US households can now order four free Covid tests from the government – latest guidelines
An updated Coronavirus booster is now being rolled out nationwide
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Your support makes all the difference.New Covid boosters from Pfizer and Moderna are now available at pharmacies nationwide, and the US has restarted its free Covid test program.
Tests can be ordered from COVIDTests.gov; you can order four per household.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending one dose of the updated vaccine for everyone six months and older in the US; some children may be eligible for up to three doses depending on their age and previous vaccination status.
Hospitalisations and deaths rose steadily during the last weeks of summer, and global health authorities are monitoring two new variants, BA.2.86, known as Pirola, and EG.5, known as Eris.
First reported in February, Eris is now responsible for nearly 30 per cent of Covid cases in the US, per CDC estimates.
Some experts are urging Americans to wear a mask when necessary to slow the spread of the virus.
CDC Covid tracker
16,186 hospitalisations from 15 October to 21 October
Covid data collection through wastewater to be enhanced moving forward
Biobot Analytics, which develops Covid insights through wastewater, will resume weekly updates. Experts say the added data will help healthcare officials continue to track SARS-CoV-2.
Health authorities say getting vaccinated is ‘essential’ for public health
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) is encouring vaccination on social media.
Private insurers will soon cover the cost of Covid treatment
The Health and Human Services Secreatary issued a letter on Friday explaining that the government will soon stop ordering Paxlovid—the antiviral treatment prescribed to many high-risk people who are infected with Covid—and other treatments in the weeks to come, according to reporting from Stat.
The government is slowly shifting the cost of treatments to insurers.
Pfizer, the company that makes Paxlovid, has priced the treatment—given over the course of five days—at just under $1,400.
Covid deaths are increasing, CDC data show
During late summer, Covid hospitalisations and deaths rose steadily for several weeks. While hospitlisations are now falling, deaths are rising again, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
From 15 October to 21 October, deaths increased 12.5 per cent, compared with the previous week. The national test positivity rate and emergency department visits fell during that time frame.
California public health officials urge vaccination
California’s public health officer, Dr Tomas Aragon, urged Califnornians to get vaccinated against Covid during a recent press conference, per CBS Bay Area.
Less than five per cent of Californians are up-to-date on their vaccines, and some racial and ethnic groups have higher vaccination rates than others. About 6.7 per cent of white people in California have been vaccinated, compared with 2.7 per cent of Black people in the state. The vacciation rate among Latinos is 1.5 per cent.
Covid hospitlisations are decreasing, CDC data show
During late summer, Covid hospitalisations and deaths rose steadily for several weeks. But hospitlisations are now falling, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
From 15 October to 21 October, hospitalisations decreased 0.2 per cent, compared with the previous week. The national test positivity rate and emergency department visits also fell, though deaths increased during that time frame.
This is how many US children and adults have gotten the new Covid shot so far
Despite the fact that the updated Covid vaccine was rolled out nationwide over a month ago—and that health authorities are recommending the vaccine for anyone six months and older in the US to prevent bad outcomes like severe disease and death—very few Amerians have gotten it, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
Roughly seven per cent of adults and two per cent of children have been vaccinated so far.
About 40 per cent of Americans have decided they likely or definitely won’t get the shot.
Experts continue to encourage vaccination—and masking when appropriate—to prevent higher case counts this fall and winter.
Blackstone CEO—worth $32 billion—says Americans ‘didn’t work as hard’ during the pandemic
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman—whose estimated fortune totals $32 billion—told investors at a conference that people “didn’t work as hard” when working remotely to slow the spread of a SARS-CoV-2, a deadly virus, when it first emerged, per reporting from CNN.
Schwarzman went on to say workers slacked off during the pandemic “no matter what they told you”.
The pandemic took an obvious toll on Americans’ mental health, with a third of US adults reporting they experienced “stress, anxiety, and great sadness that was difficult to cope with by themselves” during the first year of the pandemic, per data from the Commonwealth Fund.
Covid emergency department visits are decreasing, data show
During late summer, Covid hospitalisations and deaths rose steadily for several weeks. But the rate of emergency department visits is now falling, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
From 15 October to 21 October, emergency department visits fell 4.6 per cent, compared with the previous week. The national test positivity rate and hospitalisations from the virus also fell, though deaths increased during that time frame.
Florida Surgeon General doubles down on anti-vaccine propaganda
Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, recently posted a tweet reiterating that Florida does not recommend Covid vaccines for people under 65, despite the fact that federal health authorities—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—recommend the vaccine for anyone six months and older.
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