Queen Elizabeth II with Germany's Angela Merkel, Japan's Yoshihide Suga and France's Emmanuel Macron at a reception Friday. The British monarch joined the G-7 leaders for dinner. "Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying this?" she asked as the cameras clicked for a traditional group photo. Jack Hill/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Queen Elizabeth II with Germany's Angela Merkel, Japan's Yoshihide Suga and France's Emmanuel Macron at a reception Friday. The British monarch joined the G-7 leaders for dinner. "Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying this?" she asked as the cameras clicked for a traditional group photo.
For the first time since the pandemic halted face-to-face events, leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States have gathered for three days of talks in a British seaside town to try to address some of the world's most pressing issues.
Stopping the coronavirus pandemic will be front and center in the talks. But the summit also provides a window into the dynamics between the world leaders beyond their statements and press conferences.
Here's a look at some of the moments you may have missed on Day 1:
For the first time, Queen Elizabeth II and her family are participating in the G-7, part of a diplomatic charm offensive. Along with Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the queen attended a reception with G-7 leaders and their spouses Friday evening at the Eden Project, which describes itself as the world's largest indoor rainforest.
"Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying this?" the queen asked U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they settled in for a group photograph, prompting chuckles from the other leaders.
Prince Charles spoke to the leaders, applauding them for their urgent work. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are doing it for the pandemic. So, if you don't mind me saying so, we must also do it for the planet," he said.
"Multilateralism is back @G7," tweeted Charles Michel, president of the European Council, alongside a photo of leaders gathered together for what appeared to be breakfast ahead of the day's talks. French President Emmanuel Macron also shared a photo of the gathering via Twitter.
"The EU wants to make sure the world is vaccinated as quickly as possible. Only together can we do this by upholding our values," Michel wrote and included the hashtag "BuildBackBetter," a phrase that G-7 host Johnson has adopted and that President Biden campaigned with to describe his agenda to "rescue, recover and rebuild" after the pandemic.
On Thursday, Biden announced the U.S. will donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to nearly 100 countries struggling to afford them. G-7 leaders are expected to announce on Day 1 of the talks a commitment to share 1 billion of their COVID-19 vaccine resources with lower income countries.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the G-7 host, and his wife, Carrie, as he arrives for Friday's summit. Phil Noble/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the G-7 host, and his wife, Carrie, as he arrives for Friday's summit.
At the start of the summit Friday, the world leaders and their spouses walked up a pier one at a time to get a photo with Johnson and his wife, Carrie.
Exaggerated elbow bumps as a safety measure replaced the traditional handshakes between leaders.
"Everybody in the water," Biden quipped to the pool of photographers.
The G-7 leaders gather for the traditional group photo ahead of Friday's talks. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The G-7 leaders gather for the traditional group photo ahead of Friday's talks.
As is customary, the leaders gathered for an official photo before the start of the talks.
It didn't take long before the moment became a meme.
First lady Jill Biden and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visit Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, England, on the sidelines of the G-7 summit Friday. Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
First lady Jill Biden and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visit Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, England, on the sidelines of the G-7 summit Friday.
On Friday, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and first lady Jill Biden toured a classroom at Connor Downs Academy and held a roundtable on early childhood education.
That provided an awkward moment.
Reporters traveling with Biden asked the former Kate Middleton if she had any wishes for her new niece, Lilibet Diana, the newborn daughter of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who have stepped back from the British royal family in a very public way.
The baby was named in honor of Harry's late mother, Princess Diana of Wales, and Queen Elizabeth II. The name sparked some controversy, with questions of whether the queen had given her blessing for the use of her childhood nickname.
"I wish her all the very best. I can't wait to meet her," the Duchess of Cambridge said. "We haven't met her yet. I hope that will be soon."
She was asked whether she had done FaceTime with her new niece. "No, I haven't," she said.
Cameras were allowed in briefly as the leaders began their formal meeting. Johnson gave some opening remarks, noting how refreshing it is to work with people in person.
He nodded to the topic of climate change, saying, "We are united in our vision for a cleaner, greener world, a solution to the problems of climate change."
As NPR's Frank Langfitt reported, any concrete action announced during the talks on climate change could provide momentum for the U.N. Climate Change Conference this fall. Johnson is also hosting that meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.
But he focused on COVID-19. "We need to make sure that we learn the lessons from the pandemic," he said.
"We are building back better together, and building back greener, and building back fairer, and building back more equal, and in a more gender-neutral and perhaps a more feminine way. How about that?" Johnson said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (from left), President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speak during the leaders' official welcome Friday. Jonny Weeks/WPA Pool/Getty Images hide caption
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (from left), President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speak during the leaders' official welcome Friday.
Part of Biden's mission is to repair ties after four years of former President Donald Trump's more go-it-alone approach which forever changed staid international summits, as captured in this iconic photo from a G-7 in Canada:
There's less drama at this meeting than the Trump years. Take, for instance, the unforgettable images of Trump white-knuckling leaders with handshakes and pushing aside Montenegro's prime minister at a NATO gathering in an apparent attempt to get to the front of a photo-op.
Some leaders were happy to show themselves turning the page.
Compare that with the "handshake wars" between France's Macron and Trump during bilaterals gone by.
Vaccination rates, which have slowed in recent weeks across the United States, remain stubbornly low in many Southern statesa trend that health experts say could put those areas at risk of another Covid-19 surge later this summer.
Is America's coronavirus future 'good,' 'bad,' or 'ugly'? It's all three.
Nationwide, vaccination rates have dropped from a peak of more than 3.3 million doses a day in mid-April to about 1.1 million doses per day now, according to the New York Times.
And while more than half of the populations are vaccinated in eight states, in some other statesincluding Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippifewer than half of adults have been partially vaccinated. Many of these states are located in the South, the Times reports, where eight of the 10 states with the lowest vaccination rates are located.
And some states and localities with low vaccination rates are seeing increases in Covid-related hospitalizations, the Times reports. In fact, the eight states in which hospitalizations are currently risingwhich include Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Utahalso have persistently low vaccination rates.
For instance, in Newton County, Missouri, just 15% of people have been fully vaccinated, and local hospitals have seen a 47% increase in Covid-19 hospitalizations over the two weeks prior to June 3.
The challenge isn't only that so many people are unvaccinated, Ted Delbridge, executive director of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, said. Those who do get sick with Covid-19 now are "in most age groups, twice as likely to end up hospitalized as people who got the virus earlier in the course of the pandemic," he saidlikely due to coronavirus variants that can cause more serious disease.
At a White House briefing, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the White House, said the delta variant, first discovered in India, was becoming the dominant variant in the United Kingdom.
"We cannot let that happen in the United States," he said, adding that the variant accounts for just 6% of sequenced U.S. Covid-19 cases at the moment.
Fauci explained that the delta variant "may be associated with an increased disease severity, such as hospitalization risk, compared to" the alpha variant first discovered in the United Kingdom. He added that the best protection against a spread of the delta variant was vaccination, citing research indicating that the currently available vaccines protect against it.
Despite the emergence of new variants, experts said that if there is another Covid-19 surge in the South, it isn't likely to be as deadly as last summer's surge, since some peopleespecially among vulnerable groups such as the elderlyhave been vaccinated and since treatments for Covid-19 have improved, the Times reports.
"The surge is not likely to end up tying up hospitals and causing lots of deaths," Edward Trapido, an epidemiologist and associate dean for research at the Louisiana State University School of Public Health, said. However, those who haven't been vaccinatedwhich disproportionately includes younger populationswould still be at risk, and it's in those populations that "we will expect to see a rise," he said.
Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert at Baylor College of Medicine, said that to avoid a potential surge of Covid-19 cases, states in the South need to get closer to 70% of their population being partially vaccinated.
"We're not even close to that in the Southern states," he said.
In response to a slowing vaccination rate nationwideand to the persistently low vaccination rates in the South in particularhealth officials have been promoting vaccinations with a variety of incentive programs, including free tickets to sporting events, free air travel, and free tickets to amusement parks. CMS is also trying to incentivize providers to aid the effort, offering $150 to providers who go to people's homes to administer a two-dose Covid-19 vaccine.
Still, many people remain vaccine-hesitant. For instance, a recent Gallup poll found that 78% of Americans who said they're not planning to be vaccinated said they're unlikely to reconsider their plans, with 51% saying they're "not likely at all." Overall, just 20% of vaccine-hesitant people indicated a willingness to reconsider their stance.
Vaccine hesitancy is most common among middle-aged Americans than younger and older Americans, the poll found. Research suggests that some people who don't want to get vaccinated distrust the federal government's role in developing the vaccine, while others say they are too busy or are waiting for more information. Additionally, some Black individuals have said their vaccine hesitancy is rooted in broader concerns about the medical profession's historic maltreatment of people of color.
This reluctance to get vaccinated is particularly concerning, experts say, because Americans are increasingly returning to their pre-pandemic day-to-day lives. For instance, an Axios and Ipsos poll found that although 61% of Americans at the beginning of March said they felt there was a large to moderate risk in returning to pre-pandemic life, just 30% of Americans said the same last week.
"A lot of people have the sense of, 'Oh, dodged that bullet,'" Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, added. "I don't think people appreciate that if we let up on the vaccine efforts, we could be right back where we started" (Rojas/Smith, New York Times, 6/9; Elamroussi et al., CNN, 6/10; Jimnez et al., New York Times, 6/7; Nather, Axios, 6/8; Jimnez, New York Times, 6/9; Mastrangelo, The Hill, 6/7; Jones, Gallup, 6/7).
More From ForbesTeen Who Filmed George Floyd's Murder Awarded Honorary Pulitzer Prize","scope":{"topStory":{"title":"Teen Who Filmed George Floyd's Murder Awarded Honorary Pulitzer Prize","uri":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/06/11/teen-who-filmed-george-floyds-murder-awarded-honorary-pulitzer-prize/","date":{"monthDayYear":"Jun 11, 2021","hourMinute":"02:50","amPm":"pm","isEDT":true},"index":1}},"id":"d1p67chnd3p400"},{"textContent":"
Jun 11, 2021,02:27pm EDT
Jun 11, 2021,02:05pm EDT
Jun 11, 2021,02:05pm EDT
Jun 11, 2021,02:00pm EDT
Jun 11, 2021,12:52pm EDT
Jun 11, 2021,12:47pm EDT
Gov. Brown to address Oregons COVID-19 response, path to reopening - OPB
"),r.close()),!r)throw Error("base not supported");var a=r.createElement("base");a.href=n,r.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(a);var i=r.createElement("a");return i.href=t,i.href}finally{e&&e.parentNode.removeChild(e)}}());var l=i(t||""),f=function(){if(!("defineProperties"in Object))return!1;try{var e={};return Object.defineProperties(e,{prop:{get:function(){return!0}}}),e.prop}catch(t){return!1}}(),h=f?this:document.createElement("a"),m=new o(l.search?l.search.substring(1):null);return m._url_object=h,Object.defineProperties(h,{href:{get:function(){return l.href},set:function(e){l.href=e,r(),u()},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},origin:{get:function(){return"origin"in l?l.origin:this.protocol+"//"+this.host},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},protocol:{get:function(){return l.protocol},set:function(e){l.protocol=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},username:{get:function(){return l.username},set:function(e){l.username=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},password:{get:function(){return l.password},set:function(e){l.password=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},host:{get:function(){var e={"http:":/:80$/,"https:":/:443$/,"ftp:":/:21$/}[l.protocol];return e?l.host.replace(e,""):l.host},set:function(e){l.host=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},hostname:{get:function(){return l.hostname},set:function(e){l.hostname=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},port:{get:function(){return l.port},set:function(e){l.port=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},pathname:{get:function(){return"/"!==l.pathname.charAt(0)?"/"+l.pathname:l.pathname},set:function(e){l.pathname=e},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},search:{get:function(){return l.search},set:function(e){l.search!==e&&(l.search=e,r(),u())},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},searchParams:{get:function(){return m},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},hash:{get:function(){return l.hash},set:function(e){l.hash=e,r()},enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},toString:{value:function(){return l.toString()},enumerable:!1,configurable:!0},valueOf:{value:function(){return l.valueOf()},enumerable:!1,configurable:!0}}),h}var c,s=e.URL;try{if(s){if("searchParams"in(c=new e.URL("http://example.com"))){var f=new l("http://example.com");if(f.search="a=1&b=2","http://example.com/?a=1&b=2"===f.href&&(f.search="","http://example.com/"===f.href))return}"href"in c||(c=undefined),c=undefined}}catch(m){}if(Object.defineProperties(o.prototype,{append:{value:function(e,t){this._list.push({name:e,value:t}),this._update_steps()},writable:!0,enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},"delete":{value:function(e){for(var t=0;t1?arguments[1]:undefined;this._list.forEach(function(n){e.call(t,n.value,n.name)})},writable:!0,enumerable:!0,configurable:!0},toString:{value:function(){return r(this._list)},writable:!0,enumerable:!1,configurable:!0}}),"Symbol"in e&&"iterator"in e.Symbol&&(Object.defineProperty(o.prototype,e.Symbol.iterator,{value:o.prototype.entries,writable:!0,enumerable:!0,configurable:!0}),Object.defineProperty(u.prototype,e.Symbol.iterator,{value:function(){return this},writable:!0,enumerable:!0,configurable:!0})),s)for(var h in s)s.hasOwnProperty(h)&&"function"==typeof s[h]&&(l[h]=s[h]);e.URL=l,e.URLSearchParams=o}(),function(){if("1"!==new e.URLSearchParams([["a",1]]).get("a")||"1"!==new e.URLSearchParams({a:1}).get("a")){var r=e.URLSearchParams;e.URLSearchParams=function(e){if(e&&"object"==typeof e&&t(e)){var a=new r;return n(e).forEach(function(e){if(!t(e))throw TypeError();var r=n(e);if(2!==r.length)throw TypeError();a.append(r[0],r[1])}),a}return e&&"object"==typeof e?(a=new r,Object.keys(e).forEach(function(t){a.set(t,e[t])}),a):new r(e)}}}()}(self);}).call('object' === typeof window && window || 'object' === typeof self && self || 'object' === typeof global && global || {}); document.createElement("picture");
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will address the ongoing pandemic at 11 a.m. Friday, and provide more information on the path to reopening. Watch live here:
The state can reopen when 70% of eligible Oregonians over the age of 18 have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Brown has previously announced. The state is inching closer to that goal: As of Thursday, 67.2% of eligible adults have gotten at least one jab.
Lane County passed another vaccination milestone: Over 65% of eligible adults there have received a first dose. That allows Lane County to move from medium-risk restrictions to lower-risk restrictions. Benton, Deschutes, Hood River, Lincoln, Multnomah and Washington counties are the only other counties to have reached that goal.
That means 29 of Oregons 36 counties have not yet reached that particular benchmark. But when the state hits the 70% vaccination rate benchmark, which is expected to happen sometime in the next few weeks, they will also reopen, regardless of vaccination levels and the amount of COVID-19 spreading locally.
This is a developing story. Watch for updates.
Sign up to get important news and culture from around the Northwest, delivered to your inbox six days a week.
Over a dozen states where rural rates were actually beating urban ones seven weeks ago have flipped, so they now trail their urban counterparts. Those include Oregon where rural places now trail urban by 9 percentage points and Maine where they're now behind by 7 points.
The U.S. is confronted with an ever-growing surplus of COVID-19 vaccines, looming expiration dates and stubbornly lagging demand at a time when the developing world is clamoring for doses to stem a rise in infections
Oregon turned to a gamification expert to help boost vaccine numbers. Should more social programs come equipped with prize winnings?
Tags:Science & Environment, COVID-19, Health, Vaccines
Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation that extends the most critical components of the COVID-19 disaster declaration emergency.
Over the last few weeks, my administration has worked hard to educate and inform the General Assembly of the importance of the temporary rule suspensions associated with the COVID-19 disaster declaration, Gov. Wolf said. I appreciate the General Assemblys adoption of my administrations recommendations on the significance of keeping the important regulatory suspensions associated with COVID-19 disasteremergencydeclaration provisions in place for a few more months.
House Bill 854extends theemergency regulation suspensionsunder the COVID-19 emergency until September 30, 2021,unless sooner terminated. It also amends the Administrative Codeto requirean executive agencytopreserve all records in their possessionrelating to the COVID-19 disaster emergency declaration in accordance with the agencys existing record retention policy.
Governor Wolf also signed legislation that expands the Family Caregiver Support Program to provide much-needed supports to individuals who are providing care for their loved ones.
House Bill 464amendsthe Family Caregiver Support Act to reflect current federal eligibility standards, remove provisions that limit available support for home modifications and assistive devices,and prohibit primary caregivers from receiving benefits if they are a perpetrator in a substantiated case of abuse.
Caregivers deserve to know that they have the proper supports in place to be able to provide the best care possible for their loved one and this legislation will provide important protections and assistance to caregivers, Gov. Wolf said.
In partnership with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Sporting Kansas City will host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic during Saturday's home match against Austin FC at Children's Mercy Park.
The vaccination clinic will be available for all ticketed and eligible fans in attendance, taking place place on the Mazuma Plaza on the west side of the stadium from 12:30 p.m.until halftime at approximately 3 p.m.
Additionally, all supporters who get the vaccine at Saturday's match will receive a free Sporting KC scarf and be entered to win a match-worn jersey from a Sporting player.
Tickets for Saturday's contest are available at SeatGeek.com as Sporting aims to take first place in the Supporters' Shield standings with a victory.
Last modified on June 10, 2021
Dear Stanford community,
Stanford continues to review and adjust campus COVID-19 protocols as public health conditions and rules change.
Some important changes in public health requirements over the next few weeks will significantly influence rules for our campus and community.
Several events occurring this month are helping guide our decisions:
In addition, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, yesterday withdrew a proposed rule regarding requirements for face coverings and physical distancing in workplaces. As a result, the university must continue to follow existing requirements until at least June 28.
The changes described below are part of our ongoing plans for ramping up for the 2021-22 academic year. We are working toward a fall quarter that is as close to normal as possible, but with modifications based on the health situation.
Please note that these changes will not affect COVID-19 protocols in place for Commencement activities on June 12 and 13.
Face coverings & physical distancing
Employees:
Students (effective June 26):
Vaccinations & Health Check
The vaccination status question on Health Check, which has been voluntary, will require a response, as soon as June 17, from faculty, staff, students and postdocs coming on-site. Previously, this response was optional. Individuals are asked to provide this information if they have not already done so.
Also this month, fully vaccinated employees will be able to upload an image of their vaccination documentation to Health Check. Students will continue to upload their cards on the Vaden patient portal.
Data on vaccine status helps us learn the vaccination rate among our community and informs decisions to adjust campus policies while continuing to mitigate COVID-19 risks. In addition, as part of Santa Clara Countys May 18 health directive, employers are now required to determine which staff are fully vaccinated.
Please note: (1) No group or unit should create vaccination requirements separate from or more restrictive than university requirements. For more information, visit Health Alerts. (2) Health Check is the only approved channel through which the university asks for faculty/staff vaccination status. Individuals should not be asking peers or employees whether they have been vaccinated.
Additional guidance will be posted on Health Alerts before this requirement takes effect.
Campus zones & other outdoor spaces
As public health conditions improve and state regulations are relaxed, Stanford is restoring access to outdoor campus spaces for the university community and visitors.
Campus zones: This temporary program will end and restrictions on access to outdoor spaces will be lifted on June 16.
While the campus zones program will end, all visitors entering non-residential campus facilities need to be pre-approved and complete the visitor health attestation form.
Dish area: Users can once again walk in either direction along the main loop starting June 16.
Parking: Stanford will return to weekday enforcement of commuter and visitor parking on the main campus, rather than 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Visitor parking will again be available in all parts of the main campus starting June 16.
A careful focus will remain on indoor facility access to safely support the continued resumption of onsite teaching, research and other work.
Events
Effective June 16, Stanford Environmental Health & Safety review of events sponsored by the university and affiliated groups with fewer than 500 participants will no longer be required.
Updated guidelines on student gatherings are being developed and will be posted by Student Affairs once complete.
We appreciate the efforts across our campus community to keep one another safe.
Please continue following safety protocols and be vaccinatedfor COVID-19. Click here for resources and links to vaccination providers.
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of June 10, 2021, there have been 2,966,404 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 162,845 total cases and 2,848 deaths.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 93-year old female from Harrison County and a 61-year old male from Randolph County.
Each tragic death reported is a solemn reminder of the seriousness of this disease, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. We send our sympathy to these families and urge everyone over the age of 12 who has not received a COVID vaccine to schedule one today.
CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (1,509), Berkeley (12,768), Boone (2,169), Braxton (998), Brooke (2,241), Cabell (8,841), Calhoun (374), Clay (542), Doddridge (631), Fayette (3,535), Gilmer (875), Grant (1,304), Greenbrier (2,875), Hampshire (1,914), Hancock (2,837), Hardy (1,562), Harrison (6,106), Jackson (2,223), Jefferson (4,766), Kanawha (15,410), Lewis (1,274), Lincoln (1,572), Logan (3,262), Marion (4,614), Marshall (3,530), Mason (2,042), McDowell (1,609), Mercer (5,096), Mineral (2,969), Mingo (2,713), Monongalia (9,375), Monroe (1,194), Morgan (1,222), Nicholas (1,882), Ohio (4,300), Pendleton (723), Pleasants (959), Pocahontas (681), Preston (2,951), Putnam (5,303), Raleigh (7,007), Randolph (2,824), Ritchie (754), Roane (653), Summers (856), Taylor (1,263), Tucker (545), Tyler (738), Upshur (1,950), Wayne (3,179), Webster (541), Wetzel (1,381), Wirt (453), Wood (7,917), Wyoming (2,033).
Free pop-up COVID-19 testing is available today in Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Hampshire, Jefferson, Lincoln, Mingo, Morgan, and Pendleton counties.
Barbour County
9:00 AM 11:00 AM, Barbour County Health Department, 109 Wabash Avenue, Philippi, WV
3:00 PM 7:00 PM, Junior Volunteer Fire Department, 331 Row Avenue, Junior, WV
Berkeley County
10:00 AM 5:00 PM, 891 Auto Parts Place, Martinsburg, WV
10:00 AM 5:00 PM, Ambrose Park, 25404 Mall Drive, Martinsburg, WV
Boone County
10:00 AM 5:00 PM, Morrisvale Community Center, 6492 Horse Creek Road, Morrisvale, WV
Hampshire County
10:00 AM 5:00 PM, Hampshire County Health Department, 16189 Northwestern Turnpike, Augusta, WV
Jefferson County
10:00 AM 6:00 PM, Hollywood Casino, 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV
12:00 PM 5:00 PM, Shepherd University Wellness Center Parking Lot, 164 University Drive, Shepherdstown, WV
Lincoln County
Mingo County
10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Delbarton Fire Department, County Highway 65/12, Delbarton, WV
Morgan County
11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Valley Health War Memorial Hospital, 1 Health Way, Berkeley Springs, WV
Pendleton County
WASHINGTONWhen the coronavirus pandemic plunged the U.S. into a recession last year, it portended another blow to the health of the Social Security system. An anticipated decline in payroll-tax revenue and increase in disability claims were expected to erode the programs reserves and pile pressure on the government to respond.
Instead, the near-term finances of the federal governments retirement and disability programs appear to have weathered the storm better than many policy analysts had predictedtaking some pressure off the Biden administration and Congress to reach a long-term solution to keep them solvent.
A faster-than-expected economic recovery has bolstered the payroll taxes that help finance the programs. And new benefit claims for disability insurance, which typically jump when the economy is weak, declined for some groups as the Social Security Administrations field offices remained closed.
I dont think its going to be as big of a hit as many people, including me, feared a year ago, said Kathleen Romig, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive Washington think tank.
Longer term, though, the programs are being squeezed by rising costs and declining revenue as the population ages, and they are on track to deplete their trust fund reserves in coming years as funding shortfalls widen. After that, beneficiaries would face automatic benefit cuts unless Congress steps in to shore up the program, for example by boosting the payroll tax rate, trimming benefits or delaying the retirement age.
The CDC said it plans to update its face masks order to reflect the change and to better align with its guidance for fully vaccinated people.
Until then, the agency said it will "exercise its enforcement discretion" to not require masks in outdoor areas of transportation hubs, such as bus or train stops, or open-air areas on ferries, trolleys or buses.
The CDC order refers to public conveyances, which includes "airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares, maritime transportation, trolleys and cable cars."
"While those who are fully vaccinated may resume many activities without wearing a mask, the travel environment presents a unique set of circumstances based on the number and close interaction of travelers (both vaccinated and unvaccinated)," the CDC said.
People who are not yet vaccinated should continue wearing masks in these areas, the CDC said.
The agency maintains that both vaccinated and unvaccinated people should continue to wear masks indoors in public transportation settings, except under certain circumstances, like when eating, drinking or taking medicine.
Surgeon general: Unvaccinated people are at risk from a potentially more dangerous variant
"For those who are unvaccinated, they are increasingly at risk as more and more variants develop," Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN on Wednesday, specifically citing the B.1.617.2, or Delta variant, first identified in India.
"The news about the Delta variant is evidence of really why it's so important for us to get vaccinated as soon as possible," he said, adding that the variant is more transmissible and potentially more dangerous.
Concern over the risk of variants bringing an end to a nationwide reopening is shared by many health experts and officials.
"We don't want to let happen in the United States what is happening currently in the UK, where you have a troublesome variant essentially taking over as the dominant variant, which has made it a very difficult situation in the UK," he said Wednesday, adding that the Delta variant accounts for more than 6% of sequenced virus in the US.
While the US has "done very well" with vaccinating its population, Fauci said, "we cannot declare victory prematurely because there are still a substantial proportion of people who have not been vaccinated."
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wyoming have among the lowest vaccination rates in the country, according to CDC data. And officials are urging citizens that the best way to get ahead of the variants is with vaccinations.
"The good news is that when they looked at the Pfizer vaccine, they found that it was quite effective after two doses at protecting against even the Delta variant," Murthy told CNN.
Moderna asks FDA to OK vaccine for adolescents
"We are pleased to announce that we have submitted for an emergency use authorization for our COVID-19 vaccine with the FDA for use in adolescents in the United States," said Moderna CEO Stphane Bancel. "We are encouraged that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was highly effective at preventing COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infection in adolescents."
If authorized, Moderna's would be the second Covid-19 vaccine available in the US to adolescents. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, initially authorized for people 16 and older, was granted EUA last month for 12- to 15-year-olds.
Initial observations found none of the children who received the vaccine got sick with Covid-19 starting 14 days after their second dose. Four kids who got a placebo tested positive for the virus.
Meantime, an FDA vaccine advisory committee is meeting Thursday to discuss, generally, what data is needed to support authorization of Covid-19 vaccines for children, including those younger than 12.
States look to reduce restrictions
In another example of local optimism with improved Covid-19 numbers, about two dozen states have decided to scale back their daily tracking of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Johns Hopkins University said this week.
Many states have scaled back to five updates each week, while others have dropped to three times or fewer. Florida, for example, has dropped to once per week.
Some health officials are calling this move premature in the face of current vaccination rates, citing needed improvement in these areas before states can let off the gas pedal regarding Covid-19.
"As far as I know, we're still in a public health emergency as a country ... That has not been downgraded yet," Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN on Wednesday.
Several states also this week announced plans to further loosen Covid-19 protocols. South Carolina lifted an emergency order placed on the state, touting what Gov. Henry McMaster called the "timid" approach the state took to closures and restrictions.
"It is no longer necessary to have a state of emergency, although it is still necessary for us to be smart, to follow the rules, to follow the guidelines and be very careful," McMaster said.
In New York, the state plans to lift "virtually all" pandemic-related restrictions when 70% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office said Wednesday in a news release. The state was then at 69.1%, according to the release.
CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas, Adrienne Vogt, Deidre McPhillips, Jacqueline Howard, Jamiel Lynch, Laura Ly, Lauren del Valle, Nadia Kounang, Rebekah Riess and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
