Biden tours Pfizer plant; California school board quits

As federal companions rush to distribute delayed COVID-19 vaccine shipments and hundreds of thousands of Americans grapple with access to clean water Saturday, epidemiologists warn that the record-breaking winter climate might result in coronavirus surges in some elements of the nation whereas quelling outbreaks in others.

“To the extent that the winter weather increases the likelihood people currently shedding infectious viruses stay isolated and do not mix with other people, it will suppress virus transmission in the community,” David Sweat, chief epidemiologist for Tennessee’s Shelby County Health Department, said earlier this week.

But in additional severely affected areas of the nation, like Texas, the climate might have the other impact, stated Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor of preventive medication and an infectious illness physician. “In Texas, where people are coming together to get food and water and going to communal shelters, there we might actually seen an increase,” Schaffner stated.

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, stated a surge was “possible” if massive numbers of individuals huddled in shelters.

Inside some Texas jails, specifically, circumstances stay “dire,” in keeping with the Texas Jail Project, a corporation working to empower incarcerated folks. “We’re angry, & increasingly concerned about the impact that poor sanitation & lack of water will have on the spread of COVID-19 in overcrowded jails,” the group wrote on Twitter Friday.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden on Friday toured a Pfizer manufacturing plant in Michigan and stressed the safety of vaccines, saying Americans ought to get vaccinated “when it’s your turn and available.” Andy Slavitt, White House senior adviser for COVID-19 response, stated doses backlogged as a consequence of climate have been anticipated to be delivered “within the next week.”

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In the headlines:

►After early confusion, most hospitals, clinics and vaccination facilities now have protocols and programs in place to make sure every last vaccine dose gets used.

►The U.S. plans to open 5 extra neighborhood vaccinations facilities, together with one in Philadelphia, and 4 in Florida, in Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and Tampa, Salvitt stated Friday.

►The FDA is reviewing information from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial and plans to seek the advice of with the company’s impartial advisory committee Feb. 26. “We should be hearing from them soon,” Dr. Anthony Fauci stated Friday.

►Pfizer on Friday stated it was in search of authorization to retailer its vaccine in regular pharmaceutical freezers, as a substitute of the ultra-cold temperatures doses at present require.

►California plans to set aside 10% of first vaccine doses for educators, school workers and childcare suppliers beginning in March to assist get kids again in school rooms, Gov. Gavin Newsom stated Friday.

► Experts say the United States might shortly develop the nation’s restricted testing provide and enhance velocity by authorizing rapid, paper-based antigen tests. The disadvantage: Rapid exams are much less exact when in comparison with lab exams, which take longer to finish and value $100 or extra.

📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has greater than 28.0 million confirmed coronavirus circumstances and 496,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The world totals: More than 110.9 million circumstances and a couple of.45 million deaths. More than 78.1 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the U.S. and about 59.5 million have been administered, according to the CDC.

📘 What we’re studying: “He shouldn’t be dead”: A 12 months after their father’s demise from COVID-19, the family is confronting their loss.

Entire school board resigns after mocking dad and mom in livestreamed assembly on reopening

The president and all three different members of a California school board have resigned after mocking dad and mom in a livestreamed assembly on school reopening that they appeared to assume was personal.

Greg Hetrick, superintendent of the Oakley Union Elementary School District in Costa County, introduced the board members had submitted their resignations in a letter to the school neighborhood Friday, calling it an “unfortunate situation.”

Video of the Wednesday night time assembly has circulated on social media and seems to seize board members mocking dad and mom who’ve been writing letters to petition the board to reopen colleges amid the coronavirus pandemic. “They want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back,” stated Board President Lisa Brizendine.

The board members additionally use expletives and giggle about dad and mom who take medical marijuana. Toward the tip of the recording, the board members seem shocked to obtain a message alerting them that the livestream is public. In an announcement, the board members expressed their “sincerest apology” and stated they “deeply regret the comments that were made in the meeting.”

Could your Apple Watch, Fitbit assist sluggish the pandemic?

Growing proof suggests {that a} smartwatch or wearable similar to a Fitbit could help warn wearers of a potential COVID-19 infection previous to a optimistic take a look at consequence.

Wearables such because the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy smartwatch, Fitbit and different units can accumulate coronary heart and oxygen information, in addition to sleep and exercise ranges. Researchers are finding out whether or not a physique’s well being information would possibly sign an oncoming COVID-19 an infection.

A COVID-19 an infection is probably not imminent for an individual whose coronary heart or exercise information suggests a possible an infection. But the elevated chance – and the flexibility to alert the affected person to get examined and presumably quarantine – might present an important device in stopping the unfold of the illness and monitoring it, researchers say.

Such findings, if confirmed out, might result in distant medical alerts for different doable viruses, flu and undue stress.

– Mike Snider

Argentine well being minister resigns amid vaccine scandal

President Alberto Fernández eliminated Argentina’s well being minister Friday after a well known native journalist stated he had been given a coronavirus vaccination preferentially after requesting one from the minister.

The president “instructed his chief of staff to request the resignation of health minister” Ginés González García, who’s accountable for the federal government’s COVID-19 technique, stated a authorities official, who was not approved to launch the information and spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity.

The firing comes on the heels of reviews in latest days that mayors, legislators, activists and other people near political energy obtained vaccine photographs regardless of not being within the precedence group of medical doctors, well being personnel and the aged approved to obtain them.

Two-dose Pfizer vaccine right here to remain, regardless of new examine

A brand new examine out of Israel reignited the public debate Friday about the spacing between the two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, however the U.S. authorities is not budging in its dedication to the unique schedule.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could be simply as efficient if the hole between doses is wider than the beneficial 21 days, in keeping with the brand new examine from Israel. If the doses could possibly be given additional aside, extra folks could possibly be protected quicker. Vaccine provides, which stay fairly restricted now, are anticipated to ramp up in late spring.

But authorities officers wish to stick to the dosing schedule that has been scientifically confirmed to be efficient, warning that altering it would weaken the vaccine’s effectiveness in opposition to variants, and even drive the creation of latest variants that escape that safety.

The present schedule supplies “an optimal response when you’re dealing with variants,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s high infectious illness physician, stated Friday in a information convention.

– Karen Weintraub

Africa reaches 100,000 recognized COVID-19 deaths

Africa has surpassed 100,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 because the continent praised for its early response to the pandemic now struggles with a harmful resurgence and medical oxygen typically runs desperately quick.

The 54-nation continent of some 1.3 billion folks has barely seen the arrival of large-scale provides of COVID-19 vaccines, however a variant of the virus dominant in South Africa is already posing a problem to vaccination efforts. Still, if doses can be found, the continent ought to have the ability to vaccinate 35% to 40% of its inhabitants earlier than the tip of 2021 and 60% by the tip of 2022, stated John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officers who breathed a sigh of aid final 12 months when African nations didn’t see an enormous variety of COVID-19 deaths at the moment are reporting a soar in fatalities. The Africa CDC on Friday stated total deaths are at 100,294.