Health Canada warns against masks with graphene after an assessment found that the particles had "some potential to cause early lung toxicity in animals."
Shocking footage shows the dreadful state of a park looking more like a dumpsite after thousands of sunseekers congregated on the hottest day of the year at Woodhouse Moor in Leeds, West Yorks.
The cost of travel will gradually rise in the U.S. as more and more people get vaccinated, according to experts in the industry. April 2020 saw a huge plummet of 95% in air travelers in the U.S. when compared to April 2019, which resulted in lower airfare prices due to the lack of demand, ABC News reported. According to Adit Damodaran, an economist with travel search tool Hopper, domestic airfare is expected to rise 4-5% each month as the summer of 2021 nears, and “a lot of that is based on the vaccination rollout.” Experts advise that Americans planning to travel should book their tickets soon to avoid paying higher prices. Along with an increase in demand, an increase of supply may be in the near future as airlines return to an increased flight frequency. “Airlines are burning so much cash, so what we’re seeing is that they’re slowly expanding supply,” said Jesse Neugarten, who founded the flight deal newsletter Dollar Flight Club. “If we have to shut down travel again, they don’t want to get caught in a similar situation as they did in 2020.” In addition to the decline in airfare prices, hotel room costs have also dropped amid the pandemic, however not as consistently as airfare. Small-town hotels experienced smaller dips than hotels in large cities such as New York City, which was down 37% in February year-over-year.
On Saturday, the Biden administration placed drug company Johnson & Johnson in charge the contract plant in Baltimore, Maryland, that ruined 15 million coronavirus vaccine doses this week. In addition, the administration halted the facility from producing. AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, The New York Times reported. The facility will now exclusively produce the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a move that is intended to prevent future mix-ups that would result in more destroyed vaccine doses after Emergent, a manufacturing partner to Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, mixed up some ingredients for the two companies vaccines and caused a delay in authorization of the production lines in the plant. The mistake has led many to worry that public trust in the vaccines may be compromised.
Canadian health experts have issued a warning about face masks that contain graphene or biographene, urging a recall by distributors, according to reports. An assessment found that these particles had "some potential to cause early lung toxicity in animals." Health Canada said graphene is a novel nanomaterial that is reported to have antiviral and antibacterial properties. However, the advisory warns that there is "potential that wearers could inhale graphene particles from some masks," Global News Reported.
FILE - In this March 31, 2021, file photo, students at Wyandotte County High School wear masks as the walk through a hallway on the first day of in-person learning at the school in Kansas City, Kan. With a massive infusion of federal aid coming their way, schools across the U.S. are weighing how to use the windfall to ease the harm of the pandemic — and to tackle problems that existed long before the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
The White House is launching a major $1.5 billion public relations campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccines and ease the concerns of Americans who are skeptical or hesitant to get the shot, Business Insider reports. The ads will use TV, radio, and digital means to target those who have not received the vaccine yet due to concerns about safety, side effects and reactions. The campaign will also use celebrities and government officials to explain where and how people can get vaccinated. The United States has multiple vaccines that have been granted emergency-use authorization by the FDA: two-shot vaccines made by Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna, and the latest addition, a one-shot vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson. Officials have not granted permission for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been paused in other countries following cases of blood clots in people after getting the vaccine.
The dash to find an available vaccine appointment has cost many people hours of sleep, long drives and weeks of stressful anticipation. But one teenager in Virginia designed a website to make all that much simpler. Sawyer Thompson, a 14-year-old from Rose Hill, Virginia, created the website DMVVaccine.com which refreshes itself every minute with updates showing available vaccines in pharmacies, hospitals, universities and stores throughout the Greater Washington area, WUSA9 reported. Thompson said he used his programming skills and backend data from vaccine registration websites to stream up-to-the-minute information about where appointment openings may be found. “My ultimate goal is to have this website shut down,” he said. “Because then that means the vaccine shortage is over.”
The first case of a coronavirus variant first detected in India has been discovered in Northern California, according to Researchers at Stanford University. The variant was found in. a patient located in the San Francisco Bay Area, NBC News reported. The variant was first discovered in March by officials in India and has two different mutations, including the one found in Northern California. "We believe this is the first described case with this variant in the United States," Stanford Health Care spokesperson Lisa Kim said.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez has a light fever after testing positive for the coronavirus, he said on Saturday — one day after his 62nd birthday. “I am in good physical condition,” Fernandez said. “I would have liked to end my birthday without this news, but I am in good spirits.” He received the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia early this year. Fernandez is continuing his work as president while in isolation, Reuters reported. The Gamaleya Institute in Russia that developed the vaccine Fernandez received said it is 91.6% effective against infection and 100% effective against severe cases of COVID-19. The institute wished the president a quick recovery said the vaccine will ensure he is able to recovery quickly.
The U.S. has seen 30,610,236 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic started over one year ago. According to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases in the United States there have been at least 554,105 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. with more than 73 million recoveries across the globe. The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
TSA reports coronavirus outbreak-era travel record was set on Friday in the United States. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1,580,785 million people at airports across the country on Friday. During Spring Break, air travel figures continue to rise even as officials remain concerned over infection rates. According to CNN, Friday marked the 23rd straight day when more than a million people have flown by air.
The dash to find an available vaccine appointment has cost many people hours of sleep, long drives and weeks of stressful anticipation. But one teenager in Virginia designed a website to make all that much simpler. Sawyer Thompson, a 14-year-old from Rose Hill, Virginia, created the website DMVVaccine.com which refreshes itself every minute with updates showing available vaccines in pharmacies, hospitals, universities and stores throughout the Greater Washington area, WUSA9 reported. Thompson said he used his programming skills and backend data from vaccine registration websites to stream up-to-the-minute information about where appointment openings may be found. “My ultimate goal is to have this website shut down,” he said. “Because then that means the vaccine shortage is over.”
The Netherlands has joined several other countries in stopping the administration of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in people under 60 years old following five cases of blood clots among women aged between 25 and 65 who had received the shot. According to a government news release Friday the “precautionary measure” was taken during the ongoing European Medicines Agency (EMA) investigation into whether a link exists between the vaccine and thrombotic events. “There can be no doubt whatsoever about the safety of vaccines. The crucial question is still whether this concerns complaints after vaccination, or due to vaccination,” Hugo de Jonge, Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport said. “We must err on the side of caution, which is why it is wise to press the pause button now, as a precaution. But only for people under the age of 60.” The move follows Germany’s decision to halt the vaccine for under 60s on Tuesday. Manitoba's Vaccine Implementation Task Force Dr. Joss Reimer said these blood clots can happen between four and 20 days after getting the vaccine and can be like a stroke or heart attack.
Since vaccine distribution began in the U.S. on Dec. 14, more than 101 million people have received at least 1 dose of the vaccine, reaching 30% of the total U.S. population. Of the 101 million who have received the first dose, only 57 million have received the second dose. More than 204 million vaccine doses have been delivered, according to federal data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an Executive Order which bans the mandated use of COVID-19 passports in the entire state. The Order, effective immediately, prohibits any government entity or business from requiring a vaccine passport. “Individual Covid-19 vaccination records are private health information and should not be shared by a mandate,” the Order says. “So-called Covid-19 vaccine passports reduce individual freedom and will harm patient privacy.” The Order says the implementation and enforcement of vaccine passports would “create two classes of citizens based on vaccinations.”
Wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis looks on during a news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, at a Navarro Discount Pharmacy in Hialeah, Fla. DeSantis announced that seniors will soon be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations at Navarro Discount Pharmacies and CVS y mas pharmacies in Miami-Dade County. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
The new order says vaccines are available but not mandated in the state and cites freedom and privacy concerns as the primary basis for the action, according to The Hill. "It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society," said DeSantis Monday during a news conference.
The number of new infections continue to surge in Michigan, where a case of the coronavirus P.1 variant was discovered this past week. The variant, also known as the Brazil variant, has caused concern for local officials in Bay County as contract tracing efforts begin. Joel Strasz, public health officer of the Bay County Health Department, said this is the second variant of COVID-19 that has been identified in the county in the past two weeks, the first of which was the B.1.1.7 variant. The P.1 variant is associated with increased transmissibility, according to Michigan.gov, and there are concerns that it might still be able to affect vaccinated individuals. Cases of the P.1 variant now spread across 22 states and 172 infections.
Easter is often a holiday celebrated with family gatherings and elaborate dinners, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is cautioning against those this year, particularly for those who have yet to receive a vaccine. In the CDC issuance, officials are also warning against traveling, urging Americans to postpone plans this year, although a recent release from the CDC did note that traveling is considered "low risk" for fully vaccinated individuals. The centers did say that vaccinated individuals can gather with other vaccinated individuals unmasked, but warned against unvaccinated high risk individuals gathering, ClickOrlando.com reported. For those that do hold large, communal meals, the CDC is encouraging the public to provide single-use options on food, drinks, plates and drinks.
Thirty cases of rare blood clots have been found in people who received the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, the U.K.’s medicines watchdog reports. The blog clot cases were found among more than 18 million doses administered since March 24. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the risk for people to experience this type of blood clot is “very small,” The BBC reported. The MHRA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have all said that the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh any risks there may be in getting it. "The extreme rarity of these events in the context of the many millions of vaccine doses that have been administered means that the risk-benefit decision facing people who are invited to receive Covid-19 vaccines is very straightforward: receiving the vaccine is by far the safest choice in terms of minimizing individual risk of serious illness or death,” professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, said.
The FDA has approved a change in the distribution of the Moderna vaccine that will allow the company to send more doses across the country. Currently, each vial of the Moderna vaccine is filled with 11 doses, but following approval from the FDA, each vial can now be filled with 15 doses, CNBC reported. This move “will help provide more vaccine doses to communities and allow shots to get into arms more quickly,” said Peter Marks, the director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. As of April 1, 92.5 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine have been delivered across the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some baseball fans will need to wait until next week to watch their favorite teams take the field for the first time this season after a three-game series between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets was postponed due to COVID-19. The first game of the series was initially set for Thursday, which was Opening Day across the league, but was called off after four members of the Nationals organization tested positive for COVID-19. On Friday, MLB announced that the games between the two teams on Friday, Saturday and Sunday would all be postponed “due to continued follow-up testing and contact tracing involving members of the Nationals organization,” The Associated Press reported. Of the 14,354 COVID-19 tests conducted across the league over the past week,these four members of the Nationals were the only ones to test positive, MLB said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced new guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated just hours before Easter weekend. Traveling is now considered “low risk” for those that are fully vaccinated, CNBC said. People are considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of a vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna, or two weeks after the single-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The new guidelines specifically say that older people that are fully vaccinated can travel by airplanes to visit family members, CNBC reported. This is good news not only for families longing to reunite with family members, but also for the travel industry that has taken a significant hit over the past year. The CDC added that fully vaccinated people no longer need to take a COVID-19 test or self-quarantine after travel unless required by state or local authorities.
The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca has been approved for use in countries around the world, but it has yet to be approved in the United States. However, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor thinks that the U.S. may not need it given the number of vaccines that are currently being produced and distributed. “My general feeling is that given the contractual relationships that we have with a number of companies, that we have enough vaccine to fulfill all of our needs without invoking AstraZeneca,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told Reuters in an interview. The AstraZeneca vaccine is 76% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against severe symptoms and hospitalization, the company said on its website in late March.
In this Wednesday, March 24, 2021, file photo, a health worker holds a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, during a mass vaccination campaign at San Pedro Hospital, in Logrono, northern Spain. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos, File)
Figures released by the United States Department of Labor on Friday showed that employers across the country added 916,000 jobs in March. That is the highest amount since August and also double February's number of 468,000, according to The Associated Press. Economists predict that hiring will ramp up as the economy continues to recover. According to the AP, the U.S. economy still remains about 8 million jobs short of the pre-pandemic totals. One of the most notable developments in the report is the number of jobs held by women increased. The AP reported that about 500,000 women returned to the workforce last month, with experts citing the continued reopening of schools as a big factor.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that 200 million vaccines have been sent across the U.S., which includes those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. So far, 30% of the total U.S. population has received at least one dose of a vaccine with nearly 17% fully vaccinated. This comes as the country surpassed 30.5 million cumulative cases since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University. Watch the video below for a detailed look at the latest case numbers.
Unusual vaccine side effects are becoming more known as more people get vaccinated around the country. One of these weird side effects is called "nickel mouth." This happens when patients experience a taste of coins in their mouth within minutes of getting their vaccine. It is believed to be an immune response, according to KCNC Medical Editor Dr. Dace Hnida. Another weird side effect discovered is people having vivid dreams about space. “Flying to the moon, planting the flag on the moon. Even somebody going out and taking Abraham Lincoln to get a Big Mac and having the staff want him to autograph the bills," Dr. Hnida said. While unusual, the side effects are just an immune response and are only temporary. The dreams may be caused by the temporary interruption in sleep cycles caused by the vaccine.
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