E. LANSING, MI -- The Gym 24/7 Fitness in Alma closed in March of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic swept through Michigan.
Despite an executive order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that required gyms, fitness centers and many other public-facing businesses to close, The Gym reopened in early May.
We have the ability to open up, so were going to open up, owner Randy Clark said in a video posted to Facebook.
Alma police were there before the morning was out, telling them they would need to close. The Gyms owners filed a lawsuit, setting up a GoFundMe request titled Help Us Fight Government Tyranny.
The Gyms case was one of two heard Wednesday by the Michigan Supreme Court concerning whether businesses forced to close or restrict operations in the first months of the pandemic deserved to be compensated.
We have said over and over at every stage of this litigation that the government can take, said Philip Ellison, an attorney representing The Gym, but if theyre going to take, they have to pay.
The second case was filed by Mount Clemens Recreational Bowl, Inc., KMI Inc. and Mirage Catering, Inc., which operate bars, restaurants and catering businesses in Macomb County.
The court wont decide whether the state is liable for damages, but whether the plaintiffs will have the opportunity to present evidence of their losses and scrutinize the states rationales for the shut down.
The Court of Claims found that The Gyms case could go forward, but the state Court of Appeals overturned that decision, finding that there is no allegation or evidence that the Gym suffered a total loss or the complete elimination or obliteration of value because of the executive orders, that the relatively short duration of the closures pushed against a ruling that they had been an unjust taking of The Gyms property and that the governments interest in preventing the spread of COVID was a compelling one.
The appellate court also noted that to the best of our knowledge, every federal court and state appellate court that has addressed a takings claim stemming from the governments closure of a business as a safeguard against the spread of COVID-19 has rejected the claim.
The case of the Macomb County businesses was summarily dismissed on the basis of the decision in The Gym case.
Arguing in front of the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, Michigan Solicitor General Ann Sherman emphasized the powers granted to the state in a situation like the COVID pandemic.
When the state acts out of necessity to protect against a grave threat to public health, its not a taking, and it removes these inquiries from the takings analysis, she said. Its not surprising that nearly every court nationwide has rejected the novel theory of taking in the context of COVID-19. Michigans departure from this wisdom would make it a national outlier.
But Justice David Viviano pressed Sherman on why the governments determination that the closures were necessary shouldnt be subject to review by a court.
What if the government said it was an emergency, but it wasnt? he asked. Or maybe it was initially but then it stopped but then the regulations continued for years and years and years? Does the government just get to show up and say it was an emergency, and therefore youre out of luck?
Justin Majewski, an attorney representing the three Macomb County businesses, argued that, under federal law, the determination of what constitutes an unjust taking relies heavily on the specific facts of a case and the specific burdens placed on a private property rights.
Rejecting his clients case based on the ruling in The Gyms lawsuit goes against that, he said.
But Sherman reiterated the argument that there is no right for a business to continue operating when the state has acted and exercised its police power in a grave emergency,
No amount of discovery would change that conclusion as a matter of law, she said.
The Court will rule on both cases prior to the end of its term on July 31.
Read more at MLive:
Michigan Supreme Court decision could raise the minimum wage to $13, require paid time off
Former Beaumont CEO John Fox received $10 million exit package after Spectrum merger
Why a Michigan company of Native soldiers fought for a country that denied them citizenship
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A new study suggests once developed, having a universal vaccine in advance of the next coronavirus epidemic/pandemic can save up to 7 million hospitalizations and 2 million deaths even when it is the only intervention being implemented and its efficacy is as low as 10%.
NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- What if scientists had developed a universal coronavirus vaccine in the years prior to 2020 so that it was available at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic? A universal coronavirus vaccine targets parts of the virus that are common to either many or all coronaviruses, thereby offering some degree of protection against a range of strains. A new study suggests if such a vaccine were available at the start of the pandemic, it could have saved millions of lives, prevented suffering, and saved billions of dollars in direct medical and other costs until the strain-specific (i.e., SARS-CoV-2) vaccine went through the entire development, testing, and emergency use authorization process that lasted 10 months.
In the study, researchers from the Public Health Informatics, Computational and Operations Research (PHICOR) group, the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), and the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) show that having a universal vaccine at the start of the pandemic would have had substantial health and economic benefits under almost all scenarios tested. The study will go live Jan. 11 at 9 a.m. in the Lancet's eClinicalMedicine: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00546-1/fulltext
In order to determine the value of investing in developing and stockpiling a universal coronavirus vaccine, the team developed a computational model that simulated the entire U.S. population, the introduction and spread of a novel coronavirus like SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 and the resulting health (e.g., infections, hospitalizations) and economic (e.g., direct medical costs, productivity losses) outcomes. The experiments simulated what would happen if a universal coronavirus vaccine was available at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vaccinating with a universal coronavirus vaccine as a standalone intervention (e.g., no face mask use or social distancing) was cost-saving even when its efficacy was as low as 10% and only 10% of the U.S. population received the vaccine. For example, when a universal coronavirus vaccine has 10% efficacy, vaccinating a quarter of the U.S. population within two months of the start of the pandemic averts an average of 14.6 million infections and saves over $27 billion in direct medical costs. Such low vaccine coverage at the start of the pandemic could occur if a vaccine were only made available to certain high-risk subpopulations (e.g., 65 years and older, those with weakened immune systems, frontline workers), similar to the approach when mRNA vaccines became available in December 2020.
"COVID-19 was the third major and serious coronavirus epidemic or pandemic following SARS in 2002 and MERS in 2012, thus, we should anticipate a fourth coronavirus outbreak within the next decade or so," says Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, dean of Baylor's National School of Tropical Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. "A universal vaccine is cost-effective and cost-saving and a priority for advancement."
A universal coronavirus vaccine was also shown to be highly cost-effective even if a more specific and more efficacious vaccine came to market. For example, the study shows if it takes four months or longer for a strain-specific vaccine to reach the market, using a universal vaccine was still cost-saving. In a scenario where a strain-specific vaccine has 90% efficacy but is unavailable for two months after the start of the pandemic, the results from the model show that vaccinating only 10% of the population with a universal vaccine that has 10% efficacy at the start of the pandemic can save over $2 billion in societal costs (e.g., direct medical costs and productivity losses from absenteeism). Given the time required to develop a strain-specific vaccine during a pandemic to match circulating strains of the virus, this highlights the importance of having a universal vaccine readily available as a stopgap.
"Our study shows the importance of giving as many people as possible in a population at least some degree of immune protection as soon as possible," explains Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA, executive director of PHICOR and professor at CUNY SPH. "Having a universal vaccine developed, stockpiled, and ready to go in the event of a pandemic could be a game-changer even if a more specific vaccine could be developedthree to four months later."
Generally, results from the model found that a universal vaccine would end up saving money if the cost to get a person vaccinated (e.g., cost of the vaccine itself, distribution, administration, storage, research, and development) is as high as $10,390 from a societal perspective.
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation proposal number 2054858, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) via grant 1R01HS028165-01, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences as part of the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study network under grants R01GM127512 and 3R01GM127512-01A1S1, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health via award number U54TR004279, the National Institute of Allergy And Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P01AI172725, and by the City University of New York (CUNY) in support of the Pandemic Response Institute (PRI). Statements in the manuscript do not necessarily represent the official views of, or imply endorsement by, the National Institute of Health, AHRQ, the US Department of Health and Human Services, CUNY, or the PRI.
About CUNY SPH
CUNY SPH is committed to teaching, research, and service that creates a healthier New York City and helps promote equitable, efficient, and evidence-based solutions to pressing health problems facing cities around the world.
About PHICOR
Since 2007, PHICOR (www.PHICOR.org) has been developing computational methods, models, and tools to help decision makers better understand and address complex systems in health and public health. Follow @PHICORTeam on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter for updates.
About PRI
In coordination with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM), the PRI works with New Yorkers in communities in each of the five boroughs to develop locally tailored health solutions, information and resources to develop greater resilience to the adverse consequences of public health emergencies.
About BCMBCM (www.bcm.edu) in Houston is recognized as a health sciences university and is known for excellence in education, research and patient care. Located in the Texas Medical Center, Baylor has affiliations with seven teaching hospitals and jointly owns and operates Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, part of CHI St. Luke's Health. Follow Baylor College of Medicine on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BaylorCollegeOfMedicine) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/BCMHouston).
About Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine DevelopmentTexas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development is one of the leading vaccine development centers in the world. Established in Washington DC as the Sabin Vaccine Institute Product Development Partnership (PDP) in the year 2000 and after relocating to the Texas Medical Center in 2011, it rebranded as Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development. For the past two decades it has acquired an international reputation as a non-profit PDP, advancing vaccines for poverty-related neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and emerging infectious diseases of pandemic importance. In addition, it builds and strengthens capacity for vaccine development locally and with foreign nations and leads global efforts to guide and influence vaccine policy and advocacy through "vaccine diplomacy" as an international bridge for peace and vaccine development capacity.
Media contact: Sarah Rebbert [emailprotected]
SOURCE CUNY SPH
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Four area health systems have added masking requirements as our region deals with a spike in respiratory illness cases including COVID-19 and the flu.
These hospitals and health systems have issued different mask rules in the past few days, which we'll explain below.
Temple Health said Monday that beginning Wednesday, Jan. 10, masks will be required by anyone who enters any of its buildings. The policy applies to its hospitals, outpatient settings and TPI practices, according to a letter to its staff.
Visitors and staff at Cooper University Health Care facilities will be required to wear masks in patient rooms and exam rooms starting Jan. 5.
According to Cooper's website, all visitors to Cooper University Hospital must wear a mask, and patients and visitors have to wear masks at all of the system's outpatient offices and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper locations.
The policy change is "based upon the increasing number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties," a Cooper spokesperson told CBS News Philadelphia.
RELATED:Medford family shares struggle of respiratory infections after Christmas trip in Florida
Officials said starting Saturday, Jan. 6, they're temporarily requiring all staff in patient-facing locations to use an ear-loop mask until Jan. 29 to prevent further spreading of viruses.
Below is what Jefferson Health is requiring for patients:
Starting Monday, Jan. 8 the University of Pennsylvania Health System said it will require masks during all patient care/patient-facing activities, and in all places where patients may be encountered.
"Patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days or who have symptoms of COVID-19 -- cough, fever, sore throat, nasal congestion -- must wear a mask," according to UPHS' release. "Visitors who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days or who have symptoms of COVID-19 are not allowed to enter any facility, even with a mask."
Main Line Healthstarted requiring masks at a number of campuses Thursday, Jan. 4, amid the surge in sickness.
Officials said Wednesday all patients, employees, medical staff and visitors are required to wear masks in clinical and common areas.
"Caring for the community is of utmost importance and this will help to reduce the spread of these respiratory illnesses," Main Line Health said in a statement.
The Philadelphia Health Department said there's been an increase in respiratory virus activity since the beginning of November, including COVID, flu and RSV, but it is not planning a mask mandate.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu activity is high in New Jersey and Pennsylvania at this time. The CDC also reports thatRSV levels remain high in many parts of the country and COVID-19 levels are elevated and increasing in some regions.
READ MORE:Philadelphia Health Department not considering public mask mandate as respiratory infections rise
Laura Fay is a digital content producer at CBS News Philadelphia. Laura previously worked as a reporter, editor and audience director at The 74, a nonprofit news organization covering education.
Mumbai reported its first Covid-19 fatality of the year with a 52-year-old man, who had tested positive for the virus, succumbing on January 5. The previous Covid-19 death was recorded on August 9 last year.
The deceased, a resident of M West ward, was admitted to a government hospital on January 4, with symptoms such as fever, cough and breathlessness for five days. The patient had tested positive for Covid and, within 24 hours of admission, passed away, with the cause of death attributed to respiratory tract infection (LRTI) with sepsis and septic shock, according to an official from the civic health department.
Meanwhile, the state reported 154 new Covid cases, with 21 cases in Mumbai, in the last 24 hours. Another Covid death was recorded in Nagpur.
The state recorded a recovery rate of 98.17 per cent, a positivity rate of 1.11 per cent and a case fatality rate of 1.81 per cent. Maharashtra has 139 patients infected with the JN.1 variant.
On the JN.1 variant, Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, head of the BJ Medical College Microbiology Department and a member of the state Covid-19 task force, said, While cases are increasing, hospitalisations and deaths remain low. However, the variant is highly transmissible, and the recent New Year celebrations without adhering to Covid-appropriate behaviour have contributed to increased transmission and cases, he said.
COVID back on the rise in Tulsa and in the nation | Flu-season around the corner
by CJ Maclin, KTUL Staff
The coronavirus pandemic is a time many people want to put in the rearview mirror. But now, that virus may be in front of us after a vast rise in cases (KTUL).
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL)
The coronavirus pandemic is a time many people want to put in the rearview mirror.
But now, that virus may be in front of us after a vast rise in cases across the nation.
Newschannel 8 talked with a doctor about the increase in COVID cases.
Almost 4 years ago, Governor Kevin Stitt confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in Oklahoma.
Years later, a different variant of the virus is prevalent today.
Is COVID-19 on the rise in the state of Oklahoma?
Yeah, absolutely. Cases are up very substantially. Just in Tulsa County, there were 190 people hospitalized in one week with COVID-19. The numbers are way up in the state, said Chief COVID Officer for OU Health, Dr. Dale Bratzler.
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the State of Oklahoma is currently at 15%. Thats 5% above the normal baseline.
That number stretches from Tulsa to Oklahoma City and Lawton.
And COVID-19 hospitalizations have also risen by 20%.
Cases are way up. There were almost 35,000 Americans who were admitted to the hospital with COVID," said Dr. Bratzler. "It predominately impacts the elderly. 65 years of age and older and those who have multiple underlying medical conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
We talked about contracting the virus, we talked about hospitalizations, and have deaths increased as well due to COVID-19?
So, deaths have been going up. 1,600 people died last week from COVID-19. Nationally, [the] death rate is up 15. 6 percent in the past week. So, it has definitely gone up," said Dr. Bratzler.
Dr. Bratzler says Oklahoma hasnt even seen the peak of flu season yet.
He says the states around us are much higher and he expects flu cases to increase as well as COVID-19 cases.
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CHICAGO (CBS) -- For the last few weeks, we've been talking about all the respiratory viruses surging after the holidays.
COVID-19, the flu, and RSV are all hitting hard and a warning has been issued by health officials statewide. In particular as COVID cases gradually increase, health leaders are reminding people to take the necessary precautions in protecting themselves.
Chicago saw a 14 percent spike in COVID hospitalizations in a period of just a week with no signs of the virus letting up.
The new JN.1 variant is to blame for the latest spike.
"It is definitely spreading quickly, and that's what's probably causing this surge," said Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist with the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health.
Across Illinois, there were 888 new COVID hospital admissions this week a 17.2 percent change from the prior week.
Wallace said this recent surge is combined with the fact that so many people traveled recently.
"It was already starting before the holiday, and now it is increasing," she said. "COVID hospitalizations and flu hospitalizations are both increasing."
The spike is resulting in Chicago area hospitals to change their policies. Starting Monday, Silver Cross hospitals will join the likes of Rush University Medical Center and its two suburban satellite hospitals to mandate the use of masks once again.
"So that's why we are seeing hospitals reimplementing mask mandates, because this is another layer of mitigation," said Wallace, "and they have a vulnerable population of people that are coming there because they're sick."
A total of 18 counties in Illinois are listed at the high level for COVID hospitalizations and 43 counties are at the medium level, including Cook, DuPage, Lake, and McHenry counties.
But COVID is not the only problem. Wallace said in addition to COVID cases, more people are becoming ill with the flu too.
"So we have COVID hospitalizations and flu hospitalizations both increasing right now," Wallace said. "Both of them have an effective vaccine that prevents severe disease and hospitalization. However, only about 12.6 percent of Chicagoans have taken the new COVID vaccine, and the flu vaccine uptake is also not where we want it to be."
Of course, if you have a pre-existing health condition, it is still recommended to get the flu and COVID vaccine. Keep in mind that you have not had a recent booster, you are more prone to catching COVID or the flu and doctors say the vaccine will keep you from going to the hospital.
Jermont Terry joined the CBS 2 team in October 2019. He's born and raised on Chicago's South Side. He's happy to return home to report on his community after 18 years of uncovering stories across the country.
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In many NYC communities, bodegas are beloved staples of convenienceubiquitous markets selling items ranging from deli sandwiches to laundry detergent. In areas bereft of supermarkets, they often serve as the only source for groceries.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, online food shopping exploded for supermarkets, but small retailers were largely left out of the market shift. As the USDA moves forward with expanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Benefits (SNAP) onlineincluding for small retailers such as bodegasnutrition and health researchers explored Bronx bodega owners and customers attitudes toward online grocery shopping. Their findings, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, show that while online shopping in bodegas has promise, community members say several barriers including cost, digital literacy, and community trust would need to be addressed.
Between May and June of 2022, the authors interviewed six bodega owners located in the South Bronx, of which four were part of an early online grocery service for bodegas (the MyBodegaOnline app) piloted in 2020. They also interviewed 25 customers from low-income neighborhoods who frequently shopped at a bodega.
"As technology becomes more prominent in government benefits for people with low income, small food businesses need to be included in the policy conversation to not leave these stores and consumers behind, says lead author Angela Trude, an assistant professor of nutrition at NYU Steinhardt. The SNAP online expansion is a step forward towards equity in food access, but there are challenges we need to address. For instance, we need the upcoming Farm Bill to allocate more funds for SNAP online to ensure broader outreach and enough money to cover delivery costs for small retailers."
In discussing the role of small food retailers in low-income urban communities and the feasibility of online grocery shopping, the researchers uncovered several themes.
The Role of the Bodega
1) Bodegas as good neighbors Owners and customers shared that bodegas offer foods and goods that reflect the cultural, social, and financial needs of the community. One customer said, Im Dominican. We cook every day, and we do have bodegas over there. A lot of them, which we call colmado (convenience store) and its basically like I feel home.
2) Cost and availability of healthy foods in bodegas While bodega owners indicated that they seek to offer fresh foods at reasonable prices, customers felt that prices for fruits and vegetables were too high and not as fresh as supermarkets.
3) Bodegas and community health Customers regarded the large number of processed food options as having negative effects on community health, whereas owners suggested that customers can make healthy choices in their stores but choose less healthy options.
Pros and Cons of Online Grocery Shopping for Bodegas
1) The close proximity of bodegas Bodega owners saw the close proximity of bodegas to their customers as an asset in terms of delivery time and cost. However, despite their excitement at the idea of online ordering, most customers said that bodegas were so close it didnt make sense to order online.
2) The digital divide Owners and customers both noted that many people in the community lack digital literacy and may not have computers or smartphones, or know how to use apps.
3) Community concerns Customers also indicated a mistrust in having others select their groceries. Another concern raised was that online shopping could lead to weaker community ties.
Owners and customers offered several recommendations for improving the potential and usefulness of online grocery shopping, including keeping costs low, making apps intuitive for customers and owners, and allowing for multiple types of payment options such as cash and SNAP.
Buying groceries online from local small stores could greatly benefit communities, says Trude. However, there are additional questions we need to answer as this service becomes available in neighborhoods where many people have lower incomes and bodegas are ubiquitous. For instance, how far would a small retailer staff be willing to travel to deliver orders? Could delivery be free for future online grocery shopping from bodegas? We will continue to work with the community and policymakers to answer these questions and design solutions for more equity in healthy food access.
This research was supported by the Center of Health and Rehabilitation Research at NYU Steinhardt.
