Production of Warner Bros. The Batman has been delayed yet again, this time because star Robert Pattison has tested positive for COVID-19, Vanity Fair reported. The highly-anticipated retelling of the story of the caped crusader with the Twilight star in the title role had just resumed shooting a few days ago in London.
A member of The Batman production has tested positive for Covid-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols. Filming is temporarily paused, Warner Bros. told VF in a statement. The studio did not confirm who the infected person was.
The film already had been delayed several months back in March, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the studio reshuffled its lineup of upcoming movies. It was to hit theaters in June 2021, but was pushed back to October 2021. If Pattinson is ill, that almost certainly means the film will be delayed further.
Director Matt Reeves debuted a teaser trailer of The Batman during last months DC Fan Dome.
Warner Bros. did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) After weeks of debate, Gov. Bill Lee says Tennessee will begin posting Covid-19 information about individual schools after all.
State officials announced that they would do this weeks ago, but switched course over HIPPA guideline concerns.
Now the Tennessee Department of Education says they have prepared a new online portal that will debut next week.
The site will report Covid-19 information for districts and schools.
Parents and community members are working to make informed decisions, and we have determined the best path that balances informed decision making with our obligation to student privacy, said Commissioner Penny Schwinn.
We believe this resource will not only help parents but will inform how COVID-19 is affecting student attendance, chronic absenteeism and overall student attainment.
The last two districts in the state return to class next week.
Up until now, the state has left reporting cases by schools up to the individual systems.
Some in our area, like Bradley County, Cleveland City and Polk County post a weekly breakdown by school.
But Hamilton County has chosen not to release numbers for individual schools.
Now Tennessee has worked out details that they believe will ensure student privacy.
Schools with 50 or fewer students will not be included on the site.
And schools reporting under five positive cases will not have the actual number listed.
The district report will include the number of new cases, in-person learning status and whether the system is using the critical infrastructure designation to keep staff members working who have been exposed to the virus, but are not showing symptoms.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) Summers last hurrah will look different this year inside your favorite stores. With prices slashed, retail experts believe Labor Day sales may be a sign of things to come.
WCCO found retailers using the pandemic as a way to plan for a permanent change.
The supply list is much shorter this year for Emma. Shes a third-grader who again will be learning at home.
Yeah, really different, her mom Kamara told us.
Basically just looking for something to create a study space for distance learning, she said.
Kamara admits her spending habits have changed since March. Still, not seeing a time when things return to the way they were.
Kim Sovell teaches marketing at the University of St. Thomas.
Traffic to brick and mortar stores is still down significantly by 43%, Sovell said.
She says open-air shopping centers are doing better than traditional malls. While sales climb at Target and Best Buy, Sovell says department store staples like Macys and Nordstrom face an uncertain future.
Any stores that were in trouble before the shutdown are in worse trouble now, Sovell said.
Sovell points to the steepest discounts on clothing both in-store and online where we found prices 80% off.
Were staying home a lot more and we dont have places to go, Sovell said.
Home items like appliances, electronics and paint have shown the most promise.
Whats really interesting to me is seeing some of the changes with marketing, she added.
Sovells noticed a shift to a message of safety. Its not about what youre buying but how youre doing it these days.
We caught Ann Chase on her first shopping trip beyond the grocery store where she told us shes worried about what choices she may soon have as foreclosures and empty storefronts stack up.
I hope its not a change its kind of heartbreaking when you hear about Burnsville Mall and all these other ones, Chase said.
Sovell told WCCO the holiday shopping season is expected to start earlier and last even longer this year.
She says as consumers long for normalcy, retailers believe they will embrace traditions this holiday like never before
Governor Carney Issues Omnibus Executive Order on COVID-19 Restrictions - State of Delaware News
Read the latest news on coronavirus in Delaware. More Info
Governor Carney Issues Omnibus Executive Order on COVID-19 RestrictionsDate Posted: September 3, 2020
Governor Carney Initiates Justice of the Peace Screening ProcessDate Posted: September 3, 2020
DHSS to Begin Approving Plans for Indoor Visitation at Delawares Long-Term Care FacilitiesDate Posted: September 3, 2020
Attorney General Jennings Fights Trump Administrations Attempts to Reduce Census EffortsDate Posted: September 3, 2020
$21.5 Million in Health Insurance Rebates for Individuals and Small BusinessesDate Posted: September 3, 2020
Governor Carney Formally Extends State of EmergencyDate Posted: September 3, 2020
State of Delaware, U.S. Treasury announce MOU to strengthen information sharingDate Posted: September 2, 2020
West Nile Virus Is Detected in Delaware For First Time This Year in DNRECs Sentinel ChickensDate Posted: September 2, 2020
DHSS Sponsors Recovery Events to Raise Awareness of Support for People Living with Mental, Substance Use DisordersDate Posted: September 2, 2020
Governor Carney, DPH Release New Fall Sports GuidanceDate Posted: September 1, 2020
GovernorCarney Announces Departure of CIO James CollinsDate Posted: September 1, 2020
Governor Carney Requests Federal Disaster Declaration for August StormsDate Posted: September 1, 2020
Delaware Coastal Cleanup Starts TodayDate Posted: September 1, 2020
DNREC to reopen The Point at Cape Henlopen Sept. 1Date Posted: August 31, 2020
September 1, 2020: COVID-19 BriefingDate Posted: August 31, 2020
Delawares 22nd annual Chautauqua: Womens Work: Campaigning for Social Change on Sept. 10, 11, 19 and 20, 2020Date Posted: August 31, 2020
Rates To Decrease In Delaware Affordable Care Act MarketplaceDate Posted: August 31, 2020
New Daily COVID-19 Cases, Recoveries Remain SteadyDate Posted: August 28, 2020
El programa SNAP de Delaware emitir beneficios de emergencia adicionales disponibles a partir del 31 de agostDate Posted: August 28, 2020
Governor Carney to lower Delaware flags at State buildings for Overdose Awareness DayDate Posted: August 28, 2020
Delaware Sends Wildfire Crew to New MexicoDate Posted: August 28, 2020
DNREC to Hold Virtual Public Workshop Sept. 9 to Discuss Delawares Plastic Bag Ban and Regulation DevelopmentDate Posted: August 28, 2020
Delaware Resilience Fund Application OpensDate Posted: August 27, 2020
State Auditor Kathy McGuiness Announces Formation of Auditors Office Follow-Up ProgramDate Posted: August 27, 2020
Delawares SNAP Program Will Issue Additional Emergency Benefits for Use Starting Aug. 31Date Posted: August 27, 2020
Urban forestry director on U.S. Council of 1t.orgDate Posted: August 27, 2020
National Governors Association Chooses Delaware to Participate in Adverse Childhood Experiences Learning CollaborativeDate Posted: August 26, 2020
Governor Carney Signs 25th Modification to State of Emergency DeclarationDate Posted: August 26, 2020
AG Jennings announces Honda airbag settlementDate Posted: August 25, 2020
DNREC Natural Resources Police Make Arrests in Stolen Vessel IncidentDate Posted: August 25, 2020
August 25, 2020: COVID-19 BriefingDate Posted: August 25, 2020
Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) Updates Face Mask Guidance for ChildrenDate Posted: August 24, 2020
Delaware Hunting Seasons Opening in SeptemberDate Posted: August 24, 2020
Governor Carney Announces $20 Million for Broadband InfrastructureDate Posted: August 24, 2020
Weekly COVID-19 Update Aug. 21, 2020: New Daily COVID Cases, Hospitalizations, Recoveries Remain SteadyDate Posted: August 21, 2020
DNREC Lifts Second Recreational Swimming Advisory for Rehoboth BeachDate Posted: August 21, 2020
Governors Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Board Honors County Winners of Video PSA Scholarship ContestDate Posted: August 21, 2020
The Delaware Department of Labor applies for Lost Wage Assistance ProgramDate Posted: August 21, 2020
Governor Carney Creates Resilience Fund to Assist Delawareans Affected by Severe WeatherDate Posted: August 20, 2020
DNREC Issues Recreational Swimming Advisory for Rehoboth BeachDate Posted: August 20, 2020
Delaware Aglands Foundation votes to extend district enrollment for next roundDate Posted: August 19, 2020
State of Delaware, New Castle County Launch $100M Grant Program for Small Businesses and Nonprofits StatewideDate Posted: August 19, 2020
DNREC Offers Compost Bins and Rain Barrels at Discount PricesDate Posted: August 19, 2020
August 19, 2020 COVID19 Press BriefingDate Posted: August 19, 2020
AG Jennings announces suit to protect Postal Service from disruptionsDate Posted: August 18, 2020
Governor Carney Announces Expansion of Dolly Partons Imagination Library StatewideDate Posted: August 17, 2020
Virtual Workshops Set for Delaware Climate Action PlanDate Posted: August 17, 2020
Weekly COVID-19 Update: New Daily COVID Cases Remain Below 100 for the Last Week; Critically Ill DecreasesDate Posted: August 14, 2020
Update on Tropical Storm Response and RecoveryDate Posted: August 14, 2020
Governor Carney Announces Retirement of DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan After 31 Years of State ServiceDate Posted: August 14, 2020
Governor Carney Signs Legislation Banning Use of Chokeholds by Law EnforcementDate Posted: August 13, 2020
DNREC Sinks Ex-Navy and Army Freighter Turned Fishing Fleet Boat Reedville onto Delawares Artificial Reef SystemDate Posted: August 13, 2020
Wastewater, Surface Water and Drinking Water Planning Grant Proposals Now Being Accepted by DNREC, DPHDate Posted: August 12, 2020
State Treasurer Colleen Davis Marks #ABLEtoSave MonthDate Posted: August 12, 2020
Grand Jury Indicts Home Cleaning Service OwnerDate Posted: August 11, 2020
August 11, 2020 COVID19 Press BriefingDate Posted: August 11, 2020
Governor Carney, DSHA, New Castle County Announce $40 Million in Housing AssistanceDate Posted: August 10, 2020
EVENT CHANGE OF VENUEDelawares 2020 Chautauqua changed to virtual formatDate Posted: August 10, 2020
K-5 Family Crisis Therapists Engage Families, Children This SummerDate Posted: August 10, 2020
Regulations That Can Increase Affordability Of Medications AnnouncedDate Posted: August 10, 2020
Weekly COVID-19 Update: Delaware Cases, Recoveries and Deaths Remain Steady; Hospitalizations Continue to DeclineDate Posted: August 7, 2020
DNREC Offers Yard Waste Management Guidance for Debris from Tropical Storm IsaiasDate Posted: August 7, 2020
DNREC Coastal Cleanup Encourages Residents and Visitors to Clean Up Trash Close to HomeDate Posted: August 5, 2020
Governor Carney Formally Extends State of EmergencyDate Posted: August 5, 2020
Important Insurance Reminders After Tropical Storm IsaiasDate Posted: August 5, 2020
Mysterious seeds continue to show up in Delaware mailboxesDate Posted: August 4, 2020
Governor Carney Declares State of Emergency to Coordinate Tropical Storm Response and RecoveryDate Posted: August 4, 2020
Governor Carney Announces Delaware Schools May Open in Hybrid ScenarioDate Posted: August 4, 2020
El programa SNAP de Delaware emite beneficios de emergencia adicionales disponibles a partir del 31 de julioDate Posted: August 4, 2020
Tropical Storm Isaias Damage ReportingDate Posted: August 4, 2020
August 4, 2020 COVID19 Press BriefingDate Posted: August 4, 2020
The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit Tart by Chloe McEldowneyDate Posted: August 4, 2020
Public comment sought for Forest Action PlanDate Posted: August 3, 2020
Tropical Storm Warning for DelawareDate Posted: August 3, 2020
DelDOT Advisory for Tropical Storm ImpactDate Posted: August 3, 2020
DNRECs Basic Hunter Education Course Only Available Online and at No CostDate Posted: August 3, 2020
Governor Carney Creates Workforce Development Program for Unemployed and Underemployed DelawareansDate Posted: August 3, 2020
Navarro Urges Residents to Prepare for Tropical Storm IsaiasDate Posted: August 3, 2020
Delawares SNAP Program Issues Additional Emergency Benefits Available Starting July 31Date Posted: July 31, 2020
Weekly COVID-19 Update: DPH Continues to Announce New Cases, Recoveries, and Deaths; Decline in HospitalizationsDate Posted: July 31, 2020
DNREC Lifts Recreational Swimming Advisory for Rehoboth BeachDate Posted: July 31, 2020
Unemployment Benefits Will Decrease By $600 Per Week After August 1, 2020Date Posted: July 30, 2020
DNREC Young Environmentalists of the Year Announced at Delaware State FairDate Posted: July 30, 2020
DNREC Issues Recreational Swimming Advisory for Rehoboth BeachDate Posted: July 30, 2020
DNREC Extends Public Comment Period Until Aug. 15 on Croda Permit ApplicationDate Posted: July 29, 2020
Division of the Arts Announces 2020 Mid-Atlantic Teaching Artist Virtual RetreatDate Posted: July 29, 2020
Incoming Secretary Magarik Announces Leadership Changes at Department of Health and Social ServicesDate Posted: July 29, 2020
State Auditor McGuiness Announces Creation of a National COVID-19 Data Quality Audit TemplateDate Posted: July 28, 2020
July 28, 2020 COVID19 Press BriefingDate Posted: July 28, 2020
Delawareans report receiving mysterious packages of plant seedsDate Posted: July 27, 2020
GACEC Director on Delmarva Life Speaking About ADA and Deldhub.comDate Posted: July 27, 2020
Public Health Encourages COVID-19 Testing for Attendees of Dover Church, Church ConferencesDate Posted: July 27, 2020
Governor Carney Signs 24th Modification to State of Emergency DeclarationDate Posted: July 24, 2020
Weekly COVID-19 Update: DPH Announces New Cases, Identifies Additional Deaths Through Vital Records ReviewDate Posted: July 24, 2020
Delaware Residents Warned of Unclaimed Property ScamDate Posted: July 23, 2020
GovernorCarney Announces Hall of Fame of Delaware Women Inductees for 2020 and 2021Date Posted: July 23, 2020
Treasurer Davis Urges Change to Protect Financial Freedom of People with DisabilitiesDate Posted: July 23, 2020
DNREC Announces Killens Pond State Park Water Park to Reopen Friday After Cleaning, Negative TestsDate Posted: July 23, 2020
2020 has been remarkably stressful from the fear of nuclear war to a presidential impeachment to a pandemic that has killed more than 186,000 Americans as of September 3. And lets not forget the record unemployment, the school closures, the police killing of George Floyd and other people of color, the months of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and accelerating climate change.
Many Americans are understandably feeling anxious about this cascade of events on top of any stressors they may have already been dealing with. The technical term is, Its a lot, says Linda Goler Blount, president and CEO of the Black Womens Health Imperative.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of 5,412 people in late June found that 31 percent were experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, about three times the number of respondents who said the same in the first two quarters of 2019. Another 26 percent reported symptoms of a trauma- or stressor-related disorder. Eleven percent of people said they had seriously considered suicide in the previous 30 days.
Now some researchers are asking if stress especially chronic stress might be another preexisting condition that makes Covid-19 infections worse.
Our bodies have evolved to respond in the moment to stressful situations, both physical and emotional. This is often called the fight-or-flight response, and it helps us react quickly to danger. But when this becomes a long-term response, these involuntary reactions can be harmful.
There isnt a single agreed-upon definition of what chronic means, though some researchers think stress that persists for weeks or months likely qualifies. Generally, People thinking about something consistently over time qualifies as a chronic stressor, says Paula Braveman, director of the Center on Social Disparities in Health at the University of California San Francisco.
Other researchers say an important feature of chronic stress is its instability, of not knowing whether or when the stressor will end. (The pandemic seems to fit the bill.) Still others define it as the bodys inability to return to base level amounts of important hormones, often developing a new, elevated normal for stress hormones such as cortisol.
Cortisol is an important part of the stress response, and new research suggests cortisol levels appear to impact the severity of Covid-19. Theres still a lot we dont understand about the relationship between the two, but clinical trials of a Covid-19 treatment using dexamethasone a drug that reduces the bodys natural cortisol production, as well as inflammation has been found to help critically ill patients.
High levels of cortisol are associated with poor [Covid-19] outcomes, and drugs that block the hormone seem to improve outcomes, says Kavita Vedhara, a University of Nottingham professor of health psychology who is conducting an ongoing study on Covid-19 and stress. Vedhara says that while further research is needed, she wouldnt be surprised if chronic stress was found to be a risk factor for a severe case of Covid-19. It fits with what we know about psychological stress generally, and in particular the evidence on stress and other viral infections, she added.
Understanding how stress impacts Covid-19 could hold clues for preventing or reducing the severity of infections, as well as responding to the inequities that put some racial and minorities groups at greater risk.
Fifty years of research on stress suggests it has a profound effect on the body, influencing everything from memory to the way the body stores fat. Its even been found to cause structural changes in the brain.
In general, Chronic stress wears the body down, says Kathryn Freeman Anderson, a sociology professor at the University of Houston. Over time, stress keeps the body locked into a heightened response, resulting in damage somewhat similar to an engine idling for too long.
Prolonged stress also weakens the immune system. In 1991, scientists studying the relationship between psychological stress and immune response intentionally exposed 394 healthy participants to one of five respiratory viruses, including a coronavirus. The subjects were then quarantined and monitored. Even after controlling for factors like age, sex, education, weight, and prior antibody status, the researchers found that a persons underlying stress levels were associated with an increased risk of getting sick. Since then, dozens of studies have shown that chronic stress increases the risk of not only catching the common cold but also developing conditions such as asthma and Alzheimers disease, among others.
Chronic stress can also make vaccines less effective. One study compared the vaccine responses of 32 caregivers of a spouse with dementia a role associated with chronic stress against 32 subjects in a control group. After vaccinating both groups against influenza, the researchers found that the caregivers stress was associated with a lowered antibody response, meaning less protection against the flu.
Conversely, in 2018, Vedhara designed an experiment for 138 older adults to see whether a positive mood could have a protective effect. For two weeks before and four weeks after their annual flu shot, participants self-reported how they felt using a diary. Vedhara found that psychological influences, including stress and mood, influenced participants antibody response. (Stress responses are often measured by observing specific emotional states.)
Vedhara found that if participants felt unstressed and upbeat, particularly on the day they were vaccinated, the vaccine worked better. The effect on antibody production was about as large as the effect of statins on cardiovascular events. These are very tangible, very profound effects, Vedhara says.
Similar results have also been seen in young people: A 2018 study of 83 undergraduates found that people with a positive affect feelings of happiness and positivity had better antibody responses to a vaccination. Affects, or observable emotions, are impacted by stress, both for better and worse.
One study found that people who had a negative affect in response to daily stressors over the course of a week meaning they dont recover well from daily stress had poorer physical health in the long term. Another study of 8,542 participants found that a positive affect not only helped reduce the damaging effects of stress but was also associated with lower mortality rates. Further research is needed into what actually causes these differences. It may be for both behavioral and neurobiological reasons; when stressed, people might behave in ways that hurt the immune system, such as by drinking alcohol or not getting enough sleep.
But stress also influences the concentration of many hormones, including cortisol, that impact the production of antibodies. During the fight-or-flight response, the brain activates a network that includes the pituitary and adrenal glands. These glands release cortisol and other hormones that keep the body on high alert. But cortisol also turns out to have a surprising place in the immune system: Most immune cells also have a receptor for it. This means theres a direct mechanism by which cortisol can regulate immune cells and our immune system, Vedhara says.
When people have chronically high levels of cortisol from being stressed, they end up with lots of inflammatory cytokines. High levels of cytokines have also been noted in severe cases of Covid-19, as have lower levels of lymphocytes, the white blood cells that help fight infections.
Scientists are looking for other direct relationships between chronic stress and Covid-19. Besides cortisol, other important hormones, including one called Ang-II, are impacted by stress; Elevated levels of Ang-II have already been associated with severe Covid-19 cases.
Although most of us have experienced more stress this year, chronic stress, like so much else, tends to affect some individuals, like people of color, more than others.
In April, during the early stages of Covid-19, Vedhara found that Black, Asian, and other ethnic minorities in the UK reported feeling more stressed than white people, even after accounting for age, gender, and working situation. These same communities also reported disproportionate deaths from Covid-19.
According to CDC data, Blacks, Native Americans, and Latinos all have age-adjusted hospitalization rates around 4.7 times higher than the rate of white people. A Black person with Covid-19 is almost four times more likely than a white person to die from it.
Goler Blount says its frustrating that the data is often reported without context. Its not because theyre Black, its because of the experience of being Black, Goler Blount says.
Discrimination doesnt stay in the realm of mental health, says Anderson. We can actually measure the physical impact on the body. In the 1990s, public health researcher Arline Geronimus studied what the experience of racism does to the body and found that racial inequalities not explained by poverty existed across a range of biological systems. She called the health consequences of the large and small stresses caused by racism weathering and this kind of erosion is more than a metaphor.
Multiple studies show that an experience of discrimination increases cortisol levels, and the effects accumulate over a lifetime.
Chronic stress can start damaging health and affecting gene expression even before birth. A number of studies have linked stress with shorter telomeres, a protective casing at the end of DNA strands that is diminished each time a cell divides. Shortened telomeres have been linked to increased disease and shorter lifespan.
Though telomeres can be repaired by an enzyme called telomerase, stress and cortisol exposure reduces the bodys supply of the enzyme. One study found that the higher a mothers prenatal anxiety, the shorter her babys telomeres were, raising questions about whether stress risks can be inherited. If true, this might amplify the disproportionate effect chronic stress has on people of color.
Another line of research has shown that if young people experience systemic discrimination, it can trigger higher levels of cytokines, magnifying the impact of future stress on their health. A study by the Yale School of Public Health found that by middle age, women who had frequent experiences with discrimination had significantly higher levels of visceral fat, putting them at higher risk for serious conditions such as heart disease and diabetes (two risk factors for severe Covid-19). In older adults, stress changes the levels of hormones involved with blood pressure and contribute to hypertension, another risk factor for Covid-19.
Its not just the experience of discrimination, but also the fear and anticipation of racism that cause harm. The vigilance, the concern itself is a strain on the body, says Brenda Major, a professor and social psychologist at the University of California Santa Barbara. She says the recent videos and other coverage of police killings and protests against police brutality are themselves a source of stress. Reading about people like you being shot and killed can itself heighten concern, fear, and vigilance, says Major.
UCSFs Braveman says chronic stress is also structural, tied to how we track people into unhealthy places and expose them to unhealthy conditions over their lifetimes. She says the US culture perpetuates racism and its stress even when there is not a particular individual intending to discriminate.
We dont have to look far for examples of how communities of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental pollutants like cancer-causing chemicals and fine particulate matter that can cause respiratory illnesses, as well as a higher risk of natural disasters environments that are often sources of stress themselves, as well as an indirect stress when friends and family become ill. This is literally the environmental impact on us, and its how our bodies are responding, says Goler Blount.
To better understand how stress both recent and long-term might be impacting individuals risk for Covid-19, many researchers are conducting experiments.
Following up on her April survey of almost 4,000 people in the UK and New Zealand, Vedhara is now asking participants to send in a small hair sample. Shell use this to measure cortisol, investigating how self-reported mental health over the course of the pandemic results in measurable physical changes. Shell also look to see whether cortisol levels are associated with being infected with Covid-19 and the severity of illness.
Already, other research suggests that cortisol is tied to worse Covid-19 outcomes. In a recent study of 535 people published in The Lancet those with confirmed cases of Covid-19 had much higher levels of cortisol than those who did not. After taking measurements within 48 hours of being admitted to the hospital, the scientists found that a doubling of cortisol concentration was associated with a 42 percent increase in mortality.
More research is needed, but in the meantime, Vedhara notes that while the known risk factors for severe Covid-19 cases age, ethnicity, and preexisting conditions are largely out of our control, there are ways to improve mental health. We dont know yet how much reducing stress might help protect against severe Covid-19, but there may be measures that can be used now to reduce anxiety overall.
Understanding the source of stress can be helpful in figuring out how to manage it. The first step is to understand what is giving rise to those negative feelings, Vedhara says. Some stress is emotion-focused like the ongoing uncertainty of when the pandemic will end and can be reduced through skills like mindfulness. For instance, when patients with colorectal cancer meditated at the beginning of chemotherapy treatments, it improved their cortisol response.
But changing personal behavior cannot combat structural sources of stress. (Meditation is certainly not a cure for the stress of systemic discrimination.)
One of the most striking features of [self-reported stress in April], Vedhara says, is that it was strongly related to how much people were worried about contracting Covid-19.
A recent study suggests the high numbers of Black, Latinx, and Asian people dying from Covid-19 might actually be an underestimate. Goler Blount says a Black Womens Health Imperative analysis found that in the next three years, every Black person in the US will lose someone they know to Covid-19 or its long-term consequences. Vedhara suggests this demonstrates a need for more effective public health interventions, rather than psychological ones.
As the pandemic continues to take thousands of American lives each day and as other economic, safety, and logistical stresses mount Goler Blount says stress is only accumulating. All these things are connected. We are here, all in the middle of this, grieving.
Lois Parshley is a freelance investigative journalist. Follow her Covid-19 reporting on Twitter @loisparshley.
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IOWA CITY With the long Labor Day holiday upcoming and Johnson County continuing to add new COVID-19 cases in the triple digits each day, a University of Iowa Health Care epidemiologist said Thursday hes worried about students spreading the infection to other communities.
I am not very concerned about the possibility of (students) going places and bringing COVID (back) because the incidence of COVID in Iowa City and Johnson County, especially among that age group, is so high its one of the highest in the country, Jorge Salinas, infectious disease specialist and head of epidemiology at UI Hospitals and Clinics, told reporters Thursday.
The greatest risk is actually of them carrying COVID to wherever they go.
Through Wednesday, 1,142 students and 16 employees at the UI had self-reported a positive COVID-19 test this semester, which began only last week. That included 220 since just Monday exemplifying the rampant spread among the countys younger population, which swelled this month when the UI brought tens of thousands of students and faculty back to campus.
Salinas said hes hopeful UIHC which has been testing many UI students experienced a peak in infected young people about a week ago.
Since then the number of cases has decreased to some degree, but we are still hovering over nearly 100 positive cases a day, which is still a very large number, he said. So the numbers have decreased some. Some could see that as some good news. They have stopped increasing But they are still at a relatively high number. One hundred is still a meaningful number.
Johnson County on Thursday reported another 108 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period continuing its now nine-day streak of triple-digit increases. Its seven-day average sits at 159 a day after its peak of 338 new cases one Aug. 26 alone, just two days after the start of the semester.
While UI administrators opted to keep this falls academic calendar unchanged starting Aug. 24 and finishing Dec. 18, although moving everyone online after Thanksgiving Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa started a week sooner on Aug. 17 in hopes of finishing the fall term entirely the day before Thanksgiving.
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In making that change, ISU and UNI nixed the Labor Day holiday and said students will have class. But UI students still have the day off, and Salinas warned them to remember theyre coming from a COVID-19 hotbed and to be cautious about where they go and who they see.
They should be extra careful about the way they socialize in the next few days, he said. They have to be extra careful about visiting their family. They should avoid visiting their family if possible, especially if those people that they were planning on visiting may include persons that are older than 50 or may have chronic medical conditions.
Specifically, Salinas urged avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people; convening outdoors if you must get together; wearing a mask; and staying at least 6 feet away from others.
If we all practice those recommendations, its pretty clear that the incidence of COVID in Johnson County and all of Iowa could decrease in the next few weeks, he said. Thats what is so interesting about the epidemiology and the prevention of COVID. We know the tools. We know what works. We just need to work together. If we work together as a society, we exercise solidarity, we can bring the numbers down.
A recent White House coronavirus task force report recommended Iowa as a red zone state take a number of mitigation measures including enacting a statewide mask mandate and ramping up testing in university communities.
When asked about state and local officials rebuffing some of those recommendations, Salinas said hes hopeful federal, state and local leaders will take seriously public health and scientific guidance.
Im hopeful that they will continue monitoring the trends of COVID, and that they will continue evaluating and hopefully implementing some of the recommendations that are coming from experts, he said.
While Iowa City has enacted a mask mandate, there is no statewide rule. And unlike Iowa State University, the UI did not require students to get tested before moving into residence halls.
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Salinas said typical student activities and experiences can serve as super-spreaders for COVID-19 like Greek events, bar hopping and house parties and he said shutting those down for the time being can only help. Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered bars in six counties including those in Iowa City to close until at least Sept. 20.
But with some members of the UI community continuing to demand administrators move all courses online, Salinas said the time might have passed for any benefit of doing so.
If the students were not here, yes it could decrease the incidence here in Johnson County, he said. However, now we know that many of them carry the virus and what we would be doing is transferring the virus to other locations. So the problem has changed, has evolved, has become a bit more complex. Asking students to leave town would not necessarily decrease our overall incidence as a state.
But going online only for colleges that have not yet started back, which includes Mount Mercy University and Cornell College, could prove helpful in curbing the spread, Salinas said.
And Iowas campuses will have to consider lessons from this fall in deciding how to proceed in the spring, he said.
Its very clear that many colleges are learning from the experiences that they are going through, Salinas said. And its very clear that these experiences will influence the way things are done in the future.
Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com
Milwaukee County has seen a six-week decline in positive COVID-19 cases, signaling that measures taken by the county and theCity of Milwaukee could be helping slow the spread of the disease.
"I definitely believe that the mask ordinance is helping," said city Commissioner of Health Jeanette Kowalik. "When you look at other communities across the country, you could see the rates were better than the ones that didn't have them."
Though Kowalik did also credit other efforts, she put an emphasis on the city's mask mandate, which went into effect July 16.
A downward trend in average new positive cases per day began around the same time. The seven-day average in Milwaukee was at one of itshighest points July 11 at about 197 positive cases per day.The average has continued to drop every week since then withthe seven-day average at about 46 positive cases per day as of the end of last week.
As of Thursday, however, the city was not at a point where it met the threshold for loosening up any restrictions, according to the health department's onlinecriteria for phased reopening.
The focus on enforcingthe face mask ordinance in Milwaukee has been on businesses. Kowalik said shelooked atother cities and saw mask ordinances, and the ruleswere not equallyapplied when enforced on citizens.
"With businesses, we're not just targeting a certain part of town," she said. "Most of the initial discussions are related to complaints. We have teams of food inspectors who are assigned various zones, and they see violations."
As of Aug. 25, 25 businesses have been warned of violating the city mask ordinance. Fiesta Cafe, S.1407 FirstSt., was issued three citations at $500 each for violating the city face mask ordinance.
City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik holds a sign from the 1940s while speaking at a Public Safety and Health Committee meeting about coronavirus preparations March 5 at City Hall.(Photo: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Along with the mask ordinance, the city's Common Council also voted to provide free face masks for citizens.
The health department's goal is to give every personinMilwaukee three to seven washable, cloth face masks.
The masks have a city logo on them and areproduced by a combination of local and national vendors.
While Kowalik said face masks are helping, national disease experts are cautious to make the direct connection.
"It is hard to find these causal relationships,"Nasia Safdar, a professor of infectious diseases at University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the Journal Sentinel.
Safdar said wearing masks should be considered along with other measures, such as whether people are physically distancing or staying homeand if people are wearing masks properly.
Kowalik also said a combination of things could be helping.
Milwaukee businesses will be required to meet safety standards laid out by the health department. Early adapters of these standards have been ableto open their business at full capacity, while other businesses have had to stay at the city's required 50% capacity.
Messaging has also been key.
"I think at this point messaging is where it needs to be versus where it was in April," she said.
The city has been able to provide more messages to groups that speak different languages, like the Hmong community and various Latino communities. Information instructspeople to wear face masks, remember to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces.
Kowalik noted that people also have been distancing better when at parks and other places around the city.
Still, she said, she thinks the face mask ordinance has been a big help in decreasing daily cases.
"We don't have timefor a full gold standard study," she said. "By all means academics should run studies while we're doing the work. On the ground, we need less talk, more action."
With summer coming to an end, Kowalik is concerned about an increase in COVID-19 cases as people are forced inside.
"I am extremely concerned about that," she said. "Limiting how many people are in enclosed space is going to be important."
"Cleaning high touch areas, wiping down after each use, hand washing or using sanitizer when you don't have access to a sink" are ways to stay safe when spending more time indoors, Kowalik said.
The health department is also working to keep testing for COVID-19 at a high capacity.
Kowalik spoke out against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new testing guidelines that say only symptomatic people need testing. It is important for those exposed to COVID-19 to get testing even if they are asymptomatic, Kowalik said, for tracking purposes.
More: This change in policy will kill: Experts troubled by CDC changes to COVID-19 testing guidelines
The city health department is working on having two COVID-19 testing sites put in place in October in case the National Guard testing sites go away, as planned.
Kowalik will be leaving the department for a job with a national health policy group in Washington, D.C. She said the Milwaukee Health Department is left in good hands, but still has some work to do.
Kowalik also gave a warning for people to be cautious over the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
"I know we miss loving on one another, but be mindful in interactions and do things in a distanced way," Kowalik said. "And wear a mask."
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Successfully rolling out a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 1 will rely on clinical trials conducted at unprecedented speed, coupled with public release of research that shows it is both safe and effective, experts say.
Reaction to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's letter to states to prepare for "large-scale" distribution of the vaccine in November specifically, two days before the presidential election triggered swift concern that political pressure could override commitments to safety.
"I want to see the data," said Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "I need to show that there is true efficacy and safety."
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Having a vaccine ready for potential distribution to select groups of high-risk people or front-line health care workers by November will rely on phase 3 clinical trials that started enrolling human volunteers in July.
It's possible that the Data and Safety Monitoring Board, which is run by the National Institutes of Health, could stop the trials early if it's determined that the vaccine works, said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "It's rare, but it does happen," he said.
Doctors will insist on seeing the full data and will demand that the information come from those in the scientific community.
"I want the physician scientists and not the political leadership to make these decisions," said Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
"If it's made from the Oval Office," Nissen said, "there's going to be a lot of skepticism."
The necessary large-scale clinical trials needed to show that a vaccine works are underway, with tens of thousands of volunteers in the United States. Drug manufacturers have committed to produce millions of doses of their vaccines before they even know whether they work.
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To show that a vaccine is effective, clinical trials need people who have been infected with the coronavirus. Not thousands of people just 150.
"When you get that many infections, you will know whether the vaccine works or does not work," Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told NBC News on Thursday.
Vaccine manufacturers have a goal of enrolling at least 30,000 study participants, some of whom would get the vaccine and others of whom would get a placebo. But it takes only 150 of those people to become infected for researchers to learn whether the shot offers some protection.
"If you have 100 infections in the placebo group and 50 in the vaccinated group, that would suggest that the effectiveness of the vaccine is 50 percent," said Dr. Walter Orenstein, associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center and a professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine.
The Food and Drug Administration has said an effective vaccine needs to protect only 50 percent of people to be considered effective.
At least one of the leading vaccine candidates could be on target to have such data before Nov. 1.
On Thursday, Pfizer's chief operating officer, Albert Bourla, said the company could have results from its phase 3 trial as early as next month.
"By the end of October, we should be able to have enough events to say if the product works," Bourla said during a meeting with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, a trade group. "Events," in this case, refers to infections.
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Fauci said he "would not be overly surprised" if a vaccine were announced this fall.
"The projection would be that by the end of November or December of this calendar year that we would have an answer whether or not we have a safe and effective vaccine that's approvable," Fauci said.
"Is it possible that it could be before then? The answer is yes. I think it's unlikely, but I think it's possible," he added.
Logging just 150 infections to determine efficacy is unlikely to prove the safety of a vaccine, experts say, which is why continued scientific scrutiny is key. One of the reasons phase 3 clinical trials usually enroll many thousands of people is to tease out those rare adverse events.
"We need to have good, ongoing surveillance to determine whether there are safety problems," Orenstein said. "It's extremely important to have good follow-up."
New vaccines must be rigorously tested to ensure safety. The consequences of not so doing can be devastating: In the 1970s, the U.S. pushed hard for quick work on a flu vaccine, which was later linked to hundreds of cases of Guillain-Barr syndrome, a type of paralysis.
Beyond any evidence of efficacy, trials must answer questions about how a vaccine works in certain populations.
Both the FDA and the CDC have monitoring services to track how people react to vaccines after they've been approved for use.
"It's always a matter of weighing risk versus benefits," Offit said. "There is no such thing as absolute safety when it comes to medicine."
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The COVID-19 vaccine may become available before the end of the year a long awaited milestone in the coronavirus pandemic for some, and a source of worry for others.
More than a third of Americans, 35%, said they wouldnt get a free U.S. government-approved vaccine if it were ready today, according to a recent Gallup survey.
Previous polls found many people who were reluctant to get immunized worried about the safety of a vaccine thats being developed with unprecedented speed.
But lots of people opting out would delay herd immunity, so some officials support compulsory immunizations. Australias prime minister last month suggested the vaccine would be mandatory in his country, but later backtracked on those comments.
In Virginia, the health commissioner said he planned on mandating the vaccine, but a spokeswoman for the states governor later said there were no plans to do so, local media reported.
So can the federal government require Americans to get the shot?
A key member of the White House coronavirus task force assured it wont happen. Dr. Anthony Fauci said he would definitely not support a nationwide mandate of the COVID-19 vaccine.
You don't want to mandate and try and force anyone to take the vaccine. We've never done that. You can mandate for certain groups of people like health workers, but for the general population you cannot, Fauci said last month.
We don't want to be mandating from the federal government to the general population. It would be unenforceable and not appropriate.
Its a different story for orders issued by states, cities or businesses, but even then, mandatory vaccination wouldnt be forced vaccination.
Nobody's talking about coming to your house, holding you down and vaccinating you, Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, told TODAY.
Refusing to follow a mandate could mean a fine, tax or other penalty, said Reiss, who studies legal and policy issues related to vaccines.
Heres what to know about the COVID-19 vaccine and U.S. law:
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Almost certainly not, Reiss said. It has limited powers expressly spelled out in the Constitution; the rest belong to the states.
But the federal government has some ways to get people to vaccinate, imposing it as a condition of getting a passport, for example.
That hasnt happened before, but such a requirement would be within the federal governments powers, Reiss noted.
States have the authority to regulate public health and they have in the past mandated vaccines. The classic case in this area of law, Jacobson v. Massachusetts in 1905, was decided by the Supreme Court after a smallpox outbreak.
Cities have powers, too: In 2019, New York City required people living in four ZIP codes in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to get the measles vaccine, prove they've already had it or face a $1,000 fine.
But any vaccine mandates must reasonable, proportional and enforced in a nondiscriminatory fashion, Reiss said. She expected COVID-19 hot spots would make the vaccine a requirement for its residents.
Yes, health workers are the classic example. Hospitals often require some staff to get a flu or hepatitis B vaccine.
Universities may mandate students, faculty and staff to be immunized for certain diseases before coming on campus. Schools may have the same requirements for children.
Yes, with some exceptions.
It's perfectly legitimate for an employer to regulate to make the workplace safer, Reiss said. They can certainly fire you if you don't want to follow health and safety rules.
Employees who are part of a union may be exempt from the vaccine requirement.
Anti-discrimination laws also provide some limits. If you cant get the vaccine for medical reasons, that could be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which would require an employer to accommodate you. That could mean requiring you to wear a mask on the job or have limited contact with other people, Reiss said.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 may protect people who have a religious objection to a vaccine. An employer would have to make a reasonable accommodation as long as its not too costly for the business.
These laws apply only to companies with 15 or more employees, so smaller businesses are exempt.
We think about employers as this huge, amorphous thing, but under the law, theyre also private entities with rights, especially if it's a small mom and pop shop, Reiss noted.
Yes, within the anti-discrimination laws mentioned above.
They can decide to refuse service to you for pretty much any reason, Reiss said, pointing out a policy most shoppers are already familiar with: no shirt, no shoes, no service.
People who are covered by anti-discrimination laws cant just demand a business let them do whatever they want. The company just has to give you a reasonable accommodation, so a store might refuse you entry but offer curbside pick-up of groceries.
Given the backlash against wearing masks, Reiss suspected many businesses wont have a vaccine mandate because it's difficult to enforce.
There are people who don't like mandates, period, and they won't like this either, Reiss said.
I expect there are also going to be a lot of workers who are grateful that their employer is trying to make the place safer for themselves and others.
Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday the state would be ready to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine if it's ready as soon as Nov. 1, but he personally thinks a vaccine won't be available until later.>> Download the FREE WMUR appThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the country to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as early as late October, although most health experts believe a safe and effective vaccine would not be ready that soon.>> Latest coronavirus coverage from WMURSununu said he believes the advisory was made to ensure that states would be ready for a vaccine whenever it's ready. He said he believes it's more likely that a vaccine won't be ready until the end of the year or earlier next year at the earliest."If it comes early November, we will be ready," Sununu said. "I more anticipate it being some time around the Christmas time frame, early next year, something like that. We just don't know.">> COVID-19 in New Hampshire: Important informationThe governor said a lot of questions remain about how a vaccine would be distributed. There is no vaccine yet, and there's no indication how many doses would be immediately available. He said it's likely the vaccine would have to be prioritized to vulnerable populations."I think some of the bigger questions we're all waiting to see will be how much will be available, how fast," Sununu said. "We're already looking at assuming we might have to prioritize if they don't give us 1.35 million sets of the vaccine on day one."Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette said New Hampshire has been planning how to handle a vaccine since June. She said the state has undertaken other vaccination programs in the past, though nothing as large-scale as a COVID-19 vaccination effort would be.Shibinette said that once a vaccine is available, the state would likely distribute it to public clinics and directly to health care providers and long-term care facilities. She said a nursing home might be sent enough doses to vaccinate its own residents and staff members."I think it's probably going to take more than three months to get through that full process of who we're vaccinating first and getting the first phase done and getting to the second phase," she said. "It is not vaccinating 1.3 million people in 30 days. This is going to take multiple months to complete."The CDC advisory raised concerns that the Trump administration is trying to make an announcement about a vaccine before Election Day for political reasons. Sununu said he doesn't believe vaccine development is being politicized, and experts have noted that pandemic planning exercises have included recommendations that a distribution network be prepared while scientists work on a vaccine.** Town-by-town COVID-19 case data: Interactive map | Text-only list **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
Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday the state would be ready to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine if it's ready as soon as Nov. 1, but he personally thinks a vaccine won't be available until later.
>> Download the FREE WMUR app
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the country to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as early as late October, although most health experts believe a safe and effective vaccine would not be ready that soon.
>> Latest coronavirus coverage from WMUR
Sununu said he believes the advisory was made to ensure that states would be ready for a vaccine whenever it's ready. He said he believes it's more likely that a vaccine won't be ready until the end of the year or earlier next year at the earliest.
"If it comes early November, we will be ready," Sununu said. "I more anticipate it being some time around the Christmas time frame, early next year, something like that. We just don't know."
>> COVID-19 in New Hampshire: Important information
The governor said a lot of questions remain about how a vaccine would be distributed. There is no vaccine yet, and there's no indication how many doses would be immediately available. He said it's likely the vaccine would have to be prioritized to vulnerable populations.
"I think some of the bigger questions we're all waiting to see will be how much will be available, how fast," Sununu said. "We're already looking at assuming we might have to prioritize if they don't give us 1.35 million sets of the vaccine on day one."
Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette said New Hampshire has been planning how to handle a vaccine since June. She said the state has undertaken other vaccination programs in the past, though nothing as large-scale as a COVID-19 vaccination effort would be.
Shibinette said that once a vaccine is available, the state would likely distribute it to public clinics and directly to health care providers and long-term care facilities. She said a nursing home might be sent enough doses to vaccinate its own residents and staff members.
"I think it's probably going to take more than three months to get through that full process of who we're vaccinating first and getting the first phase done and getting to the second phase," she said. "It is not vaccinating 1.3 million people in 30 days. This is going to take multiple months to complete."
The CDC advisory raised concerns that the Trump administration is trying to make an announcement about a vaccine before Election Day for political reasons. Sununu said he doesn't believe vaccine development is being politicized, and experts have noted that pandemic planning exercises have included recommendations that a distribution network be prepared while scientists work on a vaccine.
** Town-by-town COVID-19 case data: Interactive map | Text-only list **
