Category: Covid-19

A doctor receives Chicago's first COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday. In a new poll released the same day, respondents appeared to show less reluctance to receiving a coronavirus vaccine. Jose M. Osorio-Pool/Getty Images hide caption

A doctor receives Chicago's first COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday. In a new poll released the same day, respondents appeared to show less reluctance to receiving a coronavirus vaccine.

Now that federal regulators have authorized one COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the U.S. and appear close to authorizing another it seems Americans are growing less reluctant about receiving an inoculation themselves. The Kaiser Family Foundation, or KFF, released a poll Tuesday showing a significant leap in the number of people saying they definitely or probably would get vaccinated.

About 71% of respondents to the late November and early December survey said they would get a vaccine, up from 63% in an August/September poll. KFF says the increase was evident across all racial and ethnic groups surveyed, as well as both Democrats and Republicans.

Of course, since the previous poll, there have been important advances in the development of a vaccine for COVID-19, which has cost more than 300,000 lives in the U.S.

Earlier this week, health care professionals began administering the first doses of a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, just days after the vaccine obtained its emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. And on Tuesday, the agency's glowing analysis of a vaccine developed by Moderna suggested that another vaccine is on track for authorization.

The KFF poll results offer hopeful news for epidemiologists and federal officials, who, along with developing and distributing the Pfizer vaccine for widespread immunizations, have faced another yet another daunting task: simply persuading Americans to trust it and get it themselves.

"The FDA's review process means that all Americans can trust and be confident in vaccines not just COVID-19 vaccines, but all vaccines reviewed by the FDA and available in the United States," Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, asserted in a news briefing Saturday.

Just over a quarter of respondents in the KFF poll continued to express skepticism, saying that they either probably or definitely would not get a vaccine, even if it is available for free and determined by scientists to be safe. Among those who expressed this reluctance, most said that they were worried about possible side effects, or that they just do not trust the government.

This hesitancy is highest among Republicans, in particular, at 42% though even among members of the GOP, such skepticism appears to be eroding in recent months. The percentage of Republicans saying that they will probably or definitely get a COVID-19 vaccine leapt 9 points since the August/September poll, and now stands at 56%. That number is considerably higher 86% among Democrats.

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Poll: Americans Are Growing Less Reluctant To Take COVID-19 Vaccine - NPR

White flags planted by volunteers visualize lives lost in the U.S. to COVID-19 as part of an installation by artist Suzanne Firstenberg in Washington, D.C. The death toll has now reached 300,000. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

White flags planted by volunteers visualize lives lost in the U.S. to COVID-19 as part of an installation by artist Suzanne Firstenberg in Washington, D.C. The death toll has now reached 300,000.

More than 300,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.

It is the latest sign of a generational tragedy one still unfolding in every corner of the country that leaves in its wake an expanse of grief that cannot be captured in a string of statistics.

"The numbers do not reflect that these were people," says Brian Walter, whose 80-year-old father, John, died from COVID-19. "Everyone lost was a father or a mother, they had kids, they had family, they left people behind."

There is no analogue in recent U.S history to the scale of death brought on by the coronavirus, which now runs unchecked in countless towns, cities and states.

It's equivalent to Sept. 11 happening nearly 100 times. One person now dies every 36 seconds from COVID-19.

"We're seeing some of the most deadly days in American history," says Dr. Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

During the last two weeks, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in the U.S., outpacing even heart disease and cancer.

Family members mourn the death of Conrad Coleman Jr. at his burial on July 3 in Rye, N.Y. Coleman, 39, died of COVID-19 on June 20, just over two months after his father, Conrad Coleman Sr., also died of the disease. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

Family members mourn the death of Conrad Coleman Jr. at his burial on July 3 in Rye, N.Y. Coleman, 39, died of COVID-19 on June 20, just over two months after his father, Conrad Coleman Sr., also died of the disease.

"That should be absolutely stunning," Spencer says. "At what point do we wake up and say, this can't be normalized?"

And yet the most deadly days of the pandemic are still to come.

By the end of January, the U.S. is expected to have lost more people to COVID-19 than service members in World War II, according to projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

Even with a rapid rollout of vaccines, the U.S. may reach a total of more than half a million deaths by the spring, says Ali Mokdad of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Some of those deaths could still be averted. If everyone simply began wearing face masks, more than 50,000 lives could be saved, the institute's model shows. And social distancing could make a difference, too.

No other country has come close to the calamitous death toll in the United States. And the disease has amplified entrenched inequalities. Black and Hispanic/Latinos are nearly three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than whites.

"I'm really amazed at how we have this sense of apathy," says Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe, a professor of medicine and population health at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He says there's evidence that socioeconomic factors, not underlying health problems, explain the disproportionate share of deaths.

The disease, he says, reveals "the chronic neglect of Black and brown communities" in this country.

Nurse Michele Younkin (left) comforts Romelia Navarro as she sits at the bedside of her dying husband, Antonio Navarro, in St. Jude Medical Center's COVID-19 unit in Fullerton, Calif., in July. Antonio Navarro was Younkin's first COVID-19 patient to pass on her watch. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption

Nurse Michele Younkin (left) comforts Romelia Navarro as she sits at the bedside of her dying husband, Antonio Navarro, in St. Jude Medical Center's COVID-19 unit in Fullerton, Calif., in July. Antonio Navarro was Younkin's first COVID-19 patient to pass on her watch.

Though the numbers are numbing, for bereaved families and for front-line workers who care for people to their dying moment, every life is precious.

Here are reflections from people who've witnessed this loss how they are processing the grief and what they wish the rest of America understood:

"There are things that we can do to still make a difference"

Darrell Owens, a doctor of nursing practice in Seattle, was startled to learn recently he had signed more death certificates for COVID-19 than anyone else in Washington state.

Owens runs the palliative care program at the University of Washington Medical Center-Northwest, where he's treated COVID-19 patients since early spring.

"I'm feeling much more anger and frustration than I did before because much of what we're dealing with now was preventable," Owens says.

"We're all in this great big storm, but some people are in a yacht and some people are on a cruise ship and some people are on a raft," he adds. "We're not all in this together."

Owens still finds moments of grace and meaning as he cares for the dying.

"The other day, there was a lady I was taking care of who'd come from a local nursing home, and it was very clear that she was nearing the end; her breathing patterns had changed," Owens says. "I just picked up her hand. I sat there. I held her hand for about 25 minutes until she took her last breath."

He stepped out and called the patient's daughter.

"It made such a difference for her that her mom was not alone," he says. "What an incredible gift that she gave me and that I was able to give her daughter. So there are things that we can do to still make a difference."

''It's not a hoax, and you will not understand how horrible this is until it enters your family"

Since his father died of COVID-19 in the spring, Brian Walter of New York City has helped run a support group on Facebook for people who've lost family and friends to COVID-19.

It's helped him grieve his father, John, whom he described as a loving man dedicated to his autistic grandson and to running a youth program for teenagers.

"It's been lifesaving in a lot of ways," Walter says. "Together, we face a lot of issues since we are grieving in isolation. But at the same time, we're also dealing with people that openly tell us that this is not a real condition, that this is not a real issue."

Some in their group admit that they denied the severity of the virus and shunned precautions until it was too late.

"It's not a joke, it's not a hoax, and you will not understand how horrible this is until it enters your family and takes away someone," he says.

All of this complicates the grief, but it has also led Walter and others in his group to speak out and share their stories, so that numbers don't obscure the actual people who were leading full lives before dying from COVID-19.

"I know what it's like to have to say goodbye to somebody over a Zoom call and to not have a funeral," Walter says. "You look at these things and say: 'There are hundreds of thousands of people that are going to be experiencing this before it's over.' "

"300,000 stories that got shut down too quickly"

Martha Phillips, an emergency room nurse who took assignments in New York and Texas in the spring and summer, says there is one patient who has become almost a stand-in for the grief of the many whose deaths she has witnessed.

It was the last COVID-19 patient she cared for in Houston.

"I reached down to just adjust her oxygen tubing just a little bit," Phillips recalls. "And she looks up at me and she sees me through my goggles and my mask and my shield and meets my eyes and she goes, 'Do you think I'm going to get better?' "

Medical staff member Susan Paradela places her hand on a patient last week in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston. Go Nakamura/Getty Images hide caption

Medical staff member Susan Paradela places her hand on a patient last week in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston.

"What do you say to someone who's not ready to die? Who has so much to live for, but got this and now they're trapped?"

Phillips remembered her name. Two months later, she discovered the woman's obituary online.

"That one was the hardest," she says. "But there's 300,000 people who had time left that was stolen from them, 300,000 stories that got shut down too quickly."

"Often what is most healing is ... to not be alone with it"

Katherine Evering-Rowe, a therapist in Philadelphia, helps run the COVID Grief Network, which provides free counseling for people in their 20s and 30s who've lost someone to the disease.

"We're hearing that it just feels like there aren't so many people in their lives that really get what losses to COVID are like for them," she says. "These are so often preventable losses."

People have a range of feelings when they're grieving, but Evering-Rowe says there is more anger and isolation with COVID-19.

IV pumps and electrocardiogram machines are seen in a patient's room last week in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston. Go Nakamura/Getty Images hide caption

IV pumps and electrocardiogram machines are seen in a patient's room last week in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston.

"Often what is most healing is ... to not be alone with it, being able to talk to other people, being able to congregate, to feel supported," she says. "And one of the big tragedies of COVID is that's not something available to people in the same way."

Many young adults are enduring the loss of a parent in some cases it's both parents or an entire household, she says.

These deaths have come when they still expected to have ample time left with their parents. And she says typically there are not spaces in American society for younger adults to process this kind of loss together let alone hundreds of thousands of them all at once.

"I think people are grieving one life at a time, and that's a lot of grief," she says.

"This is worse than being in war"

ER doctor Cleavon Gilman, a veteran of the Iraq War, says it's still hard to communicate the brutality of a disease that kills people in the privacy of a hospital wing, not on the streets.

"I get up, have a cup of coffee, tell my family goodbye and go into the hospital, where there are tens of patients who are critically ill, gasping for breath and getting intubated and dying," he says.

When Gilman was in New York City during the spring surge, he never imagined the U.S. would be losing thousands of people each day to COVID-19 so many months later.

"That 300,000 Americans would be dead and life would go on and people would not have empathy for their fellow Americans," he says. "I can tell you this is worse than being in war."

Dozens of volunteers helped geotag and collect flags in a recent art installation in Washington. Some flags were personalized with inscriptions by family members or friends of those who died. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Dozens of volunteers helped geotag and collect flags in a recent art installation in Washington. Some flags were personalized with inscriptions by family members or friends of those who died.

The enemy is invisible, he says, the war zone is everywhere, and many refuse to take the most simple actions to combat the virus, even as morgues fill up in their own community.

"I call this a crime against humanity, because that's exactly what this is."

Throughout the pandemic, Gilman has shared photos and stories of people who've died from COVID-19 each day on social media. He wishes someone in every city or town of America would do the same.

"All the people that you're not going to see a big article about and you're not going to hear about them anywhere else," he says. "It's really important to honor them."

''Nobody wants to hear sad stories like these"

Nurse Jessica Scarlett saw more death in three months of caring for COVID-19 patients in McAllen, Texas, than she did in her previous 15 years as a nurse.

"It was just extremely difficult to see so much death," she says. "We'd see families praying in front of the hospital, praying for us and for their family on our way into work."

It was unlike any nursing she'd ever done before. Almost the entire hospital was on oxygen. Nurses would sit at the foot of the bed because there wasn't any other space.

She became intimately familiar with the progression of the disease, with patients needing more and more help breathing until eventually being placed on life support.

"And there's nothing you could do," she says. "There was one guy, he would always say, 'Please sit with me I'm really scared.' And the day before I left, he was intubated."

After that, Scarlett says she needed a break from such a "tremendous amount of death."

She's still trying to grasp all the tragedy, seeing daughters and mothers ending up in the hospital after a family reunion.

What happened inside that hospital felt like its own separate reality. She hasn't talked about her time there with almost anyone else, except other nurses.

"Nobody wants to hear sad stories like these, people don't want to," she says.

This story comes from NPR's reporting partnership with KHN (Kaiser Health News).

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With 300,000 COVID-19 Deaths And Counting, The US Faces Unfathomable Loss : Shots - Health News - NPR

In the year before COVID-19 swept the country, a smaller share of Americans changed residence than in any year since 1947, when the Census Bureau first started collecting annual migration statistics. This migration decline occurred during an upswing in the economy, when young adult millennials were beginning to get back on their feet after the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. While no comparable migration statistics are available for the 10 months since the pandemic occurred, there now appears to be a new mix of migration patterns across different parts of the country, as evidenced by real estate, moving, and survey data suggesting selective migration upticks and downticks due to both safety and economic concerns.

Still, newly released pre-pandemic census statistics show a continuation of the decades-long migration decline, bringing the percentage of Americans who changed residence to a post-World War II low of 9.3%. This one-year ratebetween March 2019 and March 2020occurred on the heels of a year when the nations total population growth fell to a 100-year low, with a continued downturn in the nations foreign-born population gains. Thus, even before the pandemic, the nation was in the throes of stagnating demographic dynamics.

The new migration statistics draw from the Census Bureaus Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which has tracked American relocations since 1947. They allow for analyses of different kinds of domestic moves over that 73-year period, chronicling a continued stagnation of American mobility. Especially noteworthy are the migration declines for the nations young adult population, now mostly occupied by millennials.

U.S. migration trends show a fairly consistent decline since the late 1940s to 1960s, when approximately one-fifth of Americans changed residence annually. This was a period of economic growth and robust housing consumption, with a younger population than today. Afterwards began a gradual but sustained downturn in migration due to a variety of demographic and economic forces, including the rise of dual-earner households (making them less footloose), an aging population, and more homogenous labor markets emerging across the country. By the late 1990s, only about 15% to 16% of the population moved each year, dropping to 13% to 14% in the early 2000s.

Migration dropped even furtherto the 11% to 12% rangeafter the Great Recession, no doubt reflecting the immediate impact of housing and labor market crashes. Since 2012, it has continued dropping to this years new low of 9.3%.

It is important to note that while both local moves (those within counties) and longer-distance moves (those across counties) have declined since the immediate postwar decades, their downturn has become more sustained since the recession and post-recession period. As shown in Figure 2a, local mobility hovered in the 8% to 9% range between 2005 and 2010. Since then, local mobility has plummeted to 5.4%. Because local moves comprise three-fifths of all moves, their consistent downward trend drove the overall pattern.

Since 2007 (the first year of the Great Recession), cross-county movement has hovered between 3.5% to 3.7%, as shown in Figure 2b. Prior to this, cross-county mobility levels were 4% or higherincluding rates in the 5% to 6% range in the 1990s.

To better understand the downward trends in local and cross-county moves, it is useful to understand the different motivations for each. According to recent census surveys, more than half of local movers cite housing-related reasons such as the desire for new, better, or more affordable housing. Another quarter cite family reasons, including establishing a new household or a change in marital status.

A plurality of longer-distance movers, on the other hand, cite labor market reasons such as starting or relocating to a new job for their migration. Changes in the nations housing market and labor market both during and subsequent to the economically turbulent late 2000 to 2010 decade could have been responsible for migration declines for most of the 2010 to 2020 decade.

While the migration slowdown occurred among most segments of the population, it is important to focus on young adults ages 18 to 34. This is historically the most mobile class of Americans, and can numerically drive the overall migration trend. But over the past decade, the millennial generationa large portion of this grouphas borne the brunt of housing and job crises that have deeply affected their mobility.

Figure 3 shows the rates of mobility by age in 2005 to 2006 and 2019 to 2020. It makes plain that young adults (the group with highest mobility rates in both years) showed the largest decline in those rates. For example, among young people ages 20 to 24, only 19% made a move between March 2019 and March 2020, down from 29% in 2005 to 2006. As the figure indicates, this downturn in mobility also affected the movement of children under age 18, who are largely the offspring of these young adults.

When focusing on annual changes in migration rates for 25- to 34-year-olds over this span, distinct patterns emerge for both local and cross-county migration (see Figures 4a and 4b). These patterns are broadly consistent with overall U.S. trends, and suggest that young adults are the driving force for them. Local migration for this age group dropped from a pre-2010 rate of 14% to 15% to a low of 10% in the year before the pandemic. Likewise, cross-county migration after 2006 hovers between 6% to 7%, down from rates of 8% or higher before.

Millennials moving into this age group were saddled with stuck-in-place issues associated with higher housing costs and underemployment, leading them to postpone key life events such as marriage, childbearing, and homeownership. And even though renters tend to move more frequently than owners, the rental market has become increasingly unaffordable. The new census data shows that annual migration rates of renter households have declined precipitously over time (from 30.2% in 2005 to 2006 to 17.7% in 2019 to 2020). On the other hand, cross-county migration trends for young adultswhile not reaching pre-2006 levelshave fluctuated over the past decade.

A demographic stagnation has characterized the nation over the course of the 2010 to 2020 decade, alongside a downturn in within-U.S. migration right up to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clearly some aspects of stagnation (lower immigration, more deaths, and lower birth rates) are likely to continue as the country struggles to cope with health and economic challenges. But what about internal migration? There is evidence of some immediate COVID-19-induced migration of residents fleeing some large cities, and othersincluding young adultsare seeking a safe haven by living with other family members. And after an initial dampening of housing markets, some parts of the country have experienced a market uptick.

But it is yet to be determined how permanent any of these pandemic-related migration patterns turn out to be. In the long run, after the widespread adoption of a vaccine and a more normal housing market prevails, migraton rates could continue to shift downward, as they have fairly consistently done over the past few decades. For example, increased telecommuting may reduce employment-related migration.

Much of this is now unknown. What is known is that internal migration in the last decadeand especially in the year before the pandemicreached historic lows, particularly among young adults. These millennials and Gen Z youths are now in their peak migration ages, but the pandemic has hit them hard. Their future mobilityand that of upcoming generationswill tell us whether or not the countrys recent immobility will continue. If so, it would reinforce Americas demographic stagnation in ways that could further reduce dynamism in the nations housing and labor markets.

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Just before COVID-19, American migration hit a 73-year low - Brookings Institution

The West VirginiaDepartment of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of December 14, 2020, there have been 1,321,330 total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 64,394 total cases and 978deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 66-year old male from GrantCounty, a 79-year old male from Raleigh County, a 90-year old male fromJefferson County, a 67-year old male from Preston County, a 71-year old malefrom Berkeley County, a 95-year old female from Berkeley County, a 76-year oldfemale from Berkeley County, a 74-year old female from Berkeley County, an 86-yearold female from Berkeley County, and a 78-year old female from Kanawha County.

As we mourn the West Virginia lives lost tothis devastating virus, we must not lose sight of our power to preventadditional deaths by following public health safety measures of wearing masks, washinghands, staying home when sick, and social distancing, said Bill J. Crouch,DHHR Cabinet Secretary.

CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour (562), Berkeley (4,537),Boone (813), Braxton (172), Brooke (1,005), Cabell (3,962), Calhoun (106), Clay(193), Doddridge (173), Fayette (1,377), Gilmer (257), Grant (596), Greenbrier(924), Hampshire (631), Hancock (1,292), Hardy (524), Harrison (2,012), Jackson(910), Jefferson (1,836), Kanawha (7,099), Lewis (343), Lincoln (546), Logan(1,222), Marion (1,262), Marshall (1,660), Mason (798), McDowell (745), Mercer(1,834), Mineral (1,825), Mingo (1,132), Monongalia (4,171), Monroe (482),Morgan (468), Nicholas (503), Ohio (2,011), Pendleton (182), Pleasants (209),Pocahontas (295), Preston (1,081), Putnam (2,477), Raleigh (2,073), Randolph(905), Ritchie (256), Roane (237), Summers (327), Taylor (490), Tucker (241),Tyler (229), Upshur (639), Wayne (1,336), Webster (110), Wetzel (523), Wirt(159), Wood (3,678), Wyoming (964).

Please note that delaysmay be experienced with the reporting of information from the local healthdepartment to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local healthdepartment level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may notbe a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in questionmay have crossed the state border to be tested.

Please visit the dashboard located at http://www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.

Free COVID-19 testing daily events scheduled fortoday, Monday, December 14, 2020:

HarrisonCounty

9:00 AM 12:00 PM, Harrison-ClarksburgHealth Department, 330 West Main Street, Clarksburg, WV (by appointment; 304-623-9308 andpre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)

Kanawha County

LoganCounty

Marshall County

Mason County

Mineral County

10:00 AM 6:00 PM, Keyser Health School, 1 Tornado Way, Keyser, WV 26726

OhioCounty

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Valley Grove Volunteer Fire Department, 355Fire House Lane, Valley Grove, WV (pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Warwood Fire Station #9, 1301 Richland Avenue,Wheeling, WV (pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Wheeling Island Fire Station #5, 11 NorthWabash Street, Wheeling, WV (pre-registration: https://wv.getmycovidresult.com/)

Taylor County

Wayne County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Wayne County Health Department, 217 Kenova Avenue,Wayne, WV

Additional testing will beheld on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 in Boone, Clay, Hardy, Jackson, Mercer, Mineral,Ohio, Putnam, Taylor, and Wayne counties.

There are many ways to obtain free COVID-19 testing in WestVirginia. Please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 12-14-2020 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

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State data showed all three deaths involved Anchorage residents.

In total, 178 Alaskans and one nonresident with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic began here in March. Alaskas overall death rate per capita is among the lowest in the country, but officials say its difficult to compare Alaska to other states because of its vast geography and vulnerable health care system.

By Tuesday, there were 133 people with COVID-19 hospitalized statewide and another seven people in hospitals who were suspected to have the virus. In total, 14.6% of people hospitalized in Alaska had COVID-19.

Throughout the state there were 38 staffed adult intensive care unit beds left open. In Anchorage, where the states sickest patients often end up, only three of 72 intensive care unit beds were available.

While stretched hospital staffing has remained a significant concern, Anchorage Health Department director Heather Harris said in a recent media briefing that hospitals do have the capacity to shift their staffing around if they run out of ICU beds.

New virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been on the rise statewide for weeks, but Tuesdays daily case count was the lowest Alaska has seen since Oct. 23, when 239 cases were recorded. The new low came two weeks after Anchorage entered a month-long, modified version of a hunker-down aimed at bringing case counts down and protecting hospital capacity.

Meanwhile, thousands of the first doses of a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech have arrived in Alaska. The doses will be distributed first to hospital-based front-line health care workers followed by staff and residents of long-term care facilities beginning this week. Next up will be EMS and fire personnel providing medical services, community health aides and practitioners and people required to perform vaccinations.

It is unclear exactly when the general public will have access to a vaccine, but likely late spring or summer, health officials have said.

Of the 277 new cases reported in Alaska residents Tuesday, there were 125 in Anchorage, plus four in Chugiak and two in Eagle River; two in Homer; four in Kenai; one in Nikiski; one in Seward; one in Soldotna; one in Sterling; 24 in Kodiak; 17 in Fairbanks, plus nine in North Pole; two in Delta Junction; one in Tok; two in Big Lake; eight in Palmer; 24 in Wasilla; 10 in Utqiagvik; one in Douglas; nine in Juneau; one in Ketchikan; five in Sitka; one in Skagway; two in Bethel; one in Dillingham; and one in Hooper Bay.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 people not named to protect privacy, there were two in the the Cordova Census Area; one in the Fairbanks North Star Borough; one in the Nome Census Area; two in the North Slope Borough; two in the Bethel Census Area; one in Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula area; and nine in the Kusilvak Census Area.

Of the seven new cases reported in nonresidents, there were five in Anchorage and two in an unidentified region of the state.

While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.

It is not clear how many of the people who tested positive were showing symptoms. The CDC estimates about a third of people with coronavirus infections are asymptomatic.

The statewide test positivity rate was 6.14% over the last week, after reaching a peak of over 9% in mid-November. Health officials said that a positivity rate above 5% can indicate widespread community transmission.

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Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 3 deaths and 284 new cases reported on Tuesday - Anchorage Daily News

As new COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continue to climb rapidly, the county health department has dialed up enforcement of the 15th health directive, which contains stronger language around masking, imposes a 10 p.m. cap on hours of operation, and limits building capacities.

On Tuesday, Shelby County Health Department Director Alisa Haushalter confirmed six businesses were closed over the weekend for violating portions of the health directive.

Carolina Watershed in Downtown Memphis;Chardonnay Bistro on Hacks Cross;El Corral on Macon Road;Agavos on Walnut Grove;Legacy Bar & Grill on U.S. Hwy 70;and Smoker's Abbey on North Germantown Parkway were all closed over the weekend, the health department confirmed.

It's unclear how long the businesses will stay closed, but recent closures of restaurantsand venueslike In Love Memphis that repeatedly violated the health directive lasted for two weeks.

The health department would not elaborate on specific violations, but a department spokesperson said the closures occurred after repeated, documented violations.

The businesses can petition the health department to reopen, but must first submit a plan for coming into compliance with the health directive.

Of the thousands of inspections carried out since the start of the pandemic, Haushalter saidmost businesses in Shelby County are doing everything they can to stay in compliance with the health directive, but"there are always a few businesses that are not compliant."

Weathersbee: In Love showed COVID-19 is killing holiday galas. Better that than killing us.

Corrective measures from the health department in response to directive violations can vary. Sometimes, it's a matter of the health department providing education and technical assistance so the business can be brought into compliance.

Other times, Haushalter said, businesses have to close.

When asked if tighter business restrictions could be underway, Haushalter said the health department has begun drafting a new health directive, but for now, the focus of the new directive will be clarifying language considered vague or confusing by business owners, particularly around events.

On Tuesday, neither Haushalter nor Randolph indicated tighter restrictions were imminent, as new case counts continue to surge in part from Thanksgiving gatherings.

Instead, the public health officials reiterated a message they haveattempted to hammer home consistently in the course of the pandemic individual responsibility.

"Truthfully fellow citizens, it's up to you as an individual to determine what steps you will take to ensure that you are safe, that you are healthy, and that you do not become infected with the virus," Randolph said.

As of Tuesday, the seven-day average for new cases in Shelby County rose to 670 per day. Hospitals, now strained from a surge in patients with COVID-19, collectively have 3% of intensive care rooms and 9% of acute care rooms left.

Read or Share this story: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2020/12/15/six-shelby-county-businesses-closed-covid-19-violations/3905049001/

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Carolina Watershed and five other businesses closed for COVID-19 violations - Commercial Appeal

Keith and Melanie Hubbard, who portray Santa and Mrs. Claus in Oklahoma greet their grandchildren in 2019. Rachel Hubbard/KOSU hide caption

Keith and Melanie Hubbard, who portray Santa and Mrs. Claus in Oklahoma greet their grandchildren in 2019.

The decisions for the people who work as Santa and Mrs. Claus this year are difficult. This high-risk group is trying to navigate keeping the Christmas spirit alive while staying safe amid the pandemic. It's not easy.

For many families, the tradition of the Christmas photo with Santa is an important tradition that is missing this year, but in my family that sense of loss is pervasive because we celebrate the holiday season year-round.

My parents, Keith and Melanie Hubbard, portray Santa and Mrs. Claus. This year, they are experiencing the emotions many of us are. They are tired, sad and a little disoriented because the Christmas season isn't normal.

Over the past decade, the whole Kris Kringle thing has become part of their identity. They use peppermint-scented soap, have stockings hung on the windowsill and wear red year-round.

Because my dad, 62, looks like Santa, it's difficult to go anywhere with him without kids running up to him at the grocery store or while he's pumping gas, which makes it difficult to maintain social distance.

"What do you say to a child that runs up and hugs you? 'Oh no, get away?' No, you hug them back." That's what my mom, 60, said in a recent conversation about how they're dealing with the dilemma.

Santa and Mrs. Claus show presents to children at the 2019 Autism Canadian Valley Christmas party in Yukon, Okla. Rachel Hubbard/KOSU hide caption

Santa and Mrs. Claus show presents to children at the 2019 Autism Canadian Valley Christmas party in Yukon, Okla.

There have been a lot of difficult conversations with my parents this year. My two siblings and I want to protect them. We know they are at increased risk for COVID-19 because the prerequisites for the Santa job are to be grandfatherly and overweight.

Stephen Arnold is president and CEO of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas (IBRBS). He says at least three of the organization's 2,200 members have already died from the coronavirus. (One in Florida and two in Texas.)

"That has created consternation amongst ourselves. Whether we cancel the season altogether, whether we ignore the warnings or whether we find a compromise," Arnold said.

Many people who work as Santa depend on what they make as the income they use to pay for basic necessities including rent and food. According to Arnold, there is no typical or average rate for Santa salaries.

"Huge range," he said. "We have many Santas that either take no money but rather perform all charitable work or they accept donations for a favorite charity. Then we have Santas in key markets that do advertising, both print and video, that make well over $100, 000 [per year]. Hourly rates vary widely by market too, with small rural areas supporting low rates of $35-$50/hour and larger markets where $250-$400/hour are not uncommon."

Arnold said there may be variations in the type of work, length of appearance, personal Vs. business, and date and time.

"Typically, the last three days before Christmas and the three weekends before are at elevated rates and then there is Christmas Eve where rates are 2X to 4X higher and substantial tips are not uncommon," Arnold said.

'We are all in a high-risk category'

According to an informal survey IBRBS did of its membership, about one quarter has decided to proceed with Christmas appearances without masks or social distance. Another quarter has canceled their seasons altogether, and the rest have landed somewhere in the middle.

While Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier this year that the real Santa isn't susceptible to COVID-19, the people who portray him are.

"I don't have to tell you that we are all in a high risk category and I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you need to take precautions so that you don't become ill. This is not something to play around with," Arnold told members in a recent newsletter.

He, however, said this disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a lot of innovation including virtual visits, giant plastic snow globes and other events like a recent drive-through event my parents did where they handed donuts to kids by using giant sticks. All of this is designed to keep the people who play Santa and Mrs. Claus socially distanced and safe.

My dad is not a mall Santa. He and my mom live in Cordell, a small town about 100 miles west of Oklahoma City. Working in rural Oklahoma, my parents spend their time visiting with people at community events, in nursing homes and at schools. Most years on Christmas Eve, dad is visiting people in their homes. People just expect to see him around town.

"They've always seen Santa, and he's always been around when they need him, and he can just come by their house," my dad said. "It's just not the same this year."

A resident of the Cordell Christian Home in Cordell, Okla., kisses Mrs. Claus at the annual holiday party in 2017. Rachel Hubbard/KOSU hide caption

A resident of the Cordell Christian Home in Cordell, Okla., kisses Mrs. Claus at the annual holiday party in 2017.

'That's not what Santa is'

He and my mom tried to establish ground rules to stay safe from COVID-19. We even talked about it as a family. They said children would not be allowed to sit on their laps, they wouldn't hug people or shake hands. With these rules, they agreed to do a few events. When they arrived, however, they found the rules were nearly impossible to enforce.

"When you're taking pictures, people want to put their arms around you and that kind of stuff. It's been very difficult because you have to be standoffish, and that's not what Santa is," he said.

All of it is disappointing. My mom said they feel depressed that they can't be out in the community.

They also feel like they're letting people down. Kids often bring my dad a letter or cup their hand to his ear and whisper things they wouldn't tell anyone else.

"You'll have one child, and they'll be waiting there patiently and quietly and when they get on your lap and you say, 'What do you want this year?' Some of them will say, 'I sure would like something to eat.' It just breaks your heart," my dad said.

Because these kids will tell Santa about their deepest needs, my parents say they are part of an informal trauma response network. In a normal year, they would be able to talk to the teacher or minister nearby to get the child the help they need.

The social distancing required to prevent the spread of COVID-19 means this part of the response network is broken, but my dad and many other people who work as Santa are still trying to meet kids where they are.

In a recent digital event, children were able to ask Santa questions. While there were questions about what kind of cookies Santa likes (sugar cookies with lots of sprinkles) and whether Rudolph always leads the sleigh (yes, his nose lights the way), kids also expressed anxiety about what was happening.

My dad told them this: "I know some of you are having to do school at home, and your parents might not be working right now. I just want to let you know that Christmas is going to be OK. Everyone is going to make it; we're going to make it through this."

While it may be a new normal, my parents are hopeful for next year. They are already booking in-person events for the 2021 holiday season.

Read more from the original source:

COVID-19 And Christmas: How The Pandemic Is Affecting Santa Clauses - NPR

Employees of Cape Cod Healthcare have officially become the first people on Cape Cod to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

At 3:30 PM on Tuesday, December 15, 20 employees at Falmouth Hospital and 30 at Cape Cod Hospital received their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Cape Cod Healthcare president and chief executive officer Michael K. Lauf said the hospitals have received a total of 2,925 first doses of the vaccine.

Mr. Lauf said he hopes all the doses they have will be given by Christmas to healthcare workers who work closely with COVID-19 patients, for a total of about 400 people vaccinated daily.

This will only be the first dose of the vaccine. A second dose will have to be received in about a month for it to be effective.

The Pfizer vaccine needs to be kept at below-freezing temperatures. Mr. Lauf said each hospital has a freezer onsite to store the vaccine appropriately.

Workers at Falmouth Hospital prepare to administer the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations. The first people to be vaccinated are healthcare workers who work closely with COVID-19 patients.

The vaccination timeline in Massachusetts runs in three phases, starting with healthcare workers.

The first phase will also include employees at long-term care and assisted living facilities, police and fire personnel, people in congregate care facilities and home-based healthcare workers. This phase will run until about February.

The second phase is slated to run from February through April and includes people with two or more underlying conditions, early childhood educators, transit workers, grocery workers, utility workers, food and agriculture workers, sanitation workers, people who work in public works and public health, adults over the age of 65, and then people with one underlying condition.

The last phase includes the general population and is currently expected to start in April.

Continue reading here:

Healthcare Workers Receive First COVID-19 Vaccinations On Cape Cod - CapeNews.net

(WSIL) -- Here's the latest breakdown of COVID-19 impacts according to local health departments.

Egyptian Health Department: 52 new positives

Franklin-Williamson Bi-Bounty Health Department: 2 new deaths, 87 new positives

Deaths: One female in her 70s and one female in her 90s. They both resided in Franklin County.

Hamilton County Health Department: 8 new positives

Jackson County Health Department: 1 new death, 25 new positives

Death is a male in his 90s

Jefferson County Health Department: 68 new positives

Note: This includes data that could not be reported on Monday due to technical issues

Perry County, IL Health Department: 6 new deaths, 32 new positives

Deaths: 1 male in his 70s, 2 females in their 80s, 2 females in their 90s and 1 male in his 90s.

Southern 7 Health Department: 2 new deaths, 64 new positives

Deaths: One female in her 50s and a male in his 60s in Massac County

Read more from the original source:

Nearly a dozen new COVID-19 deaths reported in southern Illinois - WSIL TV

Vaccines are proven to reduce deaths and help end pandemics, but the historic speed that the coronavirus vaccines have been developed has made some people hesitant to get them. In this video from ABC News, scientists and researchers discuss how opinions of vaccines have changed over time and what it will take for Americans to feel comfortable getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Excerpt from:

Why Are Some People Hesitant To Trust A COVID-19 Vaccine? - FiveThirtyEight