Tag: coronavirus

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90.4 Million Americans Have Received COVID Vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that, as of Sunday, 90,351,750 Americans have received at least one shot of coronavirus vaccine. Breaking those numbers down, 58,873,710 Americans have received one shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine (which constitutes 17.7% of the population), and 30,686,881 have received both shots (9.2%). So far, 116,363,405 doses of vaccine have been delivered to healthcare professionals to use. Herd immunity would be reached, at the earliest, with an estimated 70% of the 330,000,000 people in the U.S. vaccinated, which would be about 231,000,000 people.

(graphic via CDC)

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Brazil: President Tells His Country To Stop “Whining” About COVID

Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil (photo: Flickr/Isac Nóbrega – CC license)
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil told the people of his country they need to stop “fussing and whining” about the surging COVID-19 cases and move on. Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the severity of the pandemic even as the country is seeing record cases of coronavirus. From Reuters:

Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll over the past year, after the United States. While the U.S. outbreak is ebbing, Brazil is facing its worst phase of the epidemic yet, pushing its hospital system to the brink of collapse.

“Enough fussing and whining. How much longer will the crying go on?” Bolsonaro told a crowd at an event. “How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution.”

The Health Ministry registered 75,102 additional cases of coronavirus on Thursday, the most in a single day since July and the second-highest on record. Brazil also recorded 1,699, decreasing slightly from the previous two days of record deaths.

Reuters adds that only 3.5% of Brazil’s population has received even one shot of vaccine for the coronavirus. Read the full article here.

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Senate Will Narrow Income Limits For Stimulus Checks

No charges for staffer who shot Senate sex video

The U.S. Capitol building (via senate.gov)
Senate Democrats have agreed to narrow the income limits for those who would receive stimulus checks in order to draw in more support from moderate Senators. From the New York Times:

Like the House bill, the proposal under discussion would send $1,400 checks to people earning up to $75,000 and households earning up to $150,000, with those earning more receiving smaller payments.

But the Senate proposal would end the checks altogether for those making $80,000 or couples earning $160,000, while the House measure had a higher cap of $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for households. But Senate Democrats have agreed to the House-passed proposal to provide a $400 weekly federal unemployment payment through the end of August, rejecting a bid by some moderate senators to keep the weekly benefit at the current amount of $300 per week.

Read the full article. This morning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement saying he has confidence Democrats have the votes to pass the measure.

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Texas: Governor Lifts Face Mask Mandate, Businesses Allowed To Operate At 100%

'Welcome to Texas' sign

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has lifted his state’s face mask requirement and given the green light for businesses to operate at 100% capacity. From the New York Times:

The wide-reaching announcement in Texas came as similar rules were being lifted elsewhere: Restaurants, schools, movie theaters and bars are reopening and shedding restrictions in some of the nation’s biggest cities and most populous states, prompting more Americans to emerge after months of isolation and bringing the country closer to a semblance of life before the coronavirus pandemic.

In Chicago, tens of thousands of children returned to public school this week, while snow-covered parks and playgrounds around the city that have been shuttered since last March were opened. Mississippi ended its mask mandate, too. Restaurants in Massachusetts were allowed to operate without capacity limits, and South Carolina erased its limits on large gatherings.

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Fauci: ‘I Would Have No Hesitancy’ Taking J&J Vaccine

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci (screen capture)
During an appearance on Meet The Press today, Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked about differences between the Moderna and Pfizer coronavirus vaccines versus the newly-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The primary difference is the J&J vaccine is a single shot vaccination where the first two you have to return for a follow-up shot 3-4 weeks later. Also, the J&J vaccine can be shipped and stored at normal refrigerator temperatures compared to the other two which have to be stored frozen at ultra-cold temperatures. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines demonstrated higher efficacy rates in trials but Fauci says direct comparisons with the J&J vaccine is difficult because J&J’s was conducted as more contagious variants of the virus were circulating. According to the New York Times, the FDA approved the J&J version this weekend following presentations showing the vaccine was 85 percent protective against severe Covid-19 disease across all clinical trial sites and provided 100% protection against hospitalizations and deaths. “All three of them are really quite good, and people should take the one that’s most available to them,” Fauci told NBC News host Chuck Todd. “If you go to a place and you have J&J, and that’s the one that’s available now, I would take it.”

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FDA: Pfizer Vaccine May Be Stored In Conventional Freezers

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine The FDA has announced the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine may be safely stored in conventional freezers which could help with the distribution and handling of the vaccine.

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is allowing undiluted frozen vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to be transported and stored at conventional temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for a period of up to two weeks.

This reflects an alternative to the preferred storage of the undiluted vials in an ultra-low temperature freezer between -80ºC to -60ºC (-112ºF to -76ºF). The change is being reflected in updates to the Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers).

“Pfizer submitted data to the FDA to support this alternative temperature for transportation and storage. This alternative temperature for transportation and storage of the undiluted vials is significant and allows the vials to be transported and stored under more flexible conditions. The alternative temperature for transportation and storage will help ease the burden of procuring ultra-low cold storage equipment for vaccination sites and should help to get vaccine to more sites,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

In related news, a new study from the UK indicates a single dose of Pfizer’s vaccine cuts the number of asymptomatic infections and could significantly reduce the risk of transmission of the virus.

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News Round-Up: February 25, 2021

Some news items you might have missed: • Throwback Thursday: Thinking about days of dachshunds filling the house (above) . Not sad, just glad it happened.  • Instinct Magazine: Heavily armed police attempted to arrest a gay couple for kissing on a public beach in Tulum, Mexico, until a crowd gathered shouting down the officers’ actions. • Buzzfeed: Seventeen straight guys shared their same-sex hook-up encounters which ran the gamut from meh to hilarious. • Paramount Plus: The Real World Homecoming: New York, a multi-episode docu-series starring all seven of the original housemates from the classic MTV show, will debut on March 4. Running for 25 years on MTV before moving to Facebook Watch in 2019, the series helped launch the reality show genre. Word is the new series is being shot in that same NYC loft apartment.

• Axios: 41% of Republicans say they don’t plan to get a coronavirus vaccination if it’s available to them while 70% of Democrats and a plurality of independents (47%) say they do plan to get vaccinated. • The Hill: As the second impeachment trial failed to convict Donald Trump, two House Democrats plan to introduce legislation that would reform the Former Presidents Act of 1958 by stripping past presidents convicted of a felony of their $219,200 annual pension, office space and a budget to pay for staff. • The Advocate: Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) put up a transgender Pride flag in a show of support for her daughter. Her congressional ‘neighbor,’ the hideous Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene R-GA) then trolled her with a sign reading “There are only two genders: male and female. Trust the science.” Oddly, Facebook removed Newman’s post calling her pro-trans remarks ‘hate speech.’

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New Ad Encourages Questions About Vaccines And Where To Find Answers

A new campaign from The Ad Council encourages people to ask questions about vaccinating against the coronavirus and where to get answers

A new campaign from The Ad Council encourages people to ask questions about vaccinating against the coronavirus and where to get answers
(image via The Ad Council)
A new $500 million ad campaign via The Ad Council focuses not only questions people may have about getting vaccinated for the coronavirus, but where to find answers. The message of the campaign, which will slowly shift as different groups become eligible, underscores that having questions is good because it’s normal to be cautious when something new comes along. And – answers are available. The ads will direct folks to getvaccineanswers.org with the slug line, “It’s up to you,” not to get vaccinated but to be informed.

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Grindr Poll: How Has COVID Affected Your ‘Social’ Behaviors?

Congress is considering legislation that would require internet platforms to allow an algorithm-free version of the platform.

The popular gay dating app Grindr asked 10,000 users in the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, and India how their ‘socializing’ behaviors have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Just some of the results of the poll:

• 88% say discussing COVID safety helped them make a decision about whether or not to meet up with someone

• 69% say they’ve watched more porn

• 64% say they’ve been more likely to try new socially distant ways of meeting up

• 58% say they’re more interested in a long term relationship than they were before the pandemic

• 31% say they’ve hooked up with a mask on

• 71% say trading pictures and videos on Grindr helped them get off during the pandemic

• 59% of users say their sex drive has increased during the pandemic

• 48% say they’ve hooked up virtually during the pandemic

Head over to Grindr’s blog for more results from the survey.

Who’s been on Grindr lately? (stock image via Depositphotos)

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News Round-Up: February 22, 2021

My four-year-old Scarlett is tired of being patient about dinner time

My four-year-old Scarlett is tired of being patient about dinner time
Scarlett is done waiting for dinner time
Some news items you might have missed: • Life: Scarlett (above) is apparently tired of being impatient waiting for dinner. #HaveAGoodNightFolks • The Advocate: When MSNBC launched The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart in December, the move made Capehart the first out LGBTQ+ person to host one of the vaunted Sunday morning political talk shows. • Variety: “Mayor Pete,” directed by Jesse Moss, will take the audience inside Pete Buttigieg’s quest to be the first openly gay president in US history. The documentary (set for release later this year) will show Buttigieg at home in Indiana with his husband, Chasten, and go inside his campaign’s early days as well as Buttigieg’s historic, contested victory in the Iowa caucuses. • Revry: The streaming LGBTQ platform continues its celebration of Black History month. Check out the series Giving Me Life – A dramedy series about six Black and Latinx friends of diverse sexualities as they struggle to live and love in New York City.

• New York Daily News: People who wear glasses could be up to three times less likely to get coronavirus, according to a new study conducted in India. The preliminary study suggests that glass-wearers may have the extra protection because they tend to touch their eyes less frequently than most people. • USA Today: A new Suffolk University/USA TODAY Poll finds 46% of Trump supporters would join the Trump party if the Trumpster created one. Good, it would effectively split the Republican party. I’m down for that. • Miami Herald: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags to be flown at half-mast to honor hate monger Rush Limbaugh. However, the official flag protocol in Florida is specific about when state flags are to be lowered: certain holidays honoring veterans; if a present or former governor of Florida dies; if an active service member from Florida dies; if a prominent state official dies; or if a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty. #ThatsNotLimbaugh