A Trump administration official said Tuesday that the U.S. will go it alone in developing a coronavirus vaccine, shunning the worldwide cooperative effort.
And …
A Trump administration official said Tuesday that the U. S. will go it alone in developing a coronavirus vaccine, shunning the worldwide cooperative effort. And the reopening efforts in the U. S. continue. California’s latest plan drew scrutiny, Florida’s governor vowed no more lockdowns, and New York City delayed in-school learning Tuesday, one day after the nation reached 6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. A new month could bring new hope to Californians who suffered through their deadliest COVID-19 month in August. The state reported 3,707 deaths connected to COVID-19 in the last month, up 18% over July. But infection and hospitalization rates have been in decline in recent weeks, and average daily deaths also began dropping, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis. In Iowa, the nation’s latest hot spot, Iowa State University is planning to have around 25,000 fans at its home opener Sept.12.White House coronavirus experts have warned Iowa leaders that the state has the country’s steepest outbreak and suggested the state should close bars in 61 counties and test all returning college students. Nationally, Dr. Anthony Fauci debunked theories that some COVID deaths aren’t real and warned Americans to keep a lid on group parties this Labor Day weekend. And globally, the vast majority of China’s student population has returned to classrooms – including the city of Wuhan, the pandemic’s fist epicenter, where schools opened Tuesday for more than 1 million youths. This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to the Daily Briefing. Philadelphia’s mayor has apologized after a photo of him eating inside a Maryland restaurant circulated on social media this weekend while his city’s bans on indoor restaurant dining continue. A spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney confirmed that he dined at a friend’s restaurant in Maryland, reported WPVI-TV in Philadelphia and NBC News, but it remains unclear where exactly the restaurant is located. Kenney apologized in a tweet Monday, justifying the decision by saying that he felt “the risk was low because the county he visited had fewer than 800 COVID-19 cases.” Indoor dining — with 25 percent capacity and no more than four people per group — will restart in the city Sept.8 after being banned since March. – Joshua Bote Trump administration said Tuesday it is implementing a national four-month moratorium on residential evictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Relying on a 1944 Public Health Service Act that gives the administration broad quarantine powers, the moratorium will run through Dec.31. It applies to individuals earning less than $99,000 a year and who are unable to make rent or housing payments. “President Trump is committed to helping hard-working Americans stay in their homes and combating the spread of the coronavirus,” White House spokesman Brian Morgenstern told reporters Tuesday. –John Fritze and Nicholas Wu Antibodies produced after infection by the coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis, longer than previously believed, a new study finds. Among those testing positive for the coronavirus in a study of 30,576 Icelanders, antibodies were found to have risen for two months after infection was diagnosed. Then they plateaued and remained stable for four months. The new study was done by Reykjavik-based deCODE Genetics, a subsidiary of the U. S. biotech company Amgen, with several hospitals, universities and health officials in Iceland. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It is considered one of the most thorough on the antibody issue yet. Iceland has tested 15% of its population since late February. The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will not work with an international cooperative effort to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine because it does not want to be constrained by multilateral groups like the World Health Organization. “The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China,” said White House spokesman Judd Deere The decision to go it alone, first reported by The Washington Post, follows the White House’s decision in early July to pull the United States out of the WHO. Trump claims the WHO is in need of reform and is heavily influenced by China. Some nations have worked directly to secure supplies of vaccine, but others are pooling efforts to ensure success against a disease that has no geographical boundaries. More than 150 countries are setting up the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or COVAX. When a coronavirus vaccine is finally approved, the first batches are likely to provide doses for no more than 4% of the population. So who should get it first? The “jump-start” group should include front-line health care workers, paramedics, firefighters and police, all of whom are at higher risk of contracting the virus, says a report from the National Academies of Science, Medicine and Engineering. After those groups, the next highest priority should be people of all ages with underlying conditions that make them more susceptible to becoming severely ill or dying from COVID-19, the report says.
