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.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says "we'll have the votes" to pass COVID relief bill in the Senate this week https://t.co/Na5yOErxM9
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.
This virus has killed more than 40,000 Texans. @GregAbbott_TX's response? Ignore health professionals, attack mask rules, & endanger lives to score political points.
Locally, we must continue wearing masks & caring for our sick, despite the cowardice of our governor.
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.”
EARLIER: With the approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Dr. Fauci tells @chucktodd that we now have three “really good vaccines.” #MTP#IfItsSunday
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.
A single dose of Pfizer and BioNtech’s COVID-19 vaccine cuts the number of asymptomatic infections and could significantly reduce the risk of transmission of the virus, results of a UK study found https://t.co/EimflYm3Xx
(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.
French InstaHunk Yeti (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Just because I like looking at nice things…Hump Day moment via French hunk Yeti (above). Follow him here. • Instinct Magazine: A new documentary, Trans in Trumpland, shines new light on how the Trump administration affected the lives of transgender people. • Washington Blade: D.C.’s FOX 5 News anchor Blake McCoy, who’s gay, has been suspended from his job following a since-deleted tweet saying he is “annoyed obese people of all ages get priority vaccine access before all essential workers” like himself. He later apologized saying he regretted his words and asked “that you accept my sincere apology.” • CNBC: The Food and Drug Administration’s staff endorsed Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, a critical step in bringing a third shot to the U.S. marketplace. The vaccine’s level of protection varied by region demonstrating 66% effectiveness overall, 72% in the United States, 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa. • NPR: The cost of repairing damages from the attack on the U.S. Capitol and related security expenses have already topped $30 million and will keep rising, Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton told lawmakers on Wednesday. • CNN: The Manhattan district attorney’s office has subpoenaed financial records related to Steve Bannon’s crowd-funding border-wall effort, signaling that its criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s chief strategist is advancing. Bannon’s presidential pardon only shields him from federal, not state, crimes.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has subpoenaed financial records related to Steve Bannon’s crowd-funding border-wall effort, signaling that its criminal investigation into Trump’s former chief strategist is advancing. https://t.co/u8NYswQHq9
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)
(image via Depositphotos) Some good news 🙂 Crunching the data in Israel (which has vaccinated more people per capita than any other country), it looks like the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doesn’t just prevent you from getting sick but also prevents you from passing the virus on to others. Via Bloomberg:
The vaccine, which was rolled out in a national immunization program that began Dec. 20, was 89.4% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed infections, according to a copy of a draft publication that was posted on Twitter and confirmed by a person familiar with the work.
The companies and Israel’s Health Ministry worked together on the preliminary observational analysis, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.Nearly half of the population has had at least one dose of vaccine. Separately, Israeli authorities on Saturday said the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was 99% effective at preventing deaths from the virus.
Ryan Shea (all photos via Facebook) This took……time……to process. On Friday, my friend and Instinct Magazine colleague Ryan Shea, 34, lost his battle with COVID-19. It’s been a very emotional two weeks since Ryan told us all he’d been diagnosed. After a difficult three days at home, he was hospitalized and in two days he was intubated. Just nine days later, it was over. Thankfully, Ryan was sedated for most of the harrowing journey. While Ryan’s passing is very raw and painful to acknowledge, I do want to share a few things. Over the past year, I’ve covered a lot of the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve reported on the naysayers, the ‘it’s just another flu’ crew, and the ‘Karens’ who refuse to believe the danger of this horrible virus. I’ve had close friends contract COVID-19 and tell me how it ‘kicked their ass’ as they were laid up at home in bed for 2-3 weeks. I’ve seen several versions of the disease’s many iterations. At this writing, the U.S. has seen 497,577 deaths from the coronavirus. Ryan is now among those. And his battle with coronavirus was ugly. In addition to being on a ventilator for the majority of his time in the hospital, there was kidney failure, lung damage, brain damage, low low blood pressure and more. This is how nearly 500,000 Americans died from COVID. It wasn’t ‘like the flu.’ Fuck that nonsense. Ryan on the red carpet before the 2019 GLSEN Awards I will miss Ryan more than I can express here. For almost three years, I’ve worked with Ryan on a nearly-daily basis. He was brash, sassy, and passionate about his work. My last exchange with him was after he shared with the Instinct staff he’d tested positive. I immediately began texting him about multi-vitamins and any supplements that might help him. I’d read a study that a majority of COVID patients had a Vitamin D deficiency, so I told him to run get some. He stopped me texting back, “Can we pick this up later? I’m transcribing my interview with Bianca Del Rio (heart emoji).” Ryan loved Chipotle burritos My first week working for Instinct I quickly learned Ryan loved Chipotle burritos, loved all kinds of gay men, and worked hard to love himself in a world that doesn’t encourage us to do that very often. Ryan was also curious, tempestuous, opinionated, and often usually unfiltered. He was filled with the drive of someone who enjoyed what he did. And along the way, his work, his byline, his name was read by literally millions of people. He had an unerring eye for what popped in pop culture. He thrived as an entertainment journalist, and he LOVED interviewing folks on the red carpet. Ryan Shea interviewing Meryl Streep on the red carpetRyan Shea interviews Vanessa Williams on the red carpet There’s a lot more to Ryan, and a lot more Ryan the world won’t get to experience. He was a loving son, brother, uncle and friend. In a testament to his journey here, a GoFundMe campaign organized to help his family with end of life expenses exceeded its goal in less than 10 hours. But in his short time on the planet, his impact was felt. And seen. And heard. And read. Ryan didn’t hold back. He stepped up, stepped out, and contributed more than a name. Fly high Ryan Shea.
Freshman Congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) stepped in it a bit after tweeting about a news report indicating the Vatican may fire employees who don’t get vaccinated for the coronavirus. The 25-year-old wrote, “This doesn’t sound legal… One shouldn’t be forced against their will to be vaccinated. The vaccination is there for those who want it, and are in need of it due to medical vulnerabilities.”
This doesn’t sound legal…
One shouldn’t be forced against their will to be vaccinated.
The vaccination is there for those who want it, and are in need of it due to medical vulnerabilities. https://t.co/fCUXBOhef5
Folks were quick to note the irony that the conservative lawmaker defends the concept of “religious liberty” wherein churches make their own rules about how to go about business. As one commenter wrote, “This will age well when he demands religious organizations be allowed to fire people for who they have sex with.” Plus, the Vatican being a sovereign state, it fall outside of Cawthorn’s North Carolina congressional district.
Sir, you are aware the Vatican is a sovereign city state, governed by an absolute monarch? It's not governed by American law, let alone wingnut cosplay law.
So let me get this straight: Religious entities have the absolute right to prohibit employment based on sexuality, gender identity, marriage-status, and pro-choice views. But they absolutely have no right to require that staff partake in the life-saving end to a global pandemic.
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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 
