Your Coronavirus Update – Sept. 6, 2021

Photo: Tom Brady had COVID in 2020 at the SuperBowl Buccaneers party in Florida, it was disclosed this weekend.

RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY

The Boston Symphony Orchestra & the Boston Ballet will require proof of COVID vaccination to attend performances.

11 Boston Red Sox players now test positive

2 indoor mask mandates vaccinated or not – Block Island & Fenway Park

At URI more than 98% of students are fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, or have an exemption. Of this group, 6% have an exemption and 94% are partially or fully vaccinated.

Brown University is studying the impact of Long Covid and it is getting national recognition.

RI Rapid Tests no longer available for those who are asymptomatic. Rapid tests work best in symptomatic people. CVS does offer them as do other non-state sites. Amazon has them to order – BINEX Now – but they won’t ship until November.

Unemployment in Rhode Island is still higher than it was in pre-pandemic days. The annual unemployment rate for the state’s labor force in 2019 was 3.6 percent

Worcester has announced emergency orders requiring face masks be worn in all schools, including indoor sports – for over age 5 – includes staff – not all private schools included by ruling.

A Massachusetts physician and educator who played a role in investigating COVID-19 vaccines and in setting related state policies has died unexpectedly. Dr. Robert Finberg’s death was announced Tuesday by UMass Medical School, where he was a distinguished professor of medicine and chair emeritus of the Department of Medicine. Finberg was 71. Finberg served as a principal investigator on more than half a dozen clinical trials related to COVID-19, including those to test the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and remdesivir as a treatment for those with severe illness. He was also a member of Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group.

The Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters will vote on whether or not to seek a temporary restraining order to block RI from enforcing getting a vaccine by Oct. 1.

RI Fire Chiefs Association said he couldn’t be more proud of his employees for stepping up to the plate to be vaccinated – some are still not, but working through

Governor’s press conference:

Held at URI with the new URI president

Gov. announces RI’s accomplishment to require vaccinations by all its public colleges/universities

URI has over 94% vaccinated or exempted – masks required indoors – strong testing structure in place –

RI is #5 in US for percent of population vaccinated. 83.9% of 18+ have at least one vaccine.

Any staff/faculty who do not vaccinate or request medical/religious exemption, or agree to rigorous testing, they will not be allowed on campus.

Q/A:

Religious exemption form will be the same as for other immunizations.

Dr. Scott said natural immunity (having already had COVID) may help somewhat, but not enough without a vaccination

Hospitals are doing well with mandatory vaccinations. Staff who won’t be vaccinated on Oct. 1^st – will they lose their jobs? Dr. Scott said we will draw the line – didn’t answer the termination question directly, other than to say they won’t be in front of patients. There may be some reassessment..

Other colleges with staff/faculty vaccination requirement? Gov. McKee said will leave that up to each school, noting the URI successful policy.

Dr. Megan Ranney on Twitter: opening a window reduces the # of viral particles in a room – on back to school and dorm rooms: “Folks, this isn’t tough. It isn’t even expensive. Open a window, turn on the HVAC, wear a mask.”

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Tom Brady told the media that he had COVID after the Super Bowl party/parade last year. In addition, both his parents came down with COVID as well as his wife. His father was hospitalized for 3 weeks. His mother, a breast cancer survivor, had her daughter, a nurse, stay with her to help her recover at home.

A new COVID19 variant – called MU – has entered the US, with 4 states noting cases.

Booster shots will be in discussion this week as Israel is asked to present its study data – so far 2.6 million people out of a population of 9.3 million have received three doses of the Pfizer vaccine in Israel. The CDC and FDA will then coordinate the US recommendations.

Health officials in Israel are said to predict the country will reach herd immunity in 2 months (https://www.timesofisrael.com/health-officials-said-to-believe-israel-can-reach-herd-immunity-within-2-months/)

Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Florida and Arkansas have less than 10% left of their ICU bed capacity –

• Azerbaijan
• Estonia
• Guam
• North Macedonia
• Puerto Rico
• Saint Lucia
• Switzerland

The CDC is advising against travel over Labor Day weekend – for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals due to the spread of the Delta virus.

NYC Mayor DeBlasio told his employees to get prepared to return to the office soon

Pfizer Vax Safe, Even Among the Highly Allergic — Israeli study found enhanced protocol helped treat any reactions quickly –  https://bit.ly/3zP1frs

70% decreasing cases after the booster shots shown in Israel

A slim majority of U.S. companies will have one or more vaccine mandates in place by the fourth quarter

Tampa Bay Buccaneers have 100% of their players, staff, etc. totally vaccinated.

235,000 jobs were added in the last month in the US, slower than anticipated, leading thoughts that Delta virus may be having a greater impact than thought.

1,500 of the 5,000 students at Liberty University are in quarantine with an outbreak that happened after school began – there had been no mask or vaccine requirement.

Military service members claim a significant number are resisting Covid-19 vaccine mandates and are willing to risk court martial and expulsion for their beliefs. Rep.Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) says it could create a serious issue of military readiness.

More than 1,000 school districts in US have closed to in-person learning due to COVID19 outbreaks, in 35 states – closures have been from one day to several weeks.

Univ. of Florida began the football season with a full stadium – 88,000 people are expected – with no requirements for vaccinations or masks

Moderna Inc said on Friday it had asked the EU drugs regulator for conditional approval of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine at a 50 microgram dose.

Doctors in Brussels are prescribing museum visits to some patients suffering from detrimental mental health brought on by the pandemic. (news.artnet.com)

A 24-year old woman was arrested after falsifying an immunization record to come into Hawaii.

More than 99.99% of fully vaccinated people have not had a breakthrough case of COVID-19 resulting in hospitalization or death.

Australia had its first death in many months.

Federal Judge Dismisses Jurors Who Haven’t Gotten COVID-19 Vaccines

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to wage a tougher epidemic prevention campaign in “our style” after he turned down some foreign Covid-19 vaccines offered via the U.N.-backed immunization program.

German’s Angela Merkel says ventilation may be one of cheapest and most effective ways of containing virus

The first randomized trial about surgical masks is getting wide recognition: https://www.poverty-action.org/news/new-study-first-randomized-trial-show-wearing-masks-reduces-covid-19-real-world-setting

7 million unemployed Americans have lost unemployment benefits.

72% of insurers are no longer be fully covering the charges for #COVID19 hospitalizations.