Monday, January 17, 2022

COVID - Week Starting 1/10/2020 Roundup

"How the latest CDC guidance on COVID-19 is creating unnecessary confusionPBS NewsHour 1/10/2022

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SUMMARY:  The latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on isolation and testing for COVID-19 has received intense pushback.  Many health experts are now criticizing what the CDC has said and how its officials have said it.  This includes the American Medical Association, which issued a strong rebuke.  Dr. Gerald Harmon, president of the AMA, joins Williams Brangham to discuss.

 

 

"COVID hospitalizations reach record high as the White House rushes to ramp up testingPBS NewsHour 1/11/2022

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SUMMARY:  During Tuesday's congressional hearing about the pandemic, there were tough criticisms of the Biden administration and the lack of available testing.  Biden has announced plans to ramp up the response, from requiring insurers to pay for rapid at-home testing to making 500 million tests available.  Thomas Inglesby, senior advisor to the White House COVID team, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

 

 

"Examining the human toll of China’s stringent COVID policyPBS NewsHour 1/11/2022

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SUMMARY:  Chinese authorities locked down after discovering two cases of omicron in Anyang, a city of 5.5 million people about 300 miles outside Beijing.  It’s the third Chinese city now in lockdown and comes less than a month before the Beijing Olympics.  These lockdowns are tests of China’s zero-COVID policy, which authorities have called a success.  But critics ask: at what cost?  Nick Schifrin reports.

 

 

"Chicago teachers agree to return to school after a protracted standoffPBS NewsHour 1/11/2022

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SUMMARY:  With the spread of omicron exacerbating staffing shortages, returning to school after winter break has been a significant struggle in many parts of the country.  The overwhelming number of districts are back in person, but some have gone virtual for a few weeks.  And, as Stephanie Sy reports, the biggest battle over whether to return to in-person learning has been playing out in Chicago.

 

 

"Hospitals near a breaking point with latest influx of COVID patientsPBS NewsHour 1/12/2022

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SUMMARY:  The Biden administration is pressing to ship more COVID test kits to schools amid growing criticism of shortages as infections pile up nationwide.  But for hospitals dealing with the surge the worst is far from over.  In the city of Rochester in New York state, hospitals are so over capacity and under-staffed that many are asking ambulances to take patients elsewhere.  William Brangham reports.

 

 

"U.S. Supreme Court blocks Biden’s vaccine mandate for large companiesPBS NewsHour 1/13/2022

IMO they are willing to allow more U.S. citizens to get COVID for an over-conservative interpretation of law.  Totally wrong!

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SUMMARY:  The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Biden administration must stop enforcing a rule that employees at big companies take the COVID vaccine, but permitted vaccine requirements for most health care workers.  William Brangham reports.

 

 

"What a Supreme Court decision on vaccine mandates means for workersPBS NewsHour 1/13/2022

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SUMMARY:  The conservative majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked President Biden's COVID vaccination policy, stating that the administration had overstepped its authority with the rule, which would’ve applied to more than 80 million workers.  Marcia Coyle, of The National Law Journal, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, join John Yang to discuss.

 

 

"Health systems buckle under latest surge of COVID hospitalizationsPBS NewsHour 1/14/2022

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SUMMARY:  President Biden on Friday announced free tests to help combat the rapidly spreading omicron variant.  But the surge is battering hospitals and stretching some to capacity, with COVID hospitalizations jumping 179 percent in the past two weeks.  William Brangham reports, and speaks with Dr. Rajan Garg, ICU medical director at Methodist Hospital of Southern California, to learn more.

 

 

"Boston schools face staff shortages amid sky-high COVID casesPBS NewsHour 1/14/2022

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SUMMARY:  Most of the nation’s nearly 100,000 public schools are open.  But as the omicron surge continues, some districts are struggling to keep in-person learning going.  Boston Public Schools have been operating in person since last spring, though a high number of cases are raising concerns about whether there will be enough teachers and staff.  Stephanie Sy reports on how the district is faring.

 

 

"Omicron spreads as free home tests are set to roll outPBS NewsHour 1/15/2022

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SUMMARY:  Starting Saturday, private insurers are required to cover the cost of up to eight at-home testing kits, while those without insurance can get a free kit from the federal government.  Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases rose by another 800,000 across the U.S. Hospitals are filling up even as deaths have risen at a slower pace.  Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency room physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital joins from Boston.



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