The White House has paid 50 social media stars from TikTok and YouTube to join their vaccination campaign. The social media influencers include Christina Najjar, Ashley Cummins and pop star Olivia Rodrigo. Even state and local governments are recruiting micro influencers to increase vaccination numbers.
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Can TikTok be the solution to fighting the next stage of the pandemic?
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As long lines form in Florida, US makes vaccination goal
As the United States hit President Joe Biden’s 70 percent vaccination goal Monday, we learned a large chunk of recent COVID-19 cases are concentrated to Florida and Texas. The video above shows long testing lines in Florida, as well as clips from Monday’s White House COVID response team briefing.
“Just today, we hit 70 percent of adults with at least one shot, including 90 percent of seniors with at least one shot,” White House Coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said. “These are significant milestones in our fight against the virus.”
That original deadline for the 70 percent goal was July 4. 70 percent was the low end of initial government estimates for what would be necessary to achieve herd immunity. However, the number has been rendered obsolete by the Delta variant.
The U.S. still has not hit the administration’s other goal of fully vaccinating 165 million American adults by July 4.
The variant is a major factor in a rise in cases across the country. New cases per day have increased sixfold over the past month to an average of nearly 80,000. That hasn’t been seen since mid-February. Deaths per day have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 259 to 360.
Low-vaccinated states are seeing the worst of it.
“In fact, the seven states with the lowest vaccination rates represent just about 8.5 percent of the U.S. population but account for more than 17 percent of cases,” Zients said. “And one in three cases nationwide occurred in Florida and Texas this past week.”
Florida is now leading the nation in per capita hospitalizations for COVID-19. The state has a record 11,515 COVID-19 hospitalizations, compared to about 1,000 six weeks ago.
But with a rise in cases in parts of the country, we’re also seeing a rise in vaccinations.
“It’s very important to note in the states with the highest case rates, daily vaccination rates have more than doubled,” Zients said. “The eight states with the highest current case rates have seen an average increase of 171% in the number of people newly vaccinated each day over the past three weeks.”
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Deciphering COVID’s Delta variant: Why it’s so serious and one doc’s warning
The Delta variant is now responsible for more than 80 percent of new cases in the United States, according to the CDC. The variant is highly contagious and can be deadly, particularly for unvaccinated people. Straight Arrow News spoke with physician and cardiologist Dr. Payal Kohli for more information about the Delta variant and whether we can expect other variants to emerge.
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Sen. Graham tests positive for COVID-19
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham announced on Twitter Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19, despite already being vaccinated. Straight Arrow News Political Producer Annie Andersen breaks down what the breakthrough case means for Sen. Graham in the near future.
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Could you get money from Zoom? Company settles lawsuit over privacy issues
Video conferencing company Zoom, which rose to prominence at the beginning of the pandemic, is set to pay $85 million in a lawsuit settlement over privacy issues.
The lawsuit accused Zoom of violating the trust of millions of people by sharing the personal information of users with Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and others.
The case also targeted the disruptive practice of “Zoombombing”. The term was coined to describe hackers breaking into videoconferencing meetings uninvited. The hackers often displayed pornography, used racist language, or posted other disturbing content.
The proposed agreement must still be approved by a district judge. A hearing on the settlement is scheduled for Oct. 21 in San Jose, California.
Millions of Americans could be eligible for a slice of the settlement if they have used Zoom since March. Court documents estimate the payment amounts are expected to be $34 or $35 for those who subscribed to Zoom’s paid version, and $11 or $12 for those who used the free version.
As part of the settlement, Zoom agreed to create additional security measures. This includes alerting users when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps in meetings and providing training to employees on privacy and data handling.
In a prepared statement, Zoom said it acted quickly to tighten security after reports of Zoombombing began to surface.
“We are proud of the advancements we have made to our platform and look forward to continuing to innovate with privacy and security at the forefront,” the statement read. Zoom did not acknowledged any wrongdoing in the settlement.
Stay-at-home orders transformed the company’s videoconferencing service from a niche product into a cultural phenomenon. Almost overnight it became the go-to venue for business meetings, schools, and social gatherings.
Zoom’s annual revenue quadrupled last year to nearly $2.7 billion. At the end of April, it had 497,000 customers that employed at least 10 workers and subscribed to the premium version of zoom. That’s up from 81,900 customers before the pandemic. Zoom’s stock price tripled and traded close to $380 Monday.
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Scarlett Johansson wants more than her $20 million from Disney
Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney for breach of contract over her latest movie, Black Widow.
As part of her contract, Johansson would get a percentage of the box office totals. The lawsuit alleges Disney released the movie on the Disney Plus streaming app at the same time as the theater in order to promote its new app. And, the move lessened the box office profits.
Disney replied to the allegations in a statement calling Johansson’s actions “callous”, in lieu of, the pandemic.
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Eviction ban set to expire Saturday after House fails to pass extension
Congress failed to extend the eviction moratorium for renters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ban expires Saturday, July 31st.
Friday night, the House of Representatives adjourned for August recess without passing an extension. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer attempted to pass a bill to extend the eviction moratorium by unanimous consent, but it was rejected by Republicans according to CNN.
The raw video above shows clips from a House Rules Committee meeting discussing the emergency bill. U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, the Financial Services Chairwoman who authored the bill, pushed the committee members to act.
“Is it emergency enough that you’re going to stop families from being put on the sidewalk?” Waters said at the committee meeting. “What the hell is going to happen to these children that won’t be able to go back to school because they don’t even know where they’re going to be sleeping or they’re going to be?”
But U.S. Representative Cathy Rogers, the top Republican on another panel handling the issue, said the Democrats’ bill was rushed.
“This is not the way to legislate,” she said. “And the majority has not done its job to actually do the hearings, so that we could move forward on a legislation that would be appropriate for this time.”
Rogers went on to call the moratorium unnecessary, citing the availability of vaccines, and decrease in new COVID-19 cases and deaths compared to when the moratorium was put into place. “Congress has also enacted to provide almost $50 billion in emergency rental aid through various COVID relief packages, but only three billion has been spent,” Rogers said. “Instead of pushing through this last-minute power grab, I would urge my Democrat colleagues to focus on holding the Biden administration accountable.”
House Rules Committee Chairman Rep. James McGovern argued not extending the ban would make the pandemic even worse. “Research tells us that if someone is evicted, they are most likely to move in with friends or family or into a shelter,” McGovern said. “That only increases community spread and leads to more infections and sadly, in some cases, more deaths caused by the pandemic.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also weighed in. In a letter to her colleagues, Pelosi said she wanted the moratorium extended until Oct, 18. She also urged states and cities to distribute the rest of the money allocated to renters in need.
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Mask mandate is back in Las Vegas as officials look to limit COVID gamble
Tourists visiting Las Vegas have to celebrate part of their time in Sin City wearing a mask thanks to a new mandate that took effect Friday morning.
The mandate, which covers 12 of the state’s 17 counties, was announced in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention new guidelines. They recommend vaccinated people wear a mask indoors in parts of the United States where COVID-19 is surging. This is in addition to the previous guidelines which had unvaccinated people wearing masks indoors.
State officials hoped the grace period between the announcement Tuesday and the mandate Friday gave businesses time to adapt to the new guidelines.
The mandate takes effect a day after state regulators reported Nevada casinos took in more than $1 billion in winnings in June.
“Every market increased over June 2019 with the exception of the Las Vegas Strip,” said Michael Lawton, senior board analyst. He noted the last time Nevada casinos tallied billion-dollar winnings in four straight months was January to April 2008.
Lawton also said the $3.46 billion taken in April, May and June amounted to the biggest quarter in state history. It beat the previous high of $3.26 billion in October, November and December 2006.
When it comes to travelers, McCarran International Airport reported monthly passenger volume continued a steady increase in June with 3.8 million travelers coming and going.
The interstate travel and spread of COVID-19 in Nevada has drawn nationwide attention creating travel warnings from officials in Los Angeles, Chicago and Hawaii.
The two-week test positivity rate in the state has more than quadrupled, from a low of 3.4 percent in mid-May to 14.3 percent statewide on Thursday. That number is 15.5 in the Las Vegas area.
School starts in less than two weeks and Las Vegas-area school officials said Tuesday children will have to wear face coverings when they return to in-person classes. But not in the Carson City School District which approved a reopening plan that did not include a mask requirement when classes begin August 16. In Washoe County, home to Reno, the teachers’ union wants masks mandatory for all students. However, the superintendent has only recommended they be required for staff and older students.
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As bad as chickenpox? New report shows how contagious Delta variant is
According to internal documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, new evidence shows the Delta variant of COVID-19 is as contagious as chickenpox. That means the variant is more infectious than the common cold, flu, smallpox and Ebola virus. The report was obtained by the Washington Post.
The documents also cite studies from Canada, Singapore and Scotland showing the variant may pose a greater risk for hospitalization, intensive care treatment and death than the alpha variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom.
The documents appear to be talking points for CDC staff to use when explaining the dangers of the delta variant, as well as, “breakthrough″ infections. A breakthrough infection is when a vaccinated person becomes sick with the illness the vaccine was supposed to prevent.
Since January, people who got infected after vaccination make up an increasing chunk of hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths among COVID-19 patients, according to the documents. That trend coincides with the spread of the delta variant.
This week, the CDC said new evidence shows breakthrough infections may spread as easy as infections that happen to unvaccinated people. They cited a large recent outbreak among vaccinated individuals in the Cape Cod town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, among others. This evidence played a role in the CDC’s decision to recommend that vaccinated people in parts of the United States where COVID-19 is surging resume wearing masks when indoors. The recommendation has already led to the reinstatement of mask mandates in cities, states, schools and businesses across the country.
The CDC is considering additional steps including recommending masks for everyone, and requiring vaccines for doctors and other health workers. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced he is requiring all federal workers be vaccinated or get tested weekly.
The CDC has always expected some breakthrough infections, but has so far struggled with how to explain them to the public. However, the CDC emphasized breakthrough infections are still uncommon.
As the documents note, COVID-19 vaccines are still highly effective at preventing serious illness and death.
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Eviction moratorium to end, federal workers to get vaccinated or get tested
President Joe Biden made two major announcements related to COVID-19 Thursday: He is allowing the eviction moratorium to end Saturday, and requiring federal workers to either prove they’ve been vaccinated or get tested weekly.
The video above shows clips from President Biden’s speech announcing the federal worker requirements. They are aimed at boosting sluggish vaccination rates as the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread.
“It’s an American blessing that we have vaccines for each and every American,” Biden said. “We’ve made it our first and top priority to have available vaccines for every American, and that’s never going to change as long as I’m here. And it’s a shame, such a shame to squander that blessing.”
In addition to the “vaccinate or test” requirement for federal workers, Biden is asking the Department of Defense to look into requiring members of the military to get the vaccine.
“Our men and women in uniform who protect this country from grave threats should be protected as much as possible from getting COVID-19,” Biden said. “I think this is particularly important because our troops serve in places throughout the world, many where vaccination rates are low and disease is prevalent.”
The president is also rolling out more incentives to get vaccinated, including paid leave to get the shot and more.
“I’m calling on all states and local governments to use funding they have received, including from the American Rescue Plan, to give 100 dollars to anyone who gets fully vaccinated,” Biden said. “I know the paying people to get vaccinated, it might sound unfair to folks who have gotten vaccinated already. But here’s the deal: If incentives help us beat this virus, I believe we should use them. We all benefit, we can get more people vaccinated.”
As for the moratorium, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put them in place last September.
The Biden administration said it would have liked to extend the moratorium, but its hands were tied after the Supreme Court signaled the moratorium would only be extended until the end of July.
Biden called on “Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay.” Senators Chuck Schumer and Sherrod Brown are working on legislation that would do just that.