The level of COVID-19 spread in McHenry County rose to medium after sitting at low for two weeks under thresholds set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, county data shows.
The medium level of community transmission means the county saw fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, while the number of people being admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 was 10.7 per 100,000 residents, also over seven days. The threshold to be considered medium spread is between 10 and 19.9 people being admitted to the hospital over a seven-day period, according to the CDC.
The third metric, the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, still was less than 10%, coming in at 3.6%, as measured by a seven-day average, according to the CDC.
As of Thursday, McHenry County had seen 83,968 total COVID-19 cases, including 489 confirmed deaths and 47 deaths where COVID-19 likely was the cause but was not confirmed. The past week saw two additional deaths reported, one June 17 and the other June 23.
The McHenry County Department of Health did not update its dashboard Friday because of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The county saw 182.31 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days as of June 25, up from 151.76 a week before, according to the incidence rate reported by the county health department.
It went below 200 one of the thresholds the CDC uses to determine low spread on June 9 for the first time since April 28, county data shows. The level of COVID-19 transmission in McHenry County had reached high under the thresholds set by the CDC on May 26.
Across Illinois, 28 counties have high spread, Illinois Department of Public Health data shows, including neighboring Lake and Cook counties. Thats up from 20 last week.
The rate of cases among newborns to 17-year-olds rose in McHenry County, IDPH data shows.
The rate of COVID-19 cases among children 5 to 11 years old as well as 12- to 17-year-olds in McHenry County increased to three new cases each day from 1.9 cases the week before, according to the seven-day rolling averages. The rate among newborns to 4-year-olds in McHenry County also rose slightly to 3.4 new cases each day compared with 3.3 the week before.
Countywide COVID-19 hospital admissions fell to two new patients a day as of Tuesday, down from three the week before, according to the seven-day rolling averages reported by the IDPH.
Hospital intensive care unit availability across McHenry and Lake counties declined, dropping to 23% as of Thursday, down from 31% a week earlier, according to the seven-day average reported by the IDPH.
Across Illinois, the number of new hospital admissions tied to COVID-19 was 108 daily as of Tuesday, according to the seven-day rolling daily average reported by the IDPH. Of the 1,154 people hospitalized for COVID-19, 122 were in the ICU and 44 were on ventilators as of Thursday.
An additional 1,413 vaccines were administered in McHenry County in the past week, bringing the total to 541,830 in the county, the IDPH reported. The state reported that 111,277 booster shots have been administered in the county.
A total of 202,858, or an estimated 65.74% of McHenry Countys population, now are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning theyve received all doses recommended for the vaccine they were given.
Across Illinois, 81% of those age 5 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, and 73.3% are fully vaccinated, the IDPH reported Friday. Those rates are 84.8% and 76.8% for those age 12 and older, 86.1% and 77.9% for people age 18 and older and 95% and 89.2% for those 65 and older, respectively.
Illinois daily case rate stood at 31.6 new cases per 100,000 people, according to the seven-day rolling average reported Friday, with 74 deaths reported in the past week. Illinois now has seen 3,435,405 COVID-19 cases, 34,150 confirmed deaths and 4,451 deaths where COVID-19 was the probable cause but not confirmed.
Neighboring Lake Countys health department reported a total of 144,225 cases and 1,407 deaths through Thursday. To the south, Kane County has seen 139,889 cases and 1,141 deaths as of Wednesday, according to its health department.
Among McHenry County ZIP codes, Crystal Lake (60014) has the highest total number of COVID-19 cases over the course of the pandemic with a total of 13,770 confirmed, according to county data. McHenry (60050) follows with 9,589.
The McHenry County health department reports ZIP code data only for parts within McHenry County, a department spokeswoman said. Any discrepancies between county and IDPH numbers likely are because of the datas provisional nature and because each health department finalizes its data at different times, she said.
The following is the rest of the local breakdown of cases by ZIP code: Woodstock (60098) 8,624 cases; Lake in the Hills (60156) 8,198; Huntley (60142) 6,825; Cary (60013) 6,399; Algonquin (60102) 6,004; Johnsburg and McHenry (60051) 5,075; Harvard (60033) 3,978; Crystal Lake, Bull Valley and Prairie Grove (60012) 3,035; Marengo (60152) 2,942; Wonder Lake (60097) 2,884; Spring Grove (60081) 1,684; Fox River Grove (60021) 1,291; Island Lake (60042) 1,077; Richmond (60071) 804; Hebron (60034) 466; Barrington (60010) 385; Union (60180) 320; and Ringwood and Wonder Lake (60072) 217.
According to Reddit user diskneelvr, some Disney influencers sick with COVID-19 were planning on visiting Disneyland today to ride Pirates of the Caribbean after it reopened. Diskneelvr shared a screenshot of the sick vloggers, seemingly from a video.
The influencers are Katie Slockbower and Spencer Emmons of Best Life and Beyond. A Change.org petition calls for Disney [to] remove Best Life and Beyond from being able to Video in your Parks.
According to the petition, Slockbower in particular continues to break park rules and harass and attack park goers while recording her vlog posts at the park.
The petition references Slockbower mocking a disabled guest riding a scooter in one of her videos. It also mentions Slockbower, who is white, attacking an African American family, including children, on the Mark Twain riverboat.
Reddit users also referenced Slockbower claiming another guest assaulted her after she was coughed on. Reddit user winnmab describes that video, which has since been taken down:
Basically she was hawking some merch on the Columbia during a live stream and kept showing the other guests. This gentleman cleared his throat and said, dont give these grifters any money when she walked by. She had him interrogated and thrown out of Disneyland with his kid claiming he assaulted her.
The man got the video removed because she showed his childs face without his permission.
Reddit user No_Point_6996 describes an encounter with the influencers:
I got stuck behind them last year on the Fourth of July at the plaza inn. They were at the front of the line and wouldnt let anyone else get their food because they kept reshooting saying happy Fourth of July multiple times. If you go back and watch the video from them on last Fourth of July when theyre at the plaza inn Im literally right behind them. Im not on camera but I was starving and they wouldnt move away from the counter where you get chicken and pasta.
She has a history of making false claims against guests at the park, the petition, created by Stephanie Fox, reads. She uses staff and security at the park as a weapon and constantly videos about how she will use them against park goers.
Fox also references Slockbower selling and promoting her products, even asking for money in the parks.
Her attitude and actions [go] directly against the values and magic of Disney and they need to be stopped for creating videos inside the park that are meant to intimidate guests and promote selling of their personal merchandise, Fox writes.
We dont yet know if the couple did visit Disneyland today. Pirates of the Caribbean is currently closed after several breakdowns this morning.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today onTwitter,Facebook, andInstagram.
Related
In December 2021, the WHO Global Learning Laboratory issued a call for submissions for action briefs from countries which described initiatives, large or small, that aimed to improve or simply maintain the delivery of quality care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Four action briefs and one knowledge brief describe in detail the learnings from low- and middle-income countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, and India, that developed initiatives to maintain and improve the quality of care provided to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The actions and learnings described in the briefs cover the period from September 2019 to September 2020. These knowledge products are published on the WHO Global Learning Laboratory platform.
The action briefs cover the areas of:
If you wish to read more, please click here to view the content of these action briefs on the Global Learning Laboratory website.
As the potential threat of COVID-19 became clear by early 2020, teams across Pfizer sprang into action. Together, they worked to better understand the novel virus. Hospitals were filling, and no one was sure how best to treat the people who were sick. While some infected people seemed to recover quickly, others were dying.
We had started to think about how best we might be able to help address the pandemic, recalls Annaliesa Anderson, who is Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Bacterial Vaccines and Hospital at Pfizer. And the first, obviously was the vaccine. But the second was to be able to stop people from getting so sick that they had to go to a hospital.
At that time, Pfizer had a relatively small team dedicated to supporting the development of antibacterial therapeutics within the companys Hospital portfolio.1 But several long-time colleagues had worked on prior in-house discovery and development programs focused on viruses such as HIV, Hepatitis C, Rhinovirus, and SARS-CoV-1a virus that, in 2003, was spreading rapidly in Asia.2
One of those scientists is Jennifer Hammond, Vice President, Global Product Development at Pfizer. Hammond recalled pre-clinical work conducted within the Antiviral Discovery Group in 2003 on a SARS-CoV-1 main protease inhibitor, a small molecule which works by inhibiting viruses from making copies of themselves.2
While the SARS outbreak of 2003 resolved before the SARS-CoV-1 main protease inhibitor could be tested in humans,2 the similarity between the viruses causing both diseases suggested it could be a good place to start new research and development efforts. And data generated within Pfizer, as well as the broader scientific community, quickly emerged that confirmed the attractiveness of the main protease as a potential antiviral target.2
In parallel, other members from the team, together with colleagues from across Pfizer, were following the emerging data on the virus and exploring ideas to design a novel therapeutic agent. Within a week, this work came together, and a team was formed to explore the legacy compound, while another was tasked to design a novel, oral therapeutic agent.2
Over the next 24 months, more than 2,000 people came together from across the entire Pfizer organization to share their strengths and expertise to work toward the development of a therapeutic. The collective included experts in virology, oral small molecule design, synthesis, pharmacology, formulation, scale-up, clinical development, and more.3 All of this work began at a frightening time, when people around the world who were able to transition their work, schooling, and personal lives to be largely at home.
In order to be respectful of colleagues' new obligations at home, we actually asked for volunteers who could come on site and help work on this program synthesizing novel molecules, says Charlotte Allerton, Pfizers Head of Medicine Design. We had more volunteers than we actually needed for the program. And they were exceptional. Around the clock, they worked different shifts, juggling some of these challenges at home as well as really moving the program forward.
By March, Pfizer scientists had confirmed that the protease inhibitors from the original SARS program also blocked the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, meaning they had the potential to be used for treating COVID-19.3 However, because these inhibitors were only suited to be given intravenously, they were likely only going to be useful for treating patients who were ill enough to be in the hospital. To potentially benefit the most people and prevent them from going to the hospital, the team wanted to develop a novel oral treatment.3 We decided that we needed to design and develop a novel medicine that could be taken as a pill soon after infection to hopefully help prevent progression to severe disease, says Anderson.
Introducing a new drug (from discovery to approval) in the U.S. takes an average of 12 years.4 As COVID-19 surged around the world, the clock was ticking. The discovery team moved urgently, using structure-based design and state-of-the-art computational and synthetic technologies to identify a highly promising molecule to move into the clinic. With encouraging preclinical data in hand, they started to scale up activities and toxicology studies to enable the start of a Phase 1 study, just 12 months after the program had launched.1
In order to work quickly while still making safety the top priority, the team conducted some of the processes in parallel instead of taking a traditional stepwise approach, where one set of experiments is completed before the next one begins.1 What that meant to Pfizer was making an enormous financial investment in this treatmentincluding designing clinical trials in parallel, as well as making the medicine and packaging so it was ready to be sent immediately if the clinical trials were successfulwhile still not knowing whether it would be authorized or approved.1
Arthur Bergman, who is Group Head of Clinical Pharmacology in Pfizers Anti-Infectives Early Clinical Development, says that, in order to expedite the process, they designed a clinical study protocol that could be flexible and amended as needed along the way. That was valuable when it came to figuring out dosage, for example. He says that going into the Phase 1 part of the trialwhen theyre testing for safety, dosage, and potential side effects in healthy volunteersthe team wanted to safely maximize the concentration of the medicine in the body to be confident of achieving efficacy and minimizing resistance mutations. So they evaluated the molecule alone and co-administered with a pharmacokinetic booster, which helps the compound stay in the body longer, allowing for higher concentrations.5
Bergman says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory agencies were critical in the effort to keep up this fast pace. Tasks that might traditionally take regulators a monthlike protocol reviewwere prioritized by the agencies and completed in a matter of days. And in many cases, the FDA would supply early feedback to help move things along quickly.2
In order to save time, another Pfizer team used technology to model and simulate clinical trial outcomes, in place of a traditional Phase 2 trial.2They did that using something called a viral kinetics model, which simulates virus replication in humans and also simulates the way the drug would inhibit that replication in people with COVID-19.2 That modeling data, along with the data from the trial that used healthy volunteers, informed the dose that would be focused on in the subsequent Phase 2/3 studies.2
With safety always a paramount priority, Pfizer enrolled an initial cohort of just 60 COVID-19-positive patients, who were at increased risk of progressing to severe disease, in the first of these studies (called a pivotal trial). All had experienced symptoms for no more than five days.2 Shortly thereafter, an external safety committee consisting of experts in critical care, infectious disease, cardiology, and other therapeutic areas, reviewed the data from that cohort for any potential health concerns.2 When that panel reported back no concerns, a flurry of activities began to launch the trial on a broader scale.
All told, 2,246 people participated in the Phase 2/3 EPIC-HR (Evaluation of Protease Inhibition for COVID-19 in High-Risk Patients) trial; 41% came from the US and 59% came from around the world, with representation in South Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, and beyond.6The results were striking: in non-hospitalized adults with COVID-19 and at least one risk factor for progression to severe disease, the oral therapy was found to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by 89% compared to a placebo when treated within three days of symptom onset.6
Bergman gets emotional when he reflects on the moment he learned the results. It still brings a tear to my eye today, thinking about how all the hard work from this team came together to create something with such potential to impact patients' lives, he says. You know, thats something that I'll never forget.
In December of 2021, the FDA granted emergency use authorization for the treatment of COVID-19 patients at high risk of progressing to severe diseasethe first oral treatment to be authorized to fight COVID-19. It was an exhilarating experience to be part of something that has such important potential for mankind, says Anderson.
But everyone who contributed to the endeavor knows the work isnt done yet. COVID-19 is still here, after all. Rhonda Cardin, Ph.D., who is Executive Director, Anti-Infectives at Pfizer, says scientists are continuing to watch the virus as it evolves. At our Pearl River, NY site, for example, we are monitoring the development of emerging variants in the GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data) database, which tracks virus sequences from around the world, she says. And were not only tracking the variants; were actively testing them against nirmatrelvir to understand whether our oral treatment will be able to treat the emerging variants.
For now, theyre cautiously optimistic. Hammond says that even as the virus mutates, research is finding that the protease inhibitor still seems to interfere with the ability of the virus to replicate, in part due to its ability to bind tightly to its target.2 But, as always, theyll be keeping a careful eye out for any changes and responding to them accordingly. We are definitely remaining vigilant because viruses surprise us all the time, she says.
Pfizer's oral treatment has not been approved, but has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in patients 12 and older, weighing at least 40 kg, with positive results of SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Authorized only for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization unless the declaration is terminated or authorization revoked sooner. See EUA Fact Sheet: www.COVID19oralRx.com
References:
Good morning, Mission, and welcome to Virus Village, your (somewhat regular) Covid-19 data dump.
Hospitalizations, positivity rates, R Number models and wastewater monitoring are all up, while recorded infections remain flat.
Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 are now taking over as the dominant strains in the world and will soon be dominant in the U.S. These variants are the most contagious yet. The virulence is open to question, but a rise in hospitalizations around the world, particularly in heavily vaxxed Portugal is not a good sign.
Here is a summary of the new variants.
What steps is San Franciscos Department of Public Health taking to mitigate transmission or warn of the dangers posed by the new variants?
Yesterday a subcommittee of the FDA recommended another booster for the fall which has been reconfigured to take into account omicron. But it was designed for omicron .1, not omicron .4 or .5. The data on the effectiveness of the vaccine is very limited, giving rise to a variety of interpretations.
Here are pros and cons for the new booster.
A universal corona virus vaccine is now being tested. This seems better than chasing after variants that keep changing.
High community spread undermines the effectiveness of individual responsibility and the use limited clinical tools. Understanding the infectivity of the airborne virus would seem logical, as would an emphasis on ventilation.
High community spread and re-infection increase the likelihood of long covid, says the World Health Organization. Heres an interview with UCSFs Dr. Lekshmi Santhosh on what we know and dont know about long covid.
What are the covid protocols in hospitals? Do they segregate covid patients from others? Do hospital workers wear N95s? Do they clean the air? How? And how often? Here is a summary on actions taken by academic hospitals around the country. There are no standards, and the diversity of practice is somewhat shocking. But not surprising.
Whats happening in San Francisco hospitals? Who knows? Our local celebrity experts prefer to discuss individual risk calculation rather than what their hospitals are doing to protect workers and patients.
Determined inaction by government officials at all levels has left us vulnerable to new variants and repeated surges. But why would anyone deliberately degrade community hubs, one of the most effective and hopeful programs developed in the City? As Ed Yong points out, community work has been foundational in fighting any pandemic.
Over 4 million (!!!) papers, studies and preprints have come out on covid, and we still know so little.
Scroll down for todays covid numbers.
Over the past week, hospitalizations jumped 33 percent (representing 27 more patients). On June 25, DPH reports there were 108 covid hospitalizations,or about12.4 covid hospitalizations per 100,000 residents (based on an 874,000 population). ICU patients had climbed to 22, but have fallen back to 15. The California Department of Public Health currently reports 115 covid patients in SF hospitals with 23 patients in ICU.
The latest report from the federal Department of Health and Human Services shows Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital with 12 covid patients and 8 ICU beds available, while across the Mission, CPMC had 8 covid patients and 4 ICU beds available. Of 106 reported covid patients in the City,52 were at either SFGH or UCSF, with at least 72 ICU beds available among reporting hospitals (which does not include the Veterans Administration or Laguna Honda). The California DPH currently reports 104 ICU beds available in San Francisco.
Between April 25 and June 24, DPH recorded 1,389 new infections among Mission residents (an increase of 5.8 percent from last week) or 250 new infections per 10,000 residents. During that period, Mission Bay continued with the highest rate at 432 new infections per 10,000 residents. Although Mission Bay was the only neighborhood with a rate above 400, 14 others had rates above 300 per 10,000 residents, with 9 in the east and southeast sectors of the City. In a surprise, Seacliff posted a rate of 327 per 100,000 residents (perhaps the City will pay more attention to transmission now).
DPH reports on June 21, the 7-day average of daily new infections recorded in the City rose to 422 or approximately 45.7 new infections per 100,000 residents (based on an 874,000 population), basically flat since last week. According to DPH, the 7-day average infection rate among vaccinated residents was 48.2 per 100,000 fully vaccinated residents and 94.8 per 100,000 unvaccinated residents. It is unclear whether fully vaccinated means 2, 3 or 4 doses. According to the New York Times, the 7-day average number on June 21 was 465. The latest report from the Times says the 7-day average on June 28 was 492, a 1 percent decrease over the past two weeks. As noted above, wastewater monitoring shows a substantial rise in the southeast sewers. This report comes from the Stanford model. The state is still reporting staffing problems.
So far in June, Asians recorded 3,279 new infections or 31.1 percent of the months cases; Whites 2,388 infections or 22.6 percent; Latinxs 1,333 infections or 12.6 percent; Blacks 484 infections or 4.6 percent; Multi-racials 72 infections or 0.7 percent; Pacific Islanders 54 infections or 0.5 percent; and Native Americans had 23 recorded infections in May or 0.2 percent of the June totals so far.
On June 21, the 7-day rolling Citywide average positivity rate rose 10.9 percent during the past week to 14.3 percent, while average daily testing dropped approximately 7.4 percent. Over the past two months, the Mission has had a positivity rate of 10.8 percent.
Vaccination rates in SF show virtually no change from last week.
For information on where to get vaccinated in and around the Mission, visit ourVaccination Page.
Nine new covid-related deaths, with 7 more in June, have been reported, bringing the total since the beginning of the year to 215. DPH wont say how many were vaccinated. Nor does it provide information on the race, ethnicity or socio-economic status of those who have recently died. According to DPH COVID-19 deaths are suspected to be associated with COVID-19. This means COVID-19 is listed as a cause of death or significant condition on the death certificate. Using a phrase like suspected to be associated with indicates the difficulty in determining a covid death. The fog gets denser as DPH reports, incredibly as it has for months, only 21 of the deaths are known to have had no underlying conditions, or comorbidities. DPH only supplies cumulative demographic numbers on deaths.
The lack of reliable infection number data makes R Number estimates very uncertain. Covid R Estimation on June 24 estimated the San Francisco R Number at 1.21 while its estimate for the California R Number on June 27 was 1.26. The ensemble, as of June 26, estimated the San Francisco R Number at .97 and its California R Number at .97. Note: All but one model in the ensemble show SF under 1.
So far in June, DPH reports 56 new infections and 0 new deaths in nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities), while in SROs (Single Room Occupancy hotels), DPH reports 40 new infections and 1 new death.
Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease physician at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the original vaccines against the COVID-19 virus did a terrific job keeping people out of the hospital and preventing death, but he said moving forward better vaccines need to be developed.
The current vaccines offer only mild benefit, in terms of infection, against those new variants, said Poland. So, the idea is, and both Moderna and Pfizer both plan no doing this, to devise vaccines that cover the Omicron variant.
Poland told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the goal is to possibly have an updated COVID vaccine by early fall by using part of the original vaccine and the vaccine that was used during the Omicron surge.
But, Poland said the ultimate goal is to develop a so-called Pan-Corona Vaccine which would offer better protection against all of the variants that have emerged with the virus.
The idea that we, and others are working on, is a Pan-Corona virus vaccine. Or, if you will, a universal Corona virus vaccine, said Poland. Thats still a ways off, but thats the goal.
Dr. Peter Bornstein, with St. Paul Infectious Disease Associates, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he agrees with the push by the Food and Drug Administration to come up with a more effective vaccine.
We definitely need better vaccines. How much the virus itself will keep mutating, and have immunological escape from the vaccines, we just dont know yet, said Bornstein.
The FDA met Tuesday to discuss the future of new COVID vaccines, but did not yet offer any recommendations.
A national nonprofit wants to better understand how Filipino communities across the country feel about COVID-19 vaccines.
Researchers from the Filipino Young Leaders Program, which seeks to advance Filipino voices through advocacy, said its important to have disaggregated data to show the pandemics impact on Filipino communities.
To have this type of data it helps not only with the resources, but it also helps in understanding the health information, said Chachie Abara, who is helping survey researchers with local efforts. It really helps highlight a lot of information in terms of how we can provide the support in the continental U.S. and here in Hawaii.
Abara, who moved from the Philippines to Hawaii as a child, pointed out that its also key to understand why some people are hesitant to get vaccinated.
In Hawaii, Filipinos have been hit hard by the pandemic.
About 24% of those who died from COVID-19 identified as Filipino, according to the state Department of Health. That represents the highest share among all ethnic groups.
Also, about 17% of people in Hawaii who tested positive for COVID-19 are Filipino, according to the state Health Department.
The 20-minute survey is conducted online and on the phone in English and Tagalog. It is open to Filipino Americans who are at least 18 years old, regardless of vaccination status.
For more information and to participate in the survey, click here.
A U.S. Army combat medic draws the COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe. (Aaron Rodriguez/National Guard)
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more storieshere. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletterhere. Please support our journalismwith a subscription.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Tribune News Service) A group ofTennessee National Guardmembers, who face being forced out of the service by theU.S. Department of Defenseon Thursday over their refusal to get mandated COVID-19 vaccines, along with their supporters pleaded publicly with Gov.Bill Leeon Wednesday to take actions, including suing the federal government if necessary, to prevent their dismissal.
OnJune 30, hundreds of yourTennessee National Guardsoldiers under an illegal, improper order by the Biden administrationsDepartment of Defensein defiance of natural law and the United States Constitution are scheduled to be dismissed from service due to refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination, read a petition presented to the stateCapitoloffice of Lee by several dozen Guard members, their families and friends.
It is your duty before God and the citizens of the great state of Tennessee, sir, to help these men and women. Please stop them from being fired, sir! the petition tells Lee, a Republican.
The governor was not in the office to accept the petition.
Ricky Shelton, aTennessee National Guardcaptain fromGrainger Countywho is a member of the230th Sustainment Brigadeout ofChattanooga, helped lead the effort. Several Republican lawmakers voiced support for the guard members as well.
Standing outside the governors office suite, Shelton told theChattanooga Times Free Presshe had been unsuccessfully trying to meet with Lee.
Theyve ignored and theyve ignored and diverted and tried to avoid whether its an event we invited them to or whatever it may be, said Shelton, who along with comrades and other supporters rallied earlier onLegislative Plazabefore the stateCapitol. So theyve avoided us like a plague.
He said he had been in back-and-forth conversations with Lee Chief of StaffJoseph Williamsto set up a meeting, but it had not come through by Wednesday.
Rep.Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, was among a group of Republican lawmakers joining the protesters onLegislative Plazafor their rally. He later accompanied them into theCapitolto Lees offices.
Were here to stand with theTennessee National Guardto support them and their effort to not take the vaccine and to encourage our governor and attorney general to do all that they can do, whatever they can to push back against this, Sexton told theTimes Free Press. They dont need to lose their jobs. And we dont need to lose them, you know, in our defense.
Lee CommunicationsDirectorLaine Arnoldlater issued a statement to theTimes Free Press.
The COVID-19 vaccine mandate is aDepartment of Defenserequirement, the statement said. But we have approved every personal and religious exemption brought forward by members of the Guard.
We have also advocated to theDoDthat personnel who sought an exemption should receive that same exemption federally, and we are awaiting their response. In the meantime, we have no plans to terminate or dishonorably discharge personnel.
Shelton said he personally objects to the COVID-19 vaccines because, he added, human tissue from aborted fetuses were used to develop or make the vaccines.
The groups requests to Lee include:
Publicly condemning firings ofTennessee National Guardmembers who are scheduled to be terminated due to their refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine. They also want Lee to do everything in your power to help those members.
Immediately orderTennessee National Guard Adjutant Generaland Maj.Gen. Jeff Holmesto halt the discharge of the men and women refusing the vaccinations.
Ask Tennessee Attorney GeneralHerb Slateryto file suit on behalf of theTennessee National Guardmembers and coordinate with other states attorneys general to file an emergency injunction against theDepartment of Defense, forcing them to reverse adverse actions against any National Guardsman for refusal to vaccinate.
We pray that you find it in your heart and your character to take action. Please join us in fighting for the men and women of theTennessee National Guard, the petition adds.
According to The Associated Press, up to 40,000Army National Guardsoldiers across the country or about 13% of the force have not yet taken the mandated COVID-19 vaccine, and as the deadline for shots looms, at least 14,000 of them have flatly refused and could be forced out of the service.
Guard leaders say states are doing all they can to encourage soldiers to get vaccinated by the time limit. And they said they will work with the roughly 7,000 who have sought exemptions, which are almost all for religious reasons.
You are their commander-in-chief, the petition says to Lee. We implore you to do everything within your power to fight for these dedicated men and women. To date, sir, you have been silent. We implore you to be silent no more.
Shelton told theTimes Free Pressthat after this now, honestly, I dont care what happens to me. Because this is more important because we were always taught to take an oath to defend our soldiers And if their health is being affected and nobodys stepping up for them, it is my duty to do that.
And I will walk through hell with a can of gasoline in each hand and back for my soldiers if I had to, Shelton added.
(c)2022 the Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Visit at www.timesfreepress.com
Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 71-year old male from Pleasants County, a 94-year old female from Wood County, an 82-year old female from Cabell County, an 88-year old female from Pleasants County, and a 96-year old female from Ohio County.
We offer our deepest sympathies as the families and our state grieve more losses due to COVID-19, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. Each life lost is one too many, and we must do everything we can to stop the pandemic including getting vaccinated and boosted.
CURRENT ACTIVE CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (11), Berkeley (125), Boone (46), Braxton (24), Brooke (15), Cabell (108), Calhoun (7), Clay (9), Doddridge (3), Fayette (52), Gilmer (4), Grant (13), Greenbrier (55), Hampshire (25), Hancock (31), Hardy (11), Harrison (89), Jackson (22), Jefferson (63), Kanawha (239), Lewis (18), Lincoln (19), Logan (37), Marion (83), Marshall (29), Mason (21), McDowell (31), Mercer (76), Mineral (32), Mingo (24), Monongalia (114), Monroe (19), Morgan (14), Nicholas (31), Ohio (41), Pendleton (2), Pleasants (13), Pocahontas (4), Preston (26), Putnam (90), Raleigh (95), Randolph (18), Ritchie (9), Roane (22), Summers (18), Taylor (27), Tucker (8), Tyler (4), Upshur (41), Wayne (28), Webster (13), Wetzel (15), Wirt (3), Wood (97), Wyoming (31). To find the cumulative cases per county, please visit coronavirus.wv.gov and look on the Cumulative Summary tab which is sortable by county.
West Virginians ages 6 months and older are recommended to get vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19. Those 5 years and older should receive a booster shot when due. Second booster shots for those age 50 and over who are 4 months or greater from their first booster are recommended, as well as for younger individuals over 12 years old with serious and chronic health conditions that lead to being considered moderately to severely immunocompromised.
Visit the WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator, a free, online tool that helps individuals figure out when they may be due for a COVID-19 shot, making it easier to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination. To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, or to find a vaccine site near you, visit vaccinate.wv.gov or call 1-833-734-0965.
To locate COVID-19 testing near you, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
