Tag Archives: coronavirus

NBC News reports: A Florida pastor accused of fraudulently obtaining $8 million in Covid relief funds is in declining health and appears to be unable to speak, his lawyer said after he failed to appear in court. “There are grave medical concerns,” Erin Hyde told a federal judge in Orlando on Wednesday. Evan Edwards, 64, and his son Josh, 30, …

The Associated Press reports: The Biden administration is again making some free COVID-19 tests available to all U.S. households as it unveils its contingency plans for potential coronavirus surges this winter. After a three-month hiatus, the administration is making four rapid virus tests available through covidtests.gov starting Thursday, a senior administration official said. The administration is putting personnel and equipment …

NBC News reports: A Florida pastor and his son were arrested Wednesday on charges of fraudulently obtaining more than $8 million in federal Covid relief funds and attempting to use some of the money to buy a luxury home near Walt Disney World. Evan Edwards and his son, Josh, 30, were taken into custody five months after an NBC News report raised …

The Washington Post reports: A study released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics found that more than 3,500 Americans died of long-covid-related illness in the first 2½ years of the pandemic. While those deaths represent a small fraction of the 1 million deaths from the coronavirus, they reinforce the danger of ignoring the lingering symptoms that many patients …

Vice News reports: People who refused to get the COVID vaccine are far more likely to get into a traffic crash requiring hospitalization, a recently published study found, adding evidence to the theory that anti-vaxxers often demonstrate other kinds of dangerous antisocial behavior. The study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, looked at data from more than 11.2 million …

ProPublica reports: In a victory for public health advocates, a federal judge in Montana has blocked the state from implementing a law that would make it illegal for hospitals to ask employees if they are vaccinated. The measure, which passed last year, was the country’s most extreme anti-vaccination law. Health care providers in Montana had sued the state over the …

STAT News reports: This Wednesday will mark two years since nurse Sandra Lindsay became the first person in the U.S. to receive a Covid-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial. A study released Tuesday by the Commonwealth Fund shows that in those two years, the Covid vaccines have averted over 3 million deaths in the U.S. The CDC estimates that …

“I have such a great deal of respect for the office of the presidency that it just made me very uncomfortable, but I had to do it, Chris, because I couldn’t stand there and be complicit in saying hydroxychloroquine works when it doesn’t. “You know, ‘bleach works.’ It doesn’t. ‘The virus is going to go away like magic.’ It’s not. …

Gothamist reports: New York City is experiencing a triple wave of respiratory viruses, and on Friday, city health officials warned residents to take extra precautions. Friday’s health advisory urged New Yorkers to mask up indoors and in crowded spaces, particularly if they’re at risk for severe illness (or know someone who is). The city health department is reporting more than …

CBS News reports: As the holidays near and health care facilities grapple with a “tripledemic” of viral respiratory infections, people are being urged to consider donning masks and calling out sick. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked seasonal spikes in influenza, Sars-CoV-2 — the virus that causes Covid-19 — and respiratory syncytial virus or RSV, three viruses …

Axios reports: Congress may consider legislation later this week that would scrap the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military service members. A rollback of the policy may be included in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is set to be unveiled Monday, as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is vying to become …

The Wall Street Journal reports: In recent weeks, Apple as accelerated plans to shift some of its production outside China, long the dominant country in the supply chain that built the world’s most valuable company, say people involved in the discussions. It is telling suppliers to plan more actively for assembling Apple products elsewhere in Asia, particularly India and Vietnam, …

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 …

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 …

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 …