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  • Update on New York State’s COVID numbers as Onondaga County loses one more to the coronavirus

    Update on New York State’s COVID numbers as Onondaga County loses one more to the coronavirus

    Posted:
    / Updated:

    (file/MGN photo)

    (WSYR-TV) — Onondaga County has 206 new cases as the Onondaga County Executive announced one more resident has died from COVID-19.

    Ryan McMahon tweeted out the news Thursday that a man in 70s, with underlying conditions was the county’s latest victim.

    Meanwhile, Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress combating COVID-19.  

    “New Yorkers are resilient and strong and they have proven that repeatedly throughout this pandemic – by wearing their masks, socially distancing, and getting their vaccine, they have helped keep their communities safe and their loved ones healthy,” Governor Hochul said. “While we continue to progress, we need to remain mindful as we head into the holiday season. If you haven’t already, get your vaccine today. It’s the best defense we have against COVID-19 and it’s safe, effective, and free.”
     
    Today’s data is summarized briefly below:

    ·         Test Results Reported – 225,695

    ·         Total Positive – 4,285
    ·         Percent Positive – 1.90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}

    ·         7-Day Average Percent Positive – 2.08{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Patient Hospitalization – 1,952 (-44)
    ·         Patients Newly Admitted – 231
    ·         Patients in ICU – 469 (+15)
    ·         Patients in ICU with Intubation – 268 (+6)
    ·         Total Discharges – 207,649 (+241)
    ·         New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 27
    ·         Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 45,476
    The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.
    ·         Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC – 57,889
    This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.
    ·         Total vaccine doses administered – 26,930,081
    ·         Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours – 94,060
    ·         Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days – 458,878
    ·         Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose – 83.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series – 76.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 87.0{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 78.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 71.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 64.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 73.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    ·         Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 66.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}

     Each region’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:  

    Region Monday, October 25, 2021 Tuesday, October 26, 2021 Wednesday, October 27, 2021
    Capital Region 3.64{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 3.58{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 3.65{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Central New York 4.26{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.28{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.28{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Finger Lakes 4.43{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.38{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.38{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Long Island 2.16{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 2.13{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 2.13{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Mid-Hudson 1.90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 1.85{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 1.81{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Mohawk Valley 3.85{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.01{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.19{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    New York City 1.00{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.98{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.97{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    North Country 4.81{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.80{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.75{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Southern Tier 3.06{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 3.07{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 3.16{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Western New York 4.65{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.83{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 4.69{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Statewide 2.09{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 2.11{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 2.08{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}

     
    Each New York City borough’s 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:  

    Borough in NYC Monday, October 25, 2021 Tuesday, October 26, 2021 Wednesday, October 27, 2021
    Bronx 0.89{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.86{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.85{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Kings 1.26{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 1.21{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 1.13{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    New York 0.69{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.70{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.74{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Queens 0.94{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.92{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 0.93{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
    Richmond 1.51{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 1.47{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} 1.48{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}

     
    Yesterday, 4,285 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 2,524,516. A geographic breakdown is as follows:  
      

    County Total Positive New Positive
    Albany 31,373 99
    Allegany 4,793 31
    Broome 25,058 127
    Cattaraugus 8,032 43
    Cayuga 8,787 13
    Chautauqua 12,661 20
    Chemung 11,207 61
    Chenango 4,782 20
    Clinton 6,909 29
    Columbia 5,081 11
    Cortland 5,467 19
    Delaware 3,641 18
    Dutchess 35,929 65
    Erie 108,224 286
    Essex 2,406 13
    Franklin 4,421 30
    Fulton 6,542 26
    Genesee 7,207 41
    Greene 4,460 12
    Hamilton 442 3
    Herkimer 6,994 27
    Jefferson 9,199 42
    Lewis 3,692 11
    Livingston 5,887 42
    Madison 6,365 31
    Monroe 85,673 232
    Montgomery 6,136 33
    Nassau 215,664 239
    Niagara 24,479 48
    NYC 1,096,188 1,086
    Oneida 29,112 72
    Onondaga 53,074 132
    Ontario 9,553 33
    Orange 58,063 92
    Orleans 4,470 21
    Oswego 12,028 40
    Otsego 4,677 21
    Putnam 12,600 22
    Rensselaer 15,127 46
    Rockland 53,518 92
    Saratoga 20,720 59
    Schenectady 17,112 40
    Schoharie 2,360 10
    Schuyler 1,578 9
    Seneca 2,781 3
    St. Lawrence 10,901 57
    Steuben 10,427 64
    Suffolk 241,522 351
    Sullivan 8,608 31
    Tioga 5,275 27
    Tompkins 6,625 18
    Ulster 17,458 37
    Warren 5,680 39
    Washington 4,805 36
    Wayne 8,423 43
    Westchester 144,164 114
    Wyoming 4,461 14
    Yates 1,695 4

     
    Yesterday, 27 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19, bringing the total compiled through HERDS to 45,476. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:  

    Deaths by County of Residence
    County New Deaths
    Cattaraugus 2
    Chemung 1
    Columbia 1
    Cortland 2
    Erie 2
    Essex 1
    Jefferson 2
    Kings 1
    Manhattan 1
    Monroe 3
    Montgomery 3
    Nassau 1
    Onondaga 1
    Queens 2
    Saratoga 1
    Suffolk 1
    Warren 1
    Washington 1

     
    All New York State mass vaccination sites are open to eligible New Yorkers for walk-in vaccination on a first-come, first-serve basis. People who would prefer to schedule an appointment at a state-run mass vaccination site can do so on the Am I Eligible App or by calling 1-833-NYS-4-VAX. People may also contact their local health department, pharmacy, doctor or hospital to schedule appointments where vaccines are available, or visit vaccines.gov to find information on vaccine appointments near them. 

    Yesterday, 20,563 New Yorkers received their first vaccine dose, and 18,020 completed their vaccine series. A geographic breakdown of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated by region is as follows: 

      People with at least one vaccine dose People with complete vaccine series
    Region Cumulative
    Total    		 Increase over past 24 hours Cumulative
    Total    		 Increase over past 24 hours
    Capital Region 764,289 763 703,796 542
    Central New York 594,706 460 553,310 370
    Finger Lakes 777,656 841 726,316 792
    Long Island 1,931,601 2,561 1,726,684 1,884
    Mid-Hudson 1,494,569 1,863 1,331,638 1,291
    Mohawk Valley 298,922 271 277,709 273
    New York City 6,890,040 12,209 6,178,927 11,476
    North Country 277,005 224 251,306 173
    Southern Tier 397,952 407 368,320 319
    Western New York 854,717 964 787,747 900
    Statewide 14,281,457 20,563 12,905,753 18,020

  • Vets Nursing Home managers get new contract despite COVID deaths

    Vets Nursing Home managers get new contract despite COVID deaths


    By Thomas Goldsmith

    North Carolina taxpayers will shell out $5.3 million additional through the future five years to have a Ga-based mostly company, instead of a lower bidder, take care of the state’s veterans nursing residences, in accordance to condition files.

    PruittHealth, which has held the agreement from the state Department of Army and Veterans Affairs since 1998, submitted a bid based on a 10 {fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} share of $290 million in revenues for the 4 facilities throughout the point out. 

    Here’s how it worked out for the organization:

    • Pruitt succeeded in getting its share for taking care of the point out veterans nursing homes up to 10 per cent from the preceding 9.25 p.c, for an 8 per cent amount increase.
    • Pruitt’s fee below the 5-year contract will boost to $29 million from the $18.5 million it contracted for in the course of the past full term. Which is a 56.5 p.c general payment boost.
    • The larger price came in part for the reason that of the larger administration share. In addition, the point out contract detailed that in general paying out for the residences would improve from $200 million to $290 million, or 45 per cent.

    Pruitt justified its larger running cost this time close to by stating it would be opening an added nursing dwelling facility for veterans in 2024. 

    Pruitt had the exact same oversight obligations when a critique by NC Well being News observed that amongst April 21, 2020, when the first veteran in a point out nursing home died of COVID, and July 2020, 36 veterans died of the condition, even as no veterans in neighboring states had died in equivalent amenities. All advised, 39 veterans died of COVID-19 in the North Carolina households they now regulate.

    An analysis of Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Solutions information showed that no veterans had died of COVID-19 through that period of time in point out-operate nursing houses in Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina.

    Neither Pruitt nor the state has built community any investigation into the fatalities, but legislators have provided in the condition spending plan a proposal that could improve oversight of the way that veterans well being troubles are managed. Included in the budget provision are plans to establish no matter whether the point out should contemplate solutions other than point out-owned, privately run nursing residences for frail and older veterans.

    “Ensuring the large excellent of wellness treatment and extensive-phrase living amenities for our veterans is crucial and the administration carries on to evaluation these provisions,” a spokesman for Gov. Roy Cooper mentioned final week.

    A consultant of Pruitt’s communications staff responded on Oct. 13, expressing: 

    “It is an honor and a privilege to provide these who have given so substantially of themselves for our liberty and our state, and we are grateful to the North Carolina Division of Armed forces and Veterans Affairs for entrusting the PruittHealth household of suppliers with caring for these heroes for a different 5 decades.”

    State: Other bids slide quick

    Wilmington-based mostly Liberty Healthcare offered to run the amenities for a bid of 8.15 per cent of profits funds for functioning the four state veterans nursing households. Individuals analyzing the bids gave a mixed assessment to Liberty as opportunity managers of the four existing veterans residences, with yet another in Raleigh projected to occur on-line in 2024. An additional household has been prepared for Kernersville but is not outlined in letters detailing the contract with Pruitt.

    “Liberty’s overall past efficiency shows the Vendor has the potential to manage the [North Carolina State Veterans Homes] and full the changeover to take around the management,” the crew said. “There are concerns with the top quality of treatment with the previous ratings of this Vendor’s amenities.”

    Liberty’s payment would have amounted to $23.6 million, with Pruitt now in line to earn $29 million. Principle Health care, the business that was ruled out of consideration, would have taken $21.75 million with a bid primarily based on 7.5 per cent of revenue. Administrators are not essential to get the small bid. 

    “Award of a Deal to 1 Seller does not mean that the other proposals lacked merit, but that, all factors regarded, the picked proposal was considered most beneficial and represented the most effective worth to the State,” in accordance to a request for proposals despatched in May. 

    In explaining its final decision, the evaluation crew gave a statement, which reads in part:

    “Pruitt created observe that enhance to percentage from recent contract at 9.25{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} is to accommodate for opening of 2 added households. Pruitt delivers the strongest Technical Evaluation and has proved underneath the latest contract that they proved an exceptional program.

    The 1.85{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} differential in cost is the difference amongst encounter, excellence in plan structure, administration approach, and important personnel that Pruitt proposes.” 

    Meanwhile, regulators in Japanese numerous states are geared up to check closely the amounts that nursing home operators devote on immediate treatment, to the position of limiting profit gleaned from income, in accordance to new protection in Kaiser Well being News. New guidelines in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts are currently having pushback from the extended-expression care sector, but lawmakers continue to make the case for the changes.

    “If they opt for to count on community bucks to supply care, they just take on a increased obligation,” New York Assembly member Ron Kim advised Kaiser Wellness Information. “It’s not like working a lodge.”

    Pruitt achieves boost in rate

    Pruitt fared greater in this year’s bidding than in 2014, when the Office of Administration whittled down the company’s requested proportion of the nursing homes’ earnings from 9.75 percent to the 9.25 p.c awarded. A different business had its bid declared inactive so that only Pruitt remained in the bidding.

    Kinston-based mostly Theory Healthcare, the company that submitted an original fee that was 25 per cent a lot less than Pruitt’s, was taken out of the running on other considerations.

    “Principle only offered 2 yrs of economical data,” the analysis team who described to the Department of Armed forces and Veteran Affairs claimed in a letter. “This coupled with the Suppliers request to only overview 3.5 several years of documentation eradicated this Vendor from the ultimate thought right after the comprehensive specialized evaluation.”

    Basic principle operates much more than 50 lengthy-term facilities in North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky, according to its web-site.

    The evaluation staff is comprised of users of the North Carolina Veterans Affairs Fee and used two months appraising the bids. As a group, they have served 88 years in the army. At the time of appraisal, the fee members integrated Jane Campbell, mayor of Davidson John Scherer, typical counsel of UNC-Wilmington Lovay Wallace-Singleton, founder of the Veterans Employment Base Camp and Natural and organic Backyard garden and Larry Pendry, Nationwide Guard president in North Wilkesboro.

  • What is COVID quarantine guidance for schools in Ohio?

    What is COVID quarantine guidance for schools in Ohio?

    The steering update arrives as the country awaits vaccination acceptance for all those ages 5-11.

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state of Ohio has up to date its quarantine steering for educational institutions when it will come to COVID-19 exposure with the purpose of trying to keep additional students in the classroom. The modifications ended up announced for the duration of a Monday push meeting with Ohio Division of Wellbeing Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff.

    “While vaccination and mask utilization are crucial components of making sure a harmless college environment to aid in-college studying, we’re providing an in-school option to out-of-college quarantine to learners and employees who are uncovered to COVID-19 in university configurations and school-related pursuits,” Dr. Vanderhoff mentioned.

    The adjustments include mask putting on and testing to decrease the opportunity of distribute of COVID-19 and to deliver a safe and sound alternative to out-of-college quarantine.

    https://www.youtube.com/look at?v=pfNKYScwq4A

    “Faculties are not required to adopt these procedures and mother and father can decide out if they drive,” Dr. Vanderhoff pointed out.

    The new steering has two major focal points.

    &#13

    MASK TO Remain

    “It applies to participation in the classroom following a COVID-19 publicity in a faculty placing or a further faculty-linked action,” Dr. Vanderhoff explained. 

    Direct contacts, regardless of vaccination or masking position, could keep on being in the classroom atmosphere if they do the adhering to:

    • Put on a mask for 14 times following their previous day of publicity.
    • Self-check or mum or dad-keep an eye on for symptoms of COVID-19.
    • Isolate and get tested if they start off to experience indicators affiliated with COVID-19.

    College students and team may possibly discontinue these quarantine methods after seven times if they satisfy two essential standards: They really do not produce any signs or symptoms and they check adverse among days five and seven.

    &#13

    Test TO Enjoy

    “Applies to participation in extracurricular functions adhering to exposure in the classroom or college-connected atmosphere,” Dr. Vanderhoff described. “Asymptomatic contacts may possibly keep on to take part in extracurricular activities if they have on a mask when equipped.”

    He reported testing really should be finished on original notification of publicity to COVID-19 and again between days 5 and 7.

    “If they’re detrimental at that time, amongst times 5 and 7, they of system qualify to exam out of quarantine following working day seven and can resume standard actions.”

    The tests can be both a PCR or antigen exam. It must not be an above-the-counter, self-monitored check.

    “School districts really should take into consideration identical-working day tests for athletic competitions where by there’s likely of university-to-university publicity,” Dr. Vanderhoff included.

    Dr. Vanderhoff said these exposed to COVID-19 outside the house of faculty, nonetheless, ought to adhere to regular quarantine recommendations that exist today.

    “As a reminder, individuals who continuously don masks in university and these who are absolutely vaccinated, can currently remain in the classroom if they are exposed to COVID-19 in a university placing.”

    In advance of the 2021-22 university yr commenced, the Ohio Division of Wellbeing issued direction to assist with quarantine choices “after a university student or grownup get in touch with is uncovered to someone with COVID-19 in the classroom location.”

    Associated: Suggestions for staying wholesome while however trick-or-managing in the course of a pandemic

    That earlier released direction recommended different protection protocols in an effort and hard work to minimize publicity and want for quarantine, which incorporated recommending masks for college students and staff members no matter of vaccination position, physical distancing of at minimum three feet, elevated ventilation and enhanced cleaning strategies.

    Similar: ‘It’s far as well early for us to claim victory’: Ohio well being officials urge COVID and flu vaccinations ahead of holiday break season

    https://www.youtube.com/enjoy?v=SGqbJ6MMooA

  • COVID outbreaks in jails, exempt from vaccine mandate

    COVID outbreaks in jails, exempt from vaccine mandate


    By Elizabeth Thompson

    As the most recent Delta variant wave of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be tapering off in most of North Carolina, carceral facilities are even now suffering from outbreaks.

    At least three folks in diverse county jails have died owing to the coronavirus in the past month, in accordance to weekly outbreak reports from the North Carolina Department of Health and fitness and Human Companies. 

    Two of all those fatalities ended up of jail staff members members, in accordance to the stories.

    Gov. Roy Cooper has expected personnel at the point out-operate prisons to possibly deliver proof of vaccination or endure weekly tests in purchase to really encourage staff vaccinations as component of an government buy.

    But for the state’s close to 100 county-run jails, also known as detention centers, there is no this kind of protocol. Not like the point out-operate prisons, vaccination charges among workers and people incarcerated in North Carolina’s county jails stay largely unknown. A new investigation by the internet site Officer Down Memorial Page, notes that COVID-19 has been the primary lead to of death for regulation enforcement given that 2020. 

    Deficiency of oversight in jails

    Not like prisons, which see a much more static inhabitants, jails are deeply entwined with the group, said John Hart, the associate director of partnerships and neighborhood network at the Vera Institute of Justice’s Restoring Promise team, which advocates for fairness for incarcerated men and women.

    Persons can be jailed from anywhere from a pair of several hours to months or extended. Lots of men and women in jails have not been convicted of a criminal offense — in 2015, pretrial detainees produced up 82 percent of North Carolina’s jail population.

    “You have folks coming in and out far more swiftly than jail,” Hart stated. “These are men and women likely into the group, into their people and then coming again out.”

    North Carolina’s jail program answers to the point out, but county jails tumble under the jurisdiction of personal sheriffs, which means unique jails may stick to unique procedures. The identical is correct when it comes to vaccination.

    The Facilities for Disorder Control and Avoidance specifically recommends that employees at correctional and detention facilities get vaccinated towards COVID-19 since they are at higher threat of publicity in the workplace.

    “Outbreaks in correctional and detention amenities are normally hard to manage supplied the issue to bodily distance, minimal space for isolation or quarantine, and minimal tests and individual protecting products sources,” the CDC claims in its recommendation. “COVID-19 outbreaks in correctional and detention amenities could also guide to local community transmission outdoors of the facility.”

    Having said that, these tips are not enforceable.

    The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Affiliation has a large, vivid crimson backlink on its website’s homepage titled “COVID-19 Information Supplied to Sheriffs,” but the affiliation itself does not have any medical employees, mentioned spokesperson Eddie Caldwell. All the direction for COVID-19 protocols for sheriffs comes directly from the CDC web-site. 

    When requested if the association has accomplished an details campaign on vaccinations, Caldwell stated “there’s general public details campaigns on vaccinations all around the place.” He gave Cooper’s general public vaccine advocacy as an case in point.

    “There’s in all probability not any individual that is not conscious that vaccines are greatly available,” Caldwell said.

    Jails are expected by condition law to have a medical prepare permitted by their county’s clinical director and board of commissioners, Caldwell explained.

    “Every jail is liable for furnishing professional medical treatment to inmates, pursuant to that healthcare approach,” Caldwell mentioned. “And so which is in which a jail and the sheriff get their course and steering for medical concerns.”

    Transylvania County Detention Centre, where by one particular team member, Sgt. Donald Ramey, contracted COVID-19 and afterwards died, delivers vaccinations to both equally workers and these incarcerated at the jail, stated Capt. Jeremy Queen in an email. 

    Staff members are not needed to be vaccinated, he observed.

    Madison County Detention Heart, wherever a single detainee died of COVID-19, and Vance County Detention Centre, wherever 1 team member died of COVID-19, in accordance to the NCDHHS outbreak report, did not reply to requests for remark from NC Well being Information.

    In the three counties where by persons died from COVID-19 in jails, the percentage of fully vaccinated persons hovered around 51 to 53 percent, according to the NCDHHS vaccination dashboard. About 55 {fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of North Carolina’s inhabitants is absolutely vaccinated.

    Vaccine requirement for jail personnel?

    In addition to incarcerated people, staff members also go in and out of detention centers. That implies if any human being heading by means of the revolving door of their county jail is sick with COVID-19, there is a prospect they could spread it to other individuals there.

    It is for this cause that some public health industry experts termed on President Joe Biden to need jail and prison workers to get vaccinated in an opinion piece in The Atlantic, right after Biden announced that nursing properties would be needed to vaccinate their workers from COVID-19.

    “Every community staff who is billed with guarding susceptible populations must unquestionably be mandated to get a vaccine in get to continue to keep their work,” said Eric Reinhart, a single of the article’s authors, in an job interview with NC Health and fitness Information. “It is aspect of their task to safeguard people.” 

    “It’s not just about protecting the general public and incarcerated. It’s defending themselves as well,” explained Reinhart, who is the lead wellness and justice systems researcher at Knowledge and Evidence for Justice Reform at the Planet Bank.

    Correctional environments are generally inherently challenging and antagonistic environments. Though there is a electricity dynamic and distrust amongst incarcerated people today and staff members, some team may possibly also distrust their management, Hart claimed.

    “There is anxiety both of those shorter time period and prolonged time period, that [staff] have had prior to the pandemic,” reported the Vera Institute’s Hart, “… the distrust that was there pre-pandemic is undoubtedly there.”

    Hart has seen some staff stop previously understaffed services across the region thanks to vaccine demands and others keep off on receiving it since they are afraid.

    “Time is of the essence due to the fact staffing numbers are impacting the performance,” Hart stated.

    Not to mention jails have been a driver of COVID-19 spread in the state’s prisons.

    The North Carolina Division of Community Protection introduced a new settlement on Oct. 1 with the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Affiliation enabling transfer of all thoroughly vaccinated folks from jails to prisons, but requiring unvaccinated detainees in jails with a COVID-19 outbreak to quarantine for 14 days before transfer and test detrimental prior to transfer.

    “For extra than 4 months, the bulk of active instances of COVID-19 in the jail inhabitants have been discovered in those people arriving from county jails and detention amenities,” DPS mentioned in the announcement.

    NC sheriff incentivizes vaccination

    Mecklenburg Sheriff Gary McFadden is routinely accountable for the lives of a lot more than 2,000 men and women from personnel to men and women incarcerated at the Mecklenburg County Detention Heart.

    One way he’s attempting to shield them is with wristbands. 

    In a push to get staff members customers vaccinated commencing May 19, McFadden carried out a coverage that vaccinated employees of the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Business would don an “MCSO vaccinated” wristband, so everyone would know who is vaccinated. These without having wristbands have to get examined for COVID weekly.

    Vaccinated employees at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Workplace wear “MSCO Vaccinated” wristbands. Image courtesy Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Business office.

    He said that in two months of utilizing the coverage, the office’s vaccination numbers increased by about 200 folks. Now, he said over 70 per cent of his place of work is vaccinated. 

    The wristbands also had an unintended effect in the group — they made neighborhood customers experience safer when they observed deputies exhibiting that they were being vaccinated, McFadden reported.

    Even when the Mecklenburg County Detention Center’s COVID-19 quantities skyrocketed, in an outbreak that has sickened 389 people considering that the stop of August, no staff member or resident has died, according to the NCDHHS outbreak report.

    “COVID has been the most deadliest killer for legislation enforcement this year more than any other thing,” McFadden mentioned. “We have to recognize that this is not a political issue.”

    McFadden mentioned he retains vaccination town halls both of those for persons incarcerated in the jail and jail personnel to find out about the vaccines. Vaccination is not required, but it is encouraged.

    To his information, McFadden claimed he is the only sheriff in the condition and perhaps the place to roll out a vaccination incentive using wristbands, but he stated he’d share his thoughts with “anybody.”

    “You can be your personal judge, and you can be your have sheriff, your possess political particular person,” McFadden said. “I need to guard my employees, I want to secure my citizens, and I have to have to secure myself. And so the very best way I know how is to dress in masks and get vaccinated.”

  • CDC advisers back Moderna and J&J COVID vaccine boosters : Shots

    CDC advisers back Moderna and J&J COVID vaccine boosters : Shots

    A overall health care employee administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Thursday at Daily life of Hope Centre in New York Town.

    Michael M. Santiago/Getty Pictures


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    Michael M. Santiago/Getty Visuals

    A wellness treatment worker administers a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Thursday at Life of Hope Heart in New York Metropolis.

    Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    The Centers for Disease Regulate and Avoidance is backing the roll out of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine boosters in line with the Food stuff and Drug Administration’s authorizations issued Wednesday. The CDC is also supporting a combine-and-match strategy to booster vaccination.

    CDC director Rochelle Walensky termed the recommendations an “illustration of our fundamental dedication to guard as quite a few individuals as feasible from COVID-19.”

    The announcement came just hrs following the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee voted unanimously in favor of booster doses.

    For Moderna, the panel said a booster should really be supplied to persons on the identical terms as the Pfizer-BioNTech booster. That would protect individuals 65 and more mature, individuals 18 and older in prolonged-phrase care options and men and women 50 to 64 with pertinent underlying professional medical situations. The booster may possibly be provided to individuals 18 to 49 many years with specified professional medical conditions and to men and women 18 to 64 who have COVID-19 dangers connected to their do the job or who stay in specified institutional configurations.

    For Johnson & Johnson, the panel’s suggestions was simpler: A booster is suggested for individuals 18 and older at least two months just after their original immunization.

    What to know about your risk of a serious or fatal breakthrough COVID infection

    A CDC presentation and draft voting language mentioned that the exact vaccine utilised for initial immunization ought to be utilised as a booster dose but that a combine-and-match method is Alright when the most important vaccine is not out there or a diverse vaccine is most well-liked.

    All through the committee conversations, several members pushed back again against this choice for boosting with the same vaccine. They argued that a much more permissive approach to combine-and-match would ease the administration of booster doses.

    The FDA authorizes Moderna and J&J COVID vaccine boosters

    Just after a transient break late in the deliberations, CDC workers returned with revised voting inquiries that were being neutral on which vaccine really should be utilised as a booster for the J&J and Moderna vaccines. The revised issues you should not explicitly mention which vaccine really should be utilized as a booster, which clears the way for mix-and-match boosting devoid of constraints.

    In accordance to the CDC, much more than 189 million folks in the U.S. are totally vaccinated, about 57{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the populace. Hospitalization fees are 9 to 15 instances bigger in unvaccinated grownups compared with vaccinated grown ups, according to CDC knowledge.

    Nonetheless, there are factors to imagine that boosters could be useful in some groups of people today.

    There has been a fall in Moderna’s usefulness from infection with the coronavirus about time and in the encounter of the delta variant. Defense from hospitalization has remained typically potent, nevertheless there have been some declines witnessed in more mature men and women.

    For the J&J vaccine, the protection versus an infection and hospitalization has been very regular, the CDC pointed out. But the vaccine has been a lot less successful in general than the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, so a booster can force safety from the J&J vaccine to a better amount.

    The committee wrestled with the trade-off in pitfalls and benefits for boosters in some groups. Individuals 65 and older have the most to achieve and comparatively tiny enhanced chance. For the Moderna vaccine, safety has remained pretty solid for younger men and women, and their challenges for heart swelling are higher, particularly in males.

    For the J&J vaccine, there were problems about scarce blood clots following vaccination, which are a increased risk for young ladies. But there are added benefits from a booster in general because of improved defense from the 2nd dose.

  • COVID Misinformation Pushed By Some Doctors Without Penalty : Shots

    COVID Misinformation Pushed By Some Doctors Without Penalty : Shots

    Dr. Simone Gold discourages vaccination against COVID-19 and promotes alternative, unproven therapies. She has spent much of the past year speaking at events like this one held in West Palm Beach, Fla., in December. The conference was aimed at young people ages 15 to 25.



    Gage Skidmore


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    Gage Skidmore


    Dr. Simone Gold discourages vaccination against COVID-19 and promotes alternative, unproven therapies. She has spent much of the past year speaking at events like this one held in West Palm Beach, Fla., in December. The conference was aimed at young people ages 15 to 25.



    Gage Skidmore

    Last month, Dr. Simone Gold stood before a crowd at a conservative church in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and delivered a talk riddled with misinformation. She told people to avoid vaccination against the coronavirus. As an alternative, she pushed drugs that have not been proven effective at treating COVID-19 — drugs that she also offered to prescribe to the audience in exchange for $90 telehealth appointments.

    “Don’t text me when you’ve gotten a positive test; I don’t want to hear it,” she said to the gathering. “I’ve told you ahead of time to get the medicines. It can take a week because we’re so swamped.”

    Almost everything Gold said in her 45-minute talk was contrary to the best science and medical standards of care for treating COVID-19. But there was one thing she said that was at least partially true: “I am an emergency physician.”

    NPR found that Gold’s emergency medicine certification lapsed in December of last year, but she still is, as she claims, a licensed physician in the state of California (her license lists her professional address as a UPS shipping store in Beverly Hills).

    Despite more than a year spent spreading misinformation about a pandemic that has killed more than 650,000 Americans, she has what might be considered a professional clean bill of health with no complaints, disciplinary actions or malpractice lawsuits on her record. The California Medical Board, which oversees her license, told NPR it expects doctors to “follow the standard of care when treating patients at all times.” But the medical board declined to say whether it was investigating Gold, citing reasons of confidentiality.

    An Anti-Vaccine Book Tops Amazon's COVID Search Results. Lawmakers Call Foul

    Gold is not the only physician promoting misinformation while avoiding professional censure. NPR looked at medical licenses for 16 doctors, including Gold, who have proven track records of doing so online and in media interviews. Fifteen of the 16 had active licenses in good standing. One appeared to have let his license expire, but there was no suggestion in his record that it was because of any disciplinary action.

    Now, some organizations affiliated with medical licensing are encouraging action.

    Late last month, the American Board of Emergency Medicine, which had until this year certified Gold under her maiden name, Tizes, put out a statement warning it could revoke certification for any of its specialists for spreading “inaccurate information.”

    The Federation of State Medical Boards issued a statement in late July warning that “Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license.”

    Why professional censure has lagged

    So, why hasn’t more punitive action already been taken? At its heart, the problem is the fragmented medical licensing system in the United States. Individual states have licensing boards made up of a mix of doctors, lawyers and private citizens. These boards, with an eye toward medical malpractice, usually respond only to complaints against individual physicians.

    “People assume that licensing boards are on the lookout, they’re on the internet,” says Dr. Humayun Chaudhry, president of the Federation of State Medical Boards. “They actually don’t have the resources — neither the money nor the manpower — to monitor what happens on the internet or social media.”

    In the absence of oversight, doctors such as Gold have been able to spread misinformation with impunity. Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which tracks vaccine misinformation online, says that even though the number of doctors involved in spreading this sort of bad information is tiny, they’re having an outsized influence. Other people in the anti-vaccine movement promote their posts “because they have the ‘Dr.’ before their name and they appear to understand what they’re talking about.”

    Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Shows

    The Life Cycle Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Lie

    Ahmed says that having a medical degree may also be helping these doctors skirt social media bans on coronavirus misinformation. “We will find that social media companies will hide behind any excuse that they can to leave up [the profiles of] those people spreading misinformation, and one of the excuses they use is citing their medical credentials,” Ahmed says.

    A few doctors with bad information have been given big megaphones

    In fact, while other promoters of bad information saw their Twitter profiles suspended this summer, Gold’s followers swelled to more than 300,000. And it’s not just happening via social media: Doctors who discourage vaccination have found regular spots on conservative radio and TV talk shows and on cable networks. Among the most prominent promoters of this brand of false information is former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who regularly interviews a small, rotating cast of these physicians on his talk show.

    The misinformation — which usually involves inflating the risks of vaccines and offering the false promise of alternative therapies — is coming as cases of COVID-19 surge nationwide, mainly in areas with low rates of vaccination. Other doctors working in those places are understandably frustrated.

    Tracking Coronavirus Around The U.S.: See How Your State Is Doing

    “We would like there to be some easy answer out there, some medication that’s been around forever that we could just take from home,” says Sonja Rasmussen, a pediatrician and epidemiologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The problem, she says, is that so far the alternative therapies such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine have not been proven effective against COVID-19.

    In reality, ICUs are packed with sick, unvaccinated people

    “There are outliers out there who are preaching nonsense,” says Dr. Kendall McKenzie, the chair of the department of emergency medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. While Gold has been giving talks to packed audiences, McKenzie has been dealing with packed ICUs filled with sick, unvaccinated people. He says he sees patients every day being influenced by the kind of misinformation that Gold and others are promoting.

    “What it’s doing is filling up my emergency department with intubated patients and ultimately leading to deaths,” he says.

    For Some Anti-Vaccine Advocates, Misinformation Is Part Of A Business

    Chaudhry says there have been some recent cases where disciplinary action has moved forward. In May, the Oregon Medical Board suspended the license of a doctor for encouraging patients to go unmasked, and Hawaii’s medical board is pursuing a complaint against a state health official and a physician, both of whom are reportedly promoting alternative therapies for treating COVID-19 — alternatives that federal agencies have specifically warned are not helpful and can sometimes be harmful.

    Chaudhry thinks many licensing boards may already be conducting additional confidential investigations against doctors promoting misinformation. Those investigations, he adds, are typically only triggered by a complaint, but the complaint can come from anyone. “People don’t realize it doesn’t have to be the patient themselves. It can be a patient’s family member; it can be another doctor,” he says.

    Gold has new problems: She participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and is now awaiting trial on criminal charges of forcing her way into the building and engaging in disorderly behavior. She has pleaded not guilty and through her lawyer declined NPR’s request for an interview.

    While she awaits trial, Gold continues to give talks as a fully licensed physician.