Tag Archives: CDC

U.S. asked to prioritize frontline essential workers as distribution of Moderna shots begins

By Rajesh Kumar Singh and Carl O’Donnell

(Reuters) – An advisory panel on Sunday recommended U.S. frontline essential workers and people 75 and older should be next in line to get inoculated as the distribution of Moderna Inc’s vaccine, the second approved coronavirus vaccine, began across the country.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13 to 1 to recommend 30 million frontline essential workers, which include first responders, teachers, food and agriculture, manufacturing, U.S. Postal Service, public transit, and grocery store workers, have the next priority for the vaccines.

In all, the move would make 51 million people eligible to get inoculated in the next round. It was not immediately clear when the next round would begin.

About 200 million people including non-frontline workers such as those in media, finance, energy and IT and communication industries, persons in the 65-74 age group, and those aged 16-64 years with high-risk conditions should be in the ensuing round, the panel recommended.

States, which are the ones distributing shots to their residents, will use the advisory panel’s guidelines to decide on how to allocate the vaccines while supplies are scarce.

Inoculation against the disease is key to safely reopening large parts of the economy and reducing the risks of illness at crowded meatpacking plants, factories and warehouses. However, confusion has broken out over who exactly is considered essential during a pandemic.

Ahead of the vote, many companies and industry groups had been lobbying to get their U.S. workers in line to receive the vaccines immediately after healthcare professionals and long-term care facility residents.

Meanwhile, trucks of FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc started picking up the doses from warehouses for deliveries to hospitals and other sites.

Vials of Moderna’s vaccine were filled in pharmaceutical services provider Catalent Inc’s facility in Bloomington, Indiana. Distributor McKesson Corp is shipping doses from facilities in places including Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee – close to air hubs for UPS and FedEx.

Both FedEx and UPS said the shipments were running smoothly and everything was going exactly as planned.

Separately, U.S. health officials are monitoring the new strain of COVID-19 emerging in the United Kingdom, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Sunday, adding that any mutation shows people must keep protecting themselves from the novel coronavirus while awaiting vaccination.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and scientists announced on Saturday that the new virus strain had led to spiraling infection numbers, tightening the COVID-19 restrictions for London and nearby areas and disrupting the Christmas holiday plans of millions of people.

The variant, which officials say is up to 70% more transmissible than the original, has prompted concerns about a wider spread. Several European countries, including Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands, said they were taking measures to prevent people arriving from Britain, including bans on flights and trains.

The distribution of Moderna’s vaccine to more than 3,700 locations in the United States will vastly widen the rollout started last week by Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE.

U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program head Moncef Slaoui said it was most likely the first Moderna vaccine shot, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, would be given on Monday morning.

“We look forward to the vaccine. It’s going to be slightly easier to distribute because it doesn’t require as low (a) temperature as Pfizer,” Slaoui said on CNN.

The U.S. government plans to deliver 5.9 million Moderna shots and 2 million Pfizer shots this week.

Data from CDC shows 2.84 million doses have been distributed and 556,208 shots administered thus far.

The start of delivery for the Moderna vaccine will significantly widen availability of COVID-19 vaccines as U.S. deaths caused by the respiratory disease have reached more than 316,000 in the 11 months since the first documented U.S. cases.

Some states are choosing to use Moderna’s shots for harder-to-reach rural areas because they can be stored for 30 days in standard-temperature refrigerators. Pfizer’s must be shipped and stored at minus 70 Celsius (minus 94 Fahrenheit) and can be held for only five days at standard refrigerator temperatures.

Initial doses were given to health professionals. Programs by pharmacies Walgreens and CVS to distribute the Pfizer vaccine to long-term care facilities are expected to start on Monday.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago and Carl O’Donnell in New York; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Sonya Hepinstall and Daniel Wallis)

U.S. CDC reports 282,785 deaths from coronavirus

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reported 14,823,129 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 186,215 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,532 to 282,785.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Dec. 7 versus its previous report a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

(Reporting by Trisha Roy in Bengaluru)

As U.S. companies push to get workers vaccinated, states disagree on who’s essential

By Tina Bellon and Richa Naidu

NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Companies and industry groups lobbying to get their U.S. workers to the front of the line for COVID vaccination are running into a patchwork of state plans and confusion over who is essential, and who is not.

Inoculation against the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is key to safely reopening large parts of the economy and reducing the risks of illness at crowded meatpacking plants, factories and warehouses.

But before one needle has entered the arm of an American worker, confusion has broken out over who exactly is considered essential during a pandemic.

With initial vaccine doses limited and strong federal guidance lacking, it has fallen to U.S. states to determine who will be first in line to receive a vaccine, and who will have to wait well into next year.

State vaccine distribution plans reviewed by Reuters showed broad discrepancies over who would be considered essential, with some states clearly outlining specific worker groups and others not providing any clarity.

Generally, states have broad discretion when it comes to vaccine distribution and policy and are able to issue vaccination mandates for their residents.

Many states have so far followed federal guidance to give meat and food processing industry workers space in the line, but some are slowly moving away, said Mark Lauritsen, a former hog slaughter worker who now advocates on behalf of about 250,000 meatpacking and food processing workers under the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

“For example, Colorado has not moved meatpacking and meat-processing as high as some other states. So we’ll be directing a lot of our effort towards places like Colorado where we may be moved down the food chain.”

“We’re a union that has members in every state so we will be talking to every state to make our case as to where our place in line should be…Everybody is going to be jockeying for a place in line.”

More than 20 large industries have urged officials to prioritize their workers, including individual companies such as ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc and food delivery provider DoorDash Inc and industry groups representing truck drivers, teachers, retail workers and other business sectors.

DoorDash in its letter calling for preferred vaccine access for its delivery workers said the company could also help public health officials communicate vaccine information through its platform.

At least 22 industries, including agricultural companies, cleaning suppliers, dental hygienists, bus drivers and meat packers, also have written to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent panel of health experts recommending vaccine distribution guidelines to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WHO IS ESSENTIAL?

“We’re hopeful that local health officials start jumping on this quicker rather than later so that there’s some guidance and some better sense of how to be efficient with the essential workforce,” said Bryan Zumwalt, executive vice president of public affairs for the Consumer Brands Association.

The group representing consumer products makers including Procter & Gamble Co and Coca-Cola Co, has sent letters to nearly all 50 U.S. states and federal officials, urging their nearly 1.2 million workers to be prioritized for a vaccine.

ACIP to date has only recommended healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities should receive the vaccine first – a priority not disputed by any industry or state. ACIP members did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment pending the discussions.

While some states have said they would await the committee’s further recommendations, others went ahead and developed their own vaccine distribution priorities, a review of COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans showed.

In New York, essential frontline workers regularly interacting with the public, such as pharmacists, grocery store workers and transit employees, are slated to receive the vaccine in a second distribution phase, while Florida included all essential workers on a U.S. Homeland Security list.

But that Homeland Security department list, spanning more than 25 major industries, makes up nearly 70% of the U.S. labor force, according to researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Georgia’s plan said the state was working with various industries, including poultry plants, manufacturers and warehouse distributors.

In North Carolina, which has one of the most detailed distribution plans spanning nearly 150 pages, workers in meatpacking, seafood, poultry and food processing, transportation and retail would be included in an early phase so long as they had at least two chronic conditions that put them at high risk.

Pennsylvania’s distribution plan on the other hand only includes three pages, stating merely that those “contributing to the maintenance of core societal functions” would be prioritized.

(Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York, Richa Naidu in Chicago; Editing to Joe White and Lisa Shumaker)

U.S. CDC reports 281,253 deaths from coronavirus

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 14,636,914 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 174,387 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,118 to 281,253.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Dec. 6 versus its previous report a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

(Reporting by Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

Coronavirus claims 1.5 million lives globally with 10,000 dying each day

By Shaina Ahluwalia and Sangameswaran S

(Reuters) – Over 1.5 million people have lost their lives due to COVID-19 with one death reported every nine seconds on a weekly average, as vaccinations are set to begin in December in a handful of developed nations.

Half a million deaths occurred in just the last two months, indicating that the severity of the pandemic is far from over. Nearly 65 million people globally have been infected by the disease and the worst affected country, United States, is currently battling a third wave of coronavirus infections.

In the last week alone, more than 10,000 people in the world died on average every single day, which has been steadily rising each passing week. Many countries across the world are now fighting second and third waves even greater than the first, forcing new restrictions on everyday life.

The novel coronavirus caused more deaths in the past year than tuberculosis in 2019 and nearly four times the number of deaths due to malaria, according to the World Health Organization.

Robert Redfield, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned on Wednesday that the pandemic will pose the country’s grimmest health crisis yet over the next few months, before vaccines become widely available.

“I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” Redfield told a livestream presentation hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

The United States continues to lead in terms of fatalities, with over 273,000 deaths alone. North America and Latin American regions combined have more than 50% of all coronavirus deaths that have been reported.

The Latin American region, the worst-affected globally in terms of fatalities, recently surpassed over 450,000 deaths.

VACCINE HOPES

On Wednesday, Britain became the first country to approve the vaccine candidate developed by Germany’s BioNTech and Pfizer Inc, jumping ahead of the rest of the world in the race to begin a crucial mass inoculation program.

However, supplies are expected to be very limited in the early stages which means that every country beginning the drive will have to prioritize based on risk factors.

U.S. health regulators are expected to approve distribution and administration of the vaccine in mid-December.

Africa aims to have 60% of its population vaccinated against COVID-19 within the next two to three years, the African Union’s disease control group said on Thursday. The continent of 1.3 billion people has recorded more than 2.2 million confirmed coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally.

(Reporting by Shaina Ahluwalia and Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

U.S. health agency shortens quarantine guidance following coronavirus exposure

By Manas Mishra and Carl O’Donnell

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday said a shorter quarantine period of seven days with a negative COVID-19 test and 10 days without a test would work for individuals showing no symptoms after virus exposure, providing alternatives to the current 14-day standard.

The CDC said it still recommends a 14-day quarantine period for those exposed to COVID-19 as the best way to reduce its spread, calling the shorter options alternatives it hopes will increase compliance.

“Reducing the length of quarantine may make it easier for people to follow critical public health action by reducing the economic hardship associated with a longer period, especially if they cannot work during that time,” CDC official Henry Walke told reporters on a conference call.

People must still watch for symptoms for 14 days, Walke said.

Last week, a top U.S. health official said people might be more likely to comply with a shorter quarantine period, even if it meant some infections might be missed.

“I think it’s the right move based on epidemiological data and the difficulty people have in adhering to 14 days,” said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The World Health Organization has recommended a 14-day period for quarantine.

Studies show that people usually start showing symptoms of the disease within five days of exposure, but the CDC had earlier said between 40% and 50% of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic.

The CDC updated its definition of what constitutes close contact in October to include direct physical contact, sharing food utensils, or exposure of 15 minutes spent six feet (1.83 m)or closer to an infected person.

The two shorter quarantine periods are based on analysis of new research and data, CDC said.

“Agencies like ours have to have the courage to change when we have data that says we need to change,” CDC director Robert Redfield told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Obviously, 14 days of quarantine has an impact on productivity; 14 days of quarantine also has an impact on whether people quarantined,” he said.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra Bengaluru and Carl O’ Donnell in New York, additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

U.S. agency screened 1.18 million airline passengers on Sunday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1.18 million airline passengers on Sunday, the highest number since mid-March but still about 60% lower than the comparable day last year.

The number of passengers screened on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year was 2.88 million, the highest ever recorded by the agency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month urged Americans not to travel during this week’s Thanksgiving holiday to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus as cases of COVID-19 spike around the United States.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Toby Chopra)

U.S. CDC reports 259,005 deaths from coronavirus

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported 12,498,734 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 165,282 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,989 to 259,005.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Nov. 24 versus its previous report a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

(Reporting by Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru)

Catch-all travel insurance booms as U.S. flyers take Thanksgiving risks

By Noor Zainab Hussain

(Reuters) – U.S. websites have seen a surge in travelers seeking expensive ironclad insurance this Thanksgiving, as Americans desperate to break the monotony of a year spent at home look to cover themselves against coronavirus-related risks.

Data from insurance comparison website Squaremouth on Tuesday showed the number of insurance policies purchased for U.S. domestic trips over the upcoming holiday was up 170%, compared to the same period of 2019.

Some 40% of all Thanksgiving travelers specifically searched for coronavirus cover, replacing top concerns from previous years, such as weather and financial defaults, and spurring a rise in the overall cost of cover.

“Cancel-for-any-reason” policies, which typically allow cancellations up until two days before departure and a 75% reimbursement, cost up to 40% more than a regular policy.

“It’s just gotten to a point I think people are tired of being stuck at home and they’re looking to get away and go somewhere,” said Jeremy Murchland, president of U.S. travel insurer Seven Corners.

More than 3 million passengers passed through U.S. airports over the weekend, discarding advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stay at home as coronavirus infections reached daily records.

Overall traveler numbers are still down 60% from a year ago, but Squaremouth, one of the country’s main insurance price aggregators, said its data suggested that the total number of travelers seeking cover was up 26% year-on-year.

The data from Squaremouth is based on all travel insurance policies purchased on its website between March 12 and Nov. 9 for travel over the week of Thanksgiving.

With trips to popular European destinations effectively banned, and the risks of quarantine and other curbs weighing on travelers’ decision making, overall requests for cover to foreign locales were lower than those for domestic trips.

Those for the Bahamas and Costa Rica were down by just over half. Requests for insurance for trips to Mexico, however, were down just 23% year-on-year, and for the Turks and Caicos islands, just off Haiti, where luxury hotels are guaranteeing COVID-19-secure bubbles, they are up more than 500%.

For those traveling outside the United States, a travel insurance policy that also has medical cover for COVID-19 will cover medical treatment that a normal healthcare policy would not, as well as potentially medical evacuation.

Courtney Glass, a California-based stage actress, is insuring a trip with her parents to Guatemala to rendezvous with her sister and newborn niece Madi.

“Madi arrived right as the virus did. She’s crawling and trying to talk now and we just don’t want to miss any more of this time,” she said.

“If we don’t go now, we probably won’t go until after the holidays. And potentially, not until after the vaccine that everybody’s talking about is distributed.”

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in Washington Crossing, Penn; Editing by Patrick Graham and Sriraj Kalluvila)

Ice Bucket Challenge co-creator Patrick Quinn dies at age 37

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Patrick Quinn, whose personal battle with ALS helped power the Ice Bucket Challenge fundraising campaign, died on Sunday at age 37, seven years after his diagnosis, supporters announced on Facebook.

Quinn, who was born and grew up in Yonkers, New York, was co-founder of the campaign that raised more than $220 million for medical research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, his Facebook page said.

He was diagnosed with ALS on March 8, 2013, according to his Facebook page.

“It is with great sadness that we must share the passing of Patrick early this morning,” his supporters said on Facebook. “We will always remember him for his inspiration and courage in his tireless fight against ALS.”

Condolences to the Quinn family poured in on social media, with many expressing gratitude for the spotlight he drew to the disease and the need to find a cure.

The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media in the summer of 2014, when people around the world posted videos and photos of themselves dumping buckets of ice water on their heads and challenging others to do the same while urging donations for ALS research.

Roughly 12,000 to 15,000 Americans may have ALS, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 5% to 10% of ALS cases are believed to be hereditary, but the cause is unknown and there is no cure.

Among Quinn’s many honors for raising awareness of ALS and promoting research was a nomination with fellow ALS activist Peter Frates as “Person of the Year” by Time magazine. Frates died last year at age 34, seven years after his diagnosis.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)