FEATURED INSIGHTS
INSIGHTS
UK COVID Variant Now Spreading in US
It has been just three weeks since U.K. health officials announced discovery of a new strain of coronavirus had been detected in Kent and was rapidly spreading northeast toward London. The variant called B.1.1.7 was found to be far more contagious -- as much more as 70%. Almost immediately after it was detected, dozens of nations cut off travel from the U.K. Finally, after many countries had acted, the U.S. last week shut off travel from the U.K, but then quickly reversed its decision with the only requirement that U.S.-bound travelers must have tested negative within three days prior to departure.
Embracing Workplace Vaccination Mandates
Workplaces struggling to marry up a mandatory vaccine policy with HPPA privacy laws got good news last Wednesday when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that employers are entitles—and required—to ensure a safe workplace “in which an individual shall not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of individuals in the workplace.”
The Pending Housing Crisis
California: Critical Condition
More dire COVID numbers were reported Saturday with 16,504 new cases and 96 deaths in Los Angeles. Positivity rate and hospitalizations are both at an all time high. Saturday morning, LA County officials reported there are no more ICU beds for patients requiring critical care, which means those patients are being transported to other triage centers in the state, or makeshift efforts are being constructed to care for those in need. Rationing may well be the next step if conditions worsen…
Feds Obstruct Vaccine Delivery
Pfizer says the administration stopped providing it with destinations for millions of COVID vaccine doses sitting in warehouses. Multiple states, including Virginia, report cuts to promised allotments by up to 50%. This represents an unfathomable level of cruelty and neglect in the midst of America’s worst-ever accumulated mass casualty event. There are only a limited number of possible reasons…
Who’s Next in Line for a COVID Vaccine?
FDA Approves Moderna Vaccine
Approval of Moderna's vaccine late Friday under an Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA ensures millions more doses are now en route to distribution centers across the nation. Planes and trucks filled with Moderna's COVID immunization began journeys to distribution centers in every state Sunday morning. Healthcare supply chain giant McKesson is handling the distribution for Moderna from its centers in Kentucky and Mississippi. Pfizer mostly is utilizing the U.S. Government, predominately through the military, for dissemination. McKesson will utilize FedEx and UPS for delivery of its vaccine. Many of the Moderna shipments are being accompanied by local and state police.
Now is the Winter of Our Discontent
Dr. Anthony Fauci has repeatedly said that “the cavalry is coming” when he speaks of the advent of forthcoming vaccines — particularly the two leading contenders, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. But these revolutionary developments utilizing first-ever technology never before applied against a pandemic, or perennial infectious diseases like influenza or measles, won’t be available to quell the overwhelming surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide. Every public health expert is warning the most horrific period of the pandemic has yet to unfold…
California’s Bleak Reality
California is reeling from the long expected surge in COVID-19. In Los Angeles, 421,881 cases had been recorded as of Friday — 7854 new cases since Thursday and 44 deaths in the past 24 period. 2572 persons are hospitalized across the county of more than 12 million. The county’s positivity rate is inching toward 8% — and it is expected to increase in coming days. Los Angeles recorded more COVID-19 cases in one day Thursday than 44 states combined.
A Guide to Combat COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories
Many of the vaccine conspiracy theories are fueled by a lack of information about vaccine ingredients. This can be countered through a public awareness campaign explaining how the vaccines are made. The following is a survey of common conspiracies related to COVID-19 and the upcoming vaccines and a science-based refutation of the misinformation…
COVID Vaccine Distribution: A four-phase plan
Pfizer, in cooperation with German-based BioNTech, crossed an historic milestone this week when they submitted to the Food and Drug Administration an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a COVID-19 vaccine. The data will quickly be analyzed by FDA and then submitted to an independent advisory panel in early December for approval, which then also will receive a necessary ‘green light’ from the Centers for Disease Control, particularly regarding the rollout process for Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine on a prioritization scale. Read more…
5 Steps to Survive Until A COVID Vaccine is Available
Public health experts don’t expect a coronavirus vaccine to become widely available until around April 2021. Even once a viable vaccine candidate is approved, the government must manage an unprecedented fill-and-finish campaign and launch PSAs to combat misinformation that could depress vaccination rates. Until such time, society will have to survive through abiding by published health guidance, which we reiterate here:
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR COLLEGE REOPENING
Nearly all of America’s colleges are experiencing COVID outbreaks. However, through a combination of science-based health policy and good luck, 35 colleges have not experienced an outbreak. Here are strategies those schools had in common
Oxford Vaccine Progress
AstraZeneca is now reporting its AZD1222 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine could be available as early as January of next year. Long favored in the epidemiological community as one of the more likely effective and safe vaccines in development by several major pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca’s teaming with Oxford University is now in late-stage trials in Britain and the U.S., as well as other countries, to determine the vaccine’s efficacy and safety.
Our New Reality: Unmitigated COVID Spread
The U.S. will soon report 100,000 new cases of coronavirus daily, with that figure rising as long as states keep schools open. Unless the nation takes collective vigilant action, American families are in store for devastation never before experienced in the United States. The White House coronavirus task force is warning states in the middle and western regions that they require aggressive measures to curb the virus’ spread.
Vaccines Progress, FDA Approves Useless Treatment
There is good news out of Oxford, which said that the vaccine it developed with Astra Zeneca worked well and triggered a robust immune response in volunteers. Despite the good news, the UK government is warning that a widespread rollout of a coronavirus vaccine is unlikely before Christmas. The government added that the possibility of wider spread use of vaccines isn't going to happen until the spring of next year at the earliest. We would have enough doses and enough understanding of the medical infrastructure to distribute them effectively by that time.
Should Americans Prepare for Civil War?
Donald Trump has set America on a path to bloodshed and catastrophe. According to the FBI, white supremacists and other rightwing extremists are responsible for over two-thirds of the domestic terrorist attacks and plots this year, with over half that violence targeting protestors. By contrast, only a single deadly “far-left” attack occurred in 2020 in Portland, according to the centrist think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies has studied domestic terror attacks since 1994.
Flocking Toward Herd Immunity
Governments are anxious to avoid returning to economically damaging lockdowns and mass quarantines, so getting ready for winter should mean the U.S. works to get COVID infection numbers as low as possible. Instead, it is exploring a dangerous path to herd immunity—unmitigated viral spread that has young, non-disabled workers resuming their daily lives as usual while vulnerable populations continue their isolation
COVID Accelerates Multiple Pending Crises
High rents, inadequate food and housing subsidies, and scarce good-paying jobs will easily consume over 60 percent of the American household budget, setting families back generations and preventing them from building multigenerational wealth.
Colleges & Universities: More COVID Cases, Fewer Games
The nation’s leading infection disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, also warned American academic administrations last week not to send infected students home, stating that the students could take the highly transmittable virus with them.