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Your Coronavirus Update – Today, March 13, 2021
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Vaccinations: Last night, 5pm, the RIDOH vaccine sign up went live for 60+ and 16+ with underlying medical conditions. Reports after two hours was a frozen system, with lots of technical problems. We learned that all appointments are now taken until a system reset on Tuesday, early a.m. Meanwhile, CVS has some availability as of early Sat. morning, as does Walgreens. Both the Lifespan and Care New England systems are no availability. Cities/towns have varying age requirements – go on your local website by typing in the name of the city in the search bar of your computer of smartphone. Homebound, check here to register: http://bit.ly/homeboundvax In Massachusetts, go here and pre-register, you will be contacted: https://www.mass.gov/covid-19-vaccine
400,000 people are estimated to have gotten vaccination appts on new site in MA.
60% of those vaccinated in MA are women; though they represent 51% of the population, indicating a gender gap.
Jacob’s Pillow is setting their outdoor summer performance schedule.
Proof of vaccination can be obtained from RIDOH, here: https://portal.ri.gov/VaccineRecord/s/ – people are advised to keep their card they receive at their vaccination appointments.
North Providence Mayor Lombardi said he would begin having homebound Johnston residents vaccinated by EMTs from the Fire Dept.
Hot line at RIDOH for homebound people registration – Call 2-1-1
The number of applications for Brown’s master of public health program is more than double that of last year, with the largest increases coming from people of color.
Johnston Mayor Polisena is offering vaccinations for shut-ins – call the senior center or the mayor’s office
Similar homebound program to Johnston in North Providence & Cumberland – contact mayor’s office.
St. Elizabeth’s Home families held a protest at the RI State House about their need to get in and visit.
From MassLive: 377 student, 146 staff COVID cases reported at Massachusetts schools in past week as teachers vie for vaccine appointments ahead of full-time in-person learning
Massachusetts Bill 155-0 that will exempt businesses from taxes on forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loans, freeze unemployment rates to two years, waive fees and certain taxes for some jobless workers and extend paid leave benefits.”
Massachusetts to unveil new COVID vaccine pre-registration website Friday morning
Worcester sees ‘small uptick’ in new COVID cases as state opts to shut down senior center vaccination site to reallocate doses to Worcester State University
Federal judge dismisses Brown students’ lawsuits seeking refunded tuition
Sign the petition by AARP-RI to encourage Rhode Island to prioritize 50+ year old Rhode Islanders for a vaccine: https://states.aarp.org/rhode-island/our-message-hasnt-changed-lets-get-this-right
MA Gov. Baker slammed teachers unions for “demanding” that the state divert COVID-19 vaccinations to educators and away from some of the most vulnerable Massachusetts residents. During a visit to the mass vaccination site at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, the governor pushed back against the unions and criticized their proposal. “I’m not going to be in the position where I take vaccine away from people who are extremely vulnerable, who have multiple medical conditions and are over the age of 65, to give it to a targeted population. Just not going to play that game,” Baker told reporters.
8 percent of Latinos in Massachusetts have gotten at least one dose, compared with 22 percent of white residents, 15 percent of Black residents, and 13 percent of Asian residents.
Data – March 12, 2021
Deaths: 4
Tests – 130,502 – Positives – 315 – Percent positive – 1.8%
Hospitalized – 138 – In ICU – 24 – Ventilated – 19
Deaths in hospital – 0 – New Admissions – 17 – New Discharges -25
Vaccinated – 253,957; Both shots – 104,348
Data – March 11, 2021
Deaths: 4
Tests – 23,445 – Positives – 429 – Percent positive – 1.8%
Hospitalized – 141 – In ICU – 25 – Ventilated – 17
Deaths in hospital – 1 – New Admissions – 20 – New Discharges -24
Vaccinated – 247,412; Both shots – 100,610
Gov. McKee’s Weekly Update:
Restaurants can reduce space from 8 feet to 6 feet – bar patrons can stay until midnight (must also be eating).
Broader reopening announcements next week.
Garden shops announcement will come next week, as well as encouraging small business.
Dr. Scott:
We are watching So. Kingston, N. Kingston. Smithfield, Woonsocket and Portsmouth for slight upticks in cases.
Nursing homes – 9 new resident cases. Exceedingly low. Hospitalization and deaths have also fallen off significantly.
We are monitoring virus variants. Even with more contagious strains, we are seeing that masks work.
Vaccinations – 10% fully vaccinated. 7,500 doses a day. Contracting with 3 different vendors to provide shots for the homebound.
Treatment – we have safe, effective treatment – talk to your doctors, if you don’t have a doctor or insurance, treatment is still available.
Garden Shops – will be able to open with no restrictions outside
Restaurants – 75%; 6 ft table spacing; midnight at bar – 75% in a week
Catered event: March 19th – 75% capacity; 100 indoors, 200 outdoors
Dancing: pod dancing – rules to come
Houses of worship – 75% capacity – some wish to stay where they are and remote broadcast
Retail: 3/19 – smaller format can go to 1 person per 50 sq. ft. Big Box can go to 1 per 100.
Gyms, sports, fitness – 1 per 50 sq. ft (double from current) – w/all other guidelines in place
Personal services – hairdressers, etc. – 1 person per 50 sq. ft – 6 ft distancing
Funeral homes – 3/19 – 50% capacity
Venues of assembly – movies, arts, etc. – 3/19 – 50% capacity up to 250 indoors, 500 outdoors.
Venues and catered events – required testing w/in 48 hour window.
Offices – currently at 33% – 3/19: 50% capacity – close break rooms, avoid mingling
Social gathering – 3/19 – up to 2 households – 15 indoors; 3 households or 50 people outdoors
Q&A:
Q: Are we moving too fast with limited vaccine?
A: No, and we will monitor closely.
Q: Serology testing – can people volunteer?
A: For this approach we have not designed a volunteer concept – as they were randomly selected we hope they will respond yes
Q: Why can’t EMTs deliver vaccine to homebound?
A: Some accommodations are being made, but our 3rd party vendors will allow us to have a more cohesive plan.
Q: When will we have our civil liberties restored and open up everything – benchmarks? We’re all living on a week by week basis.
A: When we have people vaccinated and it can be done safer.
Q: Previous administration sat on federal money – when will we see state publish when money is available and how
A: $30Million immediately – PPP loans extension to end of May – continue to work on restriction strategies
Q: Pres. Said eligibility to be extended on May 1st.
A: That’s the goal. Capacity is 100,000 shots a week right now. Get us the supply and we’ll get it out. Currently at 48,000 doses a week with marginal increases.
Q: We still have significant # of 70+ year olds and 60+ year olds – what explains these cases?
A: There are still individuals that need to be vaccinated. Combination of access and willingness.
Q: Conversation with Dr. Fauci & Gov. McKee – through Governor’s association
A: Dr. Fauci wanted to hear what was happening in RI – encouraging about our ability to vaccinate – encouraging about strong municipal outreach and hesitancy to accept vaccines – density may have worked against us but will work for us in vaccinating people.
Q: Events coming up – any forward looking advice?
A: Feel as though we are in good shape for this summer; especially large scale – reach out to DBR who will work with RIDOH to understand the parameters of the event, etc.
Q: Convention Center staying closed?
A: Many conversations about downtown. Providence is down as much as 75% in business. We’re a major food scene and the restaurant component of opening up will help, as tourism assets. CommerceRI is talking to tourism bureaus – and we can access federal marketing dollars. Starting to talk to office buildings downtown; we have to build consumer confidence, too. We can vaccinate in big offices, buildings, etc. We are expecting to reopen Convention Center, but not sure when, especially with virus variants out there.
Q: Small biz money – what is available for the business owner in debt? Can you give money to a business that’s nearly dead?
A: More grants – 30 days or less coming. We will try to help.
Q: How many doses a week to reach May 1st goal?
A: We can go up to 100K a week – currently we are at 40K a week and ready to go. We want to be prepared to be successful. We are streamlining scheduling process, etc.
Q: Why not colleges, universities? Where the spread is?
A: Priority is public school but we are gathering data on what is needed for colleges. Support for students to be vaccinated before starting school in the fall.
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
CDC releases new guidelines for daycare centers: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/guidance-for-childcare.html
Italy announces entire country will go into lockdown over Easter weekend.
Savannah, GA cancels its St. Patrick’s Day parade, but expects gatherings to happen.
IRS reports tax refunds down 32% from same time last year
Those who received unemployment last year who have already filed will need to file with an amended tax form because of the passage of the coronavirus relief package, which is giving a tax break on up to $10,200 of unemployment compensation.
Countries with higher obesity rates have higher COVID-19 death rates.
A new report from the United Nations Population Fund found that globally nearly 12 million women lost access to birth control because of the pandemic, leading to 1.4 million “unintended pregnancies” over the past year
Alaska is the first state to remove eligibility requirements for vaccines.
Nearly half of all COVID cases in New York City are caused by two new variants
A study assessed COVID seroprevalence data from around the world. Seroprevalence is the proportion of a population who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and thus have COVID antibodies. The average seroprevalence of the general population is 8%, and average seroprevalence of high-risk healthcare workers is 17%. But seroprevalence varied widely across regions, from 20% in Southeast Asia to 1.7% in the Western Pacific United States. Despite these numbers, we are far from achieving herd immunity in the vast majority of places.
Hospital executives cited a combination of sicker patients and a higher ratio of commercially-insured patients to explain why they performed better financially in the latter part of 2020.
Sanofi has been developing an mRNA vaccine of its own, collaborating with Translate Bio to add another Covid-19 inoculation to the global arsenal.
Poland reported 21,049 daily coronavirus cases on Saturday, health ministry data showed, the highest figure since November 2020.
Texas Rangers are planning to fill their entire stadium of 40,000 when their season begins this year.
Jury trials dropped off sharply during the pandemic, but in-person proceedings may rebound as virus cases wane and courts face pressure to address a litigation backlog, spurring concerns about how to bring people back to court safely.
Dr. Birx has taken a position as Senior Fellow at the Bush Institute where she will work on health care disparities exacerbated by the pandemic. Birx will also join Dallas-based air purifier maker ActivePure Technologies as a chief medical and scientific adviser, and she was appointed to serve as an independent director of Innoviva Inc., a San Francisco-based healthcare-focused asset management company