Your Coronavirus Update – Today, Thurs, Dec. 17, 2020

RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY

All RI state run Testing Sites are closed today, Thurs, 12/17, due to weather. State-run testing sites are the sites that people schedule at through portal.ri.gov, as well as all K-12 testing sites. Both indoor and outdoor sites are closing tomorrow.  When testing sites open again, people who had appointments for Thursday will not need to make new appointments. They can go to the site where their appointment was scheduled at any time with a print or screenshot of their confirmation notice, and they will be tested.

In an interview with Patrick Anderson of the Providence Journal, Gov. Raimondo commented on photos of her and her husband out at a local restaurant that had appeared on social media, just prior to her having to go into quarantine because of exposure to Dr. Scott, who tested positive for COVID19 – “What I was doing was trying to help the local economy,” she said. “My husband and I did a little shopping on Westminster Street…. So instead of going on Amazon, we bought a bunch of books at some local bookstores, we bought a bunch of things at a craft shop and popped into a local restaurant.” She added: “I think if everyone did that and followed the rules carefully and spent some money in the local economy then it would be fine.”

Dr. Scott is asymptomatic and working from home, after testing positive 14 days after Thanksgiving – she says she spent the holiday home with those she lives with.

The Friars had their third game of the conference season postponed late Monday when an upcoming matchup with DePaul was scuttled. The Blue Demons have entered another pause after a positive COVID-19 test within their program.

Treatment for COVID-19 is available and can be very effective if you get it early enough when you’re sick. If you’re having trouble breathing, ongoing pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, an inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital right away. Tell them you have COVID-19. Call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you.

Dr. Megan Ranney, of Brown University, and a national spokesperson said on CNN: “I have really zero reservations…We’ve heard a lot of claims of magical cures…“Well, the vaccine is the real deal.”

MA Governor Charlie Baker and his health and human services chief on Tuesday beseeched Massachusetts residents to celebrate the coming holidays in-person with their households only

Women and Infants & Newport Hospitals gave out their first vaccines today.

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There will be a webinar on Friday, Helping Businesses Navigate COVID-19 – The Vaccine – December 18 @ 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm EST brought to you by EANE. EANE is reviving their 60-minute BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) webinar format to help employers navigate the issues listed below. In the Dec 18 Webinar Mark Adams (EANE) and Tim Murphy (Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.) Will Cover Questions Such As:

• Can I require my employees to get the vaccine when it becomes available?
• Can I require them to get it before they return to the workplace?
• Can I require proof that they received it?
• We used to hold flu shot clinics, if there is enough vaccine, could we offer vaccine clinics on-site? Any risks?
• What else do we need to consider with the vaccine coming out?

The link to register is right here, if you are interested you can register for free by emailing me separately at [email protected]: https://www.eane.org/event/byol-webinar-helping-businesses-navigate-covid-19-the-vaccine-web/

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17 Massachusetts hospitals received vaccines on Tuesday

RI is drafting an emergency regulation on minimum staff-to-patient ratios in nursing homes, which are again seeing a surge of COVID-19 cases. 3.8 staff hours per resident per day” for nurses, CNAs and other direct care workers.

Southcoast Hospitals receive their vaccine Wednesday

U. of Massachusetts Projects $335-Million Shortfall

CCRI faculty takes a vote of no confidence in its president and vice president after layoffs because of COVID19 happened.

Vaccination press conference held by RIDOH:

Dispelling myths:

• vaccine contains microchip – it does not
• it can alter your DNA – there is no way to enter the DNA
• vaccine can give you covid – not true – if you get a test and you test positive, then you are experiencing an active infection not caused by the vaccine
• our own immune system is better than the vaccine. For instance, someone who is asymptomatic has a weak response and could not fight off the virus on their own in the future
• flu vaccine can protect you – no, it can’t – vaccines are very specific

CVS/Walgreen are handling all vaccinations at nursing homes – details, logistics, consent forms, etc. Also handling group homes and senior housing. 295 sites in RI of people in congregate sites.

Dec. 28th and 3 weeks that follow, 100% of nursing homes will have had their first dose completed. Who is eligible? All those who live there, and all those who work there. Natural immune reaction might cause some to not feel well, so they will stagger how staff are vaccinated.

In Connecticut, 5 nursing homes could begin vaccinating staff and residents sooner than the state’s planned Dec. 21 rollout for long-term care facilities, under a joint state-federal initiative involving Connecticut and three other states.

Vaccinations will begin soon at the state’s nursing homes. Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Tuesday that by the end of December, 34,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in Vermont.

Today’s Data: Dec. 15, 2020

Deaths: 15

Tests: 12,229 – Positives: 1,084 – Percent Positive: 8.9%

Hospitalized: 455 – ICU: 53 – On ventilators: 29

Deaths in-hospital: 12 – New admissions: 64 – New discharges: 38

Today’s Data: Dec. 16, 2020

Deaths: 20

Tests: 15,048 – Positives: 953 – Percent Positive: 6.3%

Hospitalized: 469 – ICU: 62 – On ventilators: 30

Deaths in-hospital: 9 – New admissions: 70 – New discharges: 61

Cases in RI communities

Top 5 in last 7 days: Providence – Cranston – Warwick – Pawtucket – East Providence. Others:

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Vice President Pence, Mrs. Pence, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams will get the COVID19 vaccine on Friday at a public event at The White House to encourage Americans to not fear the safety of the shot.

Dr. Fauci is urging people not to travel to see their families at Christmas – and to cancel any plans they have.

One doctor from IHME has told people who have been vaccinated that they must still wear their masks and take all precautions until at least June or July.

There has been one reported case of a serious reaction to the vaccine. A case of anaphylactic shock was reported. A woman with no known allergic reactions developed a rash and was given treatment for this type of serious shock. She began to recover almost immediately, spent the night in the hospital, and was discharged the following day. Medical experts are advising anyone who has had serious allergic reactions to discuss the efficacy of taking the vaccine, weighing it against risk of the virus, and if they choose to take it, to do so where emergency measures could be taken, if a reaction occurs.

The first home test for COVID-19 that doesn’t require a prescription will soon be on U.S. store shelves. U.S. officials Tuesday authorized the rapid coronavirus test, which can be done entirely at home.  Ellume is a company from Australia. Results will be in minutes and accessible on a phone app or the device itself.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TdeguHqP-M – It is expected to cost about $30 – for one test.

The Legoland theme park in Florida is planning an expansion next year including new rides

An associate professor of architecture at the University of Florida for 27 years has died of Covid-19 – 800 employees at the university have tested positive.

Monmouth College’s swim coach has died of complications from Covid-19. He was 62.

George Washington University has laid off 339 employees

30% drop in travel this holiday, per AAA

Major League Baseball executives and owners, wanting players to be vaccinated before arriving to spring training, would like the 2021 season to be delayed until May, even if it means shortening the season to 140 or fewer games.

There have been at least 6,629 cases of Covid-19 in the programs that make up the top tier of college athletics

Getting dressed up seems superfluous now, and people have ditched business formal — and even business casual — for loungewear.

Federal law lets both public and private organizations require vaccinations, and schools, hospitals and a host of other institutions have long done so.

California State University announced on Wednesday that it “anticipates” returning to primarily in-person classes in the fall of 2021

Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations will have no public audience for the first time in the ball drop’s 113-year history, organizers announced. The ball drop will go ahead, and Gloria Gaynor will perform her 1970s disco hit, “I Will Survive.” Like the rest of this year, it’ll be livestreamed.

The Trump administration and Pfizer are negotiating a deal that would help the drugmaker produce tens of millions of additional vaccine doses in the first half of 2021.

BBC explores a new genetic variant of COVID found in the United Kingdom. Experts are still unsure whether this mutation has caused the virus to become more infectious or dangerous, but some believe that it may be associated with an exponential rise in cases in the Southern part of the country. So far, at least 60 local authorities have recorded infections with the new variant. 

A study finds that the presence and activity of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are regulated by androgens, the sex hormones that control “male” characteristics. (This result may explain why biological males are more likely to experience severe COVID). ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are both proteins located on the surface of human cells and are essential for the novel coronavirus to invade these cells. The study finds that medications that disrupt the regulation of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 by androgens can be used to treat COVID. Read the study.

The federal government is spending $29,000 in taxpayer funds to mist a disinfectant all over the White House before President-elect Biden moves in. However, spraying chemicals would be ineffective and harmful to people working there as well as to the people operating the fumigation machinery. And misting without proper preparation would put priceless works of art at risk. “The conservators at the National Archives are probably freaking out,” says J. David Krause, an environmental and occupational health consultant. “You really only need to be treating the surfaces that people have been exposed to or can be exposed to.” 

If you’ve had coronavirus, you should still get the vaccine, but you won’t be in the first group of priority people.

America may reach herd immunity sooner than anticipated – one reason is 20 million Americans have had the virus, with natural early immunity – looking at late Spring.

FDA finds Moderna vaccine 95% effective

On Thursday, Moderna will come before a group of FDA experts convened in a public hearing to advise the agency on whether to grant the vaccine emergency authorization use.

Moderna’s vaccine doesn’t need to be kept as cold as the Pfizer vaccine, making it far easier to distribute in smaller quantities.

100 million Americans to be fully immunized from COVID-19 by April

Dr. Fauci is calling on President-elect Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Over 500 Electric Boat employees have become infected with COVID-19 in the past month and a half.  Nearly five percent of the workforce has been affected during the pandemic. 

For average individuals who are 65 or older — an age group especially hard-hit by Covid — getting a vaccine could happen in the first few months of 2021, depending on how quickly supply ramps up.

Google wants to return to their corporate offices by September 2021 with a hybrid work from home plan before that.

India’s migrant trains to get people home at the beginning of the pandemic is now seen as having spread the virus throughout the country.

NYC has to close its outdoor restaurants by 2pm today – the city hopes to be able to plow around the outdoor areas with the impending snowstorm, so restaurants don’t have to move their fixtures.

Chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said a renewal of the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, was necessary to protect small businesses and their employees, who had become “collateral damage” in the effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

5000 body bags and 60 refrigerator trucks have been sent to southern California

Top 3 cities where people are leaving – Hartford, San Francisco, and NYC.