Feb 18 COVID-19 has already cut U.S. life expectancy by a year. For Black Americans, it's worse By Laura Santhanam Communities of color have suffered disproportionately throughout the pandemic, and these latest federal data further illustrate the magnitude of those disparities. Continue reading
Feb 17 WATCH: U.S. federal agents seize over 10 million fake N95 masks By Associated Press Officials say the most recent seizures occurred Wednesday when Homeland Security agents intercepted hundreds of thousands of counterfeit 3M masks in an East Coast warehouse that were set to be distributed. Continue reading
Feb 17 How economists see Biden's $15 wage proposal By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press The fate of Biden's minimum wage proposal remains hazy. Facing resistance in Congress, the president has acknowledged that he will likely have to omit the measure from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 financial relief package he is proposing and re-introduce it… Continue reading
Feb 17 How fears driven by years of anti-immigrant rhetoric are complicating vaccine rollout By Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News The confluence of aggressive attitudes and a highly contagious virus has prompted concerns in some states that lackluster vaccination of people in the country without legal permission will short-circuit efforts to achieve herd immunity for the broader community. Continue reading
Feb 17 COVID-19 bill would scale up ability to spot virus mutations By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press Scientists would gain vastly expanded capabilities to identify potentially deadlier mutations of the coronavirus under legislation advancing in Congress. Continue reading
Feb 17 Israel allows vaccines into Gaza Strip after delaying delivery By Fares Akram, Joseph Krauss, Associated Press Israel has allowed the Palestinian Authority to deliver the first shipment of vaccines to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Continue reading
Feb 17 How will we know we've reached herd immunity for COVID-19? By Candice Choi, Aniruddha Ghosal, Associated Press Health officials around the world are racing to vaccinate enough people to stop the spread of COVID-19, but what qualifies as “enough” is still an open question. Continue reading
Feb 17 WATCH: White House COVID-19 response team holds briefing By Associated Press Officials said Wednesday that the administration is spending $200 million for the CDC and contract labs to increase genomic sequencing to about 25,000 samples a week, or three times more. Continue reading
Feb 16 FEMA opens mass COVID-19 vaccine sites as bad weather hampers efforts By Eugene Garcia, Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press Severe weather is hampering vaccination efforts in parts of the country, forcing cancellation of some mass inoculation events and disrupting vaccine deliveries. Continue reading
Feb 16 Uninsured in the pandemic? Here's how to navigate the newly reopened ACA marketplace By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News In January, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to open up the federal health insurance marketplace for three months as of Feb. 15 so uninsured people can buy a plan and those who want to change their marketplace coverage… Continue reading