HomeWorld News UpdatesCoronavirus daily news updates, August 13: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world – The Seattle Times
Coronavirus daily news updates, August 13: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world – The Seattle Times
Masks have drawn lawsuits across the nation from parents, students, school districts and counties. The newest Supreme Court Justice, Amy Coney Barrett, refused to block a plan by Indiana University to require students and employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Barrett’s decision, made without input from her colleagues, came in response to an emergency request from eight students, and marked the first time the high court has weighed in on a vaccine mandate.
But even as the White House pushes vaccination aggressively, President Joe Biden has refrained from using all his powers, instead trying to make life more uncomfortable for the unvaccinated without spurring backlash in a deeply polarized country.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see previous days’ live updates and all our other coronavirus coverage, and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington and the world.
Following New York City’s lead, New Orleans and San Francisco will impose such rules at many businesses starting next week, while Los Angeles is looking into the idea.
The new measures are an attempt to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 cases that has pushed hospitals to the breaking point, including in the Dallas area, where top officials warned they are running out of beds in their pediatric intensive care units.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the situation is so dire that if a parent is seeking care for a sick or injured child, “your child will wait for another child to die. Your child will just not get on a ventilator. Your child will be care-flighted to Temple or Oklahoma City or wherever we can find them a bed, but they won’t be getting one here unless one clears.”
Summer will never know her mother’s “bubbly and vivacious” personality, said McMullen’s aunt, Melissa Syverson. She will not meet the “active and full-of-life” young woman who grew up dancing, horseback riding and playing the piano in her native Virginia. Yet Syverson said she is determined to not let her niece’s memories perish: she’s sharing her story in the hope that people – especially pregnant women – take safety measures during the pandemic.
“We want to make sure that everybody, pregnant women and also people that know pregnant women take extra precautions,” said Syverson, who declined to discuss McMullen’s vaccination status.
The loss of a youthful mother who, according to Syverson, was otherwise healthy comes as more young people are being infected and hospitalized with covid-19. Some doctors are also warning of an uptick of severe cases among pregnant women – a group with a low vaccination rate that has also been found to be subject to a high risk for complications related to the virus. Amid the delta variant’s spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has moved to encourage expectant mothers to get vaccinated, as research shows they are more likely to require admission to intensive care and use of ventilators than non-pregnant women.
The late-night announcement Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration applies to several million Americans who are especially vulnerable because of organ transplants, certain cancers or other disorders. Several other countries, including France and Israel, have similar recommendations.
It’s harder for vaccines to rev up an immune system suppressed by certain medications and diseases, so those patients don’t always get the same protection as otherwise healthy people — and small studies suggest for at least some, an extra dose may be the solution.
“Today’s action allows doctors to boost immunity in certain immunocompromised individuals who need extra protection from COVID-19,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, the FDA’s acting commissioner, said in a statement.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Friday that includes all commercial air travelers, passengers on trains between provinces and cruise ship passengers.
“As soon as possible in the Fall and no later than the end of October, the Government of Canada will require employees in the federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors to be vaccinated. The vaccination requirement will also extend to certain travelers. This includes all commercial air travelers,” his office said in a statement.
The government is also requiring vaccinations for all federal public servants in the country.
Washington State University to eliminate personal and philosophical COVID-19 vaccine exemption for students
Washington State University will no longer allow students to claim personal or philosophical exemptions from its COVID-19 vaccination requirement, the school announced Thursday, citing the “increasing threat of the delta variant for those who are unvaccinated.”
The change will happen once the FDA grants approval to any of the three vaccines under emergency use authorization, WSU said in a statement this week. The school also announced that it is moving up its vaccination deadline from November, so students will have until Sept. 10 to initiate the vaccination process.
If a student doesn’t get vaccinated, the school said it “may impact (their) ability to participate in campus events and (they) will need to wear a mask while on campus.” Students who don’t get the shot also won’t be able to register for spring classes, and a hold will be placed on their accounts.
The mandate — announced two weeks before the full-time in-person learning begins Aug. 30 — applies to all Chicago Board of Education workers, a group that includes teachers, staff, workers in the district’s central office, and regular vendors and network employees.
“Our Chicago Public School communities deserve a safe and healthy environment that will allow our students to reach their greatest potential,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that California would become the first state to require all teachers and school staff to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
“This new policy enhances the district’s comprehensive reopening plan and ensures that students and staff can confidently learn in-person,” Lightfoot said. “Taking this step will further our citywide vaccination efforts and build on our progress in slowing and stopping the spread of COVID-19.”
Moscow’s Health Department said Friday that 17,237 people died of all causes last month. The number included 6,583 coronavirus-related deaths, which corresponded to a COVID-19 mortality rate of 3.95%.
Health officials blamed the increase on COVID-19 deaths on the more contagious delta variant and unusually hot weather that exacerbated coronavirus-induced complications.
The Russian government’s coronavirus task force on Friday reported 22,277 new confirmed cases and 815 deaths, the highest daily toll of the pandemic.
The late-night announcement Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration applies to several million Americans who are especially vulnerable because of organ transplants, certain cancers or other disorders. Several other countries, including France and Israel, have similar recommendations.
It’s harder for vaccines to rev up an immune system suppressed by certain medications and diseases, so those patients don’t always get the same protection as otherwise healthy people — and small studies suggest for at least some, an extra dose may be the solution.
Biden eyes tougher vaccine rules without provoking backlash
WASHINGTON — When the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. first began to slow, President Joe Biden backed incentives like million-dollar cash lotteries if that’s what it took to get shots in arms. But as new coronavirus infections soar, he’s testing a tougher approach.
In just the past two weeks, Biden has forced millions of federal workers to attest to their vaccination status or face onerous new requirements. He’s met with business leaders at the White House to press them to do the same.
Meanwhile, the administration has taken steps toward mandating shots for people traveling into the U.S. from overseas. And the White House is weighing options to be more assertive at the state and local level, including potential support for school districts imposing rules to prevent spread of the virus over the objection of Republican leaders.
“To the mayors, school superintendents, educators, local leaders, who are standing up to the governors politicizing mask protection for our kids: thank you,” Biden said Thursday. “Thank God that we have heroes like you, and I stand with you all, and America should as well.”
Peter Hearn, 51, said police arrested him in December after he refused to wear a mask inside the Costco at 2051 S. Cole Road, according to a tort claim filed with the city. Hearn said he argued for 10 minutes with store employees who implored him to wear a mask inside the store.
“(Hearn) informed them all that they were unlawfully harassing, trapping, assaulting, imprisoning, arresting, abusing and violating him,” the tort claim said.
In their incident report, police said they arrested Hearn after he refused to show them identification and he was later taken to Ada County Jail due to a previous trespassing incident.
Eventually, employees let him shop in the store without a mask before they contacted police, according to the tort claim. Police arrived and arrested Hearn, with Hearn noting that other shoppers were cheering as police took him away.
They regret not getting the vaccine – and became social media evangelists for the shot
“Anybody else out running in the rain?” asks a drenched but gleeful Louie Michael in a TikTok video, before starting to sing, “I have been blessed.”
The Missouri-based entertainer and real estate agent had ample reason to be celebrating. He was “about forty days past covid” when he made the video on July 17, and his only persistent symptom was hives. The disease had landed both he and his wife, Pattie Bunch, in the hospital.
Mostly, though, he’s used social media to urge people to get the vaccine – because he didn’t and now knows the consequences.
Regret has become a new tool in the battle against the coronavirus. As media outlets pump out story after story of people who fell ill only to wish they’d gotten vaccinated, individuals and health institutions are sharing similar stories across social media platforms in hopes they will persuade at least some of the tens of millions of Americans who remain unvaccinated to have a change of heart and get the shot.
Cyprus eases COVID-19 vaccination for uninsured foreigners
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Lekulutu Nsima considers himself a “lucky man” after receiving his first Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine shot against COVID-19 in Cyprus.
The 33-year-old asylum seeker said that in his native Congo, the government has only procured a handful of vaccine doses for one of Africa’s most populous nations, and those are often reserved for the country’s elites — the wealthy and politically connected.
Cypriot authorities have been surprised by the huge turnout at the center. The idea was to enable those without GHS coverage to walk in for a shot without having to go through the hassle of online appointments that could be weeks away.
On the center’s first day a week ago, 2,555 people without GHS coverage received a vaccine shot.
The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which is carrying over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, the board said in a statement. The ship arrived Wednesday in Belize City.
All 27 were vaccinated, had mild or no symptoms, and were in isolation, according to the statement. The tourism board said 99.98% of the ship’s crew was vaccinated, as well as 96.5% of its passengers.
The Washington Post reported Carnival said it announced last week that there were positive cases on board, but the cruise line did not not give specific numbers. The ship left from Galveston, Texas, according to the Post.
No comments:
Post a Comment