Coronavirus

CNN Business reports: Twitter said it will no longer enforce its longstanding Covid misinformation policy, yet another sign of how Elon Musk plans to transform the social media company he bought a month ago. In 2020, Twitter developed an extensive set of rules that sought to prohibit “harmful misinformation” about the virus and its vaccines. Between January 2020 and September …

The New York Times reports: Protests spread to cities and college campuses around China on Saturday night, reflecting rising public anger at the country’s draconian Covid controls, with some in a crowd in Shanghai directing their fury at the Communist Party and its top leader, Xi Jinping. The wider demonstrations followed an outpouring of online anger and a street protest …

The Insider reports: White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he’s ready to face Republicans in Congress next year as they gain control of the US House and have pledged renewed COVID-19 oversight. “I absolutely will cooperate fully and testify before the Congress if asked,” Fauci told reporters during the White House press briefing. “I have …

The BBC reports: A holiday cruise ship carrying about 800 passengers with Covid-19 has docked in Sydney, Australia. The Majestic Princess cruise ship arrived at Circular Quay, having sailed from New Zealand. About 4,600 passengers and crew were aboard the ship when it docked – meaning around one in five had Covid. The outbreak is reminiscent of the Ruby Princess …

NBC News reports: Covid outbreak at an American scientific research station in Antarctica has forced U.S. officials to temporarily halt all travel to the remote outpost. The National Science Foundation, which operates McMurdo Station on the southern tip of Antarctica’s Ross Island, announced new measures over the weekend to help control the outbreak. The agency confirmed that 10% of the …

Agence France-Presse reports: Italian doctors and nurses suspended over their refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19 can now return to work, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Monday. Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, and has since registered nearly 180,000 deaths. Meloni’s post-fascist Brothers of Italy railed against many …

Axios reports: Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has tested positive for COVID-19, the CDC said Saturday. Why it matters: Walensky has tested positive as White House officials have expressed concerns about rising COVID-19 variants that could fuel a winter surge of cases. Details: The CDC said Walensky tested positive Friday night and has …

From notorious hate pastor Greg Locke: On Oct. 31st, our church WILL be burning all occult related materials and there’s no backing down no matter who gets called or who shows up. We have a Biblical right and are fully covered by the law of the State of TN. Bring every form of witchcraft, the occult, new age, satanism and …

Bloomberg News reports: The CDC bowed to the Trump administration’s demands to change the editorial process of its weekly scientific journal after warnings from then health secretary Alex Azar to “get in line,” a House investigation found. The pressure faced by the CDC to change the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report‘s procedures was one of several instances of political interference …

From the Justice Department: A Marblehead man who presented himself as an Orthodox Christian monk and a lawyer have been charged in a $3.6 million COVID relief fraud scheme, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office. Brian Andrew Bushell, 47, and Tracey M.A. Stockton, 64, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions, a news release …

Ars Technica reports: Twitter is reviewing its controversial policies around permanently banning users, potentially bringing its content moderation more in line with Elon Musk’s vision for the social media platform regardless of whether the Tesla chief becomes its owner. But any change is unlikely to pave the way for a return to the platform for Donald Trump as removing bans …

Reuters reports: Another wave of COVID-19 infections may have begun in Europe as cases begin to tick up across the region, the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday. “Although we are not where we were one year ago, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is still not over,” WHO’s Europe …

Politico reports: The Biden administration is racing against the dropping temperatures to convince more Americans to get the updated Covid-19 booster shot amid low uptake numbers driven by confusion over the shot, declining cases and profound pandemic fatigue. By the end of last week, the administration expected between 13 and 15 million people out of 283.4 million Americans aged 12 …

ABC News reports: Most people suffering from long COVID are experiencing some trouble performing day-to-day activities, new federal data shows. As of Sept. 26, 81% of adults with ongoing symptoms of COVID lasting three months or longer — or four out of five adults — are experiencing limitations in their daily activities compared to before they had the virus. Patients …

The Arizona Mirror reports: It’s already known that hundreds of thousands of Americans would still be alive if every eligible person had gotten vaccinated against COVID-19. Now new research strongly suggests that many more of those “excess deaths” in Ohio and Florida were among people with Republican voter registrations. It’s perhaps unsurprising that Republicans were more reluctant to get vaccinated …

The CBC reports: The federal government says it’s dropping all COVID-19 measures at borders on Saturday, meaning travellers will no longer need to provide proof of vaccination when entering Canada or wear masks on planes and trains. As of Oct. 1, all travellers, regardless of citizenship, will no longer have to: -provide proof of vaccination; -Undergo pre- or on-arrival testing; …

Politico reports: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an NYPD detective’s challenge to New York City’s vaccine requirement for municipal workers after all. Last month, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected a request by Det. Anthony Marciano to take up his legal challenge. But Marciano resubmitted the exact same request to conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, and the high court’s press office …

The New York Daily News reports: The city’s coronavirus vaccine mandates for private sector workers and student athletes are ending, but the inoculation requirement for municipal workers will remain — at least for the time being. Mayor Adams announced the roll back Tuesday at a City Hall press conference, stressing the need for New Yorkers to get their COVID booster …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: The director of the Feeding Our Future nonprofit and 46 other people have been charged in what federal prosecutors say was a “massive scheme” to defraud the government of more than $250 million meant to feed needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a news conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger described it …

The Associated Press reports: COVID-19 infection may significantly boost an older person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new, large-scale study suggests. People 65 and older who contracted COVID were nearly 70% more likely overall to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s within a year of their infection, researchers report. The elderly fared even worse, with the risk of Alzheimer’s doubling in …