POLITICO Playbook: Biden lays out his agenda

POLITICO

2020-10-24 22:42:48

• Germany's Merkel, state leaders ponder tougher virus rules

  BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel is holding a virtual meeting Tuesday with the governors of Germany’s 16 states to discuss the country’s pandemic measures amid concerns that new mutations of the coronavirus could trigger a fresh surge in cases. The country's infection rate has stabilized in recent days, indicating...Read Full StoryCurfewsPonderVirus InfectionsPublic HealthGermanyState GovernmentsBritainAPMarburger BundDpa News AgencyCountryDisease ControlBERLINDeathsOffice-driven InfectionsAngela Merkel

• Prolonged shedding and multiple mutations 154 days after initial SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis reported

  Many cases have been reported in which immunocompromised individuals infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have continued to shed the virus for far longer than the typical duration. A new preprint published on the medRxiv* server describes an immunosuppressed patient with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who continued to shed the virus for an astounding 154 days. During this period, the virus underwent numerous mutations.Read Full StorySarsGenetic DiversityRespiratory TractSteroidsPublic HealthGenetic MutationsChronic InfectionChronic DiseaseRespiratory InfectionChemotherapyBritishARDSD614GDetectable MutationsDiagnosis

• Scientists set research priorities for COVID-19 vaccines

  More than 2,800 scientists from 130 countries gathered on Friday (January 15) in a virtual forum hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify knowledge gaps and set research priorities for vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. They discussed the safety and efficacy of existing vaccines and new candidates, ways to optimize limited supply, and the need for additional safety studies.Read Full StoryCovid-19 VaccinesPublic HealthResearch ScientistsData ScientistsHealth ResearchVaccine DosesSARS-CoV-2 VaccinesMultiple VaccinesVaccine PlatformsCritical ResearchResearch ProtocolsSingle-dose VaccinesCollaborative ResearchDisease ControlPolicyJohn Nkengasong

• The Latest: China grapples with virus outbreaks in northeast

  A man holds up a child, both wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, to reach out a tree branches at the Wangfujing shopping district in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. A Chinese province grappling with a spike in coronavirus cases is reinstating tight restrictions on weddings, funerals and other family gatherings, threatening violators with criminal charges. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) (Andy Wong)BEIJING — China is now dealing with coronavirus outbreaks across its frigid northeast, prompting additional lockdowns and travel bans.The country reported a total of 118 newly confirmed cases Tuesday — most of them in Jilin province, the Hebei region just outside Beijing and Heilongjiang province bordering Russia.A fourth northern province, Liaoning, has also imposed quarantines and travel restrictions to prevent the virus from further spreading, part of measures being imposed across much of the country to prevent new outbreaks during during February’s Lunar New Year holiday.Authorities have called on citizens not to travel, ordered schools closed a week early and conducted testing on a massive scale.___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:— Japan's prime minister vows to hold the already postponed Olympics this summer as proof of victory over virus— Israel trades Pfizer vast troves of medical data for the continued flow of its hard-to-get vaccine— Brazil approves two coronavirus vaccines, ones by Sinovac and Oxford-AstraZeneca— China's economy grows in 2020 as it rebounds from virus, likely only major economy to expand— Britain vows to give all adults 1st shot of the virus by September— Tennis players find ways to keep fit even during hotel room quarantines in Australia__Follow all of AP's pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak___HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Travelers to New Zealand from most other nations will need to show negative coronavirus test results before boarding as of next Monday.New Zealand recently imposed the test requirement for travelers from the U.S. and Britain, and authorities said Tuesday that it is being extending to all other countries, with the exception of Australia and a handful of Pacific Island nations. Travelers returning from Antarctica are also exempt.COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says New Zealand has some of the strictest border measures in the world.There is currently no community spread of the virus in New Zealand, with all known infections among travelers who have been put into quarantine at the border. Most travelers are required to spend two weeks in quarantine upon arrival.___WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming White House press secretary says his administration does not intend to lift coronavirus travel restrictions for Europe, the U.K., Ireland and Brazil.The message from Jen Psaki came Monday evening after the White House said President Donald Trump had lifted the restrictions for those countries, effective Jan. 26.Psaki then tweeted: “On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26.”She added, “In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”Trump imposed the travel restrictions early in the pandemic to slow the spread of the coronavirus to the U.S. They prevented most people without American citizenship or residency from traveling to the U.S. from the affected regions.___OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has announced a plan to set up coronavirus vaccination sites statewide with help from the National Guard and others as part of an overall goal to vaccinate 45,000 people a day.Inslee said Monday that while the goal is currently higher than the current allotment of vaccine the state is receiving from the federal government, the state is working to get the infrastructure in place now for when the supply increases.He says the state is now vaccinating between 13,000 and 15,000 people a day.The governor also announced a public-private partnership with business, health care and labor entities on areas ranging from coordination of volunteer vaccinators to communications support.___JACKSON, Miss. — More than 100,000 people in Mississippi have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and officials are taking further steps to administer the state’s supply of shots more efficiently, Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday.Inoculation rates in Mississippi have lagged far behind most of the U.S., according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Reeves insisted Monday that health officials are making changes to speed things along.The state’s website for making vaccine appointments has been upgraded to handle increased traffic, and more people are answering calls from those booking by phone, he said.Meanwhile, state officials are working to free up more shots for the general population aged 65 and older by getting several thousand doses from nursing homes that received more than they need, Reeves said.___LOS ANGELES — California’s state epidemiologist is urging a halt to more than 300,000 coronavirus vaccine doses by Moderna because some people who received it needed medical treatment for possible severe allergic reactions.Dr. Erica S. Pan is recommending that vaccine providers stop using one lot of the Moderna vaccine pending completion of an investigation. She says less than 10 people who were inoculated at a single vaccination site needed medical attention.But she also said serious reactions to vaccinations are extremely rare.The virus has claimed more than 33,000 lives in California.___MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced on Monday the state will open nine community sites this week to vaccinate adults over 65, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade educators, school staff and child care workers.The program opens the state’s vaccine rollout beyond the first high-priority group that includes healthcare workers and long-term care residents and staff.The nine sites will start inoculating people Thursday by appointment-only due to the small number of available doses.The announcement comes after the Democratic governor accused the Trump administration of “lying” when he and six other governors asked for permission to receive their states’ second doses from a national stockpile to ramp up vaccination efforts.The governors were told by federal officials that the administration would release the federal reserve of doses, but later learned the stockpile had already been exhausted.___BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota reported on Monday zero coronavirus deaths for the fifth time this month, although the fatality rate by population continues to be among the worst in the country.The state’s death count, which stands at a total of 1,384, is the sixth highest per capita in the country at 185 deaths per 100,000 people, according to John Hopkins University researchers.North Dakota’s 14-day rolling average of daily new cases has decreased by more than 27%, according to The COVID Tracking Project data. The state has experienced a steady decline in daily new cases since the virus case count peaked in mid-November. It now ranks 48th per capita in the U.S. for new cases over the last two weeks.A statewide mask mandate that was enacted in mid-November was allowed to expire Monday morning.___ST. LOUIS -- More than 172,000 people in St. Louis County have registered for the COVID-19 vaccine, but the the local health department so far has only received 975 doses, county Executive Sam Page said Monday.The county expects more doses to arrive Tuesday but it was unclear how many, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.Page also urged residents to be honest about the information they use to register for vaccinations, saying some have falsely claimed to be health care workers or brought along family members who are ineligible at this time.A new inoculation phase began Monday in Missouri that allows older people and those with certain pre-existing conditions to be vaccinated.___PRAGUE — The fast-spreading coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. has been found in the Czech Republic, a health official said Monday.The National Institute of Public Health confirmed its findings after it announced over the weekend it was testing suspected samples.Health Minister Jan Blatny says the variant accounts for about 10% of all sequenced samples in in the country. No further details were provided.The country of 10.7 million has reported 891,852 confirmed coronavirus cases and 14,449 deaths since the start of the pandemic.The daily infection rate has been in decline since Jan 6., prompting the government to allow stores selling stationary and children’s clothes and shoes to reopen. The country still remains under a tough lockdown with a nighttime curfew.___MADRID — Spain’s Health Ministry has confirmed 84,287 new known coronavirus cases since Friday amid a post-Christmas virus surge. The ministry also reported 455 deaths over the weekend.Monday’s figures brought the total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic to 2.34 million and known deaths to 53,769.Spain’s 14-day incidence rate for 100,000 inhabitants rose to 689, from 575 on Friday. Coronavirus patients currently occupy 33% of ICU beds, up from 30% on Friday.Despite the substantial daily increases, Health Minister Salvador Illa on Monday insisted the measures taken by each of Spain’s 17 regions are enough to quell the increase, ruling out a total lockdown.Spain’s health emergency chief Fernando Simon said that the country could be at the peak of the latest surge or getting close to it.___ROME — For the first time in three weeks, Italy’s daily caseload of known coronavirus infections dropped below 10,000 on Monday.Health Ministry figures reported 8,825 additional cases since Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 2.4 million since the start of the pandemic.Sicily has the nation's highest daily caseload. Italy registered 377 deaths for a second straight day.The nation’s known COVID-19 death toll of 82,554 is the second highest in Europe.___MADRID — The tiny British colony of Gibraltar says it has lost more people to the coronavirus since the start of the year than from any other single cause in the past century.Gibraltar, with a population of some 34,000, has posted 38 deaths since Jan. 1.“Even in war, we have never lost so many in such a short time,” Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said on Monday.He said 21 people had died from the virus in the past three days, bringing the colony's total virus deaths to 45 since the start of the pandemic.Located on Spain’s southern coast, Gibraltar has recorded some 4,000 cases. It has been under lockdown since the beginning of January.___BERLIN — Swiss authorities say they have placed two hotels under quarantine and ordered all guests and employees to be tested after a new variant of the coronavirus was detected among them in the upscale skiing resort of St. Moritz.Local authorities said Monday they have also closed down skiing schools, regular schools and kindergartens.Officials did not reveal the names of the two affected facilities, but Swiss media said both were luxury hotels.In addition to tests at the hotels, all residents of St. Moritz were being asked to be tested on Tuesday. Authorities ordered all residents to wear protective masks, and asked people to reduce their contacts to prevent the further spread of the virus.“The health office is concerned,” authorities of the Graubuenden canton said in their statement. “The variant of the virus is clearly more contagious than the one that’s currently predominant globally.”Swiss media reported that the variant of the virus detected in St. Moritz was the one first found in South Africa.___MOSCOW -- Backers of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V say it has been approved in Turkmenistan, an ex-Soviet nation in Central Asia that hasn’t officially reported any infections so far.The Russian Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled the development of the shot announced Monday that health officials in Turkmenistan approved Sputnik V “under the emergency use authorization procedure.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether Russia would ship the vaccine to Turkmenistan any time soon.The vaccine is still undergoing advanced studies among tens of thousands of people needed to ensure its safety and effectiveness. Nevertheless, the shot last month was rolled out in a large-scale vaccination campaign in Russia. It has also received regulatory approval in several other countries, and immunization with Sputnik V has started in Belarus and Argentina.Turkmenistan, a gas-rich nation of 5.9 million, hasn’t reported any coronavirus infections, but authorities have shut restaurants and non-food stores and recommended that the population wears masks to protect against dust and unspecified infectious agents. However, the British ambassador to the capital, Ashgabat, said last month that he had contracted the virus.© 2021 Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. BrazilSpainArgentinaVirusSkiingPoliticsDisease OutbreaksChinaPopulation DeclineWorld PopulationPfizerSinovacOxford-AstraZenecaAPThe White HouseChris HipkinsJoe BidenJen PsakiDonald TrumpJay InsleeTate ReevesFabian PicardoTim WalzSalvador Illa

• State prepares for phase 2 of COVID-19 vaccination plan

  SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Phase two of the COVID-19 vaccination plan in Massachusetts will start in February. At the top of the list to get the vaccine are those who are at high risk for having COVID-19 complications. That could mean people who smoke will be able to get the...Read Full StoryCovid-19VaccinationMercy Medical CenterPublic HealthCDCChronic DiseaseCancerChronic Kidney DiseaseInfectionsWGGB/WSHMWestern Mass NewsPneumoniaHealth IssuesCOVID-19 ComplicationsInflammation

• California becomes first state to top 3 million virus cases

  LOS ANGELES (AP) — California on Monday became the first state to record more than 3 million known coronavirus infections. The grim milestone, as tallied by Johns Hopkins University, wasn’t entirely unexpected in a state with 40 million residents but its speed stunning. The state only reached 2 million reported cases on Dec. 24. The first coronavirus case in California was confirmed last Jan. 25. It took 292 days to get to 1 million infections on Nov. 11 and 44 days to top 2 million.California’s caseload is also far ahead of other large states. Texas had more than 2 million and Florida topped 1.5 million.The state has recorded more than 33,600 deaths related to COVID-19.A caseload surge that began last fall has strained hospitals and especially intensive care units as a percentage of the infected — typically estimated to be around 12% by public health officials — become sick enough weeks later to need medical care.On average, California has seen about 500 deaths and 40,000 new cases daily for the past two weeks. Officials warn that a recent slight downward trend in hospitalizations could reverse when the full impact of New Year’s Eve gathering transmissions is felt. The state is placing its hopes on mass vaccinations to reduce the number of infections but there have been snags in the immunization drive. On Sunday, Dr. Erica S. Pan, the state epidemiologist, urged that providers stop using one lot of a Moderna vaccine because some people needed medical treatment for possible severe allergic reactions.More than 330,000 doses from lot 41L20A arrived in California between Jan. 5 and Jan. 12 and were distributed to 287 providers, she said.In Northern California, Stanislaus County health officials responded by announcing they wouldn’t be holding vaccination clinics until further notice.“Out of an extreme abundance of caution and also recognizing the extremely limited supply of vaccine, we are recommending that providers use other available vaccine inventory” pending completion of an investigation by state officials, Moderna, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the federal Food and Drug Administration, Pan said in a statement.Fewer than 10 people, who all received the vaccine at the same community site, needed medical attention over a 24-hour period, Pan said. No other similar clusters were found.Pan did not specify the number of cases involved or where they occurred. Six San Diego health care workers had allergic reactions to vaccines they received at a mass vaccination center on Jan. 14. The site was temporarily closed and is now using other vaccines, KTGV-TV reported.Moderna in a statement said the company “is unaware of comparable adverse events from other vaccination centers which may have administered vaccines from the same lot.”The CDC has said COVID-19 vaccines can cause side effects for a few days that include fever, chills, headache, swelling or tiredness, “which are normal signs that your body is building protection.”However, severe reactions are extremely rare. Pan said in a vaccine similar to Moderna’s, the rate of anaphylaxis — in which an immune system reaction can block breathing and cause blood pressure to drop — was about 1 in 100,000.The announcement came as California counties continue to plead for more COVID-19 vaccine as the state tries to tamp down its rate of infection, which has resulted in record numbers of hospitalizations and deaths.California has shipped about about 3.2 million doses of the vaccine — which requires two doses for full immunization — to local health departments and health care systems, the state’s Department of Public Health reported Monday. Only about 1.4 million of those doses, or around 40%, have been administered.So far, the state has vaccinated fewer than 2,500 people per 100,000 residents, a rate that falls well below the national average, according to federal data.Although Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that anyone age 65 and older would be eligible to start receiving the vaccine, Los Angeles County and some others have said they do not have enough doses to vaccinate that many people and are first concentrating on inoculating health care workers and the most vulnerable elderly living in care homes.The death rate from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County — the nation’s most populous and an epicenter of the state pandemic — works out to about one person every six minutes. On Sunday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District suspended some pollution-control limits on the number of cremations for at least 10 days in order to deal with a backlog of bodies at hospitals and funeral homes. “The current rate of death is more than double that of pre-pandemic years,” the agency said.Adding to concerns, California is experiencing new, possibly more transmissible forms of COVID-19. The state health department announced Sunday that an L452R variant of the virus is increasingly showing up in genetic sequencing of COVID-19 test samples from several counties. The variant was first identified last year in California and in other states and countries but has been identified more frequently since November and in several large outbreaks in Northern California’s Santa Clara County, the department said.Overall, the variant has been found in at least a dozen counties. In some places, testing has found the variant in a quarter of the samples sequenced, said Dr. Charles Chiu, a virologist and professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California San Francisco.However, not all test samples receive genetic sequencing to identify variants so its frequency wasn’t immediately clear.Health officials said it was linked to a Christmas-time outbreak at Kaiser Permanente San Jose that infected at least 89 staff members and patients, killing a receptionist. The outbreak has been blamed on an employee who visited the hospital emergency room wearing an air-powered inflatable Christmas tree costume.The variant is different from another mutation, B117, that was first reported in the United Kingdom and appears to spread much more easily, although it doesn’t appear to make people sicker.That variant has already shown up in San Diego County and Los Angeles County announced over the weekend that it had detected its first case.Kaiser PermanenteVirusInfectionsNorthern CaliforniaU.S. Department Of StateLocal DiseaseCDCAPJohns Hopkins UniversityPanKTGV-TVModerna 'sCalifornia CountiesState OfficialsVaccination ClinicsGavin Newsom

• Are you a Mainer over age 70? Here’s how to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine.

  AUGUSTA, Maine — Mainers over the age of 70 can now make appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations at 18 sites statewide, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday, though availability will be limited based on supply of the vaccine. The announcement follows last week’s news that Maine would...Read Full StoryCovid-19PoliticsPublic HealthDisease PreventionCenter Of Disease ControlMainersThe Maine CDC 'sMaine CDCCOVID-19 VaccinationsVaccinesKennebecHospitalsPhase 1BWashington CountiesDonald TrumpNirav Shah

• Staten Island coronavirus hospitalizations reach highest point since April; death total rises by 7

  STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Coronavirus (COVID-19) hospitalizations saw a striking hike on Staten Island Monday as the number of people being treated for the disease reached levels not seen since the end of April, while deaths and new cases also continued to climb higher. There are 302 people being treated...Read Full StoryVirusQueensNew York CityPublic HealthLung DiseaseLung Cancer PatientsAdvance/SILiveRUMCHealth DepartmentCensusOcean BreezeCoronavirus InfectionsCoronavirus PatientsStaten Island MondayProbable DeathsAlex Lutz

• Green Mediterranean diet cuts non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by half

  A green Mediterranean (MED) diet reduces intrahepatic fat more than other healthy diets and cuts non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in half, according to a long-term clinical intervention trial led by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers and a team of international colleagues. The findings were published in Gut, a...Read Full StoryFatty LiverMediterranean DietCardiovascular DiseaseDiabetes DietGreen MediterraneanThe HarvardProfsThe Chan SchoolMankaiMRIIHFLiver Fat ReductionHepatic FatAlcohol ConsumptionExcessive Fat

• "Pot For Shots": Oakland County cannabis company offers free marijuana to those vaccinated against COVID-19

  Photo credit Getty Images-FILE(WWJ) An Oakland County cannabis company is handing out free marijuana to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.The participating company, Greenhouse of Walled Lake, said customers only need to have written proof they received their COVID-19 vaccine in order to receive a “free pre-rolled joint.”“Our goal is to raise awareness of the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccination as we as a community battle this horrible pandemic,” Jerry Millen, owner of Greenhouse of Walled Lake, said in a release.They call the promotion “Pots for Shots.” It goes from January 22 through February 28.Greenhouse of Walled Lake, a fully licensed medical and recreational dispensary, is joining forces with Ubaked Cannabis Company of Burton Michigan for the promotion.Additional resources:Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page on COVID-19 vaccineMichigan Department of Health and Human Services page on COVID-19 vaccine including how to access it, and to see if you are eligible.Covid-19CannabisMarijuanaCDCHealth CentersOakland CountyWWJGreenhouse Of Walled LakeUbaked Cannabis CompanyBurton MichiganDepartment Of HealthMedicalDisease ControlPotsCustomers

• U.S. expected to have 500,000 COVID-19 deaths by February, CDC official warns

  As the U.S. closes in on 400,000 coronavirus deaths, the incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control said that by the middle of February, officials expect the death toll to be staggering. 'By the middle of February, we expect half a million deaths in this country,' said Dr. Rochelle...Read Full StoryU.sCovid-19PoliticsPublic HealthU.S.CDCLung DiseasePopulation HealthUCLACBS NewsReutersTrumpCOVID-19 DeathsFebruaryCoronavirus CasesAnne Rimoin