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Coronavirus updates: Second vaccine dose can be given 6 weeks later, CDC says; Biden’s ambitious plan will take time

Virus News by Virus News
April 6, 2021
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President Biden is putting into play his national COVID-19 strategy to ramp up vaccinations and testing. USA TODAY

COVID-19 has killed more than 411,000 Americans in less than a year and infections have continued to mount despite the introduction of a pair of vaccines late in 2020. USA TODAY is tracking the news. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox, join our Facebook group or scroll through our in-depth answers to reader questions.

President Joe Biden signed a pair of executive actions Friday that aim to provide economic relief for Americans feeling the financial strains of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Biden is calling for Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, he also moved to expand access to federal nutrition and food assistance programs and start the process for requiring federal contractors to pay their workers a minimum wage of $15 per hour and give them emergency paid leave.

The executive orders come a day after Biden laid out his plans for a federal COVID-19 strategy and declared it “a wartime undertaking.” The plan rests on using the Defense Production Act to strengthen the supply chain and make vaccines – but experts say the plan will need time.

Meanwhile over the past few days, authorities in California, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Hawaii warned that their vaccine supplies were running out. New York City began canceling or postponing shots or stopped making new appointments because of the shortages.

Also Friday: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the new U.K. coronavirus variant may be deadlier than the previous dominant variant, in addition to being more contagious. The U.K. is currently in a lockdown, and people are required to stay largely at home.

In the headlines:

►At least 38 U.S. Capitol Police officers have tested positive for the coronavirus since a pro-Trump riot broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the police union.

►National Guard members who were in Washington, D.C., have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington Post and Politico reported. The Post, citing unnamed Maryland soldiers, reported that “the coronavirus is raging among National Guard members” without specifying the extend of the outbreak. Three unnamed Guard sources told Politico that hundreds of members have tested positive.

►January is already the second-deadliest month during the pandemic for the United States, with 64,147 deaths reported so far, Johns Hopkins University data shows. The country has averaged about 3,055 deaths per day so far this month, a daily toll worse than the human cost of the 9/11 attacks. At this pace, by Tuesday, January will have become the deadliest month so far of the pandemic.

►Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday on CNN that the lack of candor and facts around the U.S. pandemic’s response over the last year “very likely did” cost lives. Asked Thursday about his experience working on the pandemic response for two different administrations, Fauci also said being able to share science was “liberating.” Fauci said he did not enjoy having to correct information provided by former President Donald Trump during briefings.

►Michigan will allow indoor dining on a limited basis starting Feb. 1, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday.

►After weeks of railing against “vaccine tourism,” Florida officials will limit the scant supply of COVID-19 vaccine to residents only. Surgeon General Scott Rivkees issued an executive order requiring people seeking an appointment to get the vaccine to provide proof of residency, or proof of being a health care provider directly involved with patients. Until now, a person only needed to prove they were 65 or older.

►Nearly 2,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were spoiled at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Boston after a contractor accidentally unplugged a freezer, hospital officials said Thursday. An investigation was underway into why a monitoring alarm system did not work.

►Comedian Dave Chappelle tested positive for COVID-19 just before his comedy show scheduled in Austin for Thursday, forcing his upcoming appearances to be canceled, a spokeswoman said. Chappelle had been performing socially-distanced shows in Ohio since June, and he moved his shows to Austin during the winter.

Today’s numbers: The U.S. has more than 24.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 412,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 97.9 million cases and 2.1 million deaths.

What we’re reading: COVID-19 could kill 100,000 more people in the U.S. in coming month. Will we face this as “one nation”? USA TODAY’s editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll speaks with health and politics reporters on where we are and where we’re heading in the battle against COVID-19.

Behind clear partitions for COVID-19 concerns, sixth grade teacher Emily Reverman helps student, Charlie Rojo, 12, with math at Gateway Elementary School in Phoenix on March 18, 2021. Other than a brief return to in-person school in the fall, this was the first day the sixth graders were back in-person at the school since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.  Gateway Elementary School Return In PersonTodd Bailey sets flowers down in front of photos of people who have died due to COVID-19 at Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park in Tempe, Ariz., on March 1, 2021.Ocala Police Capt. Angy Scroble has her face scanned and temperature checked in the newly renovated lobby at the Ocala Police Department on Feb. 26, 2021. OPD spent several months renovating the lobby since it was closed due to COVID-19. The lobby features a monitor that scans faces to check temperatures. They also installed a sanitizing station along with social distancing signs on the floor and benches.From left, Lisa Post Mazerolle, Michelle Pepe and Jill Federman mourn their respective fathers, March 1, 2021, in front of the Medfield Town Hall, in Medfield, Mass. The three women, who all lost their fathers due to COVID-19 within days of each other, placed three separate floral hearts in different towns in the Boston metro area throughout the day Monday.Lear Preston, 4, attends her Scott Joplin Elementary School virtual classes as her mother, Brittany Preston, background, assists at their residence in Chicago's South Side, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Starting Thursday, Lear will return to class as the nation's third-largest school district slowly reopens its doors following a bitter fight with the teachers union over COVID-19 safety protocols.Lakeview fans social distance during a game against Portage Northern on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021 at Lakeview High School in Battle Creek, Mich.Dina Conforti, 63, holds the hand of her grandson, Gabriel Ciullo, 6, on Friday, January 29, 2021. Conforti arrived home to her family for the first time in six months after being placed in a coma during a difficult battle with COVID-19.Registered nurses Danielle Coates (left) and Alex Clark tend to a patient in one of the COVID-19 units at Valleywise Health Medical Center in Phoenix on Jan. 14, 2021. Much of the hospital has been converted to handle COVID-19 patients and they like many other hospitals throughout Maricopa County are at or near capacity.Mamie Cokley, 85 of Detroit keeps her eyes closed as she gets a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine in the underground parking lot at the TCF Center in Detroit on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 Up to 400 vaccines were being distributed in a quick and efficient drive up system.Two lone Buffalo Bills fans sit in the stands before a game on Jan. 9, 20201. 21 Bills 54Confetti rained down on an empty Times Square in Manhattan after the ball dropped, marking the start of the New Year Jan. 1, 2021. Times Square, usually packed with thousands, was closed to all but a select few due to COVID-19 restrictions.Andres Domingo-Pedro of Immokalee takes a COVID-19 test at a DOH-Collier testing site at Farm Workers Village in Immokalee on Tuesday, December 29, 2020.A Maryland Cremation Services transporter brings the remains of a COVID-19 victim to his van from the hospital's morgue in Baltimore on Dec. 24, 2020.Community Health Supervisor Cordelia Abel-Johnson, right, receives one of the first COVID-19 Pfizer vaccination in the state of Nevada at the Reno-Sparks Tribal Health Center in Reno on Dec. 16, 2020. The vaccination is seen being administered by Registered Nurse Veronica Crawford.A nurse supports a patient as they walk in the COVID-19 alternative care site, built into a parking garage, at Renown Regional Medical Center, Dec. 16, 2020 in Reno, Nev.  Renown Health converted two floors of a parking garage into an alternative care site for Covid-19 patients to increase hospital capacity amid a surge in cases, allowing other facilities to be used for patients in more serious condition.Madalynn Brooks, 7, of Canadohta Lake, visits with Santa Claus at the Millcreek Mall, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Millcreek Township, Pa. Santa, portrayed by Lenny Chatt, 73, of Lawrence Park, was seated behind a sheet of plexiglass due to COVID-19 safety measures.EMT Giselle Dorgalli, second from right, looks at a monitor while performing chest compression on a patient who tested positive for coronavirus in the emergency room at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020.Low-level inmates from El Paso County detention facility work loading bodies wrapped in plastic into a refrigerated temporary morgue trailer in a parking lot of the El Paso County Medical Examiner's office on November 16, 2020 in El Paso, Texas. The inmates, who are also known as trustees, are volunteering for the work and earn $2 per hour amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in El Paso.A nurse puts on personal protective equipment as she prepares to enter a COVID-19 patient's room inside IU Health Methodist in April.Family and friends gather at Getz Funeral Home in Las Cruces on Friday Nov. 6, 2020, for a funeral for Thomas Mobley Jr. Mobely died Monday from complications due to COVID-19.Registered Nurse Daniel Corral works with a Covid-19 patient Thursday, November, 6, 2020 at the El Paso LTAC Hospital.Cindy Martinez of Fond du Lac. looks at pictures of two of her three sons who died from drug overdoses. She was laid off from her job during the COVID-19 Safer at Home order, found another job and uses her life experience to mentor young women who suffer from emotional trauma.Hope and Walter Larkin, the children of DC National Guard Captain Matthew Larkin, helping place white flags among The IN AMERICA: How Could This Happen art project installed on the DC Armory Parade Ground and created by artist Suzanne Firstenberg. The project opened to the public on Friday, October 23, 2020 in Washington, DC honoring each of the nearly 225,000 lives lost in the U.S. due to COVID-19 with a white flag.Residents of Cuyahoga county, separated by plastic due to health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic, fill out paper ballots for early, in person voting at the board of elections office in downtown Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 16, 2020. On Thursday morning, Oct. 15th, 2020, Deanna Hair is discharged from the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich. with help from her husband, Ken Hair, who pushes her in a wheelchair after being there for 195 days battling COVID (She was admitted on April 2nd). Her survival is nothing short of a miracle and is very possibly the longest COVID hospitalization for a survivor in the state, if not nationally - longer. Hair's family and friends gather in front of the hospital to give her a surprise send off from the hospital.Maureen Ustenci wears a mask while looking into a tank at the California Academy of Sciences, which reopened today to limited capacity to members and donors, in San Francisco, Oct. 13, 2020. Ten California counties were cleared to ease coronavirus restrictions Tuesday, including some in the Central Valley that saw major case spikes over the summer, but the state's top health official warned that upcoming Halloween celebrations pose a risk for renewed spread.A glass of clean pens stands next to a glass for dirty pens outside a news conference with Colorado governor Jared Polis about the state's spike in cases of the new coronavirus, Oct. 13, 2020, in Denver.Ballet student Micah Sparrow dances in a classroom at the Texas Ballet Theatre, Oct. 7, 2020, in Fort Worth, Texas. For many, it's not Christmas without the dance of Clara, Uncle Drosselmeyer, the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Mouse King and, of course, the Nutcracker Prince. But this year the coronavirus pandemic has canceled performances of “The Nutcracker” around the U.S. and Canada, eliminating a major and reliable source of revenue for dance companies already reeling financially following the essential shutdown of their industry.Brian Lalor mans the thermal temperature check station for employees coming in to work at Amazon's Shakopee, Minn., fulfillment center, Oct. 8, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic.Free drive-thru testing for COVID-19 was offered 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, at Sanford High School, and was available to all SHS and Sanford Regional Technical Center students and staff. Maine CDC opened an outbreak investigation related to the school, where school officials say there have been 13 cases of the virus.Mark Beaumont participates in a vigil near Trump International Golf Club Sunday night September 20, 2020 in West Palm Beach as the United States approaches 200,000 deaths caused by Covid-19.Volunteers place 200,000 American flags to memorialize deaths due to COVID-19 on the National Mall on Sept. 21, 2020.Barback Jaime Torres (L) and bartender Brandi Sterner make drinks after the bartop opened for the first time at Lucky Day bar in the Fremont East Entertainment District on Sept. 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nev. Last week, Nevada's COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force voted to allow bars and lounges in Clark County to reopen at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday because of declining coronavirus numbers. The vote removes the last of the bar closure orders re-imposed by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak in July due to increasing COVID-19 cases. Venues have to observe COVID-19 safety protocols and operate at half capacity, maintain social distancing between guests and employees and patrons must wear face coverings indoors. This is the first time Lucky Day will be open as a bar because it opened during the shutdown.To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Ethan Johnson, right, sprays hand sanitizer on the hands of a customer entering the Micro Center computer department store in Dallas, Sept. 21, 2020.Ella Powell waits in line to vote early at the Hampton registrar's satellite office located at the city's former circuit courthouse on Kings Way Friday morning, Sept. 18, 2020, in Hampton, Va. Early voting continues through Oct. 31.A Model walks the runway for the Christian Siriano Collection 37 2020 Fashion Show on Sept. 17, 2020 in Westport, Conn.Visitors pass a hand sanitizer dispensing station as they visit Zoo Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Miami. The zoo reopened Tuesday as Miami-Dade and Broward counties moved to Phase 2 of reopening on Monday.An instructor helps a student with her online school lesson at a desk separated from others by plastic barriers at STAR Eco Station Tutoring & Enrichment Center on September 10, 2020 in Culver City, California. - California public school students will continue to learn at home, in private learning pods, or at specialized enrichment centers like Star Eco Station as the coronavirus pandemic continues, after a lawsuit brought by the Orange County Board of Education seeking to compel the state to reopen public schools was shot down by the California Supreme Court on September 10.Inside the Franklin Public Library,  Assistant Youth Services Librarian Bree Comeau leads the Happy Feet Creative Movement and Dance Class Friday morning on zoom.  She has as many as 15 youngsters taking part. The library has instituted curbside pickup and drop off, but the library itself remains closed to the public due to the coronavirus.OffBrnd practices a dance routine at the Boston University Beach on Friday, Sept. 4, 2020.Whitney Byars wears a Christine Moore designed hat to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5, 2020.A waiter in a face mask takes the order of customers inside a local restaurant during lunch during the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in Hoboken, N.J.A sign announcing COVID-19 pandemic health rules is displayed along the Venice Beach boardwalk where people sometimes roller skate on September 3, 2020 in Venice, California. Retailers are reporting high demand for roller skates as people search for outdoor activities amid lifestyle restrictions due to the coronavirus. According to Google data, roller skating related searches from March to May nearly quadrupled.Burnell Franklin, of Paterson, wipes down his workout area at Gold's Gym, which reopened to the public after being closed since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Totowa, N.J. on Tuesday Sept. 1, 2020.In this Aug. 11, 2020, file photo, women wear masks to help prevent the spread of coronavirus at the end of a beach day in Ogunquit, Maine.Server Maddie Fink delivers a drink order Aug. 13 at the Clear Water Harbor Restaurant & Bar in Waupaca. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, more people than usual are pulling up their boats to the dock and ordering lunch while staying in their boats, said co-owner Maureen Mondello.FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 20: Patrons watch a movie at AMC DINE-IN Thoroughbred 20 on August 20, 2020 in Franklin, Tennessee. AMC Theaters reopened more than 100 of its movie theaters across the United States today for the first time since closing in March because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with a 15-cent ticket price promotion and new safety precautions in place.  According to AMC, enhanced cleaning and safety protocols include disinfecting theaters before each show, mandatory face coverings for employees and customers, upgraded air filtration systems where possible, and high-touch points cleaned throughout the day. Hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes are available throughout the theaters, auditoriums are at 40 percent capacity or less. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 775547103 ORIG FILE ID: 1267403617Breakfast is handed out to students in Jessica Hicks’ second grade classroom at Norwood Elementary School in Oliver Springs, Tenn., on Monday, August 10, 2020. Anderson County Schools are starting on a staggered schedule on Aug. 10. Shanika Williams wears a facemask as she delivers food in John Knox Village, a retirement community in Pompano Beach some 40 miles north of Miami, Fla. on Aug. 7, 2020.  About 900 retirees live in the John Knox Village senior community in Pompano Beach, South Florida. Of these, about 400 have learned to use technology to order food to their apartments, communicate with each other or participate in online social activities.Congregants wear face shields during the first-ever outdoor Ordination Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels amid the COVID-19 pandemic on Aug. 8, 2020 in Los Angeles. Archbishop Gomez ordained eight new priests, known as the Pandemic Class of 2020, beneath a tent with social distancing in a rite delayed more than two months due to the spread of the coronavirus.Staff work to continually clean all communal surfaces in the hopes of nullifying any viral spread during pre-tournament action in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 in Shelby County, Tenn.Seattle Mariners players kneel for social justice before a baseball game against the Houston Astros Friday, July 24, 2020, in Houston.Juan Carlos, a host at Ocean 10 restaurant, stands at the entrance of the restaurant to turn customers away as a curfew from 8pm to 6am is put in place on July 18, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. The City of Miami Beach put the curfew back into place to fight the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which has spiked in recent days after the reopening of businesses.People wearing protective face masks walk along King St. on July 18, 2020 in Charleston, S.C.  South Carolina is struggling with a high percentage of positive coronavirus (COVID-19) test results.Bailey Lorcher, left, and Evan Heffernan, from Calabasas, California, attend Healthcare workers Peggy Quartrman (L) and Tiffany Burke prepare to register patients during the COVID-19 drive-thru testing at the Duke Energy for the Arts Mahaffey Theater on July 8, 2020 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Pinellas County Government partnered with state and local health care agencies to open a COVID-19 testing site while the state undergoes another surge in coronavirus cases.Candace Sanders, right, sits behind a plastic curtain while getting a pedicure at HT&V Nails in the Harlem section of New York, Monday, July 6, 2020. Nail salons and dog runs were back in business on Monday as New York City entered a new phase in the easing of coronavirus restrictions, but indoor restaurant dining will be postponed indefinitely in order to prevent a spike in new infections.Lines of cars wait at a drive-through coronavirus testing site, Sunday, July 5, 2020, outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Florida health officials say the state has reached a grim milestone: more than 200,000 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the start of the outbreak.People wearing face coverings walk past the closed Santa Monica Pier amid the COVID-19 pandemic on July 3, 2020 in Santa Monica, California. Los Angeles County beaches and piers will be closed starting today through the July 4th holiday weekend amid some reinstated restrictions intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Participants Amy Saylor, left, leads her dog Josie during the Clemson Area PUP parade at Clemson Heritage Assisted Living in Central, S.C. Tuesday, June 30, 2020. A group of dogs led by Paws 2 Care of Greenville dressed in patriotic attire for a group of residents seated outdoors in the shade, and wished them a Happy Fourth of July. New Hampshire House of Representatives members gather for a legislative session on the drained hockey rink at the University of New Hampshire on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in Durham, N.H. The N.H. House met for their scheduled final session of the year, with safety restrictions due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.Entrance of a restaurant in Austin, Texas, on June 27, 2020.People exercise at Inspire South Bay Fitness behind plastic sheets in their workout pods while observing social distancing on June 15, 2020 in Redondo Beach, Calif. as the gym reopens today under California's coronavirus Phase 3 reopening guidelines. Nyasha Sarju sits as a Seattle Fire Department paramedic prepares to take a nasal swab sample to test for coronavirus at a testing site, Monday, June 8, 2020, in Seattle, after Sarju came in to be checked following her protesting over the past two weeks in the city. The new citywide testing program expanded testing criteria to include individuals who participated in demonstrations throughout the past week, where people who have been protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man who was died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.Joel Hernandez Valdez, the 100th patient to recover from COVID-19 at Banner Baywood Medical Center, is discharged on June 5, 2020, in Mesa, Ariz.Dealers in masks wait for customers before the reopening of the D Las Vegas hotel and casino, June 3, 2020, in Las Vegas. Casinos were allowed to reopen on Thursday after temporary closures as a precaution against the coronavirus. USA;  Amanda Davidson helps her daughter, Lyle, put on her face mask after they got out of the pool at Rosewood Pool on Tuesday June 2, 2020.  Some city-owned swimming pools are reopening with reduced hours and capacity and with new rules to slow the spread of the coronavirus.  Guests must have their temperature taken and give their contact information before entering the facility, and they must wear face masks when outside the pool.  The pool closes every two hours for a 15-minute cleaning and disinfecting.Artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada works on a 20,000-square foot mural of a health care worker in a parking lot in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York on May 27, 2020.Invited guests listen as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event on protecting seniors with diabetes, in the Rose Garden at the White House on May 26, 2020 in Washington, DC. The United States is closing in on 100,000 deaths in less than four months caused by the coronavirus.A crew member in a mask looks on in the garage area prior to the NASCAR Cup Series The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 17, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. NASCAR resumes the season after the nationwide lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19).Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) helps to register families as they wait in line in their vehicles for food to be distributed by the group Empowering Culpeper at the Culpeper Sports Complex May 16, 2020 in Culpeper, Virginia.Jayden Deltoro, left, watches Joe Barnes, owner of Safe Spray Services, sprays disinfectant at Rococo restaurant as he treats and cleans the surfaces on Friday, May 15, 2020, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Barnes turned his grease traps cleaning service to a COVID-19 deep-cleaning service, that includes disinfectant spay, clean-up and UV ray treatment, to contribute to the pandemic response and keep his employees paid.People wait in line as members of the US Army National Guard hand out food and other essentials for people in need at a food pantry in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 13, 2020.The United States Navy Blue Angels fly over Chicago outside of Northwestern Memorial Hospital to honor healthcare workers and all those affected by COVID-19, May 12, 2020.Battelle decontamination technicians Zachary Leiman, left, and Rod McCollum prepare to test a Battelle CCDS Critical Care Decontamination System on May 8, 2020 in Brighton, Colorado. The decontamination system can process up to 80,000 used N95 respirators per day using vapor phase hydrogen peroxide that kills coronavirus and allows masks to be reused 20 times without degradation.People affected by the coronavirus pandemic line up in their cars at Central Texas Food Bank drive-through food distribution at Del Valle High School in Austin, Texas, on Thursday May 7, 2020.  Hundreds received an emergency food box containing about 28 pounds of shelf stable food items.  Alice Mayes, 92, is visited by her family at Signature HealthCARE on May 6, 2020 in NewBurgh, Ind. The family, from left, Onya Rhoades, Lexi Rhoads, 3, Dylan Rhoades, 5, Kaitlyn Helmbrecht, 2, James Helmbrecht and Del Mayes were separated by a window glass on May 6, 2020 in Newburgh, Ind. The 92-year-old is a COVID-19 survivor.

Alice Mayes, 92, is visited by her family at Signature HealthCARE on May 6, 2020 in NewBurgh, Ind. The family, from left, Onya Rhoades, Lexi Rhoads, 3, Dylan Rhoades, 5, Kaitlyn Helmbrecht, 2, James Helmbrecht and Del Mayes were separated by a window glass on May 6, 2020 in Newburgh, Ind. The 92-year-old is a COVID-19 survivor. Denny Simmons, Evansville Courier & Press

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Members of the National Nurses United stand among 88 pairs of empty shoes representing nurses that they say have died from COVID-19 while demonstrating in Lafayette Park across from the White House May 7, 2020 in Washington, DC. The union is protesting during Nurses' Week to demand that their employers and the federal government 'provide safe workplaces by providing optimal personal protective equipment (PPE), safe staffing, presumptive eligibility for workers compensation benefits and more' during the novel coronavirus pandemic.With senators practicing social distancing Justin Walker testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be a U.S. circuit judge for the District of Columbia Circuit on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Lisa Ford, right, of Kyle, gets her temperature checked by Margaret Capulin before entering EVO Entertainment on Monday.  The movie theater in Kyle, Texas reopened Monday after Gov. Greg Abbott last week lifted the shelter in place order and allowed retail stores, restaurants and some other businesses to open to the public at no more than 25% capacity. The casket of  Paul Cary rests in the back of an Ambulnz ambulance at Newark International Airport where his body will be flown back to his home state of Colorado on May 3, 2020. Cary died of complications from COVID-19, he became sick while serving as a volunteer with Ambulnzís State of New York COVID Response team.Dressed as the Grim Reaper, Florida Attorney Daniel Uhlfelder talks with reporters after walking the newly opened beach near Destin, Fla on Friday, May 1, 2020. Uhlfelder was protesting the Walton County (Florida) Commission's decision to reopen the county's beaches in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.  “In these circumstances, I can see no rational reason to open our beaches, effectively inviting tens of thousands of tourists back into our community” Uhlfelder said in a news release. “If by dressing up as the ‘Grim Reaper’ and walking our beaches I can make people think and potentially help save a life – that is the right thing to do.” The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort prepares to depart Manhattan's West Side to return to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on April 30, 2020 in New York City. The USNS Comfort, a floating hospital in the form of a Navy ship, is departing New York after the last patient aboard was discharged earlier this week. The Comfort's 1,000 beds and 12 operation rooms were deployed to ease pressure on New York hospitals amid the coronavirus pandemic.Richard Frady of Hartwell, Georgia, a recovering COVID-19 patient in the Intensive Care Unit at AnMed Health in Anderson, waves a Phoenix Fire Department engineer Jake Fierros, left, receives a free antibody test for the new coronavirus, administered by Phoenix Fire Department engineer paramedic Johnny Johnson at the Phoenix Fire Department training facility in Phoenix on April 28, 2020. Antibody tests, do not test for the presence of COVID-19 itself, but detect whether someone has the antibodies in their immune system to fight off the virus. Within ten minutes after taking the test that first responder was notified by phone if they tested positive. The tests available to all members of the Phoenix Fire Department were organized by the United Phoenix Firefighters Association.A waiter at Gloria's Latin Cuisine in serves up lunch to patrons on the patio in Colleyville, Texas on April 27, 2020.Pictures of the Crescent High School graduating class of 2020 are seen in downtown Crescent, Okla., Saturday, April 25, 2020. The pictures were hung to recognize the senior class that doesn't know what their graduation ceremony will look like. Barber Patrick Watkins of Jet Cuts & Styles finishes up a haircut on Darrell Stevens at the reopened barbershop in Athens, Ga, on Friday, April 24, 2020. The shop is one of the first non-essential businesses in Athens to open following Gov. Brian Kemp’s announcement to ease his COVID-19 emergency declaration. Caskets of Muslims who have passed away from the coronavirus are prepared for burial at a busy Brooklyn funeral home on the first day of Ramadan on April 24, 2020 in New York. Like the majority of New York City funeral homes, services that deal with the dead in New York's Muslim communities have been overwhelmed with the large number of deceased. Around the world, Muslims are preparing to observe the holy month of Ramadan under severe restrictions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. New York City, which has been the hardest hit city in America from COVID-19, is starting to see a slowdown in hospital visits and a lowering of the daily death rate from the virus.Cars line up for food at the Utah Food Bank's mobile food pantry at the Maverik Center, Friday, April 24, 2020, in West Valley City, Utah. As coronavirus concerns continue, the need for assistance has increased, particularly at the Utah Food Bank.Edwar Johnson works on making protective masks in Warren, Mich., Thursday, April 23, 2020. General Motors has about 400 workers at the now-closed transmission plant in suburban Detroit.Fitness coordinator Janet Hollander, leads a session of Balcony Boogie from outside Willamette Oaks in Eugene, Oregon for residents sheltering in their apartments during the COVID-19 shutdown Tuesday April 21, 2020. The staff of the senior housing center have modified some of the regular routines for residents, staging activities like morning stretches and aerobic opportunities while still observing social distancing protocols.The Paterson fire department COVID-19 EMS unit responds to a call for a person under investigation of having the coronavirus on April 16, 2020. Paterson has one of the highest coronavirus caseloads in N.J., with about 3,000 residents testing positive, according to New Jersey health officials. Fadia Joseph volunteers at a Central Texas Food Bank drive-through distribution at Del Valle High School in Austin, Texas, on April 20, 2020.  About 100 volunteers distributed nonperishable food and toiletries to thousands of people who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.Alma Cropper, 84, left, is given a coronavirus test near her vehicle at a walk-up testing center, April 20, 2020, in Annapolis, Md. According to the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management, the testing site began with a limited number of tests for people with symptoms on Monday.People wait in line for a coronavirus test at one of the new walk-in COVID-19 testing sites that opened at the located in the parking lot of NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health Morrisania in the Bronx Section of New York on April 20, 2020.A deserted 42nd Street is seen in midtown New York on April 19, 2020 during the COVID-19, coronavirus epidemic.Delcia Dias (left) and Monica Dias celebrate the beaches opening on a limited basis during the coronavirus pandemic Friday, April 17, 2020 on Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The beaches are open from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for activities such as walking, running, surfing, swimming, fishing and other activities. No sunbathing or sitting is allowed.IMPD cadets salute during a traditional 10-42 end of duty call for IMPD Officer Breann Leath, Thursday, April 16, 2020. As masks became harder to get, hospitals began looking for ways to re-use them. Dan Cates demonstrates how used N95 masks will be placed onto plastic racks to be sterilized by a robot utilizing ultraviolet light at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn.To reduce the number of times a patient's room door is opened and the amount of personal protective equipment required, nurses in the intensive care unit of MedStar St. Mary's Hospital communicate through a window with an erasable whiteboard from a COVID-19 patient's room on April 14, 2020 in Leonardtown, Maryland.This trio finds ample room to walk through a Rochester, N.Y. neighborhood on April 14, 2020 while following social distancing protocols during the coronavirus pandemic.A woman gestures to a child in a protective face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus to pose for a photograph with the Rocky statue outfitted with mock surgical face mask at the Philadelphia Art Museum in Philadelphia, April 14, 2020.Finn, Thunder and Lego at the window of Ronald Boik visiting him as their owner Nicole George holds their leashes at the Cedar Woods Assisted Living in Belleville, Michigan on Saturday, April 11, 2020. Nicole and Tim George brought their three alpacas, Thunder, Finn and Lego to the nursing home to brighten up the day for some of the 110 residents that live there. Nozmi Elder, 70 of Dearborn and owner of Cedar Woods Assisted Living said most of the residents have been confined to their rooms for the past three weeks as precautions for the Coronavirus and thought the site of alpacas visiting them would lift their spirits.Rabbi Dean Shapiro (left) of Temple Emanuel in Tempe, angles his laptop so others online can see their Seder plate as Shapiro's partner, Haim Ainsworth and their son, Jacob Shapiro-Ainsworth, 11, look on, as they participate in an online Seder during the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover at their home in Tempe on April 8, 2020. The Seder which included members from Temple Emanuel was being held online because of the coronavirus pandemic.Nurses in the emergency department of MedStar St. Mary's Hospital don personal protective equipment before entering the room of a patient suspected of having coronavirus April 8 in Leonardtown, Md.A whimsical display fashioned like giant high-demand toilet paper rolls draws attention to Hub City Smokehouse's curbside service on Main Street in historic downtown Crestview, Fla. on April 7, 2020.Austin High School seniors and best friends, clockwise from top left, Brooke Peterman, 17, Maddy McCutchin, 18, Lucia Saenz, 17, Reese Simek, 18, and Lily Tickle, 18, visit with each other in the parking lot at the school in Austin, Texas, on Sunday April 5, 2020.   In the midst of a shelter in place order due to the coronavirus pandemic, the girls sat in the back of their cars to chat at a safe distance.

Austin High School seniors and best friends, clockwise from top left, Brooke Peterman, 17, Maddy McCutchin, 18, Lucia Saenz, 17, Reese Simek, 18, and Lily Tickle, 18, visit with each other in the parking lot at the school in Austin, Texas, on Sunday April 5, 2020. In the midst of a shelter in place order due to the coronavirus pandemic, the girls sat in the back of their cars to chat at a safe distance. Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY Network

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The City of Phoenix closes park amenities due to the COVID-19 health crisis on the first day of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's A body wrapped in plastic is prepared to be loaded onto a refrigerated container truck used as a temporary morgue by medical workers due to COVID-19 concerns, March 31, 2020, at Brooklyn Hospital Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The Oculus Transportation Hub at the World Trade Center in Manhattan was all but empty March 30, 2020 as the stores that ring the site are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Medical personnel take people out of the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing on Monday, March 30, 2020, in Gallatin Tenn. As of Sunday, 74 residents and 33 staff members at the facility has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Bill Lee.  A postal service carrier dons gloves as he delivers mail in  Jackson, Miss., March 30, 2020.Gary Meyer, owner of Friedrichs Coffee, throws a bag of coffee into a car window at Friedrichs Coffee in Urbandale, Iowa, on Saturday, March 28, 2020. Meyer spent Saturday morning giving free bags of coffee to residents to help pull the community together as residents spend more time isolated in their homes due to the Covid-19 coronavirus.Nurses stand on a hill outside the emergency entrance to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx borough of New York, Saturday, March 28, 2020, as they demonstrate with members of the New York Nursing Association in support of obtaining an adequate supply of personal protective equipment for those treating coronavirus patients. A member of the New York nursing community died earlier in the week at another New York hospital. The city leads the nation in the number of coronavirus cases. Nurses say they are having to reuse their protective equipment endangering patients and themselves.Teacher Julie Dannenmueller holds her sign for the students with the help of the Caped Crusader as teachers from Bluewater Elementary school have a parade through their school’s neighborhoods to sat “hi” to their homebound students on March 27, 2020 in Niceville, FL.Robert Becker walks his dogs while carrying a .410 bore shotgun as a precaution due to the new coronavirus pandemic on March 26, 2020, in Cincinnati, Ohio.Kate Madsen, 6, displays her drawing in her window in hopes that it would cheer her neighbors up on March 25, 2020 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Madsen and her first-grade classmates are learning remotely to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at Robert Frost Elementary School. The 6-year-old says she misses her teachers, friends and art class.A hospital worker checks the temperature of a coworker at a pedestrian walkway at Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas on March 25, 2020, where almost all visitors have been prohibited amid the coronavirus outbreak.A low number of vehicles travel on a normally busy Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee on March 24, 2020. Scores of businesses will close for a month under a new order from Gov. Tony Evers aimed at keeping people in their homes to limit the spread of coronavirus in Wisconsin.Residents at The Waterford at St. Luke Senior Independent Living Community emerge from their apartments to wave flags and sing Joze Sola waves through a window to his 70-year-old mother, who lives at a senior citizens center in North Austin, Texas, on March 22, 2020.Daily routines must continue, Sammy Irizarry of Passaic, wears a mask and gloves as a precaution against COVID-19 while washing his clothes at Tri-City Laundromat on Sunday, March 22, 2020. Irizarry has preexisting health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure and is still working.Signs block the paths to the beach at the Okaloosa Island, Florida, Boardwalk, Saturday, March 21, 2020, as beach closure orders are in effect for Walton and Okaloosa Counties in the Northwest Florida panhandle.Times Square in Manhattan was far emptier than usual for a Saturday afternoon March 21, 2020. Coronavirus concerns have closed almost all businesses and kept most New Yorkers indoors.A Wayne State medical professional particiaptes in the Detroit Regional COVID-19 Drive Thru Testing Program as she prescreens a first responder Friday, March, 20, 2020 before they are tested for COVID-19. Wayne State with the help of the DPD funneled traffic one way down Brush Street from the I-75 service drive to tents set up in a lot at 2900 Brush Street in Detroit.Health care workers screen patients who will be tested for COVID-19 at the FoundCare drive-thru testing station in Palm Springs, Fla., on March 19.Jordan Cook of Anderson Interfaith Ministries Hunger Ministries, gets ready to load a car in the drive-through during food pantry hours in Anderson, S.C., March 18, 2020.A medical team prepares to test people for COVID-19 at a drive through station set up in the parking lot of FoundCare, federally qualified health center in West Palm Beach, Fla. on March, 16, 2020.A pharmacist gives Jennifer Haller, left, the first shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus,, March 16, 2020, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. Customers at grocery chain HEB in Austin look for products among increasingly empty shelves as the city responds to concerns of the spread of the new coronavirus and COVID-19 on March 13, 2020.A woman moves out of Chadbourne Hall Thursday, March 12, 2020 on the campus of UW-Madison  in Madison, Wis. The university is one of multiple Wisconsin universities on Wednesday took dramatic steps to ward off or curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, everything from moving courses online to canceling university-sponsored travel and events to extending spring break.Trader Michael Gallucci works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Stocks are closing sharply lower on Wall Street, erasing more than 1,400 points from the Dow industrials, as investors wait for a more aggressive response from the U.S. government to economic fallout from the coronavirus.Judie Shape, left, who has tested positive for the coronavirus, waves to her daughter, Lori Spencer, right, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, as they visit on the phone and look at each other through a window at the Life Care Center.Passenger aboard the Grand Princess celebrate as they arrive in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 9, 2020. The cruise ship, which had maintained a holding pattern off the coast for days, is carrying multiple people who tested positive for COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. People walk through a sparse international departure terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport as concern over the coronavirus grows on March 7, 2020 in New York City. The number of global coronavirus infections has now surpassed 100,000, causing disruptions throughout the globe. The airline and travel industries has been especially hard hit by the outbreak, with both business and leisure travelers cancelling plans.A woman who tested positive with the coronavirus is brought to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, March 6, 2020. She was transferred from Omaha's Methodist Hospital in an isolation pod inside an ambulance.Golden State Warriors fan Noah Gutierrez 11-years-old form Littleton, Colo. holds out his hand while wearing an elastic glove hoping to get a high five from Golden State Warriors Damion Lee prior to their game against the Denver Nuggets, March 3, 2020 in Denver. The NBA has told players to avoid high-fiving fans and strangers and avoid taking any item for autographs, the league's latest response in its ongoing monitoring of the coronavirus crisis.A staff member blocks the view as a person is taken by a stretcher to a waiting ambulance from a nursing facility where more than 50 people are sick and being tested for the COVID-19 virus, in Kirkland, Wash. on Feb. 29, 2020.

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38 Capitol Police officers have tested positive since Jan. 6, union says

At least 38 U.S. Capitol Police officers have tested positive for the coronavirus since a pro-Trump riot broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the police union.

Union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou told USA TODAY that the department notified him of 19 infections last week, along with 19 additional infections this week. The department has more than 2,300 officers and civilian employees.

A police spokesperson did not confirm the number of officers who had tested positive but said testing and vaccinations were top priorities for the department’s new acting chief, Yogananda Pittman. The department has “added dates and locations to further facilitate employees’ access to the testing,” the department said.

Second vaccine dose can be given up to 6 weeks later, CDC says 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on vaccinations Friday to say the second dose of a two-shot vaccine can be administered up to 6 weeks after the first.

The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna require two doses, given three weeks and one month apart, respectively. But second shots can still be administered beyond that timeframe, up to 42 days after the first, the CDC said Friday. There’s no data on doses administered after that time.

The agency also said a person may receive a different vaccine for the second shot only in “exceptional situations” where the first-dose vaccine is unknown or unavailable. Clinical trials did not evaluate the safety or effectiveness of interchanging vaccines.

Comedian Dave Chappelle tests positive for COVID-19

Dave Chappelle tested positive for the coronavirus just before a comedy show scheduled for Thursday, forcing his upcoming appearances to be canceled, a spokeswoman said.

Chappelle was expected to perform Thursday through Sunday at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas. Those shows have been canceled and Chappelle is quarantining, his representative Carla Sims said in a statement. The comedian is asymptomatic.

Chappelle had been performing socially-distanced shows in Ohio since June, and moved his shows to Austin during the winter, Sims said. Rapid testing for the audience and daily tests for Chappelle and his team were implemented.

– The Associated Press

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The COVID-19 vaccine is using new technology that has never been used before in traditional vaccines. Here’s how an mRNA vaccine works. USA TODAY

UK data suggests more contagious strain is also more deadly

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed Friday that a coronavirus variant that was first detected in the country in September may be around 30% more deadly than the previous dominant strain.

British scientists had already concluded that the variant, known as B117, spread between 30%-70% faster than the previous dominant coronavirus strain in the UK.  

Johnson’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance explained that, for someone in the UK who is 60 years old, the average previous risk for 1,000 people who got infected with the old dominant coronavirus variant was that approximately 10 people would be expected to die. 

With the new variant, roughly 13 or 14 out of 1,000 infected people might be expected to die, he said. 

“I want to stress there’s a lot of uncertainty around these numbers and we need more work to get a precise handle on it, but it obviously is a concern that this (variant, B117) has an increase in mortality as well as an increase in transmissibility,” Vallance said.

The British government so far believes that the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines work against the new variant in the UK.

– Kim Hjelmgaard

Early state data points to potential racial disparity in who’s getting vaccine

A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that, among states that have reported vaccination data by race and ethnicity, populations that have been the most affected by the virus’ deadly impacts are not receiving vaccines at a proportionate rate.

More than a dozen states have made that data public, and the share of Black and Hispanic people getting vaccinated is smaller than their share of many of the states’ case and death counts, the Kaiser Family Foundation found.

In Mississippi, Black people have accounted for 38% of cases and 42% of deaths but just 15% of vaccinations, the report says. In Nebraska, 23% of cases and 13% of death were Hispanic people, but they make up only 4% of vaccinations.

The data remains limited and no broad conclusions can be drawn, the report says, but it does “raise some early warning flags about potential racial disparities in access to and uptake of the vaccine.”

New strains of COVID-19 are swiftly moving through the US. But scientists are worried.

Variations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have popped up all over the world – including ones first seen in the U.K., South Africa, Brazil, and most recently, California. Now, medical experts are worried.

“If you have a virus that’s more transmissible, you’re going to get more cases,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top disease expert, said Thursday. “When you get more cases, you’re going to get more hospitalizations, and when you get more hospitalizations, you ultimately are going to get more deaths.’

As far as scientists know now, vaccines still work against the variants, as do diagnostic tests and the protective measures we all know so well – masks, social distancing, washing hands, avoiding crowds. What’s less clear is whether targeted drugs developed to help the immune system fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus will continue to work, and whether natural infections will provide as much protection.

As long as there is virus circulating widely, it can mutate and cause more trouble. Read more here. 

– Karen Weintraub and Elizabeth Weise

With pandemic still raging, colleges reopen in-person. What comes next?

College campus leaders hoped the lessons from the fall would better position them for the spring semester. That was before a post-holiday winter surge pushed the number of COVID-19 deaths in America over 400,000. Before more contagious variants of the coronavirus emerged. Before the vaccine rollout proved slower than anticipated.

Now, returning student populations may be at even greater risk than they were in the fall — not to mention their surrounding communities, where research has suggested greater outbreaks in college towns. Some public health experts fear the new semester’s timing could exacerbate the state of the pandemic. 

Despite those concerns, colleges are pushing ahead. The stakes are high; enrollment plummeted at most colleges last semester, and the loss of income from in-person services like campus housing and dining could be devastating to schools that depend on that money. College towns would feel the economic pinch as well.

But when administrators talk about the need for reopening, they focus on what went well in the fall — and the advantages of the full university experience.

– Chris Quintana

Super Bowl: 7,500 vaccinated health care workers going for free

The NFL announced Friday that 22,000 fans will be in attendance for Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, next month. Of that total, 7,500 will be fully vaccinated health care workers, the majority of whom will hail from hospitals or health care systems in the Tampa or central Florida area. 

Tickets will be free for the recipients. Additionally, all 32 clubs will select vaccinated health care workers from their communities to attend the big game.

“These dedicated health care workers continue to put their own lives at risk to serve others, and we owe them our ongoing gratitude,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

– Chris Bumbaca

Scientists applaud Biden’s decision to rejoin World Health Organization 

The scientific community applauded President Joe Biden’s decision to rejoin the World Health Organization and other global efforts designed to stop and prevent COVID-19. The move had both symbolic and practical implications, said Jen Kates, senior vice president and director of Global Health & HIV Policy at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Practical, because U.S. funding will help the agency balance its budget, fulfill its commitments to boost public health, and protect Americans from new strains of COVID-19 and future disease threats.

And symbolic, because the United States was the agency’s largest funder and has long been a key player on the global health stage. 

In the short term, the United States retracting its notice of withdrawal means that it will fulfill its financial obligations to the organization and stop its drawdown of U.S.-provided staff at WHO. In the longer term, U.S. participation means it will help advance pandemic preparedness, reverse the health consequences of climate change, and promote better health globally, the Biden administration said.

– Karen Weintraub

Texas doctor charged with stealing vial of COVID vaccine

A fired county public health doctor in Texas was charged with taking a vial of COVID-19 vaccine, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced in a Thursday press release. 

Dr. Hasan Gokal took a vial that contained nine doses while working at a county vaccination site on Dec. 29, according to the district attorney’s office. He told another employee what he did a week later, and that employee reported him to supervisors. 

“He abused his position to place his friends and family in line in front of people who had gone through the lawful process to be there,” Ogg said.  “What he did was illegal and he’ll be held accountable under the law.”

Gokal was charged with theft by a public servant, a misdemeanor that “carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine,” according to the district attorney’s office. 

Chicago teachers to get vaccinated in mid-February amid push to defy return to classroom next week

Chicago’s school district announced Friday that it plans to start vaccinating teachers for the coronavirus in mid-February, though it remained to be seen if that would be enough to stop the teachers union from voting to defy the district’s order to return to their classrooms next week.

Chicago Public Schools, which is the nation’s third-largest district, said in a statement that its mid-February rollout would be the beginning of a multi-month effort to offer vaccinations to its thousands of teachers and other staff members, who like educators throughout Illinois, will be eligible to receive the shots as of Monday under the state’s plan.

The announcement came a day after the union’s 25,000 members began voting on whether to back its leadership’s resolution to continue teaching from home in defiance of the district’s order for roughly 10,000 K-8 educators to return to school for the first time since March. The union’s vote is set to conclude Saturday.

Expansion of vaccine eligibility blamed for shortages

The Trump administration’s push to have states vastly expand their vaccination drives to the nation’s estimated 54 million people 65 and older has contributed to vaccine shortages, public health experts say.

The push that began over a week ago has not been accompanied by enough doses to meet demand, according to state and local officials, leading to frustration and confusion and limiting states’ ability to attack the outbreak that has killed over 400,000 Americans.

As states have ramped up their distribution chains, authorities in California, New York, Florida, Ohio, West Virginia and Hawaii warned their supplies were running out. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer even inquired about buying vaccines directly from manufacturer Pfizer, but have not been authorized to do so.

Some state and local public health officials have complained of not getting reliable information on the amount of vaccine they can expect, making it difficult to plan the inoculations.

– Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY

Contributing: The Associated Press

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