Pfizer-BioNTech: Booster improves immunity against COVID-19 subvariantsPfizer and BioNTech said Friday their latest Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine also shows effectiveness against new subvariants of the virus. ….. Read More.UPI News – Health News | Health & WellnessFri, November 18, 20223 weeks ago
Vaccinated Americans a majority of COVID deaths for first time in August: analysisFor the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, a majority of Americans dying from the coronavirus were at least partially vaccinated, according to a new analysis of federal and state data. The waning efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and increasingly contagious strains of the virus being spread to elderly and immunocompromised people have resulted in more deaths among those who have taken at least one vaccine dose, a Washington Post analysis published Wednesday finds. “Fifty-eight percent of coronavirus deaths in August were people who were vaccinated or boosted,” the Post reported. The paper described a “troubling trend” as the share of deaths of people who were vaccinated has been “steadily rising” over the past year. RSV SURGE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT REPEAT CASES: CAN YOU OR YOUR CHILD GET IT AGAIN? “In September 2021, vaccinated people made up just 23…
White House urges Americans to discuss COVID-19 vaccines over ThanksgivingThe White House on Tuesday encouraged Americans to talk about COVID-19 vaccination at the Thanksgiving table, insisting that widespread vaccination could prevent almost every coronavirus death in the country. At a press briefing, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha rolled out the Biden administration’s plan for a “six-week sprint” to convince Americans to take the updated COVID-19 vaccine shots before the end of the year. The campaign includes hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding for community health centers to increase the pace of vaccinations, but Jha said every American needs to “step up” and be involved in conversations on vaccination as well. “Bottom line is that we’re doing everything we can in the next six weeks to help families get their updated COVID shots by the end of the year, because it’s the best protection for this…
As COVID cases rise, LA County returns to ‘strongly’ recommending masking up indoorsLos Angeles County Public Health Department officials “strongly” recommended that residents mask up ahead of the holiday season. Citing rising cases and new deaths, county health officer Dr. Muntu Davis advised in a Thursday media briefing that high-quality and well-fitting masks should be worn in public indoor spaces, on public transit, in homeless and emergency shelters and correctional and detention facilities. In addition, masks remain required for people exposed to the virus in the past 10 days, at health care settings and congregate facilities and anywhere where it is required by the site. The county cited a Nov. 9 Harvard University study it said highlights the importance of masking. CALIFORNIA REP. KAREN BASS ELECTED AS LOS ANGELES MAYOR, BEATING BILLIONAIRE RICK CARUSO Also on Thursday, the department reported 1,949 new coronavirus cases and 10 new deaths. According to…
Court rejects San Diego school district’s COVID vaccine mandateThe California 4th District Court of Appeal ruled against the San Diego Unified School District’s COVID-19 student vaccine requirement this week. On Tuesday, the appellate court agreed with a lower court’s ruling from last year that the school district does not have the authority to establish its own mandate. The court rejected the district’s several defenses of its mandate, including that it is in line with the responsibility to keep students safe, that programs can be created to meet “local needs” and that the mandate is not actually a mandate because it allows for students to do at-home independent study should they choose not to comply. “We doubt that students and their parents perceive a real choice. For some, independent study would likely be a step backwards,” it wrote. WHITE HOUSE SHUTS DOWN REPORTER’S FAUCI QUESTION ON COVID ORIGIN: ‘I’M DONE’ San…
What the Tiananmen Protest Can Tell Us About China’s Zero-Covid UnrestThe most shocking image to emerge from the protests engulfing Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities recently was video of crowds in Shanghai shouting, “Gongchandang, xiatai! Xi Jinping, xiatai!” Those translate literally to “Communist Party, step down,” and “Xi Jinping, step down,” but a more forceful translation is more accurate: “Out with the Communist Party! Out with Xi Jinping!” They were not invitations to resign; they were exhortations to oust them from power.Those slogans brought back some intense memories for me. When I was covering the student-led protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989, there were frequent calls for senior leader Deng Xiaoping and Premier Li Peng to be done with. “Li Peng xiatai” was a common refrain, which students and citizens shouted with raised fists, and ebullient youths wrote on banners they lifted from cars parading up and down Beijing’s…