Tag: COVID-19

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Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized After Testing Positive For COVID

Rudy Giuliani at Trump press conference (screen capture)
Donald Trump announced today via Twitter that his lawyer, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, has tested positive for COVID-19. From the New York Times:

Mr. Giuliani was at Georgetown University Medical Center, according to a person who was aware of his condition but not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Giuliani, at age 76, is in the high-risk category for the virus.

Mr. Giuliani has repeatedly been exposed to the virus through contact with infected people, including during Mr. Trump’s preparation for his first debate against President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in September, just before the president tested positive, as well as when he appeared with his son, Andrew, at a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters about two weeks ago.

Andrew Giuliani, who works as an aide in the White House, said on Nov. 20 that he had tested positive, days after Donald Trump Jr. did.

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News Round-Up: December 3, 2020

A moment from Todrick Hall’s “Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees”
Some news items you might have missed: • Edge Media: Will Columbia be 2021’s most popular LGBTQ travel destination? The South American country has been gaining traction as the next hot spot for queer travelers. • NewNowNext: Inspired by the legendary Black and Latino houses and vogue balls in 1980s New York City, the illuminating, fierce documentary Deep In Vogue introduces North Americans to Manchester’s “Northern Vogue” scene. The film will be available on December 8.

• The Hill: Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are offering to publicly take the COVID-19 vaccine to prove its safety and encourage Americans to be inoculated. • NowThis News:  This is the Trump campaign’s star witness before Michigan state legislators today whose unhinged voter fraud testimony broke the internet. “With friends like this, who needs enemies?”

• The Gaily Grind: Also at the Michigan hearing today, another of Rudy Giuliani’s witnesses said she thinks “all Chinese look alike” while making the argument for a voter ID requirement in Michigan. • Instinct Magazine: Sleigh what!? Todrick Hall has reworked his now-legendary track ‘Nails Hair Hips Heels’ for the holidays, serving up a brand new version titled “Bells Bows Gifts Trees” that is sure to help get us through a holiday season like we’ve never seen before.

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Fauci: Herd Immunity Possible By Summer If Majority Of Americans Vaccinated

New York state is about to drop its face mask mandate as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the Empire State.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters on Tuesday that ‘herd immunity’ to the coronavirus could be attained in the U.S. by the end of summer 2021 if a large majority of Americans are vaccinated. From The Hill:

In a Tuesday news conference with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), Fauci predicted that high-risk groups of Americans, as well as health care workers and some others, could begin to be vaccinated beginning this month, with inoculations continuing through March.

The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases director predicted that “the general population” will begin being vaccinated in April.

He later added that if the U.S. has a “good uptake” for the vaccine, the country could have the “overwhelming majority of people” vaccinated by the end of the second quarter in the U.S.  

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Beauty And The Beast Parody Scores Bigly ‘Wear A Mask’

Riffing off of the showstopping ‘Be Our Guest’ from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Noah Lindquist’s lyrics score bigly. Performed by Lindquist and Ashley Young. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast originally penned by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

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6.4 Million Doses Of Pfizer Vaccine Will Ship Mid-December

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

From the New York Times:

Around mid-December, 6.4 million doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine will be shipped out across the United States in an initial push after it receives an expected emergency authorization, officials leading Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s push to fast-track a vaccine, said on a call with reporters on Tuesday.

The first doses — which are expected to go to health care workers and potentially a few other vulnerable groups — will be allocated to all 50 states and eight territories, as well as six major metropolitan areas. The quantities will be based on how many adults live in each jurisdiction.

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Misdemeanor Charges For Trumper Breathing On Protester

The New York Daily News reports a Trump supporter, Raymond Deskins, 61, who got in the face of a protester and ‘forcefully exhaled’ without a face mask has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault after a private citizen obtained a warrant through a county magistrate. The incident occurred near the entrance to Trump National Golf Club in Virginia on Saturday. As the alleged assault wasn’t witnessed by law enforcement, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told the victim they’d have to apply for a warrant through a county magistrate. And they did. Why do Trumpers have to act like this? It’s just childish.

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Coronavirus: 193K New Cases On Friday, 82K Hospitalizations

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

The United States recorded more than 192,805 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday. More than 82,000 people were hospitalized, according to the COVID Tracking Project, topping Thursday’s record. From the New York Times:

As the nation reconsiders the usual winter holiday travel and cozy indoor gatherings, new cases are being reported at an unrelenting clip. The seven-day average has exceeded 100,000 cases a day every day for the last two weeks, according to a New York Times database.

Deaths are higher than normal in all 50 states.

The latest virus surge began accelerating across much of the country in mid-October. It took just over two weeks for the nation to go from eight million cases to nine million on Oct. 30; going from nine to 10 million took only 10 days. From 10 million to 11 million took just under seven days.

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Milestone: 250,000+ U.S. Deaths From COVID-19

(graphic via CNN)
A sad milestone today as the death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. crosses the 250,000 mark. According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. saw the highest coronavirus-related death toll on Tuesday in more than six months with 1,707 fatalities. From CNN:

The coronavirus is now killing at least one American every minute of the day, bringing the country to another horrific milestone on Wednesday: At least 250,029 people in the country have died of Covid-19 since the first death on February 29 in Washington state.

And it’s only going to get worse, said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor at George Washington University School of Medicine.

“The horrible death count that we saw yesterday in the United States … reflects the number of people who were being infected three weeks ago — two to three weeks ago, because that’s the lag,” Reiner said Wednesday.

“On average, two to three weeks ago, we were seeing 70,000 to 80,000 (new) cases per day. Yesterday, there were about 155,000 (new) cases. So if you’re alarmed at the 1,700 deaths today, two to three weeks from now, we’re going to see 3,000 deaths a day.”

And Donald Trump told his supporters just weeks ago, “We’re rounding the curve…” So. Much. Winning.

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News Round-Up: November 17, 2020

Joe Blizzard (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joe Blizzard (above) is getting through the rough Miami winter the best he can 🙂 • Kenneth-in-the-212: The venerable NYC-based gay blog turned 15 recently! Hit the link to check out Kenneth’s Top 10 posts over the years. Congratulations, Kenneth! • Broadway World: NBC is bringing the magic of Dr. Seuss’ world to life in a new musical production airing next month. Matthew Morrison (GLEE, Hairspray) will star as the title role in Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical! set to air Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT from the Troubadour Theatre in London.

• STAT News: Pfizer may be within days of filing for an emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine, having collected the safety data necessary to submit an application to the Food and Drug Administration, CEO Albert Bourla said Tuesday. • Eonline: 13 years after Isaiah Washington was fired for calling his Grey’s Anatomy co-star T.R. Knight a ‘faggot’ on set, he reignited his feud with former co-star Katherine Heigl, who stood up for Knight at the time of Washington’s hate speech. There was no apparent reason cited for Washington reinvigorating the incident. Oh, and he’s a big Trump supporter, so… • Instinct Magazine: The European Union has announced a new strategy to fight anti-LGBTQ laws and sentiments across its borders. The union specifically made this announcement as a response to discrimination skyrocketing in Poland and Hungary.  

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Dolly Parton Donated $1 Million For Moderna’s COVID Vaccine

International superstar Dolly Parton is writing a Broadway m

International superstar Dolly Parton (image via InstagramDolly P)
Amid yesterday’s big news that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 95% effective in preventing infection of the virus, folks noticed that international superstar Dolly Parton had been a part of the solution. Back in April, our Lady Parton donated $1 million to help advance the research being done by Moderna. Because, of course…

 

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