Category: Health

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CDC Hits Pause On Johnson &Johnson Vaccine

Image of a vaccine shot

Image of a vaccine shot The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hit the pause button for injections of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine after 6 women developed a rare blood clotting disease. From the New York Times:

All six were women between the ages of 18 and 48 and all developed the illness within one to three weeks of vaccination. One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition.

As of Monday, nearly seven million people in the United States have received Johnson & Johnson shots so far without any other serious adverse reactions reported, and roughly nine million more doses have been shipped out to the states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At this point, there’s no hard evidence there’s a connection between the blood clotting and the J&J vaccine. With 6 patients out of nearly 7 million vaccinated with the vaccine, experts point out the odds of getting COVID-19 are far greater. But, the development is sure to cause even more vaccine hesitancy in those who were already unsure about getting vaccinated. There are no reports that the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines – which are based on a different scientific approach – have been connected to similar blood clotting.

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Nearly 40% Of Marines Are Refusing COVID Vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine New data released Friday shows almost 40% of U.S. Marines are taking a pass on coronavirus vaccines. From CNN:

As of Thursday, approximately 75,500 Marines have received vaccines, including fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated service men and women. About 48,000 Marines have chosen not to receive vaccines, for a declination rate of 38.9%.

The military cannot make the vaccines mandatory now because they have only emergency use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, meaning service members who are required to receive a series of other vaccinations have the option of declining shots to protect against Covid-19.

Officials say most of the vaccine hesitancy stems from concerns about the speed at which the vaccines were developed and fears over long-term effects.

According to the Pentagon, there are some 2.2 million service members operating around the globe. Read the full report here. Some folks feel the hesitancy may come from military service members tending to lean right politically and conservatives have been vocal about not wanting to take the shot – even though their savior Donald Trump will tell you he created it with his own two hands.

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Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Deliveries To Drop Due To Manufacturing Issues

Image of a vaccine shot

Image of a vaccine shot There’s going to be a big dip in Johnson & Johnson vaccine deliveries due to woeful failures at the contracted manufacturing plant in Maryland. From the New York Times:

Johnson & Johnson will allocate 86 percent fewer doses across the United States next week than are currently being allocated, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dealing a setback to a national vaccination campaign that has just found its footing.

The distribution of the drug, a single-shot vaccine, has been inconsistent since Johnson & Johnson delivered its first batch at the beginning of March, sending 2.8 million doses across the country before dipping below 400,000 in the following weeks.

Last month, Johnson & Johnson was forced to jettison up to 15 million doses manufactured at the factory because the batch had been contaminated with a virus used in the production of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is also manufactured there.

The Johnson & Johnson shot has been popular for it’s easier to store “one-and-done” single dose. J & J had previously promised to deliver 24 million new doses by the end of April. Read the full article here.

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Poll: 90% Of College Students Plan On Getting Vaccinated

Vials of vaccine

Vials of vaccine
(image via Depositphotos)
Axios reports the results of an exclusive poll conducted by BeatTheVirus and Generation Lab showing nearly 90% of college students are “absolutely certain” or “probably” going to get vaccinated against the coronavirus when they are eligible. In that more than 120,000 cases of COVID-19 have been traced back to universities and colleges, getting shots in those arms represents an important demographic in bringing the pandemic under control. With eligibility opening up to all adults in the next week or so across the country, many large state schools have set-up large-scale COVID-19 vaccination sites on their campuses. The new polling indicates getting back to social activities is high on the students’ list of reasons to get vaccinated: • 30% said their top reason to get vaccinated was to resume in-person relationships • 23% said their top reason was to return to in-person events like sports, live performances or bars It’s worth noting, however, that a different survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed the willingness to get vaccinated sooner than later among 18-29 year-olds was 60 percent.

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Ontario Goes Into Lockdown As ICU Patients Hit Record COVID Numbers

The first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been discovered in California.

The Canadian province of Ontario will be under a four-week lockdown due to a record number of ICU patients with COVID-19. As health experts have warned for weeks now, the new variants of the coronavirus are proving to be much more contagious and lethal. From Bloomberg News:

The order imposes restrictions on businesses and residents across the Canadian province of 14.7 million people, beginning April 3. Restaurants won’t be allowed to serve customers except for takeout and delivery orders; indoor public events are banned, with a few exceptions. Supermarkets and pharmacies will operate at 50% capacity and other retailers at 25%.

Officials said the main variant spreading in the province — known as B.1.1.7 — is 50% more lethal, twice as likely to send patients to intensive care units and three times as likely to require ventilation.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said regarding the new variants, “This is a new pandemic. We are now fighting a new enemy,” Bloomberg reports that half of new ICU patients in the Canadian province are under 60.

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Biden Implores Governors To Reinstate Face Mask Mandates

President Joe Biden asks governors to reinstate face mask requirements before pandemic surges again

President Joe Biden asks governors to reinstate face mask requirements before pandemic surges again
President Joe Biden (screen capture)
During an event today announcing wider coronavirus vaccine eligibility, President Joe Biden called on “every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate – please.” “This is not politics,” Biden emphasized. “Reinstate the mandate if you let it down. And businesses should require masks as well. The failure to take this virus seriously — precisely what got us in this mess in the first place — risks more cases and more desks — deaths.” “We’re in the life-and-death race for the virus that is spreading quickly, with cases rising again, new variants are spreading,” added Biden. “And, sadly, some of the reckless behavior we have seen on television over the past few weeks means that more new cases are to come in the weeks ahead.”

Hours after Biden’s speech, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a White House briefing that while the nation has “much reason for hope,” she added, “but right now I’m scared.” “I am asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can, so that all of those people that we all love will still be here when this pandemic ends,” said Walensky. According to the New York Times COVID tracker, over the past week there has been an average of 63,204 cases per day, an increase of 15 percent from the average two weeks earlier. Biden also announced he’s directed his COVID team to make sure there’s a vaccine site within 5 miles of 90 percent of Americans by 3 weeks from today. In related news, the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey found that 71% of voters approve of how Biden has reacted to the pandemic, an increase of 3 points since February. Biden’s overall job approval stands at 61 percent with a relatively low disapproval at 39 percent.

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AstraZeneca Vaccine Found To Be 79% Effective Against COVID

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine UPDATE: Federal health officials said early Tuesday that results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine may have relied on “outdated information” that “may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data,” casting doubt on an announcement on Monday that had been seen as good news.

The results of a clinical trial of the two-shot coronavirus vaccine by AstraZeneca and Oxford University to be completely effective at protecting against severe cases of COVID-19. From the Washington Post:

The trials included 32,449 adult participants in all age groups, most of them in the United States. The volunteers received either two standard doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine or a placebo, at a four-week interval, the researchers said.

The scientists said the data show the vaccine is 79 percent effective against symptomatic covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 100 percent effective against severe illness.

There were five cases of severe illness in the trial, all of them in the group that received a placebo.

The independent monitoring board specifically looked for any evidence of possible blood clotting since that was raised as a possible issue in Europe. But the board found nothing in the data that suggested there was any increased risk of clotting. Read the full article here.

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Spring Breakers Swamp Miami Beach Despite Curfew

Curfew in Miami Beach didn't go so well and thousands still partied in the streets

Curfew in Miami Beach didn't go so well and thousands still partied in the streets
Hundreds still partied in the streets in spite of 8pm curfew
After a year of the coronavirus pandemic and low-to-no restrictions on safety measures in Florida, people flocked to Miami Beach for spring break overwhelming the city’s entertainment district. Noting the crowds were in the thousands, the city announced a curfew of 8 p.m. with the causeways to Miami Beach from the mainland closed to non-local traffic starting at 9 p.m. From the New York Times:

Miami Beach officials struggled to enforce a new 8 p.m. curfew on Saturday in the city’s South Beach entertainment district. Videos on social media from showed hundreds of people gathered outside after dark on Saturday and law enforcement dispersing crowds.

In trying to control crowds and taking a subject into custody, Miami Beach police said they used pepper balls. Two officers were also injured and taken to the hospital, according a departmental tweet. Police arrested at least a dozen people, according to CNN.

The city of Miami Beach, worried about the bigger than usual crowds filling the streets of South Beach and the threat of a resurgent coronavirus, declared a state of emergency and moved up its curfew on Saturday in an effort to shut down late-night spring break partying that it said had gotten out of control.

The emergency measures are in place for 72 hours but could be extended through the end of spring break on April 12. Here’s the report from the Miami Herald:

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43 Million Americans Are Fully Vaccinated For COVID

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine
Getting my 2nd Pfizer shot today
About one in six adults in the U.S. have now been fully vaccinated for the coronavirus (including me!) according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From The Hill:

The CDC’s vaccine tracker, which was updated Saturday afternoon, shows that 16.7 percent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated. More than 40 percent of adults aged 65 years and older are also fully vaccinated.

More than 121 million doses in total have been administered, and nearly 43 million adults are fully inoculated.

More than 21 million of the fully vaccinated adults received the Pfizer shot, followed by 19.8 million who received the Moderna vaccine and 2.15 million who got the Johnson & Johnson shot, which was just recently released.

To reach ‘herd immunity’ scientists tell us we need to reach between 70-85 percent. p.s. After getting on a “leftover list” here in Las Vegas, I received my second Pfizer vaccine shot today #GetVaccinated

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Diner Posts ‘Surcharge’ For Having To Explain Face Mask Rule

Legends Diner in Denton, Texas, says it will charge customers $50 if they don't wear a face mask

Legends Diner in Denton, Texas, says it will charge customers $50 if they don't wear a face mask From the Dallas Morning News:

Customers at Legends Diner in Denton are met with a new pink sign on the door when they visit the breakfast spot: “Our new surcharge,” the sign says: “$50 if I have to explain why masks are mandatory” and “$75 if I have to hear why you disagree…”

Co-owners Wayne and Kat LaCombe are asking their customers and employees to continue to wear masks even though the mask mandate lifted in Texas on March 10.

“I just can’t afford to get the virus. We’d have to shut our business down,” said Wayne LaCombe, a 41-year resident of Denton. His wife, Kat, is a retired nurse. She is now the chef and co-owner of Legends, and she makes what her husband says is “the best patty melt in town.”

Lacombe says the sign is meant to be humorous, but adds the bulk of his customers are over 60-years-old and the restaurant wants “to stay safe for them.”