Coronavirus category, Page 17
Pa. covid-19 data follows recent trends in South Africa, U.K., but hospitals remain busy
While Allegheny County’s numbers still are headed in the wrong direction, covid-19 figures posted throughout Pennsylvania are in line with predictions that the U.S. could be nearing the downward curve of the recent surge brought on by the omicron variant. In Allegheny, the weeklong average in hospitalizations is up about...
Booster shots needed against omicron, CDC studies show
Three studies released Friday offered more evidence that covid-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots. They are the first large U.S. studies to look at vaccine protection against omicron, health officials said. The papers echo previous research — including studies...
Russia hits all-time high of new infections, blames omicron
Daily new coronavirus infections in Russia reached an all-time high Friday and authorities blamed the highly contagious omicron variant, which they expect to soon dominate the country’s outbreak. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova on Friday noted “intensive spread of the omicron variant” and said the authorities “expect it to become...
Austrian parliament approves universal vaccine mandate
VIENNA — Austria’s parliament has voted to introduce a covid-19 vaccine mandate for adults from Feb. 1, the first of its kind in Europe. Lawmakers voted 137 to 33 Thursday evening to approve the mandate, which will apply to all residents of Austria aged 18 and over. Exempted from the...
Aiming to make CDC nimble, agency director has rankled many
From the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, the top U.S. public health agency has been criticized as too slow to collect and act on new information. Now, increasingly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also being criticized for moving too fast. One year into Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s tenure...
How the body’s immune system tries to fight off covid
Vaccines have shown themselves to be the best defense against a serious case of covid-19: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unvaccinated adults were about 13 times more likely to be hospitalized with the disease than vaccinated adults as of late November. But vaccines and the antibodies...
West Virginia lawmakers seek to ban school mask, testing requirements
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group of Republican lawmakers in West Virginia is trying to pass a law forbidding mask mandates in K-12 schools and restricting districts from requiring covid-19 testing for people who don’t have symptoms. The “Public School Health Rights Act” would also prevent students or school employees from...
State Rep. Eric Nelson wants ‘natural immunity’ exemption for employer vaccine mandates
A Hempfield Republican is seeking support for a state bill that would exempt people who have been infected with covid-19 from employer mandates requiring covid vaccines and booster shots. State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, said he intends to introduce a bill in February that would allow workers with natural immunity...
Covid hospitalizations high among young children in Allegheny County
Last month, covid-19 hospitalizations among young children jumped to the highest level since the start of the pandemic, increasing more than 14-fold from mid-December to the end of the month, according to data collected by the Allegheny County Health Department. The numbers look at hospital admissions by week. The week...
Starbucks nixes vaccine mandate after Supreme Court ruling
Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to be vaccinated against covid-19, reversing a plan it announced earlier this month. In a memo sent Tuesday to employees, the Seattle coffee giant said it was responding to last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 vote, the...
Allegheny Valley School Board votes to keep masking requirement in place
The masking requirement will remain at Allegheny Valley School District. At a school board meeting Tuesday night, board members voted 5-4 to keep a mandatory masking policy in place, rather than switching to recommended masking. School board member David Buchman said the board will revisit the mask requirement if improvement...
U.S. begins offering free covid test kits, but doubts persist
WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, all Americans can log on to a government website and order free, at-home covid-19 tests. But the White House push may do little to ease the omicron surge, and experts say Washington will have to do a lot more to fix the country’s...
Parents near breaking point as covid-19 exacerbates child-care crisis
Parents are tired. Take nursing assistant Tammi Lewis, who missed weeks of work and $7,800 in wages when her toddler’s child-care classroom in Plymouth, Minn., suffered covid outbreaks. Or Kelsey and Christian Dahlager of St. Paul, Minn., who pay $3,000 a month for child care for their two children —...
U.S. faces wave of omicron deaths in coming weeks, models say
The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, but covid-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March. The seven-day rolling average for daily new covid-19 deaths in the U.S. has...
White House soft-launches free covid test request website
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home covid-19 tests, a day before the site was scheduled to officially launch. The website, covidtests.gov, now includes a link for Americans to order up four at-home tests per residential address, to be delivered...
Hong Kong to kill 2,000 animals after hamsters get covid
HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday that they will kill about 2,000 small animals, including hamsters, after several tested positive for the coronavirus at a pet store where an employee was also infected. The city will also stop the sale of hamsters and the import of small mammals,...
Experts back CDC guidance recommending N95, KN95 masks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its mask guidance to recommend higher-quality N95 and KN95 masks over cloth and surgical ones that many people have worn throughout the pandemic. Cloth masks can keep 30% to 60% of particles from coming in and potentially infecting the person wearing...
Judge orders North Allegheny School District to reinstate universal masking
A federal judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order sought by pro-mask parents in North Allegheny School District, meaning all students, staffers and visitors in district buildings must wear masks when classes resume Tuesday. The restraining order was requested last week by parents seeking to overturn the district’s mask-optional...
In Greece, unvaccinated people 60 and up face monthly fines
ATHENS, Greece — Greece imposed a vaccination mandate Monday for people 60 and older, as the country’s vaccination rate remains below the European Union average and a spike in infections has put sustained pressure on Greek hospitals. Older people failing to get vaccinated will face penalties, starting at a 50-euro...
Extra covid tests from feds unlikely to make much difference in Western Pa. schools
A White House plan to deliver millions of covid-19 tests to schools by the end of the month likely won’t change much in Western Pennsylvania. Those already using the tests appreciate the extra resources. The rest have no plans to change course. Burrell School District “is not interested in testing...
Covid deaths and cases are rising again at U.S. nursing homes
Covid-19 infections are soaring again at U.S. nursing homes because of the omicron wave, and deaths are climbing too, leading to new restrictions on family visits and a renewed push to get more residents and staff members vaccinated and boosted. Nursing homes were the lethal epicenter of the pandemic early...
Experts say too soon to tell what drop in covid counts means for Western Pa.
As some countries and major U.S. cities emerge from suspected omicron peaks, experts and health officials in Southwestern Pennsylvania say it’s too soon to say whether this region also has passed the worst of omicron. Cases have flattened in New York City, according to The New York Times, as well...
Staffing problems expected at Westmoreland Manor from federal vaccine mandate
Westmoreland Manor could have a growing staffing problem before the end of January after the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the federally imposed covid-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers. Manor administrator Abby Testa said this week that about 77% of staffers at the county-owned nursing home have been...
Supreme Court blocks vaccine-or-test rule for U.S. businesses
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has stopped the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that employees at large businesses be vaccinated against covid-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask on the job. At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate...
Biden to double free covid tests, add N95s, to fight omicron
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the government will double to 1 billion the rapid, at-home covid-19 tests to be distributed free to Americans, along with the most protective N95 masks, as he highlighted his efforts to “surge” resources to help the country weather the spike in coronavirus...
