How well do COVID vaccines protect after organ transplant?
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)A new study raised questions about how well COVID-19 vaccines protect organ transplant recipients โ and what precautions people with suppressed immune systems should take after the shots. Transplant recipients take powerful immune-suppressing drugs to prevent organ rejection, which also increases their risk from the coronavirus โ but excluded them from vaccine studies. Specialists say the shots appear safe for transplant recipients and any protection is better than none. A few weeks after the first dose, 17% of the transplant recipients had developed antibodies against the coronavirus, said Dr. Dorry Segev, a Hopkins transplant surgeon who co-authored the study. Those waiting for a life-saving organ transplant might be able to get vaccinated first.
NY officials removed fuller tally of nursing home deaths
About a third of the state's nursing home fatalities were excluded from the report as a result of the change. Impeach,โ tweeted Queens Assembly member Ron Kim, who said Cuomo bullied him for criticizing how Cuomo withheld nursing home data. AdState officials acknowledged even then that the true number of deaths was higher because the report was excluding patients who died in hospitals. State officials insisted Thursday that the edits were made because of concerns about accuracy. The administration initially released data about how many nursing home residents died at both hospitals and nursing homes, but quietly stopped in early May.
AP-NORC poll: A third of US adults skeptical of COVID shots
More recently, he said the spread of more contagious variants of the virus increases the need for more people to get their shots โ and quickly. The poll of 1,055 adults, taken Jan. 28 through Feb. 1, provides insight into the skepticism. About the same percentage said they donโt trust COVID-19 vaccines. And 38% said they donโt believe they need a vaccine, with a similar share saying that they donโt know if a COVID-19 vaccine will work and that they don't trust the government. ___The AP-NORC poll of 1,055 adults was conducted Jan. 28-Feb. 1 using a sample drawn from NORCโs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population.
Houston plans to soon offer self-scheduling for second vaccine doses
HOUSTON โ People who are supposed to get their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine will soon be able to schedule that appointment themselves. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that the cityโs Health Department has received nearly 42,000 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine with nearly 34,000 of them having been administered. He said nearly 12,000 people have appointments to get their second dose this week. Turner said the Houston Health Department is currently contacting people directly to schedule their second dose. However, he said the second dose is necessary to get the full benefits of the vaccine.
The Latest: Wash. state warns hospitals on VIP vaccinations
The state crossed that mark Monday, exactly a year after officials reported the first case of a coronavirus infection in Massachusetts. โ Marylandโs acting health secretary says the stateโs hospitals have received less than half of their expected allocations of second doses of the coronavirus vaccine for front-line health workers this week. Schrader says state officials were talked with the federal Department of Health and Human Services all weekend trying to figure out what happened. The CDC says Iowa has delivered 190,689 first vaccine doses to individuals, or 6,044 per 100,000 people, the third lowest rate in the nation. Ad___PRAGUE โ The Czech Republic is not planning to limit use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for elderly people like some other European Union nations.
Expanded vaccine rollout in US spawns a new set of problems
Mississippi's Health Department stopped taking new appointments the same day it began accepting them because of a โmonumental surgeโ in requests. In California, counties begged for more coronavirus vaccine to reach millions of their senior citizens. โThis is about life and death.โIn Mississippi, officials said new appointments will probably have to wait until a hoped-for shipment of vaccine in mid-February. But the local hospital had no openings on Wednesday, Clark said, and the other vaccination sites are too far away. โSheโs too old.โAllison Salerno, an audio producer from Athens, Georgia, said she spent the better part of a day calling her stateโs health department to get a vaccine appointment for her 89-year-old mother.
'Tis the pandemic season: White House parties on amid virus
A U.S. Marine Corps band performs in the Entrance Hall of the White House during the 2020 Christmas preview, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020, in Washington. The D.C. Health Department canโt do much more than track the numbers and hope its virus guidelines are being followed. But the White House and other federal properties are not required to comply with those rules. On Wednesday night, Trump hosted about 200 guests at the White House for the annual Hanukkah celebration. Bowser's government has generally avoided direct confrontations with the Trump White House over virus protocols.
The Latest: Sri Lanka orders more curfews over virus cluster
(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO, Sri Lanka โ Authorities in Sri Lanka have closed the countryโs main fish market and widened the curfew in many parts of the island nation following a surge of coronavirus infections related to a new cluster centered on a garment factory. โ Boston schools will switch to all-remote learning in response to rising coronavirus cases in the city. Kelly said Wednesday that two-thirds of the stateโs confirmed cases now are outside the Wichita and Kansas City region. On Wednesday, the state reported its first patient to the field hospital on the state fairgrounds in West Allis outside of Milwaukee. ___ROME โ The Italian region of Lazio, which includes Rome, is imposing an overnight curfew to combat surging coronavirus infections.
The Latest: Australia prioritizes air service to 3 countries
That means health care professionals account for about 15% of all Mexicoโs confirmed coronavirus cases, and about 18% of all COVID-19 deaths. Active-service health care workers largely mirrored Mexicoโs over-all fatality rate of almost 67 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The stateโs average number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased from 476 cases a day on Sept. 29 to 685 cases on Oct. 13. Before then, the only confirmed coronavirus death in a Missouri veterans home was in April in north St. Louis County. There were an additional 1,121 confirmed cases, bringing the total to 102,614 since the pandemic began.
DC government unable to connect with White House on outbreak
Bowser acknowledged on Monday that White House medical officials โhave their hands fullโ at the moment. Instead it has been forced to entrust the White House medical staff to conduct its own contact tracing. โIf that information has been provided to us ... the D.C. contact trace force will do its work,โ Nesbit said. White House spokesman Judd Deere said Monday that the White House "has established a robust contact tracing program led by the White House Medical Unit with CDC integration to provide appropriate recommendations.โHe said those who com in close proximity to Trump would continue to be tested. Bowser and Nesbit took pains Monday to avoid direct commentary or criticism of the White House โ perhaps seeking to avoid the appearance of politicizing the crisis.
Some Orthodox Jews bristle at NYC's response to virus surge
Amid a new surge of COVID-19 in New Yorks Orthodox Jewish communities, many residents are reviving health measures that some had abandoned over the summer social distancing, wearing masks. Officials say the worst-hit ZIP codes overlap with large Orthodox Jewish communities in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and in a couple of nearby counties. Last week, Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, worked with the Boro Park Jewish Community Council to distribute 400,000 masks. โThe Jewish community feels theyโre being singled out and thereโs some element of anti-Semitism,โ he said Monday. In 2018 and 2019, measles cases spread in Orthodox communities in New York as well as other regions.
Multiple students at New Caney High School test positive for COVID-19, district confirms
HOUSTON โ Students at New Caney High School have reported testing positive for the coronavirus, according to New Caney Independent School District. The district told KPRC 2 that it could not reveal which students were infected but said the local health department, parents and staff were notified about the positive cases. The district also did not say how many students had contracted the virus. New Caney ISD released the following written statement to KPRC 2:โThe district follows a standard response protocol in the event of confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students or staff. Impacted students or staff are moved to the remote instruction model.โStudents in New Caney ISD went back to in-person learning on Sept. 8.
Questions lingering over teens death in north Harris County pool
Harris County inspectors are due back at a motel next week, where a teen was recently electrocuted while swimming in a pool. Records filed with the Harris County Clerk and Texas Secretary of State show the North Villa Hotel is owned by a company called Northgate Hospitality, Incorporated. As KPRC 2 Investigates reported, 15-year-old Kahleel Marcos Reynolds was swimming in a pool that should not have been open. Harris County health inspectors would not grant a permit to open the pool after finding numerous violations including an exposed lighting fixture in July 2018. The company re-applied in December of that year but was again denied a permit to open the pool.
UK begins testing a new app to fight COVID-19 spread
LONDON Britain started testing a new smartphone app Thursday to help people find out whether theyve been close to someone infected with COVID-19 after security concerns torpedoed an earlier effort to use technology to track the disease. The Department of Health and Social Care said that trials of the app began on the Isle of Wight, with testing in the London borough of Newham scheduled to begin soon. The app, which was developed in conjunction with privacy experts and companies such as Google and Apple, is similar to technology being used in Germany and Ireland. ``It uses the latest security technology and is designed with user privacy in mind, so it tracks the virus, not people, the Health Department said in a statement. The app uses bluetooth technology to determine when a users phone has been in close proximity to the phone of someone who has tested positive for the disease.
Brazos County assisted living facility reports 4 coronavirus deaths
COLLEGE STATION โ Brazos County Health officials confirmed a growing number of coronavirus cases during a news conference Thursday. Ten of those cases are at The Waterford at College Station living facility, where four people have also died. Brazos County Health said the victims range in age from 80 to 91, with the most recent death occurring at the hospital. The assisted living facility said the spread of the coronavirus had forced them to implement strict disinfecting and sanitizing guidelines set by the CDC. The county health department is recommending all residents and staff members be tested.