Category: Covid-19

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Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers in Pennsylvania for Tuesday, February 8 – WNEP Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

February 9, 2022

PENNSYLVANIA, USA The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirms 3,593additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 2,703,408on Tuesday, February 7.

There were 196new deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry. The statewide total of deaths attributed to COVID-19 is 41,781, according to the department.

Editor's Note:On Tuesday, the Department of Health corrected an error that included some duplicate case numbers on Monday.

Monday's statewide total should have been 2,144 new cases.

View the CDC COVID data trackerhere.

Watch more stories about the coronavirus pandemic on WNEP's YouTube page

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Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers in Pennsylvania for Tuesday, February 8 - WNEP Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Old Drug May Have New Trick: Protecting Against COVID-19 Lung Injury – Weill Cornell Medicine Newsroom

February 9, 2022

An FDA-approved drug that has been in clinical use for more than 70 years may protect against lung injury and the risk of blood clots in severe COVID-19 and other disorders that cause immune-mediated damage to the lungs, according to a preclinical study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

The researchers, whose report appears Feb. 8 in JCI Insight, found that the drug disulfiram protected rodents from immune-mediated lung injury in two separate models of this type of injury: infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and a lung failure syndrome called TRALI that in rare cases occurs after blood transfusion.

As we learn more about the underlying biology of these lung injuries, we may be able to specifically target the processes that are damaging the lung tissue, said senior co-author Dr. Robert Schwartz, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medicine and a hepatologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Both types of lung injury are now known to be driven in part by immune cells formation of web-like structures called neutrophil extracellular traps, or NETs. These can trap and kill infectious organisms, but can also be harmful to lung tissue and blood vessels, causing the accumulation of fluid in the lungs (edema) and promoting the development of blood clots. Disulfiram blocks one of the steps in NETs formation.

The study was a collaboration between Dr. Schwartzs research group and a group led by Dr. Mikala Egeblad, professor and cancer center co-leader at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Serendipity has attached to disulfiram almost from the start of its history as a medicine. The compound was originally used in the production of rubber, and was later investigated as an anti-parasite treatment. Incidental observations that people taking it became mildly sick whenever they drank alcohol led to its FDA approval in 1951 as a deterrent to alcohol consumption for people with alcohol use disorder.

Scientists found in 2020 that disulfiram also inhibits part of the inflammatory process that can lead to NET formation by white blood cells called neutrophils. The finding prompted the testing of disulfiram as a NET blocker. NETs will damage the tissue, but since disulfiram interferes with gasdermin D, a molecule needed to produce NETs, no NETs are formed after disulfiram treatment, Dr. Egeblad said.

After confirming in lab-dish experiments that disulfiram does greatly reduce the formation of NETs by human and mouse neutrophils, the researchers tested it in models of TRALI and COVID-19, two diseases that are known to feature extensive neutrophil invasion of the lungs, NET formation and often fatal lung damage.

In a mouse model of TRALI, disulfiram treatment a day before and then again three hours before induction of the syndrome allowed 95 percent of the animals to survive, compared to just 40 percent of those not treated with the drug. The findings showed that disulfiram, apparently by reducing NET formation, blocked the progressive damage to lung tissue and vessels that occurred in untreated mice, and in so doing allowed lung function to stabilize and recover relatively quickly after initial damage. By contrast, an inhaled drug called DNase 1, which has been investigated as a potential TRALI treatment, had no significant effect in improving the mouse survival rate even when administered minutes before TRALI induction.

In earlier collaborative work published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, autopsy results suggested that NETs were present in severe COVID-19 patients and raised a novel possibility.

Currently there arent any good treatment options for COVID-related lung injury, so disulfiram appears to be worth investigating further in this regard, particularly in severe COVID-19 patients, Dr. Schwartz said.

Next the researchers tested disulfiram in a golden hamster model of COVID-19. This form of COVID-19 is less severe than what is seen in the worst human cases, but disulfiram treatment a day before or a day after infection with SARS-CoV-2 led to clearly favorable outcomes: less NET formation, less scar-like tissue formation (fibrosis) in the lungs, and gene activity changes suggesting a significant reduction in the harmful inflammatory response without impairment of antiviral immunity.

By comparison, the standard severe-COVID-19 treatment dexamethasone, an immune-suppressing steroid drug, did less to protect lung tissue from disease-related changes, and led to higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs.

Disulfirams strong inhibitory effect on NET formation and its improvement of disease outcomes in different rodent models highlight the potential for its use and for the future development of even better inhibitors of NET formation in a variety of diseases, Dr. Schwartz said. Other researchers have begun small clinical trials of disulfiram in COVID-19 patients, although the results of those trials have not yet been published, he noted.

Many Weill Cornell Medicine physicians and scientists maintain relationships and collaborations with external organizations to foster scientific innovation and provide expert guidance. Weill Cornell Medicine and its faculty make this information available to the public to ensure transparency. External relationship information is available on the faculty profile of Dr. Robert Schwartz.

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Old Drug May Have New Trick: Protecting Against COVID-19 Lung Injury - Weill Cornell Medicine Newsroom

Olympians pushed to their limits over uncompromising Beijing Covid-19 controls – CNN

February 9, 2022

Finnish ice hockey head coach Jukka Jalonen on Sunday accused China of "not respecting human rights" for keeping his star player Marko Anttila in isolation for more than two weeks, leaving the athlete, who tested positive for the virus, out of commission into the first weekend of the Beijing Winter Games, which kicked off on Friday.

"We know that he's fully healthy and ready to go, and that's why we think that China, for some reason, won't respect his human rights, and that's not a great situation," Jalonen told reporters Sunday, adding that according to his team doctor, Anttila was no longer infectious after first testing positive 18 days earlier.

Beijing has pushed back on the characterization, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday stressing controls put in place by the organizing committee for the Beijing Games were meant "to reduce the risk of infection as much as possible, and ensure the safe and smooth running of the Games as scheduled," while safeguarding the health of all those involved and in the host city.

The bubble completely cordons off the more than 10,000 athletes, media, and other participants joining from around the world in a "closed-loop" system, where they live, eat, work and travel between Olympic venues some 111 miles (180 kilometers) apart, all without coming into contact with people or areas in the capital city outside.

The ambitious scheme, run by thousands of Chinese volunteers and staff, is meant to minimize the spread of Covid-19 inside the Games and prevent it from spilling into the capital city. Its rigorous testing regimes and isolation requirements for positive cases are also meant to ensure any infections that do enter the bubble are picked up quickly, before they can cause an outbreak and disrupt the Games.

But for athletes coming from parts of the world that have begun to shift their approaches to "live with the virus" after large portions of their populations received vaccines, the rules can seem jarring.

And for some, the virus and its controls have meant giving up Olympic dreams.

Polish short track speed skater Natalia Maliszewska missed her first competitive event due to being placed back in isolation within hours of her initial release.

In a social media post Sunday, Maliszewska said she was released from isolation late Friday after returning two consecutive negative tests but ended up back in isolation Saturday morning, just hours ahead of her qualifying race, due to a follow up test which returned a positive result.

"I can't understand this anymore. I no longer believe in any tests, any Olympics. To me this is a big joke, I hope whoever is managing this has a lot of fun. My heart and my mind can't take this anymore," Maliszewska tweeted.

According to the Beijing 2022 organizers, athletes who test positive are required to isolate at a designated facility and can be discharged once they return two consecutive negative PCR test results, with at least 24 hours between samples.

The International Olympic Committee on Monday responded to complaints about isolation rules, with IOC sports director Kit McConnell telling reporters at a briefing Monday, "athletes in isolation remain an absolute focus" for the governing body.

"In the case of Natalia Maliszewska, the Polish short track skater...of course our thoughts are with her and anyone who is in that situation of missing an event," McConnell said.

In a press briefing over the weekend, IOC and Beijing organizing committee officials stressed they were working to fix problems as they cropped up and to improve the overall system.

"I'm sure with our joint efforts we can effectively address these problems so that we can have a safe environment and platform for the athletes to compete," Zhao Weidong, a spokesperson for the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee said.

The official reactions come as athletes have taken to social media to speak out about conditions in the facilities.

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Olympians pushed to their limits over uncompromising Beijing Covid-19 controls - CNN

COVID-19 cases take a nose dive in Colorado; heres where every county stands with omicron – FOX 31 Denver

February 9, 2022

DENVER (KDVR) The surge of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Colorado looks to be over, at least according to the newest data from the state.

As of Monday, the states seven-day positivity rate was 12.22%, which is down from24.54% two weeks ago. Positivity rate measures the amount of COVID positive tests to the total amount of tests taken.

Over the last two weeks, 53 counties saw a decrease in COVID-19 positivity, 9 counties saw a rise and 2 counties administered fewer than 20 tests.

According to theColorado Department of Public Health and Environment, incidence rates also dropped over the last two weeks.

Heres a look atpositivity rates for every county over the last two weeks:

According toJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the percent positive is exactly what it sounds like: the percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that are actually positive, or: (positive tests)/(total tests) x 100%. The percent positive (sometimes called the percent positive rate or positivity rate) helps public health officials answer questions suchas:

The percent positive will be high if the number ofpositive testsis too high, or if the number oftotal testsis too low. A higher percent positive suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who havent been tested yet, Johns Hopkins shared.

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COVID-19 cases take a nose dive in Colorado; heres where every county stands with omicron - FOX 31 Denver

U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou tests positive for COVID-19 at the Winter Olympics – NPR

February 7, 2022

Vincent Zhou of Team United States skates on Sunday. Zhou tested positive for COVID-19 and may not be able to take the ice in time for his second competition on Tuesday. Harry How/Getty Images hide caption

Vincent Zhou of Team United States skates on Sunday. Zhou tested positive for COVID-19 and may not be able to take the ice in time for his second competition on Tuesday.

BEIJING U.S. men's figure skater Vincent Zhou has tested positive for COVID-19 putting his chance for another Olympic medal at risk.

"As part of yesterday's regular COVID-19 screening, Vincent Zhou tested positive," a U.S. figure skating representative said in a statement. "Under the guidance of the [U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee] medical staff, Zhou is undergoing additional testing to confirm his status."

The announcement comes on the day the U.S. figure skating won silver in the team competition. Zhou competed on Sunday in the team event as a substitute for three-time world champion Nathan Chen.

Zhou is supposed to compete again on Tuesday in the men's short program. If he tests negative in subsequent COVID tests, Zhou would still be able to compete.

If not, he will be placed in isolation, like other athletes who tested positive in Beijing, until he tests negative on two consecutive PCR tests.

This is the 21-year-old's second appearance at the Winter Olympic Games. He competed in Pyeongchang in 2018, but did not medal.

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U.S. figure skater Vincent Zhou tests positive for COVID-19 at the Winter Olympics - NPR

‘The pandemic has not been very good to me’: People with disabilities feel forgotten – The Columbus Dispatch

February 7, 2022

Cara Pritchettlights up when she talks about family memberswho have helped hernavigatelife withcerebral palsy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The oldest of four siblings, Pritchett, 25, of Upper Arlington, said she was diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy shortly after she beingborn. The congenital disordercausedherto losefunction ofthe right side of her body and ledto other developmental and medical issues later in life.

Despite beingmore likely to be infected by COVID-19 andcontract severe illnesses from the virus, many people with disabilities and their advocates say they feel likethe community has been overlooked and pushed aside during the pandemic.

"The pandemic has not been very good to me," she said.

Without family, Pritchett said she doesn't know how she would have made it through the past two year being in and out of the hospital withulcerative colitis, having difficulties finding a job willing toaccommodateher conditions, and losingher best friend in a hit-and-run crash.

"They've been through it all with me," Pritchettsaid of her family.

Disabilities:Dublin woman, a self-advocate, named to county board of developmental disabilities

There are about 2.6 millionadults like Pritchett in Ohiowho have a disabilityand are more likely to develop other chronic conditions and lack access to health care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last month, some 150 disability advocacy groups spoke out after CDC director Rochelle Walensky sharedin an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" what she called the "encouraging news"thatmost COVID-19 deaths among vaccinated individuals in a small studyhadother health problemsand were "unwell to begin with."

Afterward, disability rights activistImani Barbarin started the viral "#MyDisabledLifeIsWorthy" to call out Walensky's remarks,and she's been joined bypeople fromacross the world.

The CDC director apologized andmet with a group of disability activists after what she acknowledged was ahurtful, yet unintentional, statement, according to a CDC press release.Walenskyalsocommitted the CDC to regular engagements with the disability community.

The disability community is often overlooked ormade to feel devalued and dehumanized, saidSue Hetrick, executive director of theCenter for Disability Empowerment, aColumbus nonprofit that helps connect people with disabilities to housing, jobs, transportation and other service in Franklin, Licking, Delaware and Union counties.

"A lot of time policies or decisions are made without the input of people with disabilities," Hetrick said. "There isn't the awareness of the non-disabled community about who they are as people, not just what their needs are."

Opinion:People with disabilities are struggling to survive the pandemic

People like Hetrick andKerstinSjoberg, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy organizationDisability Rights Ohio,have fought discrimination and a lack of awareness throughout the pandemic.

As hospitals decide how to ration ventilators, medication and beds during a crisis, people with disabilitiescould be given lower priority based on stereotypes about their quality of life and how effective treatment might be,Sjoberg said.

Disability Rights Ohio worked with the Ohio Department of Health to create crisis standards of care for hospitals and doctors that are inclusive of the disabled community, but they're only recommendations, shesaid.

Sjobergadded thatthe new state budget gives the health department more influence in hospital policy, and she hopesdisability-inclusiverecommendations will be incorporated into hospital care guidelines.

The discrimination already exists in our system, and its not just doctors. Its part of our society, Sjoberg said.

'We made it through today': Coronavirus adds to issues for those with developmental disabilities

Some people with disabilities require aides and other workers who help them at home or in facilities to navigate daily life. This presented a problem during the pandemic, Hetrick said, becausesocial distancing and slowing the spread of the virus became next to impossible, making it harder to protect vulnerable populations.

The pandemic also mayhave isolated people with disabilities or prevented loved ones from visiting or keeping in touch, Sjoberg said. Without these natural support systems, it also became harder for people in institutionsor congregate settings to report neglect and abuse.

So Disability Rights Ohiocreated a virtual abuse and neglect reporting system and Q &A section where people canget information on personal protective equipment, safe housing, accurate information about COVID-19 vaccinations and more.

It's, of course, better to have it face-to-face, Sjoberg said. "We've been able to keep that core function operating very effectively during this process."

People with disabilities also often face the most barriers trying to getvaccinations, Hetrick said.Accessibility issues, concerns about reactions with existingmedications or conditions or fear about poor treatment can get in the way, she said.

"Information is not always accessible to people with disabilities, whether that's written information that's given to them, the kind of language that's used to inform them," Hetrick said. "Transportation is a huge barrier."

To help with these issues, theCenter for Disability Empowerment (CDE) and the Ohio Department of Health willhost pop-up vaccinationclinicsin late-February or March and provide scheduling assistance and transportation for those who need it, she said.

Other news:Some Ohioans will move on from COVID, but those most impacted may never be able to forget

Pritchett struggled to find a job in child careas the pandemic shrank opportunities and shut down schools and day cares.

She turned to the CDE for help last year, and even though she found a job she loves at Riverside Methodist Childcare Center in Upper Arlington,the group still checks in with her today.

"I've always said that people with disabilities are some of the strongest people I've ever met, because of the barriers that we're always facing," said Shari Veleba, a CDEinformation and referral coordinator.

Pritchett's parents and younger siblings also helped her deal with the boredom of having to isolate at home andthe challenges of having to deal with new health issues.

Even now, her parents continue to support herby doing such things as sending her TikToks showingdisability activists, she said.

And Pritchett said heryounger siblings Jake, John, Madison and Taylorare some of her biggest supporters in life, with Jake being especially encouraging as Pritchett dealt with the grief over the death of her friend.

She said he took her to the cemetery and wrote anessay about how strong she's been this past yearas his college applicationessay.

"He wrote the paper without me or anyone knowing what it was about, so when I read it, I was shocked and emotional,"Pritchett said. "Knowing that those were his words makes it really special."

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'The pandemic has not been very good to me': People with disabilities feel forgotten - The Columbus Dispatch

COVID-19 stress and disruptions are wreaking havoc on multi-child families, study says – WKRN News 2

February 7, 2022

WATERLOO, Ontario (StudyFinds.org) COVID-19 has disrupted countless lives around the globe and still serves as a daily, unavoidable stressor. Now, researchers from the University of Waterloo are revealing just how detrimental the pandemic has been for multi-child families.

To start, the study finds that within a multi-child family, one child typically tends to be more affected by the pandemic than their siblings experiencing more stress, anxiety, anger, and depression. Unfortunately, this development appears to create a negative feedback loop of poor parenting decisions. Stressed out parents trying to navigate these uncertain timesend up reacting harshlyto the child in need of additional support.

Our study shows that parents tend to be most reactive and least positive to the child showing the highest levels of mental health difficulties, says lead study author Dillon Browne, a professor of clinical psychology, in auniversityrelease.

Struggles with mental health among family members exacerbate each other in a feedback loop, he continues. Our study suggests that the direction of influence appears to go from the childs mental health to parenting, not parenting to child mental health.

Data was collected on over 500 caregivers and 1,000 siblings for this study. More specifically, caregivers with at least two children (ages 5-18) filled out surveys asking about their COVID stress,overall family functioning, and mental health on numerous occasions during a two-month tracking period.

Understanding childrens mental health difficulties during COVID-19 requires a family system lens because of the numerous ways thepandemic affects the familyas a unit. Comprehensive interventions for childrens mental health require an examination of caregiver, sibling, and whole-family dynamics, explains Prof. Browne, who also holds the Canada Research Chair in Child and Family Clinical Psychology.

In light of these results, study authors believe countless families and households will likely benefit from some familytherapy sessions. Moreover, individual psychotherapy sessions for both children and adults may be a useful tool as the world continues to endure the ongoing pandemic.

A lot of research studies have pointed to mental-health challenges associated with the pandemic for children and parents. This work adds insight into how pandemic-related disruption goes beyond the individual and infiltrates the relational environment of the family unit, Prof. Brown concludes.

Thestudyis published in the journalDevelopmental Psychology.

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COVID-19 stress and disruptions are wreaking havoc on multi-child families, study says - WKRN News 2

Richmond Teachers Approve COVID-19 Agreement With District – NBC Bay Area

February 7, 2022

The United Teachers of Richmond have approved a tentative agreement that negotiators reached Jan. 29 with the West Contra Costa Unified School District on additional COVID-19 safety protocols.

A union news release reported Friday that 93 percent of the members had approved the agreement, which centered around personal protective equipment and staff at school sites.

The agreement highlights the following:

-The district shall provide N95, KN95, and/or KF94 masks daily for students and staff, depending on supply. Medical grade or three-ply masks shall be required for all students.

-When there is a positive case in a classroom, all registered students and staff in the class are to be tested twice per week for two weeks.

-Testing will be provided for all students and staff before the return from President's Week and Spring Recess in February and April.

-The district shall increase its substitute pay rate and period subbing rate at the secondary level.

-Testing at school sites will continue for the remainder of the school year.

-All educators and service providers at the school site shall be notified of a confirmed positive case on-site within 24 hours.

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Richmond Teachers Approve COVID-19 Agreement With District - NBC Bay Area

COVID-19 IN ARKANSAS: Hospitalizations down for 11th consecutive day – KNWA

February 7, 2022

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. New data from the Arkansas Department of Health shows that hospitalizations have continued to fall over the last 11 days as omicron appears to show a push past its peak over the past week.

Data from ADH shows the total number of active cases in the state fell by 2,754 in just 24 hours, making that number 38,314. The figures show there have now been 794,342 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with new cases increasing by 981.

The ADH also reported there are 1,493 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19, falling by 19 from the day before. The figures show 229 patients currently on ventilators, one less than the previous day and 460 patients in ICU which is three more than Saturday.

The data reported on Sunday shows there are now 9,831 Arkansans who have died because of COVID-19, an increase of 38 from the previous day.

Hospitalizations have declined for the 11th day in a row, Gov. Hutchinson said in a message on social media. Were continuing to come down from the Omicron peak, but we still need to be mindful of the virus. Vaccines prevent serious illness and hospitalizations.

According to the Arkansas Department of Health, 917 doses of the vaccine were given in the last 24 hours, changing the total number of doses given to 3,899,719. There are now 1,550,402 Arkansans who are fully immunized and 371,324 partially immunized.

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COVID-19 IN ARKANSAS: Hospitalizations down for 11th consecutive day - KNWA

Lockdowns only reduced COVID-19 death rate by .2%, study finds: ‘Lockdowns should be rejected out of hand’ – Fox News

February 7, 2022

Lockdowns during the first COVID-19 wave in the spring of 2020 only reduced COVID-19 mortality by .2% in the U.S. and Europe, according to a Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of several studies.

"While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted," the researchers wrote. "In consequence, lockdown policies are ill-founded and should be rejected as a pandemic policy instrument."

The researchers Johns Hopkins University economics professor Steve Hanke, Lund University economics professor Lars Jonung, and special advisor at Copenhagen's Center for Political Studies Jonas Herby analyzed the effects of lockdown measures such as school shutdowns, business closures, and mask mandates on COVID-19 deaths.

"We find little to no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates," the researchers wrote.

A man crosses an empty expressway during a complete lockdown amid growing concerns of coronavirus on March 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

The researchers also examined shelter-in-place orders, finding that they reduced COVID-19 mortality by 2.9%.

Studies that looked at only shelter-in-place orders found they reduced COVID-19 mortality by 5.1%, but studies that looked at shelter-in-place orders along with other lockdown measures found that shelter-in-place orders actually increased COVID-19 mortality by 2.8%.

CHICAGO GUNSHOP SEES SKYROCKETING SALES FOLLOWING LOCKDOWNS, CRIME SPIKE

The researchers concluded that limiting gatherings may have actually increased COVID-19 mortality.

"[Shelter-in-place orders] may isolate an infected person at home with his/her family where he/she risks infecting family members with a higher viral load, causing more severe illness," the researchers wrote.

"But often, lockdowns have limited peoples access to safe (outdoor) places such as beaches, parks, and zoos, or included outdoor mask mandates or strict outdoor gathering restrictions, pushing people to meet at less safe (indoor) places."

The researchers also examined studies that focused on specific lockdown measures and found that the only intervention that reduced COVID-19 mortality was the closure of non-essential businesses, which reduced mortality by 10.6%, but this effect was likely driven by the closure of bars.

A man living on the streets displays what he says is the synthetic drug fentanyl in the Tenderloin section of San Francisco, California. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

Researchers also pointed out other unintended consequences of lockdowns, such as rising unemployment, reduced schooling, an increase in domestic violence incidents, and surging drug overdoses.

From May 2020 to April 2021, the U.S. recorded 100,306 drug overdose deaths, a 28.5% increase from the 78,056 deaths that were recorded in the previous 12-month period, according to CDC data.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S AT-HOME COVID TEST WEBSITE LAUNCHES

A study from the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice last year found that domestic violence incidents increased 8.1% in the U.S. after lockdown orders were issued.

A sign taped to the front door of Pulaski International School of Chicago reads, 'School Closed,' after Chicago Public Schools, the nation's third-largest school district, said it would cancel classes. (REUTERS/Jim Vondruska)

About 97% of U.S. teachers said that their students have experienced learning loss during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Horace Mann survey last year.

The unemployment rate peaked nationwide at 14.8% in April 2020, but declined to 3.9% in December, which is still slightly higher than the 3.5% rate it was at in February 2020.

"These costs to society must be compared to the benefits of lockdowns, which our meta-analysis has shown are marginal at best," the researchers in the Johns Hopkins University study wrote.

"Such a standard benefit-cost calculation leads to a strong conclusion: lockdowns should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument."

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the administration's coronavirus surge response in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

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President Biden has pledged to focus on testing and vaccinations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 instead of the lockdowns that characterized the earlier part of the pandemic.

"It doesnt include shutdowns or lockdowns, but widespread vaccinations and boosters and testing a lot more," Biden said in December about his winter plans for fighting the pandemic.

Several cities and states around the country still have mask mandates, remote learning, and other measures in place.

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Lockdowns only reduced COVID-19 death rate by .2%, study finds: 'Lockdowns should be rejected out of hand' - Fox News

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