Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) became the first member of Congress to die from COVID-19. He died Sunday night at the age of 67. His family and spokesperson confirmed Wright’s death Monday morning. Wright had been battling cancer. From the Dallas Morning News:
According to the statement, Wright had been keeping a vigorous work scheduled before contracting the virus. Two weeks ago Wright and his wife, Susan, were admitted to Baylor hospital in Dallas because of COVID-19 side effects.
Wright announced on Jan. 21 that he had tested positive “after coming in contact with an individual with the virus last week.” He had been in quarantine since Jan. 15 and said he would remain in quarantine until doctors cleared him to return to work.
While Wright is the first member of Congress to die from coronavirus-related causes, Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-LA) died last December while battling the virus, before he could be sworn into office. Letlow was 41 years old.
Poet Amanda Gorman at Super Bowl LV Three quick Super Bowl bites as we move on from the terribly lop-sided event into this Monday morning: • While I’m no fan, there’s no denying Tom Brady is pretty much the best quarterback in the history of the NFL. That said, why did he have to choose to make a statement about not wearing a face mask as he entered the stadium yesterday – even as everyone around him did?
He may be a great quarterback, but he could be less of a selfish jerk and put on a damn mask. Terrible role model. pic.twitter.com/nLK7hawdvT
• But I’ll close this from the luminous Amanda Gorman who helped open the Super Bowl with “Chorus of the Captains.” https://twitter.com/latimessports/status/1358564722434580481
(image via Depositphotos) While not a big surprise, it appears folks living with HIV fare worse against COVID-19 than those without HIV. The Journal of the American Medical Association published research this week showing a connection between people living with HIV and increased hospitalization and death rates among New York State residents. The study found those already living with HIV experienced poorer COVID-related outcomes relative to persons living without diagnosed HIV. A previous HIV diagnosis was associated with higher rates of severe disease requiring hospitalization, and hospitalization risk increased with progression of HIV disease stage. A total of 2988 persons living with diagnosed HIV received a diagnosis of COVID-19. Of these persons living with diagnosed HIV, 896 were hospitalized and 207 died in the hospital through June 15, 2020. After standardization, persons living with diagnosed HIV and persons living without diagnosed HIV had similar diagnosis rates, but persons living with diagnosed HIV were hospitalized more than persons living without diagnosed HIV.
Vice President Kamala Harris (screen capture) After a long night in the U.S. Senate, which ended with Vice President Kamala Harris using her tie-breaking power for the first time, lawmakers in the House have quickly followed up approving the blueprint for President Biden’s proposed coronavirus stimulus bill. From the New York Times:
The House gave final approval on Friday to a budget blueprint that included President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, advancing it over unanimous Republican opposition as Democrats pressed forward with plans to begin drafting the aid package next week and speed it through the House by the end of the month.
Senate leaders could begin working on their own bill in hopes of delivering a final package to Mr. Biden’s desk before supplemental unemployment benefits are set to expire in mid-March.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, cited poll numbers showing bipartisan support among American voters for the plan, brushing aside criticism the White House was sacrificing bipartisan solidarity for partisan celerity.
“He didn’t run on a promise to unite the Democratic and Republican Party into one party in Washington,” she said in her Friday briefing at the White House.
While the budget reconciliation approach will allow Democrats to pass the legislation without Republican votes, Biden has signaled he is open to some adjustments to the legislation including targeting direct payments of $1,400 to lower income and middle income Americans. The Senate also agreed to a proposal prohibiting an increase in the minimum wage during the pandemic. Biden’s plan hoped to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.
After an all-night session, Vice President Kamala Harris breaks a tie at 5:30 a.m., approving the Senate budget resolution by a 51-50 vote and paving the way for Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to pass without Republican votes next month.pic.twitter.com/9dGoaYZD9a
French police were called last Friday after neighbors complained about noise that seemed to come from a late night party.
Around 9 pm, the officers arrived at a warehouse in Collegien, around 20 miles from the centre of Paris. They found about 11 people hanging out in the car park.
At 11 pm, after gaining legal entry into the warehouse, police officers discovered a rave/orgy with 81 participants complete with sound and lighting equipment.
The Independentreports the participants were each fined 135 Euros ($161 US) for being in breach of the current coronavirus curfew in effect. France currently restricts outside movement from 6 pm to 6 am.
Police reports also indicated there were “problems with masks and social distancing” as well. Some party-goers were also detained for questioning.
This is just the latest example of folks growing fatigued of COVID lockdown rules as the pandemic enters its second year.
Last December, Belgian police were called to a house party near a COVID clinic where a 52-person orgy was in full swing.
Frustrated by the rollout of the coronavirus vaccines? This is a reason why it’s going so poorly. StatNews journalist Nicholas Florko reports Trump officials actively lobbied against giving states money for Covid-19 vaccine administration. Via StatNews:
Top Trump officials actively lobbied Congress to deny state governments any extra funding for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout last fall — despite frantic warnings from state officials that they didn’t have the money they needed to ramp up a massive vaccination operation.
The push, described to STAT by congressional aides in both parties and openly acknowledged by one of the Trump officials, came from multiple high-ranking Trump health officials in repeated meetings with legislators.
Without the extra money, states spent last October and November rationing the small pot of federal dollars they had been given. And when vaccines began shipping in December, states seemed woefully underprepared.
Paul Mango, the former deputy chief of staff for policy at the Department of Health and Human Services, was apparently a big part of the lobbying effort. He told StatNews that since states hadn’t spent the $200 million that the CDC sent in September, they must not need the funds. Mango told StatNews he believed the states were asking for the funding to help fill empty tax coffers. “A lot of them had shut down their economies and they weren’t getting tax revenue,” he said. There’s much more over at StatNews – quite the deep dive into the facts.
Trump officials have insisted publicly that states wouldn't need much money for the vaccine effort, but as I show here: The Trump administration wasn't just dismissing states' concerns, it was actively undermining their efforts to get more money from Congress
I was shocked when I learned this. Turns out, the official at the center of all of this, Paul Mango, wasn't bashful about his efforts. He insisted states couldn't justify why they needed more money. He accused them, on the record, of wanting the $ to make up for lost tax revenue
A FEMA healthcare worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccination (image via FEMA) President Biden ordered FEMA to jump in a help with vaccination efforts across the country, and things are already happening on the ground in several states. From NBC News:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is deploying or supporting vaccination efforts in at least 11 states after President Joe Biden ordered the government to get on a war footing in his mission to vaccinate 300 million Americans by summer’s end.
The states are Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, according to a FEMA official. Federal workers are also supporting efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the official said.
FEMA has reportedly already set up vaccination sites in four of those states – Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Washington. In a statement, FEMA said they are “determining where staff support, supplies and other resource gaps are — and then working to fill them. Items that are funded can include: • Supplies and commodities needed to safely store and administer the vaccine. • Transportation support and reasonable, necessary security for refrigerated trucks. • Medical and support staff. • Communication materials that keep the public informed. • Training personnel on vaccine distribution and administration.
This week we provided over $1 billion to help states, tribes and territories open vaccine sites to get more people vaccinated for #COVID19. These funds support our partners with resources and supplies in order to achieve this goal. Learn more: https://t.co/ABGlLWdGFqpic.twitter.com/TbNQb7vphr
President-elect Joe Biden (via campaign) President-elect Joe Biden has announced he will direct FEMA and the National Guard to build coronavirus vaccine clinics across the United States in order to make vaccinations more widely available faster. From CNBC:
The Biden administration will also “quickly jumpstart” efforts to make the vaccines available at local pharmacies across the U.S., which should ensure that Americans have access to doses at facilities only miles from their home, according to the plan.
“Here’s the deal: The more people we vaccinate, the faster we do it, the sooner we can save lives and put this pandemic behind us and get back to our lives and loved ones,” Biden said at a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, Thursday night. “We won’t get out of it overnight and we can’t do it as a separated nation.”
The rollout of the coronavirus vaccine has been much slower than anticipated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of this morning more than 31.1 million doses of vaccine had been distributed across the U.S. Of that, just over 12.2 million vaccinations have been administered. At this writing, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine reports there have been 23,478,669 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and 391,279 deaths related to the virus.
BREAKING: Biden to deploy FEMA, National Guard to set up Covid vaccine clinics across the U.S. https://t.co/I2mjs974Oo
My administration will move Heaven and Earth to: – Allow more people to get vaccinated – Create more places for them to get vaccinated – Mobilize more medical teams to get shots in arms – Increase vaccine supply and get it out the door as soon as possible
Two presidencies today Biden: “Here’s my plan for getting the Covid vaccine distributed quickly and rebuilding the economy.” Trump: “I’m conferring with a pillow salesman about imposing martial law.”
As Americans watched the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, the COVID-19 pandemic continued its own ‘invasion’ of the nation as the U.S. reported a new single-day record for deaths due to the coronavirus. From the New York Times:
Officials reported at least 3,964 new coronavirus deaths in the United States on Wednesday, a new single-day record, though delayed recording because of the holidays might have played a role. The daily death toll in New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania also set records.
Some states also reported single-day case records, while Illinois became one of five states that have now recorded their millionth case since the pandemic began.
In Arizona, which is beginning the new year with a higher rate of new cases than any other state, hospitalizations and deaths set records in the past few days. Over the past week, the state has averaged more than 8,000 cases a day, more than double the summer peak.
Read more regarding the COVID-19 pandemic at the New York Times.
While Americans watched as pro-Trump extremists stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, the coronavirus continued to sweep across the country. Officials reported at least 3,963 new Covid-19 deaths, a new single-day record. https://t.co/HMfDwcTl13
Things are getting even worse in Los Angeles in regard to the coronavirus pandemic. EMTs are being told to assess the survival chances of a patient before bringing them to a hospital where resources are growing thin. From the Washington Post:
First responders in Los Angeles County have been told not to bring patients to hospitals if their survival chances are low, as health-care workers try to dig out from a deluge of covid-19 patients.
More than 128,000 people across the United States were hospitalized with covid-19 on Monday, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. That number is a record and represents an increase of 2,800 patients in a single day.
The L.A. County Emergency Medical Services Agency issued a directive Monday that ambulance crews should conserve oxygen by administering it only to patients who have oxygen saturation levels below 90%.
To reduce demand on hospitals, the agency recently issued memos directing ambulance staff not to transfer to hospitals most patients who have virtually no chance of survival.
Ambulance workers in Los Angeles County, California, told not to transport hospital patients that have extremely low chances of survivalhttps://t.co/ngKg5wEY27
COVID LATEST: https://t.co/RFhqEzXTbb — 9 states report record hospitalizations. — Arizona has world’s highest rate of COVID-19. — Los Angeles County ambulances told not to transport patients with low chance of survival. — Browns’ head coach tests positive for COVID-19.
