly through the US since June, and predict it could soon become the dominant variant of Covid-19 in the US.

Recently, scientists at the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg, Canada, also identified two emerging variants that have been spreading around the world and are associated with "high fatality rates" compared to the earlier virus. One features a mutation called V1176F in the spike protein, which occurs alongside another mutation called D614G.

The first letter in these mutation names indicates the amino acid that has been replaced, the number is its location on the protein, and the final letter is the new amino acid that has appeared at that site. The D614G mutation alone appeared relatively early on in the pandemic in Europe and caused a dramatic increase in how much virus was shed by patients it infected, helping it to spread more quickly. The addition of the V1176F mutation may alter this behaviour further, the Canadian researchers say, and it has appeared in several countries independently, suggesting it gives the virus an advantage.

The other variant they identified appeared rapidly in Australia and carries a S477N mutation, which seems to have increased the virus's ability to bind to human cells.

The researchers warn that these two new mutations "may pose significant public health concerns in the future" if they continue to spread and provide the virus with an advantage. They add that Covid-19 appears to be "evolving non-randomly and human hosts shape emergent variants with positive fitness that can easily spread into the population".

These signs of adaptation by the virus are not entirely surprising to scientists. In most viruses and disease-causing bacteria, the use of treatments and vaccines causes them to evolve ways of escaping them so they can continue to spread. Those that develop resistance to a treatment or can hide from the immune system will survive for longer to replicate and so spread their genetic material.

"I do not see a reason that this evolutionary selective process would differ in a pandemic such as Sars-CoV-2 [the Covid-19 virus], compared to a geographically contained epidemic," says Carolyn Williamson, head of the division of virology at the University of Cape Town and one of the researchers who identified a rapidly spreading South African variant in December. "One could speculate that the virus being exposed to different selective pressures in different regions of the world, together with rapid spread, may see these more favourable properties emerge more quickly, but we really dont know."

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What new Covid-19 variants mean for our fight with the virus - BBC News

WASHINGTONPresident Bidens success in achieving some of his biggest policy objectivescurbing climate change, expanding health coverage and overhauling immigration lawswill depend in large part on his success in combating the coronavirus pandemic, which he sought to jump-start Thursday with a national road map and a series of executive orders.

Health experts both inside and outside the new administration agree that while accelerating vaccinations will help restore normalcy and spur momentum for Mr. Bidens broader political agenda, the opposite is also true: Failing to slow the spread of Covid-19 could also overshadow his presidency.

On Thursday, Mr. Biden sought to manage expectations. Were in a dark winter of this pandemic, he said, warning that the situation will get worse before it gets better. Its going to take many months to get where we need to be.

Mr. Biden said he expected the U.S. death toll to top 500,000 next month. Still, he promised, help is on the way.

Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard University, said that dealing with Covid and the economic recovery is the thing that will make the presidency in the next two years and into the 2022 election. He added, If it doesnt get better, people are going to hold the administration accountable.

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Biden Moves to Jump-Start Covid Fight With Slew of Orders - The Wall Street Journal

Crossroad Holdings will donate the facility to MaineHealth so it can be transformed into a clinic providing vaccinations.

SCARBOROUGH, Maine The owners of the former Scarborough Downs harness racing track are donating use of the facility's grandstand to MaineHealth so it can be converted into a high-volume COVID-19 vaccination site.

MaineHealth announced the new site Thursday afternoon. It will be open to eligible Maine residents, Dr. Dora Mills of MaineHealth says.

"The goal is shots in arms as quickly as possible," said Dr. Mills. "I walked in and said, 'this is the perfect set up.'"

Crossroad Holdings, the Scarborough-based company that is redeveloping 500-plus acres at Scarborough Downs, has diverted its construction crews to retrofit the grandstand within a two-week period.

The 30,000 square-foot clinic will have more than 100 MaineHealth employees and volunteers on-hand and will be able to vaccinate at least 1,000 people per day.

It is expected to be operational for six months, and longer if needed said Peter Michaud, managing partner of Crossroad Holdings, which owns the former racetrack.

"We saw an opportunity to help," said Michaud. "Anything we can do to help stand the great state of Maine back up on it's feet, we want to do that within our power."

A 40-member construction team managed by Scarboroughs Maine Properties and Risbara Brothers Construction will work 7-days a week in order to complete the clinic by the end of January. The construction teams will build clinical workspaces, improve access to high-speed broadband and build out refrigeration rooms needed to house the vaccines. The State of Maine will assist with on-site security.

It will reduce pressure on other parts of the system," said Dr. Nirav Shah, Maine CDC Director. "It's like there being a bunch of different lines at the grocery store. When they see congestion happening, they open up more cashiers."

Finding a space that is centrally located and able to accommodate all the needs of a high-volume clinic is vital to our efforts to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, Bill Caron, CEO of MaineHealth said in a news release. This generous donation from Crossroad Holdings is big step forward in getting this pandemic under control and saving lives here in Maine.

Town leaders in Scarborough have been extraordinarily supportive of the project. They have worked quickly to secure all needed permits for the grandstands new, temporary use. The Town Council will hold an emergency meeting to approve and finalize plans on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

The issue now is getting more doses of vaccine.

"As soon as we have more vaccine, we're going to have the infrastructure such as Scarborough Downs to be able to get a lot of people in there," said Mills.

Link:

Scarborough Downs to be converted to high-volume COVID-19 vaccination site - NewsCenterMaine.com WCSH-WLBZ

The clinic is currently open by invitation only to Phase 1a community members.

PORTLAND, Ore. A drive-thru mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic opened at Portland International Airport (PDX) on Thursday.

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), the Red Cross and the Port of Portland partnered to launch the clinic, which will be located in the red economy parking lot of PDX.

An OHSU spokesperson said vaccinations will currently be administered by invitation only for Phase 1a community members as vaccines are available.

"As part of our commitment to increase access to difficult to reach groups, we are starting with SEIU 503 [union members] and independent home health care workers, and individuals with disabilities and their caregivers. We plan to expand access, under the states direction and as vaccine supply allows," said OHSU spokesperson Tamara Hargens-Bradley.

OHSU is overseeing eligibility determination, registration, staff coordination and vaccine administration at the PDX clinic. The Port of Portland will coordinate on-site logistics and is providing the site at no cost to OHSU. The Red Cross will provide volunteer support.

This is the latest large-scale vaccination clinic to open in the state.

OHSU, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Legacy Health and Providence Health & Services are operating a mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Oregon Convention Center. Kaiser launched the effort Wednesday and will be joined by the other health care systems on Monday.

Salem Health and the Oregon National Guard have been conducting a vaccination clinic at the State Fairgrounds.

The clinics at the Oregon Convention Center and the State Fairgrounds are supposed to be for people in Oregon's Phase 1a group, though dozens of people outside the 1a category have reached out to KGW or posted on social media that they've been able to get the vaccine in Salem, too.

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Drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic opens at PDX - KGW.com