Tag Archives: COVID

The Washington Post reports: The CIA said Saturday that it now favors a Chinese laboratory leak as the mostly likely origin of the coronavirus pandemic, the latest development in the still-simmering debate over the virus and the nation’s response. Several other intelligence agencies continue to favor the natural-origin theory, and there is no evidence SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic, …

Axios reports: For the fifth year in a row, the majority of the nation’s largest retailers will keep their doors closed on Thanksgiving. Shopping for last-minute ingredients ahead of the holiday meal is limited with Walmart, Target, Trader Joe’s, Publix and many grocery stores closed Thursday. Walgreens stores nationwide will be closed on the holiday for the second year. COVID …

From the Justice Department: A Lexington man, Neal Harris, 57, was sentenced on Monday, by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier, to 37 months in prison, for eight counts of wire fraud, for obtaining Economic Injury Disaster Loans under false pretenses. His co-defendant, Kelly Harris, 64, was sentenced on July 2, 2024, to 46 months in prison, also for eight counts …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson asked government scientists whether people could kill Covid by using a “special hair dryer” up their nose, his former aide has claimed. Dominic Cummings said the former prime minister shared a video of a man using such a device with his top advisers. He then asked the medical experts what they thought about the clip, …

Memphis’s Fox affiliate reports: Four Mid-South pastors, including three from Memphis, and several business owners were indicted Tuesday in alleged schemes to steal thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief money, officials said. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Tennessee, they collectively defrauded more than $950,000 from federal programs, including the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), …

The New York Times reports: The Biden administration, looking ahead to a possible winter surge of Covid-19, announced on Wednesday that it was reviving its program of offering Americans free coronavirus tests through the mail and would spend more than $600 million to buy tests from a dozen domestic manufacturers. The website for the program, covidtests.gov, will begin accepting orders …

“Why are we in this mess? Part of it and a major reason is because how this federal government handled COVID-19 by locking down this economy. It was a mistake. It should have never happened, and in Florida, we led the country out of lockdown. We kept our state free and open. “And I can tell you this, as your …

Reuters reports: A new COVID vaccine is due out next month, but health experts and analysts say it is likely to be coolly received even as hospitalizations from “Eris”, a variant of the Omicron form of the coronavirus, rise around the country. Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. …

The Associated Press reports: A day after the state recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available. The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department …

Changing America reports: A new book is shedding light on former President Trump’s battle with COVID-19 last fall, alleging Trump’s condition was so severe some of his aides feared he may not make it out of the hospital. The Washington Post has published excerpts from the book “Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History,” …

The Hill reports: Celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky, famously known as “Dr. Drew,” revealed this week that he has tested positive for COVID-19. The diagnosis comes months after Pinsky apologized for downplaying the threat of the pandemic in a video that went viral on social media. The video included clips of Pinsky on his online show “Ask Dr. Drew,” his podcast …

Reuters reports: Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended international flights and closed its land and sea borders to prevent the spread of an infectious new coronavirus strain first identified in Britain. The covid-19 variant has now been detected in at least five other countries, prompting several countries to ban flights from Britain. In a report late Sunday, the official Saudi Press …

The Washington Post reports: White House testing czar Brett Giroir on Tuesday tamped down calls from many public health experts for the federal government to approve and fund more cheap antigen tests that can be taken regularly at home. But while in the past Giroir has suggested that kind of widespread coronavirus screening would be unhelpful, he now says it …

Warren Throckmorton reports: With three lab confirmed cases and one probable case of COVID-19, Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO has been declared a COVID-19 Outbreak site. The CO Dept of Public Health defines an outbreak as two or more cases confirmed by a lab test found in a location. Focus on the Family has declared itself …

The South Florida SunSentinel reports: More than 10,000 people have now died from COVID-19 in Florida, according to the latest state pandemic data released Wednesday. The updated death toll comes after the state Department of Health reported 174 more resident deaths that happened in recent weeks but were just confirmed, following a surge of coronavirus cases this summer. Florida, which …

The New York Daily News reports: New York’s coronavirus infection rate fell below 1% Wednesday as the state continues to stave off a second wave of the deadly respiratory illness. Gov. Cuomo said only 636, or 0.87%, of the more than 70,000 test results that came back Tuesday were positive as hospitalizations fell by four patients to 564 people statewide. …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott will skip the Republican National Convention later this month in North Carolina as he continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic in Texas, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will instead chair the state’s delegation to the scaled-down gathering. Abbott announced the plan in a letter dated Friday to the national GOP chairwoman, Ronna …

Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details a large coronavirus outbreak at an overnight camp in Georgia that resulted in 260 sick campers and staffers. Researchers say this seems to indicate children are susceptible to COVID-19 and have the ability to spread it. According to the report, the camp in question, …

ABC News reports: President Trump, who has pressed for schools to open this fall despite the coronavirus pandemic, said Thursday that he couldn’t offer assurances that holding in-person classes would be safe. “Can you assure anybody of anything?” Trump said in response to a question about how he could assure people that schools can safely be reopened. At the same …

Reuters reports: Johnson & Johnson on Thursday kicked off U.S. human safety trials for its COVID-19 vaccine after releasing details of a study in monkeys that showed its best-performing vaccine candidate offered strong protection in a single dose. When exposed to the virus, six out of six animals who got the vaccine candidate were completely protected from lung disease and …