ReportWire

Tag: covid19

  • China locks down Peking University over one COVID case, showing commitment to zero-COVID policy

    China locks down Peking University over one COVID case, showing commitment to zero-COVID policy

    [ad_1]

    Chinese authorities have locked down Peking University after finding a single COVID case, evidence of their continued commitment to the country’s zero-COVID policy.

    Beijing reported more than 350 new cases in the latest 24-hour period, representing a small fraction of its population of 21 million but still enough to trigger localized lockdowns and quarantines under China’s zero-COVID strategy, as the Associated Press reported. Nationwide, China reported about 20,000 cases, up from about 8,000 a week ago.

    Authorities are trying to move away from the lockdowns, such as those seen earlier this year in Shanghai, that have frustrated locals and prompted protests. And revised national guidelines issued last week instructed local governments to follow a targeted and scientific approach that avoids unnecessary measures. But that doesn’t mean an end to zero-COVID, a policy that has hurt the country’s economy.

    Peking University has more than 40,000 students on multiple campuses, most of them in Beijing. It was unclear how many were affected by the new lockdown. The 124-year-old institution is one of China’s top universities and was a center of student protest in earlier decades. Its graduates include leading intellectuals, writers, politicians and businesspeople.

    The news comes as known U.S. cases of COVID are climbing again for the first time in a few months. The daily average for new cases stood at 39,414 on Tuesday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 2% versus two weeks ago.

    Cases are climbing in 29 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico. They are up a staggering 868% in Nebraska from two weeks ago, with an average of 16 cases per 100,000 residents. Cases are up 77% in Utah, 54% in Oklahoma and 53% in Arizona.

    The U.S. daily average for hospitalizations is up 2% to 27,807, but it is up by higher rates in Western states, led by Colorado at 67%, Arizona at 60% and Nevada at 45%.

    On a brighter note, the daily death toll continues to decline and is now down 15%, to 292, from two weeks ago.

    Physicians are reporting high numbers of respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu earlier than the typical winter peak. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what the early surge means for the winter months. Photo illustration: Kaitlyn Wang

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • A federal judge has approved a nearly $58 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed in response to the deaths of dozens of veterans who contracted COVID-19 at a Massachusetts veterans home, the AP reported. “It was with heavy hearts that we got to the finish line on this case,” Michael Aleo, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said Tuesday, the day after the settlement was approved by a U.S. district court judge in Springfield. The coronavirus outbreak at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke in the spring of 2020 was one of the deadliest outbreaks at a long-term care facility in the U.S.

    • Australian health authorities have recommended against getting a fifth COVID vaccine shot, even as they urged those who are eligible to sign up for their remaining booster doses as the country’s latest COVID wave grows rapidly, Reuters reported. Average daily cases were 47% higher last week than the week before, said Health Minister Mark Butler at a press conference on Tuesday, announcing the new vaccination recommendations. But cases remain 85% below the previous late July peak.

    • A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Biden administration to lift Trump-era asylum restrictions that have been a cornerstone of border enforcement since the beginning of the pandemic, the AP reported separately. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled in Washington that enforcement must end immediately for families and single adults, calling the ban “arbitrary and capricious.” The administration has not applied it to children traveling alone. Within hours, the Justice Department asked the judge to let the order take effect Dec. 21, giving it five weeks to prepare. Plaintiffs including the American Civil Liberties Union didn’t oppose the delay.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 635.9 million on Wednesday, while the death toll rose above 6.61 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 98 million cases and 1,075,112 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 227.8 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.6% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 31.4 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 10.1% of the overall population.

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • A robust booster campaign could prevent millions of missed school days among children ages 5 to 17, report finds

    A robust booster campaign could prevent millions of missed school days among children ages 5 to 17, report finds

    [ad_1]

    If 80% of children ages 5 and older get their COVID booster shots by the end of 2022, it could prevent about 29 million missed days of school and almost 51,000 hospitalizations, according to a new report.

    And if COVID booster coverage simply matches 2020-21 flu-vaccination levels by year’s end, it would prevent about 22 million missed school days, said the report published by the Commonwealth Fund.

    “We expand our previous analysis to include the impact on pediatric hospitalizations, pediatric isolation days, and school absenteeism (among children ages 5 to 17), demonstrating both the health benefits of vaccination and the importance of vaccination uptake for maintaining uninterrupted in-school education,” the authors wrote in the report.

    The number of days absent from school was calculated based on five days of required isolation for children in that age group who experience mild symptomatic illness and 10 days for children who have severe illness or require hospitalization.


    Source: Commonwealth Fund

    An effective booster campaign would considerably reduce the strain on pediatric hospitals this winter, many of which are currently seeing high numbers of children with respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, and the flu, the authors wrote.

    “Throughout the pandemic, children have experienced direct health burdens as well as enormous upheaval in their personal and educational lives,” the report said. “Accelerated vaccination campaigns that achieve high coverage across all ages have the potential to prevent a possible imminent surge in COVID-19, protecting children both directly and indirectly and providing them with additional stability in terms of school attendance and other social engagement.”

    Now read: A strong fall COVID booster campaign could save 90,000 U.S. lives and avoid more than 936,000 hospitalizations, study finds

    The report comes as known U.S. cases of COVID are climbing again for the first time in a few months. The daily average for new cases stood at 39,459 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 4% versus two weeks ago.

    Cases are rising the most in the Southwest, led by Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico — states that are also seeing hospitalization numbers climb by more than 30% in the last two weeks.

    The daily average for U.S. hospitalizations was up 1% at 27,662.

    On a brighter note, the daily death tally continues to fall and is down 13% to 302 from two weeks ago.

    Physicians are reporting high numbers of respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu earlier than the typical winter peak. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what the early surge means for the winter months. Photo illustration: Kaitlyn Wang

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • China’s ruling party called for strict adherence to its hard-line “zero-COVID” policy Tuesday in an apparent attempt to guide public perceptions after regulations were eased slightly in places, the Associated Press reported. The news may disappoint Chinese citizens who have clashed with police and COVID workers to show their frustration over lockdowns and restrictions on movement. The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, said in an editorial that China must “unswervingly implement” the policy that requires mass obligatory testing and places millions under lockdown in an attempt to eliminate the coronavirus from the nation of 1.4 billion people.

    • Japan will lift a ban on international cruise ships that has lasted more than two and half years, transport officials said Tuesday, the AP reported separately. The ban was imposed following a deadly coronavirus outbreak on the cruise ship Diamond Princess at the beginning of the pandemic. The Transport Ministry said cruise-ship operators and port authorities associations have adopted antivirus guidelines and that Japan is now ready to resume its international cruise operations and to receive foreign ships at its ports.

    The new bivalent vaccine might be the first step in developing annual COVID shots, which could follow a similar process to the one used to update flu vaccines every year. Here’s what that process looks like, and why applying it to COVID could be challenging. Illustration: Ryan Trefes

    • Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen tested positive for COVID-19 after meeting with world leaders, including President Joe Biden, at a summit of Southeast Asian nations last week, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Hun Sen held one-on-one talks with Biden on Saturday on the sidelines of the regional discussions in Phnom Penh. Biden — who is on a five-day trip to Asia to attend a series of summits — then traveled to Bali, Indonesia, where he sat down on Monday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a face-to-face meeting that stretched over three hours.

    • Australia will overturn a three-year ban on tennis player Novak Djokovic entering the country, paving the way for the former top-ranked player to take part in the 2023 Australian Open, CNN reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles will lift the ban, the source said.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 635.6 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.61 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 98 million cases and 1,074,691 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 227.8 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.6% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 31.4 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 10.1% of the overall population.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Weekly tally of COVID cases and deaths continues to fall; Moderna lowers vaccine-sales outlook by as much as $3 billion

    Weekly tally of COVID cases and deaths continues to fall; Moderna lowers vaccine-sales outlook by as much as $3 billion

    [ad_1]

    The global tally of COVID-19 cases fell 17% in the week through Oct. 30 from the previous week, while the death toll fell 5%, the World Health Organization said in its weekly update on the virus.

    The omicron variant BA.5 remained dominant globally, accounting for 74.9% of cases sent to a central database. WHO reiterated that newer sublineages of omicron, including BQ.1 and XBB, still appear no more lethal than earlier ones and do not warrant the designation of “variant of concern.”

    But BQ.1 rose in prevalence to 9.0% globally from 5.7% a week ago, while XBB rose to 1.5% from 1.0%.

    “WHO will continue to closely monitor the XBB and BQ.1 lineages as part of omicron and requests countries to continue to be vigilant, to monitor and report sequences, as well as to conduct independent and comparative
    analyses of the different omicron sublineages,” the agency wrote.

    WHO has cautioned that changes in testing and reduced surveillance of the virus are making some of the numbers unreliable and has urged leaders to renew efforts to monitor and track developments.

    In the U.S., known cases of COVID remain at their lowest level since mid-April, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people overall are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 39,090 on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 3% versus two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was up 2% to 27,161, while the daily average for deaths was down 6% to 345. 

    But cases are climbing in some states, raising concerns among health experts. In Nevada, cases are up 92% from two weeks ago, followed by Missouri, where they are up 75%, Tennessee, where they are up 69%, Louisiana, where they are up 68%, and New Mexico, where they have climbed 54%.

    Physicians are reporting high numbers of respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu earlier than the typical winter peak. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what the early surge means for the coming winter months. Photo illustration: Kaitlyn Wang

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • COVID vaccine maker Moderna
    MRNA,
    -2.21%
    posted far weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Thursday and lowered full-year sales guidance by up to $3 billion. The Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech firm said advance purchase agreements, or APAs, for delivery this year are now expected to total $18 billion to $19 billion of product sales, down from guidance of $21 billion that it provided when it reported second-quarter earnings. The FactSet consensus is for full-year sales of $21.3 billion. For fiscal 2023, Moderna has APAs of $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion. The FactSet consensus for 2023 sales is for $9.4 billion.

    • Virax Biolabs Group Ltd.
    VRAX,
    +36.26%
    stock jumped after the biotechnology company said its triple-virus antigen rapid test kit, which tests for RSV, influenza and COVID, has been launched in the European Union, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The test kit, which can be used in both at-home and point-of-care settings, has also been launched in other markets that accept the CE mark, Virax Biolabs said.

    Testing sewage to track viruses has drawn renewed interest after recent outbreaks of diseases like monkeypox and polio. WSJ visited a wastewater facility to find out how the testing works and what it can tell us about public health. Photo illustration: Ryan Trefes

    • Royal Caribbean Group
    RCL,
    +4.11%
    posted its first quarterly profit since the start of the pandemic, but the cruise-line company said it expected a loss for the current quarter, sending its stock lower on Thursday. Load factors were 96% overall and booking volumes were “significantly higher” than in the same period of prepandemic 2019, as the easing of testing and vaccination protocols provided a boost. For the fourth quarter, the company expects adjusted per-share losses of $1.30 to $1.50, compared with the FactSet loss consensus of 71 cents, and projects revenue of “approximately” $2.6 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $2.7 billion. 

    • The death of a 3-year-old boy in northwestern China following a suspected gas leak at a locked-down residential compound has triggered a fresh wave of outrage at the country’s stringent zero-COVID policy, CNN reported. The boy’s father said in a social media post on Wednesday that COVID workers tried to prevent him from leaving their compound in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, to seek treatment for his child, resulting in what he believes was a fatal delay. The post was met with an outpouring of public anger and grief, with several related hashtags racking up hundreds of millions of views over the following day on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 631.4 million on Thursday, while the death toll rose above 6.59 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 97.6 million cases and 1,071,582 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.9 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.4% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 22.8 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 7.3% of the overall population.

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Hospitalizations on the rise in New York City as new COVID strains spread rapidly

    Hospitalizations on the rise in New York City as new COVID strains spread rapidly

    [ad_1]

    Hospitalizations are rising again in New York City with the spread of new COVID-19 subvariants that are better at evading immunity. Cases of flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, are also increasing.

    State data show about 1,100 patients hospitalized with COVID as of Oct. 24, up from 750 in mid-September, as the New York Times reported. Case numbers have held steady, although with many people testing at home where data are not being collected, those numbers are not reliable.

    Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the omicron sublineages named BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 accounted for 42.5% of all cases in the New York region in the week through Oct. 29, up from 37% the previous week.

    That was more than the BA.5 omicron subvariant, which accounted for 35.7% of new cases in the New York region in the latest week. The two sublineages were not even registering as recently as three weeks ago, demonstrating just how fast they are spreading.

    Experts are also concerned about a nationwide surge in RSV, which can cause breathing difficulties in small children and older adults and for which there is currently no vaccine.

    There was good news from Pfizer Inc., however, which said Tuesday that data from a late-stage trial of an RSV vaccine had proved effective in preventing severe illness in children up to 6 months old.

    The Phase 3 trial found that the vaccine, given to pregnant mothers, achieved vaccine efficacy of 81.8% in infants from birth through the first 90 days of life. The trial found efficacy of 69.4% through the first 6 months of life.

    Pfizer
    PFE,
    +3.14%
    said it expects to make its first U.S. regulatory application for the vaccine by the end of 2022 and to follow on with other regulatory bodies. It will also submit the results of the trial for peer review in a scientific journal.

    The daily U.S. average for new COVID cases stood at 37,665 on Monday, according to a New York Times tracker, which was flat as compared with two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was up 2% to 27,184, while the daily average for deaths was down 3% to 348. 

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • Apple 
    AAPL,
    -1.75%
    supplier Foxconn
    2317,

    said Tuesday it has quadrupled bonuses for workers at its Zhengzhou plant in central China as it seeks to quell discontent over COVID restrictions and retain staff at the giant iPhone manufacturing site, Reuters reported. Daily bonuses for employees, who are part of a Foxconn unit responsible for making electronics including smartphones, have been raised to 400 yuan ($55) a day for November from 100 yuan, according to the official WeChat account of Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant. The move comes after workers fled the site over the weekend to avoid COVID curbs after complaining about their treatment and provisions via social media.

    Workers at the world’s biggest assembly site for Apple’s iPhones walked out as Foxconn has struggled to contain a COVID-19 outbreak. The chaos highlights the tension between Beijing’s rigid pandemic controls and the urge to keep production on track. Photo: Hangpai Xinyang/Associated Press

    • The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Hong Kong stocks appeared to be rallying after an anonymous post on Chinese social media suggested that the government may intend to soften pandemic-related restrictions beginning in March. Other outlets also reported on the rumor. American depositary receipts for Chinese companies surged on the news.

    See: Alibaba and Nio among Chinese stocks surging as hopes build about potential reopening

    • Pfizer’s COVID antiviral Paxlovid brought in $7.5 billion in sales in the third quarter of the year, compared with a FactSet consensus of $7.6 billion. The drug company also reiterated guidance for Paxlovid revenues in 2022, saying it still expects $22 billion in sales for the year. The FactSet consensus is $22.5 billion. Pfizer raised its full-year revenue guidance for the company’s Comirnaty COVID vaccine by $2 billion to $34 billion. The guidance includes doses expected to be delivered in fiscal 2022, primarily under contracts signed as of mid-October.

    • AstraZeneca PLC’s
    AZN,
    +1.77%

    AZN,
    +0.90%
    COVID vaccine Vaxzevria has been granted full marketing authorization in the European Union, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant said Vaxzevria has been shown to be effective against all forms of the virus. Vaxzevria was originally granted conditional marketing authorization due to the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 630.6 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.59 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 97.5 million cases and 1,070,429 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.9 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.4% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 22.8 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 7.3% of the overall population.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • New omicron subvariants accounted for more cases in New York region in latest week than BA.5, CDC data shows

    New omicron subvariants accounted for more cases in New York region in latest week than BA.5, CDC data shows

    [ad_1]

    The omicron sublineages named BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 continued to spread in the U.S. in the week through Oct. 29, accounting for 27.1% of new cases nationwide, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

    The two accounted for 42.5% of all cases in the New York region, which includes New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, up from 37% the previous week. That was more than the BA.5 omicron subvariant, which accounted for 35.7% of new cases in the New York area in the latest week.

    The BA.5 omicron subvariant accounted for 49.6% of all U.S. cases, the data show.

    BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 were included in BA.5 variant data as recently as three weeks ago, because their numbers were too small to break out. BQ.1 was first identified by researchers in early September and has been found in the U.K. and Germany, among other places.

    Last week, the World Health Organization said that BQ.1 and another sublineage dubbed XBB do not appear to have immune-escape mutations that warrant being designated as variants of concern. However, BA.5 is still a variant of concern that is being closely monitored, said a statement from the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution.

    Workers in a manufacturing facility that assemble Apple Inc.’s
    AAPL,
    -1.66%
    iPhone in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou appear to have left to avoid COVID-19 curbs, with many traveling on foot for days after an unknown number of employees were quarantined in the facility after a virus outbreak, the Associated Press reported. 

    Videos circulating on Chinese social media platforms showed people who are allegedly Foxconn workers climbing over fences and carrying their belongings down a road.

    Separately, visitors to Shanghai Disneyland were left stranded at the park on Monday after the resort halted operations to comply with COVID-19 restrictions amid a new outbreak of the virus.

    In the U.S., known cases of COVID are continuing to ease and now stand at their lowest level since mid-April, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people overall are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 36,869 on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 2% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was up 3% to 27,415, while the daily average for deaths was down 6% to 352. 

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • With a downcast earnings season passing the halfway mark, results from financial-technology companies and vaccine makers will arrive this week amid questions about consumer spending as well as demand for COVID drugs, MarketWatch’s Bill Peters reported. Pfizer Inc.
    PFE,
    -1.82%
    will report earnings on Tuesday, followed by Moderna Inc.
    MRNA,
    -0.47%
    on Thursday. Analysts will have their eye on the state of COVID-19 vaccine and treatment sales and on what executives are anticipating for the full year, as they prepare for a private market for COVID medications and as more people shrug off the pandemic. Pfizer executives, during a call last week, said they intended to charge between $110 and $130 for a single-dose vial of the vaccine for U.S. adults when government purchases end. But they said they believe anyone who has health insurance shouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket.

    The FDA authorized newly modified COVID-19 boosters to target the latest versions of the omicron variant. But as WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains, a key part of the decision-making process was changed with these new shots. Photo: Laura Kammermann

    • A number of young children are being hospitalized because of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and it’s happening at an unusual time of year and among older children than in years past, MarketWatch’s Jaimy Lee reported. COVID may be a contributing factor, in part because many children were not exposed to RSV last season and also because a prior COVID infection or exposure may change the way a baby’s immune system responds to RSV and may lead to more severe illness from an RSV infection, according to Asuncion Mejias, a principal investigator with the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

    • On Saturday, more than 3,000 people took part in the first Pride march in South Africa since the COVID pandemic , celebrating the LGBT community and defying a U.S. warning of a possible terror attack in the area, the AP reported. The U.S. government this week warned of a possible attack in the Sandton part of Johannesburg, where the march took place. The South African government expressed concern that the U.S. had not shared enough information to give credibility to the alleged threat. Police said all measures had been taken to ensure safety in the area.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 630.2 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.58 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 97.5 million cases and 1,070,266 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.9 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.4% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

    So far, just 22.8 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 7.3% of the overall population.

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • COVID-19 may be to blame for the surge in RSV illness among children. Here’s why.

    COVID-19 may be to blame for the surge in RSV illness among children. Here’s why.

    [ad_1]

    A number of young children are being hospitalized because of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and it’s happening at an unusual time of year and among older children than in years past.

    RSV infections and related emergency-room visits and hospitalizations are nearing seasonal peaks in some U.S. regions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    But the current RSV outbreak is different from previous outbreaks in several ways: It’s happening in the fall rather than the winter (RSV commonly peaks after the holidays, starting in late December); older children and not just infants are being hospitalized; and cases are occurring that are more severe than in previous years. And this year, RSV is circulating at the same time as COVID, influenza, and other viruses like the biennial enterovirus, which was behind a rise in pediatric hospitalizations earlier this fall. 

    “The theory is that everyone’s now back together, and this is a rebound phenomenon,” said Jeffrey Kline, a physician and associate chair of research for emergency medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit.

    Kline runs a national surveillance network that gathers data about viral infections from about 70 hospitals, including four pediatric hospitals. He says those data show that 318 children were hospitalized with acute respiratory illness brought on by RSV in the week starting Oct. 9, compared with 45 hospitalizations in the week starting July 25.  

    “If we think about the relative increase — ninefold increase — that’s not nothing, especially in the pediatric [emergency departments],” Kline said. “Holy mackerel.”


    Source: CDC

    The U.S. saw a massive spike in RSV cases in the summer of 2021, after masking and social distancing resulted in a lull in infections the previous year. Even with that spike, fewer young children — 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds — have been exposed to RSV than in a normal year. Most children have usually had at least one RSV infection by the time they are 2 years old, and as children get older, RSV becomes less worrisome, according to the CDC. Infants are at higher risk for severe disease brought on by RSV because babies have more immature immune responses than older children and because infants younger than 6 months of age breathe exclusively through their noses and cannot breathe through their mouths if they are congested.

    “Age by itself is a risk factor for more severe disease, meaning that the younger babies are usually the ones that are sick-sick,” said Asuncion Mejias, a principal investigator with the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Now, she added, “we are seeing also older kids, probably because they were not exposed to RSV the previous season.”

    But there’s another reason that COVID may be worsening some RSV infections in the youngest children. Mejias is studying whether a prior COVID infection or exposure somehow changes the way a baby’s immune system responds to RSV and whether it may lead to more severe illness from an RSV infection. 

    “That is something to work on and understand,” she said. 

    For now, however, worries are tied to the possibility of a “tripledemic” of COVID, influenza, and RSV as the U.S. heads into what is expected to be a complicated season for respiratory infections. Stat News reported in mid-October that flu season is already underway, and the CDC said this week that this year’s flu activity may have “atypical timing and intensity.” 

    COVID itself remains a threat, as well. There are still more children being hospitalized with COVID than with RSV, Kline said, and some kids are getting sick from both viruses at the same time. About 5% of children are thought to test positive for both RSV and COVID, and 60% of the children in that group were hospitalized, according to Kline’s surveillance network. 

    “All these things are going on all at once right now,” said Alex Frost, managing director for StudyMaker, which is providing software infrastructure to the network. “But the shape of pediatric cases that are showing up in the emergency room is different than it used to be.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Biden to get updated COVID booster on Tuesday; less than 10% of eligible Americans have had the shot so far

    Biden to get updated COVID booster on Tuesday; less than 10% of eligible Americans have had the shot so far

    [ad_1]

    President Joe Biden will receive his updated COVID booster on Tuesday and will urge Americans to get the shot, which targets both the original virus and omicron variants that have been dominant in the U.S. and elsewhere this year.

    The news, first reported by NBC News, was confirmed by a tweet from White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz and by an emailed statement, in which the White House said, “The President will receive his updated COVID-19 vaccine and will deliver remarks on the ongoing fight against the virus.”

    Biden tested positive for COVID-19 in July, then did so again three days after he had been cleared from isolation in a rare rebound case after receiving the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. The president was fully vaccinated and boosted and suffered only mild symptoms. Health officials recommend that people who have contracted COVID wait at least three months after infection to get the booster.

    The bivalent booster has been available to adults and older children since early September, and its use was expanded to children as young as 5 in October. But data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show fewer than 20 million Americans have received it so far — less than 10% of those eligible.

    That’s a slow start given expectations for a wave of new cases in the winter months.

    As immunity from previous shots wanes and new variants spread, health officials are urging people, especially those over 65, to get the updated booster. A study earlier this month by the Commonwealth Fund concluded that a strong booster campaign this fall could save 90,000 American lives and prevent more than 936,000 COVID hospitalizations in the U.S.

    CDC data released Friday showed the two new COVID variants dubbed BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 continued to gain traction in the U.S. in the latest week, accounting for 16.6% of all cases, up from 11.4% a week ago.

    The two variants are lineages of BA.5, the omicron subvariant that remains dominant but has shrunk to account for 62.2% of circulating variants, the agency said, down from 67.9% a week ago. The CDC had previously combined data about BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 with BA.5 cases, because the number of cases caused by the new variants was so small. BQ.1 was first identified by researchers in early September and has been found in the U.K. and Germany, among other places. The New York area, which includes New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, has the highest number of cases involving those variants, at 28.4%, the data show.

    U.S. known cases of COVID are continuing to ease and now stand at their lowest level since mid-April, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people overall are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 37,741 on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 7% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 1% to 26,798, while the daily average for deaths was down 6% to 361.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • The head of the CDC has tested positive for COVID, the Associated Press reported. Rochelle Walensky, who is up to date on her vaccinations, tested positive Friday night and had mild symptoms, the CDC said in a statement. “Consistent with CDC guidelines, she is isolating at home and will participate in her planned meetings virtually,” the agency said. Senior staff and close contacts have been informed of her positive test and are monitoring their health.

    • The pandemic caused historic learning setbacks for America’s children, erasing decades of academic progress and widening racial disparities, according to results of a national test that provide the sharpest look yet at the scale of the crisis, the AP reported separately. Across the country, math scores saw their largest decreases ever. Reading scores dropped to 1992 levels. Nearly 4 in 10 eighth-graders failed to grasp basic math concepts. Not a single state saw a notable improvement in average test scores, with some treading water at best. Those are the findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress — known as the “nation’s report card” — which tested hundreds of thousands of fourth- and eighth-graders across the country this year.

    The FDA has authorized modified COVID-19 boosters to target the latest versions of the omicron variant. But as WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains, a key part of the decision-making process was changed with these new shots. Photo: Laura Kammermann

    • The Chinese economy grew 3.9% over a year earlier in the third quarter, quickening from the 0.4% expansion recorded in the second quarter, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The reading topped the 3.5% economic growth expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. For the first nine months of the year, China’s GDP expanded 3.0% over a year earlier, well below the 5.5% annual growth target set by the government. Growth has been crimped all year by China’s zero-COVID policy, which has led to repeated lockdowns of commercial and residential areas.

    • The pandemic interrupted measles-vaccine campaigns globally in 2020 and 2021, leaving millions of children unprotected against one of the world’s most contagious diseases, whose complications include blindness, pneumonia and death, Reuters reported. After what health experts call the biggest backslide in a generation, 26 large or disruptive measles outbreaks have occurred worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. A devastating outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed more than 700 children this year, chiefly among religious sects that do not believe in vaccinations.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 627.6 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.57 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 97.2 million cases and 1,067,686 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.6 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots. Just 111.4 million have had a booster, equal to 49.1% of the vaccinated population, and 26.8 million of those who are eligible for a second booster have had one, equal to 40.6% of those who received a first booster.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • CDC shoots down false claims it will mandate COVID-19 vaccines for schoolchildren, saying states make that decision

    CDC shoots down false claims it will mandate COVID-19 vaccines for schoolchildren, saying states make that decision

    [ad_1]

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refuted claims that it’s planning to add the COVID-19 vaccine to immunization schedules for schoolchildren, saying that the authority for that decision lies with states and other local entities.

    The false claim spread after it was shared by Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a tweet this week, as the Associated Press reported. 

    Carlson tweeted that the agency would make the vaccine mandatory in order for children to attend school, a claim the CDC quickly shot down. While an advisory committee to the CDC voted to recommend that the vaccine be added to immunization schedules, the CDC “only makes recommendations for use of vaccines, while school-entry vaccination requirements are determined by state or local jurisdictions,” CDC spokeswoman Kate Grusich told the AP.

    Grusich explained that the action was meant to streamline clinical guidance for healthcare providers by adding COVID-19 vaccines to a single list of all currently licensed, authorized and routinely recommended vaccines.

    “It’s important to note that there are no changes in COVID-19 vaccine policy,” she said.

    The news comes as U.S. known cases of COVID are continuing to ease and now stand at their lowest level since mid-April, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people overall are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 38,077 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 8% from two weeks ago. Cases are currently rising in 14 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was down 2% to 26,669, although hospitalizations are rising in almost all northeastern states as cold weather arrives. The daily average for deaths was down 7% to 360.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • Pfizer
    PFE,
    +4.42%
    is planning to sell the COVID vaccine it developed with German partner BioNTech
    BNTX,
    +9.88%
    for $110 -$130 a dose once the U.S. market for COVID-19 shots becomes commercial, likely in the first quarter of next year, MarketWatch’s Jaimy Lee reported. Pfizer and BioNTech are currently paid $30.50 per vaccine dose by the U.S. government, which contracted with the companies, as well as with other vaccine makers like Moderna
    MRNA,
    +9.07%
    and Novavax
    NVAX,
    +11.35%    ,
    and then made the COVID-19 shots available at no cost to people in the U.S. during the public-health emergency. The emergency declaration in the U.S. isn’t expected to be renewed next year, which will lead to the formation of an official commercial market for COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments. 

    • Johnson & Johnson
    JNJ,
    +1.91%
    said the volume of surgical procedures is returning to prepandemic levels in many parts of the world, a trend that cheered Wall Street and could bode well for other medical-technology heavyweights like Stryker Corp.
    SYK,
    +0.57%
    and Zimmer Biomet Holdings
    ZBH,
    +0.18%    .
    J&J, which reported earnings this week, said its medical-technology business had a “strong September,” with U.S. sales of hip and knee implants and other surgical devices rising 7.7% to $3.3 billion in the third quarter of the year. “We are seeing procedures recovering,” Ashley McEvoy, worldwide chair of J&J’s MedTech business, told investors during this week’s earnings call. “In the U.S., we started to see surgical procedures tick up, predominantly at the latter part of the quarter.”

    The new bivalent vaccine might be the first step in developing annual COVID shots, which could follow a similar process to the one used to update flu vaccines every year. Here’s what that process looks like, and why applying it to COVID could be challenging. Illustration: Ryan Trefes

    • “As China’s ruling Communist Party holds a congress this week, many Beijing residents are focused on an issue not on the formal agenda: Will the end of the meeting bring an easing of China’s at times draconian ‘zero-COVID’ policies that are disrupting lives and the economy?” the AP reported. It appears to be wishful thinking. As the world moves to a postpandemic lifestyle, many across China have resigned themselves to lining up several times a week for COVID tests, restrictions on travel to other regions and the ever-present possibility of a community lockdown.

    • Fantasy Fest, a 10-day annual party, is kicking off in Key West, Fla., on Friday, with a full slate of events for the first time since the pandemic started, the AP reported. “Due to the COVID pandemic, this will be the first full Fantasy Fest since 2019,” the festival’s board chair, Steve Robbins, said. “So I know our guests and staff are excited about getting back to the real Fantasy Fest.” Dozens of themed events are set for the festival, including a nighttime parade Oct. 29 featuring floats and elaborately costumed marching groups. Participants are encouraged to draw costume ideas from the festival’s theme, “Cult Classics & Cartoon Chaos,” and to portray characters inspired by favorite cartoons and television or film productions with a cult following.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 626.9 million on Friday, while the death toll rose above 6.57 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 97.2 million cases and 1,067,190 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.5 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots. Just 111.4 million have had a booster, equal to 49.1% of the vaccinated population, and 26.8 million of those who are eligible for a second booster have had one, equal to 40.6% of those who received a first booster.

    The CDC reports that some 19.4 million people have had a dose of the updated bivalent booster that targets omicron and its subvariants along with the original virus.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • CDC identifies new COVID variants that accounted for 11.4% of new cases in week ending Oct. 15

    CDC identifies new COVID variants that accounted for 11.4% of new cases in week ending Oct. 15

    [ad_1]

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a new COVID variant dubbed BQ.1 and a descendant called BQ.1.1 have gained traction in the U.S., accounting for 11.4% of new cases across the nation in the week ending Oct. 15.

    The two variants are lineages of BA.5, the omicron subvariant that remains dominant but has shrunk to account for just 67.9% of circulating variants, the agency said in a Friday update. The CDC had previously combined BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 with BA.5 cases because the numbers of the new variants were so small. BQ.1 was first identified by researchers in early September and has been found in the U.K. and Germany, among other places.

    New York and New Jersey currently have the highest proportion of BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 infections, at about 20% of overall cases, according to CDC estimates.

    “When you get variants like that, you look at what their rate of increase is as a relative proportion of the variants, and this has a pretty troublesome doubling time,” Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, said in an interview with CBS News. 

    Adding to concerns, the variant seems “to elude important monoclonal antibodies,” he added.

    Fauci is confident that Moderna
    MRNA,
    +3.92%    ,
    as well as Pfizer
    PFE,
    +1.84%
    and German partner BioNTech
    BNTX,
    +2.45%    ,
    will be able to update boosters to target the new subvariant. “The somewhat encouraging news is that it’s a BA.5 sublineage, so there are almost certainly going to be some cross-protections that you can boost up,” he said.

    So far, only 14.8 million people living in the U.S. have taken advantage of the new bivalent boosters that were authorized by the Food and Drug Administration in late August. That’s equal to about 7% of the 209 million who were initially eligible.

    The FDA authorized the Pfizer booster for use in people aged 12 and older and the Moderna booster for adults aged 18 and older. Last week, the FDA added children aged 5 to 11 to the Pfizer program and children aged 6 through 17 to the Moderna one.

    Experts are concerned that the low number of vaccinations is due to a sense that the pandemic is over and no longer poses a major risk for most people. U.S. cases are steadily declining and now stand at their lowest level since mid-April; however, the true tally is likely higher than the official count, because many people are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 37,649 on Sunday, down 19% from two weeks ago, according to a New York Times tracker.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was down 5% to 26,475, while the daily average for deaths was down 8% to 374.

    But cold weather is expected to bring a new wave of cases, and hospitalizations are rising again in much of the Northeast, the Times tracker is showing.

    “That’s the thing that’s so frustrating for me and for my colleagues who are involved in this, is that we have the capability of mitigating against this. And the uptake of the new bivalent vaccine is not nearly as high as we would like it to be,” said Fauci.

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • Moderna and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is supplying vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, have agreed to cancel remaining orders under their 2022 COVID-19 vaccine agreement given “sufficient supply.” The biotechnology company has supplied Gavi with nearly 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to facilitating the donation of more than 100 million doses. Moderna and Gavi said they will create a new framework that enables Gavi to buy up to 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2023. 

    • The World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Program and the World Organization for Animal Health on Monday launched a new initiative that aims to address health threats to humans, animals, plants and the environment. The One Health Joint Plan of Action “aims to create a framework to integrate systems and capacity so that we can collectively better prevent, predict, detect, and respond to health threats,” the four agencies said in a statement.

    • China is doubling down on its zero-COVID strategy as a historic Communist Party congress opens in Beijing, BBC News reported. Zero COVID was a “people’s war to stop the spread of the virus,” said President Xi Jinping as he kicked off the meeting. There is increasing public fatigue over lockdowns and travel restrictions, and Beijing has come under strict security measures ahead of the congress, sparking frustration in the city, including a rare and dramatic public protest on Thursday criticizing Xi and his strategy.

    In a rare display of defiance, two banners were unfurled from a highway overpass in Beijing condemning Chinese President Xi Jinping and his strict COVID-19 policies. The protest took place days before the expected extension of Xi’s tenure.

    • Airline stocks rallied Monday after data showed that on Sunday, more people flew than on any other day since before the pandemic. Data from the Transportation Security Administration showed that 2.495 million travelers went through TSA checkpoints on Sunday, which is just above the previous 2022 high of 2.490 million on July 1 and the most since Feb. 11, 2020, which was exactly one month before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. In comparison, the day with the fewest travelers since the start of the pandemic was April 12, 2022, with 87,534 people traveling. And in 2019, there were 116 days of more travelers than Sunday, while the average for that year was 2.306 million. The U.S. Global Jets ETF
    JETS,
    +2.02%
     was up 2.2%.

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 624.7 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.56 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 96.9 million cases and 1,065,118 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 226.2 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.1% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots. Just 110.8 million have had a booster, equal to 49% of the vaccinated population, and 25.6 million of those who are eligible for a second booster have had one, equal to 39% of those who received a first booster.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 1 in 5 of Americans don’t know about new omicron-targeting COVID boosters, survey finds

    1 in 5 of Americans don’t know about new omicron-targeting COVID boosters, survey finds

    [ad_1]

    About half of the American public has heard little or nothing about the new COVID-19 bivalent booster, a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation has found. The new booster targets the omicron variants that have become dominant around the world.

    One in five of those surveyed said they had heard “nothing at all” about the new boosters. Some 17% said they had heard “a lot” about the boosters, while 33% said they had heard “some” about the new shots. About a third said they’d already gotten the new booster or intended to do so as soon as possible.

    “Intention is somewhat higher among older adults, one of the groups most at risk for serious complications of a coronavirus infection,” the authors wrote. “Almost half (45%) of adults ages 65 and older say they have gotten the bivalent booster or intend to get it ‘as soon as possible.’”


    Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

    The news will likely disappoint health experts who cheered the regulatory authorization of the new boosters in August. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization to boosters developed by Moderna
    MRNA,
    +1.36%
    and by Pfizer
    PFE,
    -0.07%
    and German partner BioNTech
    BNTX,
    +1.53%
    for use in people aged 12 and older who have had an initial series of a COVID vaccine, including those who have already had one or more booster doses.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all adults get one of the bivalent boosters at least two months after completing a primary series of shots. So far, some 7.6 million people in the U.S. have received it, according to the CDC.

    From the CDC: Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines Including Boosters

    Once again, the country’s partisan divide is evident, with 6 in 10 Democrats saying they’ve already had the shot or will get it soon, compared with 1 in 8 Republicans.

    “Notably, 20% of Republicans say they will ‘definitely not’ get the new COVID-19 booster dose, while a further 38% of Republicans are unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated and therefore not eligible for the new updated COVID-19 booster dose,” the survey authors said.

    Also read: A common virus is putting more children in the hospital than in recent years

    In the U.S., known cases of COVID are continuing to ease and now stand at their lowest level since late April, although the true tally is likely higher given how many people are testing at home, where data are not being collected.

    The daily average for new cases stood at 47,569 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker, down 26% from two weeks ago and now at the lowest level since late April. Cases are rising in 14 states and are sharply higher in several. Montana leads the count with a 75% rise in the last two weeks, followed by Washington with a 48% rise. Cases are up by double digits in Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and New Jersey.

    The daily average for hospitalizations was down 13% to 28,639, while the daily average for deaths was down 11% to 407.

    The new bivalent vaccine might be the first step in developing annual COVID shots, which could follow a similar process to the one used to update flu vaccines every year. Here’s what that process looks like, and why applying it to COVID could be challenging. Illustration: Ryan Trefes

    Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

    Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

    • The U.K. is the only G-7 country whose economy is smaller now than before the pandemic, the Guardian reported, citing data released Friday by the Office for National Statistics. The ONS released figures showing that rather than the economy being 0.6% larger than it was in February 2020, a combination of a deeper recession during the pandemic and a weak recovery had left it 0.2% smaller. All the other major economies in the G-7, including France and Italy, recovered strongly enough to be larger than they were in February 2020.

    • Taiwan is the latest country to end mandatory COVID quarantines for people arriving from overseas, the Associated Press reported. Officials said that beginning Oct. 13, the previous weeklong quarantine requirement would be replaced with a seven-day self-monitoring period. A rapid antigen test will still be required upon arrival, but people showing no symptoms will be allowed to take public transportation. 

    • Germany’s health ministry is warning of a rise of COVID cases heading into the fall and is urging older people in particular to get a second booster shot, the AP reported separately. Other European countries such as France, Denmark and the Netherlands are also recording an increase in cases, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters in Berlin. “We are clearly at the start of a winter wave,” he said.

    COVID-19 lockdowns, corruption crackdowns and more have put China’s economy on a potential crash course with the U.S. and the rest of the world, the Wall Street Journal’s Dion Rabouin explains. Illustration: David Fang

    • The first Chinese mRNA-based COVID vaccine has received government approval — in Indonesia, the New York Times reported. The shot, developed by Walvax Biotechnology
    300142,
    +0.49%    ,
    Suzhou Abogen Biosciences and the Chinese military, was cleared this week by Indonesia for emergency use. Countries all over the world, including Indonesia, have embraced mRNA vaccines, and they are considered among the most effective vaccines that the world has to offer. But more than two years into the pandemic, they are not yet available in China, which has relied on an increasingly draconian “zero-COVID” approach to keep cases and deaths from the virus low.

    • Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a supporter of Russia’s war on Ukraine, has tested positive for COVID-19, the church’s press service said on Friday, Reuters reported. The church said Kirill, 75, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had canceled all his planned trips and events and had “severe symptoms” requiring bed rest and isolation. It said his condition was “satisfactory.”

    Here’s what the numbers say:

    The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 617.3 million on Friday, while the death toll rose above 6.54 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

    The U.S. leads the world with 96.3 million cases and 1,059,291 fatalities.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 225.3 million people living in the U.S., equal to 67.9% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots. Just 109.9 million have had a booster, equal to 48.8% of the vaccinated population, and 23.9 million of those who are eligible for a second booster have had one, equal to 36.6% of those who received a first booster.

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Winsor Learning Releases Free Professional Development Resource for Administrators and Teachers of Reading in Response to Steep Declines in National Reading Scores

    Winsor Learning Releases Free Professional Development Resource for Administrators and Teachers of Reading in Response to Steep Declines in National Reading Scores

    [ad_1]

    90-minute Science of Reading-based training now available for download at no cost to teachers, schools

    Press Release
    –

    Sep 12, 2022


    MINNEAPOLIS, September 12, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Today, in the wake of devastating recent news about the nation’s reading test scores, Minnesota-based Winsor Learning, the nation’s leading expert and provider of science-based reading instruction and teacher training, announced the release of a new and entirely free professional development resource for administrators and teachers. The 90-minute Science of Reading-based training is now available for download at no cost to teachers, administrators, tutors, and other teachers of reading.

    To download the resource, go to: https://members.winsorlearning.com/5-strategies-for-teachers/

    The most recent results of National Association of Education Progress (NAEP) testing indicate performance levels of 9-year-olds in math and reading dropping to levels not seen in more than two decades. The declines include nearly all races and income levels and are the most steep for at-risk and already lower-performing students.

    “We cannot afford to lose a generation of proficient readers. As a company, we are working to do all we can to support teachers, parents, and schools as the nation seeks to recover from the devastating impacts of the COVID crisis. Reading is the gateway to all else, and our mission — first and foremost — is to make sure every student becomes a successful reader. As we surveyed the landscape and assessed the resources we could deliver to support our nation’s educators, we knew our world-class training could make a difference,” said Amanda Burnette, President and CEO of Winsor Learning, a former public school administrator and internationally recognized expert on reading instruction.

    This is not the first time Winsor Learning has provided its resources at no cost in response to COVID. In March 2020, as the pandemic began to unfold, Winsor Learning released free online professional development opportunities for teachers. More than 10,000 educators participated in the training over the course of four weeks, with registrations from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

    Winsor Learning provides Orton-Gillingham, science-based reading, teaching materials, and professional development using its best-in-class Sonday System® programs and training. Educational experts at industry-leading organizations such as the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the International Dyslexia Association have deemed the Sonday System® a program that is based on the Science of Reading and contains the required elements for teaching reading identified by the Nation Reading Panel. Winsor Learning, the publisher of the Sonday System, believes in giving children their best chance to succeed in school. Sonday System is a simple, cost-effective tool for K-12 educators to identify and quickly intervene with struggling readers, as well as teach reading to all children using proven science-based multi-sensory strategies.

    CONTACT: Zeke Stokes at (202) 834-9048 or media@winsorlearning.com

    Source: Winsor Learning

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) to Officially Launch DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021

    Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) to Officially Launch DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021

    [ad_1]

    The Latino Restaurant Association promotes DINE LATINO Restaurant Week in an effort to help draw customers to hard-hit Latino restaurants

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Apr 6, 2021


    LOS ANGELES, April 6, 2021 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA), a national non-profit, introduces DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021, an initiative that showcases the depth and diversity of Latino restaurants in an effort to help draw customers to Latino restaurants. DINE LATINO Restaurant Week will be held two different weeks this year beginning Tuesday, April 6, through Sunday, April 11, 2021, and a second week during Latino Heritage Month, from Tuesday, Sept. 28, through Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021. 

    “The DINE LATINO initiative helps raise awareness of inequality in the industry while promoting Latino restaurants,” states Lilly Rocha, CEO of the Latino Restaurant Association.  “Latino restaurants have been hard hit. They haven’t received anywhere near the fair share of PPP money, so we are promoting the DINE LATINO Restaurant Week in an attempt to drive customers back to their favorite Latin restaurants,” Rocha continues. The aim is to highlight Latino restaurants to the general public during these two weeks. Participating restaurants will be offering a special “DINE LATINO” prix fixed menu for lunch, dinner, or both. Restaurants can register for free at the LRA website (https://latinorestaurantassociation.org/dinelatino). This is a national program, although the LRA is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Media is invited to the “Kick Off” event on April 5, 2020, at 11 a.m. at El Portal Restaurant in Pasadena at 695 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101.

    The DINE LATINO Restaurant Week program is free to all restaurants. Restaurants do not have to be members of the association to participate. Restaurants are asked to share fun photos and videos on their social media feeds to provide additional content and increase visibility. In addition to this FREE Program, the Latino Restaurant Association also offers other free resources helpful to all restaurants. Additional information can be found on the LRA website at www.latinorestaurantassociation.org and to follow the Latino Restaurant Association on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latinorestaurantassociation/.

    WHAT: DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2021

    WHEN: Tuesday, April 6, through Sunday, April 11, 2021 

    WHERE: National Program based in Los Angeles, California

    About the Latino Restaurant Association:

    The 800+ member-based Latino Restaurant Association is dedicated to promoting and supporting all types of Latino restaurant businesses and their auxiliaries to ensure the equitable economic growth of the Latino restaurant sector. As a member association, we work to bring our member community together to advocate for critical issues impacting our industry. We provide resources and educational opportunities to support effective business practices. The LRA strives to create an all-inclusive Latino restaurant platform for the country.

    MEDIA CONTACT
    Robert Alaniz
    On behalf of Latino Restaurant Association
    (626) 437-3354
    ralaniz@milagrosg.com  

    Source: Latino Restaurant Association

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Inspirotec, Inc. Expands to Meet Large Demand for Its AirAnswers™ Airborne COVID-19 Testing Device With the Support of Global Thought Leader, Dr. Robert L. Murphy

    Inspirotec, Inc. Expands to Meet Large Demand for Its AirAnswers™ Airborne COVID-19 Testing Device With the Support of Global Thought Leader, Dr. Robert L. Murphy

    [ad_1]


    CHICAGO, September 15, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​​​Inspirotec, Inc. expands to meet large demand for its AirAnswers™ airborne COVID-19 testing device with the support of global thought leader, Dr. Robert L. Murphy.

    AirAnswers™ by Inspirotec, Inc. is the only commercial air sampling device that has the capability to collect ultra fine particles (0.1um) including aero-allergens, various bacteria and viruses, including the capture of airborne COVID. The company has several major announcements (1) adding Dr. Robert Murphy of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, a COVID expert to the Scientific Advisory Board, (2) expanded state of the art COVID testing, and (3) a follow up COVID study at the University of Chicago with AirAnswers™ to build upon the first study’s success.

    Inspirotec, Inc. has expanded its collaboration efforts with the addition of Robert L. Murphy, MD to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Murphy is Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and McCormick School of Engineering, Executive Director, The Institute for Global Health and John P. Phair Professor of Infectious Diseases. He has been featured routinely throughout the COVID-19 outbreak as a thought leader to media outlets and will serve as a key resource to the Inspirotec team.

    “The two primary sources for transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, include person-to-person spread by respiratory droplets and when the virus becomes aerosolized in a confined space such as a classroom, home, business or workplace. As the summer winds down and activities move indoors, it becomes critically important to determine if the local environment is safe and the risk for infection is as low as theoretically possible,” says Dr. Robert L. Murphy.

    In July 2020, an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases addressing the methods of transmission for COVID-19. Endorsed by 239 scientists worldwide, the letter encouraged WHO to revise their past statements regarding how the virus spreads to include airborne transmission. The letter provided evidence that smaller respiratory particles can linger in the air for hours, especially indoors, and can be a mode of transmission for COVID-19. This revelation raises concerns about how the virus was previously understood and how the new normal will be defined.

    AirAnswers™ has the capability to sample and test airborne COVID-19. This was recently proven in a feasibility study performed by Jayant Pinto, MD and colleagues at The University of Chicago’s Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, with collaboration from the Inspirotec team. Having proof of principle, a follow-up larger scale study has begun to measure aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 in the hospital setting and optimize the application of the AirAnswersTM platform technology.

    The capabilities of the AirAnswers™ device will provide peace of mind to the global community as we embrace the new normal with COVID-19 and other viral threats that may arise in the future through the proactive monitoring of indoor environments. The groundbreaking science behind AirAnswers™ is quite remarkable. It is literally rocket science. The device utilizes ion particles to generate tremendous air flow. Over one million liters of air are circulated and sampled through the device over the course of a five-day period, with no moving parts or filters. Inspirotec is bringing an innovative solution to detect a myriad of invisible threats to our health related to small airborne particles that are increasing in seriousness around the globe.

    The Inspirotec team is using state-of-the-art real-time thermal cyclers to test SARS-CoV-2 samples using a CDC written protocol within its BSL-2 (biosafety level 2) rated laboratory. Inspirotec takes quality very seriously. Inspirotec has 4 critical ISO certifications: for manufacturing excellence (ISO 13485:2016), overall company quality processes and controls (ISO 9001:2015), personnel occupational health and safety management system (ISO 45001:2018), and best practices for protecting our environment (ISO 14001:2015). Inspirotec has successfully completed our laboratory audit and will receive their AIHA ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation certificate for laboratory testing by September.

    This revolutionary combination of sampling, detection, and testing has the capability to monitor a multitude of public area types for the presence of the virus along with validating cleaning protocols or confirmation of efficacy for active air purification technology installations.

    “Our original seed funding from the Thiel Foundation to prove that the underlying technology would be able to capture any class airborne agent has now been demonstrated by our ability to rapidly adapt to the new normal and take on monitoring of airborne COVID, or whatever else the world will throw at human populations in the future,” says Dr. Julian Gordon, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Inspirotec.

    Improving the quality of life for people around the globe is our mission. Being able to sample and identify particles in the air, including viruses, can be the first step towards breathing relief for individuals struggling with allergies and asthma. Verifying employee work environments, your child’s school, large gathering public spaces and countless other examples are safe from airborne viral threats is the invaluable peace of mind the population deserves. 

    About Inspirotec Inc.

    Inspirotec, Inc. is the only company providing airborne allergen detection either through physicians, industrial hygienists, indoor air quality professionals, home resale, or direct to consumer. It has developed a highly sensitive patented technology for testing and measuring biological agents in the air, including bacteria, viruses and specifically SARS-CoV-2.  

    Inspirotec’s vision is to improve health and happiness by finding allergy and mold solutions in transforming the home environment critical to our wellbeing. Our mission is to deliver the most personalized prevention and management solutions for allergies, asthma, and respiratory conditions. https://airanswers.com  

    Inspirotec has an extensive portfolio of patents* as well as publications in peer-reviewed literature.

    *US patents 8,038,944, 9,216,421, 9,360,402, 9,481,904, 9,618,431 as well as patents and application worldwide.

    Contact:

    Tom Brya
    President & CEO, Inspirotec, Inc.
    866-539-4253, ext. 805
    support@inspirotec.com

    Source: Inspirotec

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Successive Technologies Makes a Big Contribution to the Fight Against COVID-19

    Successive Technologies Makes a Big Contribution to the Fight Against COVID-19

    [ad_1]

    The basic idea behind this process is to keep a track of the details of all those who have come in contact with an infected person. Governments emphasize contact tracing so that timely decisions can be taken and these people can be self-quarantined.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Jun 19, 2020


    RALEIGH, N.C., June 19, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​In the context of COVID-19, taking immediate action can help flatten the curve and prevent community spread when social distancing is relaxed. Successive Technologies believes that digital contact tracing can be extremely useful in breaking the chain of transmission due to the surge in the number of cases.  

    “We have built a contact tracing application to ensure our employees’ safety. Our mission with the app is to track high-risk and asymptomatic people so that they can be tested for the disease on priority,” said Sid Pandey, the CEO of Successive Technologies.

    The underlying principle of this app is that if two mobile phones can connect to each other via Bluetooth, the users are close enough to transmit the virus among themselves. Successive has built the application such that it is triggered as soon as this happens and records information about location, time, and participants involved in the interaction.

    They plan to deploy the app within the organization and also collaborate with state and national health departments to take appropriate steps once they receive information about those who have come in contact with a COVID-positive person. This will make testing more convenient and enable the authorities to offer support during the quarantine.   

    Businesses, in particular, need internal apps to automate contact tracing to make better, smarter and most importantly, faster decisions since public apps do not suffice in this regard. During this pandemic, ensuring employees’ safety is of utmost importance and thus, contact tracing is essential to every company. 

    With features like easy on-boarding, self-assessment forms for the risk determination, COVID updates and navigation bar, the application is an easy-to-use tool that offers all-round support. “We are focusing on making it as user-friendly as possible since this app requires a high degree of uptake to be successful. We have also kept data privacy and security in mind since this might be a concern for users,” said Mark Bavisotto, Head of North America’s Business Unit for Successive Technologies.

    The only information that is exchanged between mobile phones is an anonymous random key when the devices are within 10 meters from each other. “We will not even disclose the identity of the person who has tested positive. Those who have been in contact with an infected person will receive a notification on the app. They could be friends or strangers in the metro or even co-workers,” said Sid.

    “We are confident that it will help countries control the disease as restrictions are eased. We hope that vaccines come up soon but until then, this app will help support health systems and control the pandemic,” said Mark. 

    Contact:
    Mark Bavisotto
    ​mark@successiveusa.com
    (716) 903-4126

    Source: Successive Technologies

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Boston Breakthrough Academy’s Third Graduating Class Raising Nearly $90,000 in Donations for Lovin’ Spoonfuls Triggering Matching Gifts From Two Anonymous Foundations for a Combined Commitment of $180,000 in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Boston Breakthrough Academy’s Third Graduating Class Raising Nearly $90,000 in Donations for Lovin’ Spoonfuls Triggering Matching Gifts From Two Anonymous Foundations for a Combined Commitment of $180,000 in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic

    [ad_1]

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Jun 9, 2020


    BOSTON, June 4, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​Boston Breakthrough Academy, a leadership development program offering emotional intelligence training to adults in the Boston area, announced today that its third graduating class, “B3”, has interrupted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by raising nearly $90,000 for Lovin’ Spoonfuls, a food rescue and hunger relief organization based in Boston. These funds then triggered matching gifts from two anonymous foundations for a combined commitment of $180,000.

    • Serve more than 265,500 meals to those with food insecurities;
    • Rescue over 265 tons of food that would have otherwise been thrown away;
    • Reopen the possibility to complete the purchase of 2 extra trucks, which would have otherwise been delayed

    “We are extremely grateful to Boston Breakthrough Academy and their B3 class for their incredible generosity through their giving efforts to Lovin’ Spoonfuls. While the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the fundraising and events landscape, our corporate donors challenged us to find individuals throughout our community to support our mission. The students of BBA’s B3 class made this challenge possible for us, bringing more than 1,485 individual donors into relationship with our mission,” said Ashley Stanley, CEO of Lovin’ Spoonfuls.  

    B3 is comprised of 30 students, men and women from Boston and throughout the U.S. who had one common vision in mind, to create a world of love, connection, courage, acceptance, and integrity.

    “We declared that we would support the most vulnerable, at-risk and underserved members of our community during COVID-19,” said Brian Walshe, Fundraising Leader for Boston Breakthrough Academy’s B3. “We did that, and people are fed today because of our efforts!”

    AJ Leto, Lead Coach and Enrollment Director at the Boston Breakthrough Academy, was blown away by this team’s effectiveness in raising funds during the current pandemic. “In our programs, we emphasize the value of contribution and teach tools of possibility, vision and leadership. Amidst their own struggles, the students of B3 took a powerful stand for our community. Our 30 students and my coaching team acknowledged that support was our contribution, despite our own struggles in this unprecedented time. In the face of one of the biggest challenges in our lives, we chose to elevate others to the same health & safety we enjoy. I am beyond proud of our relationship with Lovin’ Spoonfuls and the efforts of BBA’s B3 Team.”

    B3 is hosting a graduation on June 20, 2020 at 6:00 pm, and the general public is invited to attend. Boston Breakthrough Academy is also currently enrolling for a class that begins July 31. Learn more at www.bostonbreakthroughacademy.com.

    Source: Boston Breakthrough Academy

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Baby Care Brand green sprouts® Announces Launch of Reusable Face Masks for Adults and Children

    Baby Care Brand green sprouts® Announces Launch of Reusable Face Masks for Adults and Children

    [ad_1]

    Press Release
    –


    updated: May 27, 2020


    ASHEVILLE, N.C., May 27, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​With the continued impact of COVID-19 and in response to the global need for face masks, baby product and lifestyle brand green sprouts® is launching a collection of Reusable Face Masks to support families and communities through this time.

    green sprouts® provides a full range of healthy, trusted, and proven everyday baby essentials that support whole development for children. With child health, safety, and well-being at the heart of its business, developing face masks to help combat the virus was a clear choice. The company is prioritizing development efforts to produce non-medical reusable face masks for both children and adults so that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) can be reserved for medical professionals that need it most. In further support, green sprouts® will donate 10% of masks sold to organizations or essential workers in need.   

    With the CDC’s recommendation for the public to wear cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19, green sprouts® Reusable Face Masks serve as a reminder to keep the wearer’s hands away from the face, while helping to protect others in case they are sick. The company explains that, like other cloth masks, it may not prevent contraction of COVID-19 and encourages additional precautions such as frequent handwashing and social distancing.

    The Reusable Face Masks feature a water-resistant outer layer and wicking lining for comfort, with a built-in activated carbon layer that helps adsorb impurities for fresh airflow. The structured, breathable, and lightweight design lays comfortably on the face, with elastic ear loop straps for a custom fit. Unlike disposable masks, the green sprouts® mask is washable and can be worn multiple times to save resources and reduce waste. An included storage bag makes it easy to take on essential errands and helps keep the mask clean after washing and while not in use.

    green sprouts® has over 100,000 masks shipping in May, with more available in coming months. The Reusable Face Masks are available in three youth and adult sizes in solid colors that are easy to coordinate and a child-size with five custom prints in the colorful, fun green sprouts®-style familiar to parents and children from the company’s Swim Wear and Bib collections.

    “During this difficult time, we are adapting to do whatever we can to assist our global community,” said Becky Cannon, President and founder of Green Sprouts, Inc. “We hope to help give families, essential workers, and others in need the resources to continue caring for their health and that of their children, as we all work through this together.”

    Since 1982, the woman-owned and -operated company Green Sprouts, Inc. has closely collaborated with customers and suppliers to provide baby products that support whole development, along with resources for parenting naturally. Visit greensproutsbaby.com to purchase Reusable Face Masks and learn more.  

    Source: Green Sprouts, Inc.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 4MedPlus Corp. Launches 4ProTrainingCatalog.com to Help Workers Add Crisis-Proof Skills Using Online Education

    4MedPlus Corp. Launches 4ProTrainingCatalog.com to Help Workers Add Crisis-Proof Skills Using Online Education

    [ad_1]

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Apr 20, 2020


    CHICAGO, April 20, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    4MedPlus Corporation is excited to announce the launch of its new 4ProPlus Online Professional Development Training Hub. 4ProTrainingcatalog.com will offer learners the opportunity to achieve professional certificates in a wide range of employment categories for just $49 per course. Every day. Every title. Period.

    This is not a training clearinghouse listing hundreds of options for each subject like so many of the current learning sites. 4ProPlus recommends just one highly optimized course title per topic. Each is curated by an experienced Chief Learning Officer and reviewed, approved and certified by the 4ProPlus educational and technical advisory teams.

    The April launch will include over 200 certificate courses in areas of Technology, Project Management, Human Resources, Leadership, Web and Graphic Design, Healthcare Security and Compliance, Veterinary, Business and more. Targeted Skill Building Bundles will also be available at discounted rates. 

    All titles are sourced from subject matter industry experts. Learners achieve a skill with each course completion as well as a certificate of proficiency and professional badge/seal to improve their resume/CV and employment opportunities.

    “At a time when so many are transitioning from their current roles due to the interruption of standard business operations,” says Wendy Whitmore, Chief Learning Officer for the 4MedPlus and 4ProPlus brands, “we identified a need for flexible online training to create crisis-proof skills for roles that can be managed remotely. We believe this will increase employee value and enhance job security and opportunity.”

    In a recent effort to play a helpful role during the coronavirus crisis, 4MedPlus gave away thousands of accredited online infection prevention courses to healthcare workers around the world. Our self-paced learning gave them skills and confidence to assist on the front lines, and we were proud to do our small part. The 4ProTraining Catalog will expand on that mission by making low-cost, high-value training available to everyone affected by this and future working culture shifts. The mission is to provide quality online learning as a path to success in both stable and potentially challenging economic times.

    ABOUT 4MEDPLUS, 4PROPLUS and 4VETCE

    The 4MedPlus Corporation and 4ProPlus Training Division is based in Chicago, IL, and was founded in early 2010 to address a growing need for carefully curated and professionally developed online learning for a busy population. We have been successful in assembling an experienced staff, subject-matter-expert (SME) channel and advisory board to help support that mission. Our growing community of forward-thinking distribution partners helps to create a comprehensive network of industry relationships to deliver unique educational content.

    Our select content is designed for professionals, gig workers, managers, consultants, students and staff level employees, challenged to stay abreast of technology shifts and stay relevant in a constantly evolving economy. Working with subject matter experts (SMEs) and training developers who are active in their respective fields, the strategy team updates all courses in real-time, as changes occur. For more information visit: https://4protrainingcatalog.com or call (800) 671-1028

    Source: 4MedPlus Corporation

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Rapid Response to Remote Work During COVID-19

    Rapid Response to Remote Work During COVID-19

    [ad_1]

    Coaching, feedback, and best practices for building a productive team to meet company goals during uncertain times

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Mar 26, 2020


    NEW YORK, March 26, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​SWAYworkplace recently released its Rapid Response to Remote Work guide and coaching service for businesses adjusting to the new normal caused by COVID-19. SWAYworkplace’s free 17-page guide starts the conversation with best practices, and a free 30-minute coaching session helps companies streamline the implementation process. The Rapid Response Guide offers a clear way for enterprises, managers, and employees to become more productive and understand each other better in a remote environment.

    “The response to COVID-19 is difficult as most people are unexpectedly being forced to adapt to a flexible model of work, making decisions based on fear and feeling unprepared and uncertain,” said Denise Brouder, founder of SWAYworkplace. “The SWAY team is here to provide expert guidance and support as we collectively work through the impact of COVID-19. Let’s do this.”

    Features of SWAY’s Rapid Response service include:

    • Specific step-by-step action plans for enterprises and employees to become productive at home.
       
    • Facebook Lives to discuss specific challenges facing companies today.
       
    • Zoom webinars to talk directly to teams while demonstrating how others watching can implement these principles.
       
    • What companies need to know in order to lead with the principles of empathy: I see you, I hear you, I value you.
       
    • A list of critical skills for a newly remote team.
       
    • How to evaluate unique operational risks during the pandemic while addressing employees’ fears for the future.

    The Rapid Response to Remote Work Guide is available for free download at http://covid19.swayworkplace.com/. Businesses can also schedule a free 30-minute coaching call with the SWAY team to implement the best tools for success in the future.

    After consultation with SWAY, one newly remote lawyer stated, “I’ve never communicated so well with my staff as I did this week.”

    About SWAYworkplace: The SWAY team is leading experts in the future of work transition from a traditional 9-to-5 routine to a flexible and remote workplace model.

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWAYworkplace
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swayworkplace/
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/swayworkplace/

    Source: SWAYworkplace

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Thousands of Teachers Participate in Free, Online Professional Development in Reading Instruction Amid Virus Pandemic

    Thousands of Teachers Participate in Free, Online Professional Development in Reading Instruction Amid Virus Pandemic

    [ad_1]

    Minnesota-based Winsor Learning Reports Registration and Participation From All 50 U.S. States

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Mar 24, 2020


    MINNEAPOLIS, March 24, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​​Today, Minnesota-based Winsor Learning, the nation’s leading expert and provider of science-based reading instruction for students, reported that more than 3,000 educators from across the nation have signed up to participate in its free, online professional development offerings in the first five days since the initiative was announced. Registrations have come in from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Registration remains open, and the online workshops will continue throughout the coronavirus crisis. 

    “As a company, we are working to do all we can to support teachers, parents, and schools during this time of unprecedented need. We hope that the resources we are providing will empower both teachers and parents to keep students on track with the most fundamental skill they need to succeed as students and in life,” said Amanda Burnette, president of Winsor Learning, a former public school administrator and internationally recognized expert on reading instruction.

    Last week, Winsor Learning released the free online professional development opportunities for teachers, as well as a new Parent Empowerment Pack, which includes three weeks’ worth of lesson plans that parents can do with their children in grades K through 5. 

    To access the menu of professional development opportunities for teachers, click here.

    To access the Parent Empowerment Pack, click here.  

    Winsor Learning provides Orton-Gillingham science-based reading teaching materials and professional development using its best-in-class Sonday System® programs and training. Educational experts at industry-leading organizations such as the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the International Dyslexia Association have evaluated the Sonday System® and deemed that the program contains the required elements for teaching reading identified by the Nation Reading Panel. Winsor Learning believes in giving children their best chance to succeed in school and partners with one of the country’s foremost experts in the Orton-Gillingham multisensory method for reading intervention – Arlene Sonday – to create the Sonday System®, a simple, cost-effective tool for K-12 educators to identify and quickly intervene with struggling readers, as well as teach reading to all children. 

    Winsor Learning created the Sonday System® with Orton-Gillingham expert Arlene Sonday to design a powerful tool that preserves the widely studied and proven Orton-Gillingham method while improving its usability and accessibility. The Sonday System® is the only resource that gives anyone – from experienced reading educators to volunteer tutors – the opportunity to teach reading to anyone, as well as identify, intervene and help struggling students catch up with their peers using effective multisensory instruction.

    MEDIA CONTACT:
    ​Zeke Stokes
    PHONE 202-834-9048
    EMAIL: zeke@zekestokes.com

    Source: Winsor Learning

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • AirAnswers Detects Viruses in the Air

    AirAnswers Detects Viruses in the Air

    [ad_1]

    Inspirotec, Inc. announced today that their currently available commercial air sampling device, AirAnswers, has the capability to detect viruses in the air and potentially Covid 19.

    Press Release
    –


    updated: Mar 5, 2020


    NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., March 5, 2020 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Inspirotec Inc., a Chicago based company, has developed a highly sensitive patented technology for testing and measuring biological agents in the air including fine particle molds and allergens to address allergies and asthma healthcare concerns. The company announced today that their currently available commercial air sampling device (AirAnswersTM) has the capability to detect viruses in the air and potentially Covid 19.

    “Considering the uncertainties about how the Covid 19 is transmitted, it would be essential for national security to be able to directly track the virus itself and how it is spreading prior to people actually getting sick. We will then be able to anticipate and prevent public exposure to the virus,” said Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Julian Gordon.

    Inspirotec has previously shown feasibility for the detection of airborne viruses in collaboration with US Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC), the United States’ principal research and developmental resource for non-medical chemical and biological defense. Inspirotec has reached-out to Dr. Anthony Fauci of the NIH, Dr. Rick Bright of BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority), Dr. Andre Kalil of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Dr. Robert Redfield of the CDC. 

    “We are prepared to enter into an initial study to test and validate our technology today against Covid-19. We believe our proprietary device can contribute to public health against this global crisis,” said President & CEO, Tom Brya.

    About Inspirotec., Inc.

    Inspirotec., Inc. is the only company providing airborne allergen detection either through physicians, industrial hygienists, indoor air quality professionals, home resale, or direct to consumer. https://airanswers.com

    Inspirotec’s vision is to improve health and happiness by finding allergy and mold solutions in transforming the home environment critical to our wellbeing. Our mission is to deliver the most personalized prevention and management solutions for allergies, asthma, and respiratory conditions.

    Inspirotec has an extensive portfolio of patents* as well as publications in the peer-reviewed literature.

    *US patents 8,038,944, 9,216,421, 9,360,402, 9,481,904, 9,618,431 as well as patents and application world-wide.

    Contact

    Tom Brya
    President & CEO Inspirotec, Inc.
    866-539-4253, ext. 805
    support@inspirotec.com

    Source: Inspirotec, Inc.

    [ad_2]

    Source link