thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--Surgeon General: Black Americans' Distrust In Vaccine Comes From History Of Medical Racism

U.S .
Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday addressed the general distrust of a COVID-19 vaccine among communities of color ― specifically Black Americans ― and how the government must work to restore trust that ’ s been eroded by years of medical racism .
CBS ’ “ Face the Nation ” host Margaret Brennan asked the surgeon general how he planned to persuade skeptical Black Americans to get vaccinated for the virus that ’ s infected tens of millions of Americans and killed more than 317,000 .
“ I know that long before COVID , there were many diseases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that were plaguing communities of color , ” Adams said .
“ And COVID just unveiled those disparities that have been around for a long time.
” Black Americans die from COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate of white Americans ; Indigenous people die at about one and a half times the rate , according to the COVID Tracking Project ’ s racial data dashboard .
Black people account for 18 % of COVID-19 deaths where race is known and are the race or ethnicity most likely to have died from the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections can be explained mostly by long-standing social , economic , environmental and health inequities that result from widespread institutional and systemic barriers such as lack of access to health care , as well as medical racism .
Many Black Americans are also essential workers during the pandemic , making it difficult for them to socially distance or stay at home , and they are more likely to use public transportation .
Nevertheless , about 35 % of Black adults said they would probably or definitely not take the vaccine , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ monitor for December .
About half of Black respondents who were hesitant about the vaccine cited as major reasons that they generally don ’ t trust vaccines and that they are worried the vaccine may infect them with COVID-19 .
The response suggested the importance of combating vaccine misinformation with messages that help earn the confidence of communities of color .
“ I ’ ve talked previously about the history of the mistreatment of communities of color , ” he said .
“ The Tuskegee experiment , the terrible treatment of Henrietta Lacks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took her cells without her permission.
” Adams ’ reference to Lacks was about the Black woman whose cells were taken for medical research without her permission when she sought treatment for cervical cancer more than 60 years ago .
Lacks died in 1951 despite radiation therapy and surgery , but her cells continued to play a role in many scientific advancements ― including helping protect young women from the cervical cancer that took Lacks ’ life .
The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was a program in which government-appointed doctors studied the disease ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without their informed consent from 1932 through 1972 .
Doctors withheld treatment while the men experienced conditions such as blindness or extreme psychological distress .
Some of the experiment ’ s subjects unknowingly passed the disease on to loved ones before they died .
It actually comes from my office , several surgeons general oversaw for 40 years the Tuskegee studies where treatment was denied to Black men .
And I walk past their pictures every single day when I go into my office .
“ It actually comes from my office , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Tuskegee studies where treatment was denied to Black men , ” said Adams , who is Black .
“ And I walk past their pictures every single day when I go into my office .
So believe you me , this legacy is important to me , and helping restore that trust is important.
” “ What I want to tell people most of all is : I walk the talk .
I got vaccinated on Friday .
I actually feel great .
My mother-in-law and my mother are watching , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekend , ‘ How are you feeling ?
’ I feel great , ” Adams said .
“ And I hope people will get the vaccine based on information that they get from trusted resources .
Because it ’ s OK to have questions .
What ’ s not OK is to make poor health decisions based on misinformation .
”

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U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday addressed the general distrust of a COVID-19 vaccine among communities of color ― specifically Black Americans ― and how the government must work to restore trust that’s been eroded by years of medical racism.
CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked the surgeon general how he planned to persuade skeptical Black Americans to get vaccinated for the virus that’s infected tens of millions of Americans and killed more than 317,000.
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“I know that long before COVID, there were many diseases ― hypertension, cancer, diabetes ― that were plaguing communities of color,” Adams said. “And COVID just unveiled those disparities that have been around for a long time.”
#COVID19 #VACCINE TRUST: @Surgeon_general @JeromeAdamsMD tells @margbrennan a feeling of "distrust" in the vaccine amongst communities of color "comes from a real place" citing a long "history of mistreatment" in the Black community. pic.twitter.com/64DToBLHb7 — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 20, 2020
Black Americans die from COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate of white Americans; Indigenous people die at about one and a half times the rate, according to the COVID Tracking Project’s racial data dashboard. Black people account for 18% of COVID-19 deaths where race is known and are the race or ethnicity most likely to have died from the virus.
The extreme racial disparity in COVID-19 infections can be explained mostly by long-standing social, economic, environmental and health inequities that result from widespread institutional and systemic barriers such as lack of access to health care, as well as medical racism.
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Many Black Americans are also essential workers during the pandemic, making it difficult for them to socially distance or stay at home, and they are more likely to use public transportation.
Nevertheless, about 35% of Black adults said they would probably or definitely not take the vaccine, according to the Kaiser Foundation’s COVID-19 vaccine monitor for December. About half of Black respondents who were hesitant about the vaccine cited as major reasons that they generally don’t trust vaccines and that they are worried the vaccine may infect them with COVID-19. The response suggested the importance of combating vaccine misinformation with messages that help earn the confidence of communities of color.
Adams said that the feeling of distrust in the vaccine among communities of color “comes from a real place.”
“I’ve talked previously about the history of the mistreatment of communities of color,” he said. “The Tuskegee experiment, the terrible treatment of Henrietta Lacks and her family and how they just took her cells without her permission.”
Adams’ reference to Lacks was about the Black woman whose cells were taken for medical research without her permission when she sought treatment for cervical cancer more than 60 years ago. Lacks died in 1951 despite radiation therapy and surgery, but her cells continued to play a role in many scientific advancements ― including helping protect young women from the cervical cancer that took Lacks’ life.
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The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was a program in which government-appointed doctors studied the disease’s progression in about 400 Black men without their informed consent from 1932 through 1972. Doctors withheld treatment while the men experienced conditions such as blindness or extreme psychological distress. Some of the experiment’s subjects unknowingly passed the disease on to loved ones before they died.
“It actually comes from my office, several surgeons general oversaw for 40 years the Tuskegee studies where treatment was denied to Black men. And I walk past their pictures every single day when I go into my office.” - U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams
“It actually comes from my office, several surgeons general oversaw for 40 years the Tuskegee studies where treatment was denied to Black men,” said Adams, who is Black. “And I walk past their pictures every single day when I go into my office. So believe you me, this legacy is important to me, and helping restore that trust is important.”
The government has involved many people in vaccine review and in a vaccine study that involved participants of color, Adams said.
“What I want to tell people most of all is: I walk the talk. I got vaccinated on Friday. I actually feel great. My mother-in-law and my mother are watching, and they’ve been asking me all weekend, ‘How are you feeling?’ I feel great,” Adams said. “And I hope people will get the vaccine based on information that they get from trusted resources. Because it’s OK to have questions. What’s not OK is to make poor health decisions based on misinformation.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--Congress Finally Reaches Deal On COVID-19 Relief With Stimulus Checks, Jobless Benefits

Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. , from left ) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) hashed out a deal to give Americans some financial relief during the pandemic .
The deal came together after negotiators stumbled Friday over Republicans insistence that the Federal Reserve be disallowed from creating any lending programs “ similar ” to ones created under the CARES Act .
They ultimately compromised on language that would disallow exact replacements of those programs , which had been backed with a whopping $ 454 billion but barely used .
Trump tweeted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the weekend that he thought Congress should increase the amount of the checks — something his own personal aides have reportedly been advising him against .
Trump reportedly wanted direct payments of up to $ 2,000 per person but is OK with the final number .
The final deal would phase out the checks for those making above $ 75,000 .
Democrats made concessions over unemployment benefits to secure the checks .
While the original gang of moderate senators proposed reauthorizing federal programs for gig workers and the long-term jobless for four months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programs for unemployed Americans for just 11 weeks , a source familiar with the talks said , to offset the cost of another round of direct payments .
But Republicans won a gradual phase-down of federal programs .
Workers won ’ t be able to start a new federal claim after March 14 , but will be allowed to continue receiving benefits until April 5 if they started a claim before then .
A gradual end to federal benefits would mean there would be less of a “ cliff , ” where millions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pressuring Congress to act .
The liability shield was one of the more poisonous proposals .
McConnell had sought to ban personal injury lawsuits related to coronavirus exposure for years to come .
Ultimately , McConnell agreed to drop his insistence on the liability provisions if Democrats dropped $ 160 billion in additional state and local aid — badly needed funds to help those governments make up for budget shortfalls caused by the pandemic-related recession .
That decision allowed Democrats and Republicans to move forward with the bill , but it also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic stimulus package once President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office .
With state governments facing layoffs , governors may go to their congressional delegations and push for funds , which could create bipartisan support for aid in yet another relief measure .
A number of members in the Congressional Progressive Caucus were very critical of negotiations last week .
Rep. Rashida Tlaib ( D-Mich. ) said she still wanted the bill to do more — perhaps $ 1,200 stimulus checks , or even $ 2,000 checks , as progressives have argued for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the CPC .
Last week Rep. Ro Khanna ( D-Calif. ) said the same thing , adding that people needed more than $ 600 checks and that the time period for the additional $ 300 in unemployment benefits had been shrunk by a month in final negotiations .
( The bipartisan deal would have provided an additional 16 weeks of benefits , but the legislation that Pelosi and McConnell agreed to would only do 12 weeks . )
Khanna , who pushed for Pelosi to take the $ 1.8 trillion deal the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , once again noted that this legislation was worse than the previous offer , and he refuted the argument that Pelosi never had a true offer because McConnell was still insisting on his liability shield .
If McConnell refused to give up on the liability protections , even after Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had reached an agreement , Khanna said , ” it would have clearly identified McConnell as the block ... and then it would have depended on how much pressure Trump was willing to put on him.
” Lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday to carry them over the weekend and avert a shut down in order to continue negotiations and are set to pass another short term spending bill Sunday night in order to vote on the final package Monday .
The goal has been to pass some kind of relief package before the end of the year .
federal programs for unemployed Americans expire at the end of the month , risking stranding 12 million job seekers .

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Top lawmakers finally reached a deal for more than $900 billion in COVID-19 relief, including another round of stimulus checks for most Americans and an additional $300 per week for people receiving unemployment benefits.
If all goes according to plan, the deal would end a half-year stalemate between congressional leaders and President Donald Trump’s administration over how to deliver financial relief to Americans on top of a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill that will serve as the vehicle for the coronavirus package.
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It took nearly five months for Congress to renew additional unemployment benefits after an extra $600 a week expired at the end of July. And the logjam broke only after a bipartisan group of moderate senators agreed on a stimulus package of their own in early December.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) — along with minority leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — worked out the final deal using the bipartisan legislation as a framework late Sunday night.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif., from left) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hashed out a deal to give Americans some financial relief during the pandemic. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS
The deal came together after negotiators stumbled Friday over Republicans insistence that the Federal Reserve be disallowed from creating any lending programs “similar” to ones created under the CARES Act. They ultimately compromised on language that would disallow exact replacements of those programs, which had been backed with a whopping $454 billion but barely used.
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The $600-per-person check, according to two sources familiar with the talks, is roughly half the size of what was sent out over the summer, but will still be welcome news to most Americans.
Trump tweeted in the middle of the night over the weekend that he thought Congress should increase the amount of the checks — something his own personal aides have reportedly been advising him against. Trump reportedly wanted direct payments of up to $2,000 per person but is OK with the final number. The final deal would phase out the checks for those making above $75,000.
Democrats made concessions over unemployment benefits to secure the checks. While the original gang of moderate senators proposed reauthorizing federal programs for gig workers and the long-term jobless for four months, the new agreement would continue federal programs for unemployed Americans for just 11 weeks, a source familiar with the talks said, to offset the cost of another round of direct payments.
The final deal would give $300 per week in federal unemployment insurance to laid-off workers on top of their state benefits for 11 weeks — half of the $600 benefit Congress passed last spring but still larger than any boost the program has seen in previous years.
Democrats also won an extra 11 weeks of compensation for people who have been unemployed for so long they’ve run out of both state and federal benefits, as well as language easing repayment requirements for workers who were accidentally overpaid by a state workforce agency.
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But Republicans won a gradual phase-down of federal programs. Workers won’t be able to start a new federal claim after March 14, but will be allowed to continue receiving benefits until April 5 if they started a claim before then. A gradual end to federal benefits would mean there would be less of a “cliff,” where millions of people get cut off at once, pressuring Congress to act.
People wait in a line that wraps around the block in Chelsea, Massachusetts, for a pop-up food pantry amid the pandemic on April 17. Brian Snyder/Reuters
Another key to the final bill was what wasn’t in it; namely, a liability shield for businesses or aid to state and local governments.
The liability shield was one of the more poisonous proposals. McConnell had sought to ban personal injury lawsuits related to coronavirus exposure for years to come. Ultimately, McConnell agreed to drop his insistence on the liability provisions if Democrats dropped $160 billion in additional state and local aid — badly needed funds to help those governments make up for budget shortfalls caused by the pandemic-related recession.
That decision allowed Democrats and Republicans to move forward with the bill, but it also may set up Democrats to secure another economic stimulus package once President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office. With state governments facing layoffs, governors may go to their congressional delegations and push for funds, which could create bipartisan support for aid in yet another relief measure.
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“A stimulus that ignores cities and states is a stimulus that ignores the pain of the working class who depend, more than ever, on the services we provide,” New York Mayor Bill De Blasio’s spokesperson, Bill Neidhardt, told HuffPost in a statement last week.
And for some Democrats in Congress, the package doesn’t do enough.
For one, it lacks that state and local funding now. For another, the stimulus checks are far less than what Democrats were seeking. And the additional unemployment benefits are half of what out-of-work job seekers were getting from April to August.
A number of members in the Congressional Progressive Caucus were very critical of negotiations last week. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said she still wanted the bill to do more — perhaps $1,200 stimulus checks, or even $2,000 checks, as progressives have argued for — and she said she would vote with the CPC.
Last week Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said the same thing, adding that people needed more than $600 checks and that the time period for the additional $300 in unemployment benefits had been shrunk by a month in final negotiations. (The bipartisan deal would have provided an additional 16 weeks of benefits, but the legislation that Pelosi and McConnell agreed to would only do 12 weeks.)
Khanna, who pushed for Pelosi to take the $1.8 trillion deal the White House offered just before the election, once again noted that this legislation was worse than the previous offer, and he refuted the argument that Pelosi never had a true offer because McConnell was still insisting on his liability shield.
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If McConnell refused to give up on the liability protections, even after Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had reached an agreement, Khanna said, ”it would have clearly identified McConnell as the block... and then it would have depended on how much pressure Trump was willing to put on him.”
Protesters block the street to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Washington, D.C., house on July 22, demanding the extension of coronavirus-related unemployment aid. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Even Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who partnered with conservative Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to lobby for the inclusion of stimulus checks in the final deal, said the compromise was insufficient.
Some other Democrats were upset about the deal’s “arbitrary expirations” for certain programs that help struggling Americans.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said McConnell is “already setting the table for economic sabotage by insisting on a short phase-out of unemployment benefits that removes the hard deadlines that pressure Congress to act.”
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Democrats did secure $25 billion to establish a new program to provide emergency rental assistance that Americans can use to pay past-due rent and other housing expenses. And Democrats got money to help schools, money for vaccine distribution and funds for struggling sectors of the economy, including transportation and the U.S. Postal Service.
Republicans are also getting more than $300 billion to help small businesses, with $257 billion going to the Paycheck Protection Program, which loans money to businesses to prevent greater job losses.
Still, the deal is likely to be too much for some Republicans. Some conservatives were already telling HuffPost — before the deal was finalized — that they’d very likely vote no.
“My strong inclination is I’m going to be a no,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Wednesday night.
The bill could still easily pass both chambers even with opposition from the far-left and far-right of both parties — as long as leaders can actually finish the deal.
Lawmakers passed an emergency short term funding bill Friday to carry them over the weekend and avert a shut down in order to continue negotiations and are set to pass another short term spending bill Sunday night in order to vote on the final package Monday. The goal has been to pass some kind of relief package before the end of the year. federal programs for unemployed Americans expire at the end of the month, risking stranding 12 million job seekers.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--Deborah Birx Traveled, Visited With Family Despite Her Own COVID-19 Guidance

ASSOCIATED PRESS White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx speaks during a news conference with the coronavirus task force at the White House in Washington , Thursday , Nov. 19 , 2020 .
( AP Photo/Susan Walsh ) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked Americans not to travel over the holidays and discourages indoor activity involving members of different households .
“ People who do not currently live in your housing unit , such as college students who are returning home from school for the holidays , should be considered part of different households.
” Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there are challenges meeting that standard .
She and her husband have a home in Washington .
She also owns a home in nearby Potomac , Maryland , where her elderly parents , and her daughter and family live , and where Birx visits intermittently .
In addition , the children ’ s other grandmother , who is 77 , also regularly travels to the Potomac house and returns to her 92-year-old husband near Baltimore .
Birx said that everyone on her Delaware trip belongs to her “ immediate household , ” even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different homes .
She initially called the Potomac home a “ 3 generation household ( formerly 4 generations ) .
” White House officials later said it continues to be a four-generation household , a distinction that would include Birx as part of the home .
Birx ’ s job makes her an “ essential worker ” by federal guidelines , in a position that requires extensive travel to consult with state and local officials on the pandemic response .
She has traveled to 43 states , driving 25,000 miles , she said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Birx also has an office in the White House , where numerous COVID-19 infections have been revealed .
Birx has not said how long she isolates for before visiting family .
Medical experts say people who only recently became infected often do not test positive .
They say wearing a mask has limited efficacy in an environment such as the White House , where few others use them .
Margaret Flynn , the children ’ s other grandmother comes to the Potomac home to provide child care , then returns to her husband @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that she hasn ’ t seen the other grandmother since the beginning of the pandemic and does not know how frequently she visits the Potomac house .
“ We need leadership to be setting an example , especially in terms of things they are asking average Americans to do who are far less privileged than they are , ” said Dr. Abraar Karan , a global health specialist at Brigham and Women ’ s Hospital and Harvard Medical School , about the high-profile lapses in judgment .
“ It ’ s extraordinarily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to model the behavior that they recommend to the public , ” Gostin said .
“ We lose faith in our public health officials if they are saying these are the rules but they don ’ t apply to me .
”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — As COVID-19 cases skyrocketed before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, warned Americans to “be vigilant” and limit celebrations to “your immediate household.”
For many Americans that guidance has been difficult to abide, including for Birx herself.
The day after Thanksgiving, she traveled to one of her vacation properties on Fenwick Island in Delaware. She was accompanied by three generations of her family from two households. Birx, her husband Paige Reffe, a daughter, son-in-law and two young grandchildren were present.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked Americans not to travel over the holidays and discourages indoor activity involving members of different households. “People who do not currently live in your housing unit, such as college students who are returning home from school for the holidays, should be considered part of different households.
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx speaks during a news conference with the coronavirus task force at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Even in Birx’s everyday life, there are challenges meeting that standard. She and her husband have a home in Washington. She also owns a home in nearby Potomac, Maryland, where her elderly parents, and her daughter and family live, and where Birx visits intermittently. In addition, the children’s other grandmother, who is 77, also regularly travels to the Potomac house and returns to her 92-year-old husband near Baltimore.
Birx’s own experiences underline the complexity and difficulty of trying to navigate the perils of the pandemic while balancing a job, family and health, especially among essential workers like her.
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Yet some of Birx’s peers in public health say she should be held to a higher standard given her prominent role in the government’s response to the pandemic and the current surge in COVID-19 deaths across the country.
Birx has expressed a desire to maintain a significant role on the White House coronavirus task force when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated next month, according to a person familiar with the Biden team’s personnel deliberations and a Trump administration coronavirus task force official. Neither was authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations and both spoke on condition of anonymity.
“To me this disqualifies her from any future government health position,” said Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security. “It’s a terrible message for someone in public health to be sending to the American people.”
After The Associated Press raised questions about her Thanksgiving weekend travels, Birx acknowledged in a statement that she went to her Delaware property. She declined to be interviewed.
She insisted the purpose of the roughly 50-hour visit was to deal with the winterization of the property before a potential sale — something she says she previously hadn’t had time to do because of her busy schedule.
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“I did not go to Delaware for the purpose of celebrating Thanksgiving,” Birx said in her statement, adding that her family shared a meal together while in Delaware.
Birx said that everyone on her Delaware trip belongs to her “immediate household,” even as she acknowledged they live in two different homes. She initially called the Potomac home a “3 generation household (formerly 4 generations).” White House officials later said it continues to be a four-generation household, a distinction that would include Birx as part of the home.
Birx’s job makes her an “essential worker” by federal guidelines, in a position that requires extensive travel to consult with state and local officials on the pandemic response. She has traveled to 43 states, driving 25,000 miles, she said, often to coronavirus hot spots. Birx also has an office in the White House, where numerous COVID-19 infections have been revealed.
Through it all, she said she has kept herself and her family safe through isolating, wearing a mask and regular testing.
Birx has not said how long she isolates for before visiting family. Medical experts say people who only recently became infected often do not test positive. They say wearing a mask has limited efficacy in an environment such as the White House, where few others use them.
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Margaret Flynn, the children’s other grandmother comes to the Potomac home to provide child care, then returns to her husband, who has health complications. Birx said that she hasn’t seen the other grandmother since the beginning of the pandemic and does not know how frequently she visits the Potomac house.
Flynn confirmed that she hasn’t spoken to Birx in months. Flynn declined to say how frequently she visits the home to look after the grandchildren.
From the podium at the White House, Birx has spoken about how she comes from a multigenerational family with her parents and her daughter’s family, including grandchildren, all living under one roof. Many saw that as a relatable family dilemma.
In early April, she said she understood the sacrifices many were making and explained that she couldn’t visit her Potomac home when one of her grandchildren had a high fever.
“I did not go there,” she said, while standing next to President Donald Trump. “You can’t take that kind of risk.”
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She has resumed her visits to the house since then.
Numerous elected officials, including prominent Democrats, have been forced to acknowledge that they have not heeded their own stern warnings to the public about the dangers of spreading the virus.
But Birx occupies a position of far greater authority when it comes to the pandemic. Many Americans rely on the advice that she and the government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have given.
Kathleen Flynn, whose brother is married to Birx’s daughter who lives in the Potomac house, said she brought forward information about Birx’s situation out of concern for her own parents, and acknowledged family friction over the matter.
“She cavalierly violated her own guidance,” Flynn said of Birx.
Richard Flynn, her father, confirmed details of Birx’s Thanksgiving holiday gathering and visits to the Potomac house, but said he trusted the doctor and believes she’s doing what’s right. He said Birx’s visits to the house have occurred only every few weeks of late.
“Dr. Birx is very conscientious and a very good doctor and scientist from everything I can see,” Richard Flynn said during a recent interview.
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Medical experts say public health officials such as Birx need to lead by example, including personal conduct that’s beyond reproach.
“We need leadership to be setting an example, especially in terms of things they are asking average Americans to do who are far less privileged than they are,” said Dr. Abraar Karan, a global health specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, about the high-profile lapses in judgment.
Birx came to the White House coronavirus task force with a sterling reputation. A public servant since the Reagan administration, Birx has served as a U.S. Army physician and as a globally recognized AIDS researcher. She was pulled away from her ambassadorial post as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator to assist the task force in late February.
Birx, however, has faced criticism from public health experts and Democratic lawmakers for not speaking out forcefully against Trump when he contradicted advice from medical advisers and scientists about how to fight the virus.
While she stayed in Trump’s good graces far longer than Fauci, who frequently contradicted Trump, the president by late summer had sidelined Birx, too.
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Kathleen Flynn said she urged her brother and sister-in-law not to allow her mother to babysit, arguing it put her mother at risk by spending so much time in a household other than her own, while also posing a danger to Birx’s elderly parents. Flynn, who said she has long had a strained relationship with her brother, is currently not on speaking terms with him and has never met Birx.
Flynn said her mother waited about a week after Birx’s Thanksgiving trip before returning to the Potomac home to provide child care help.
Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University’s law school who has known Birx professionally for years, said that he’s confident that Birx took all necessary precautions to minimize risks in her Thanksgiving travel. Still, he said it undercuts her larger goal to get Americans to cooperate with government officials’ efforts to minimize the death and suffering caused by the virus.
“It’s extraordinarily important for the leaders of the coronavirus response to model the behavior that they recommend to the public,” Gostin said. “We lose faith in our public health officials if they are saying these are the rules but they don’t apply to me.”
—-


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--White House COVID-19 Task Force Member Urges Trump To Get Vaccine

Adm. Brett Giroir , a member of the White House ’ s coronavirus task force , on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to not only protect his own health but also to inspire his followers to do the same .
Vice President Mike Pence , who has headed the task force since February , and Surgeon General Jerome Adams received their vaccinations Friday during a live TV broadcast .
Trump , on the other hand , hasn ’ t done so yet .
“ I think any leader who is influential over groups of individuals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Trump administration ’ s COVID-19 testing czar , told ABC ’ s “ This Week.
” “ I think leadership ... should get vaccines because they will inspire confidence with the people who believe in them and trust them.
” He noted that the U.S. has “ every reason to believe ” the first two vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration , which were produced separately by Pfizer and Moderna , are “ very effective ” and “ safe.
” “ I would encourage the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health and safety and also to generate more confidence among the people who follow him so closely , ” Giroir said .
NEW : “ I would encourage the president to get a vaccine for his own health and safety and also to generate more confidence among the people who follow him so closely , ” Adm. Brett Giroir of the White House COVID-19 task force tells @ GStephanopoulos .
https : //t.co/3DLfDf3VVJ pic.twitter.com/9TGRCbEpme — This Week ( @ ThisWeekABC ) December 20 , 2020 Public health experts have said COVID-19 vaccines are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which has included surges in cases across the U.S. in recent months .
As of Sunday , the U.S. has recorded the most infections and deaths in the world with more than 17.6 million and more than 316,000 , respectively .
Trump , who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October , has largely taken credit for the country ’ s rapid vaccine development but hasn ’ t yet committed to getting vaccinated publicly .
President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to get the vaccine publicly on Monday and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

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Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to not only protect his own health but also to inspire his followers to do the same.
Vice President Mike Pence, who has headed the task force since February, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams received their vaccinations Friday during a live TV broadcast. Trump, on the other hand, hasn’t done so yet.
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“I think any leader who is influential over groups of individuals should have the vaccine,” Girior, the Trump administration’s COVID-19 testing czar, told ABC’s “This Week.” “I think leadership ... should get vaccines because they will inspire confidence with the people who believe in them and trust them.”
He noted that the U.S. has “every reason to believe” the first two vaccines authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, which were produced separately by Pfizer and Moderna, are “very effective” and “safe.”
“I would encourage the president to get a vaccine for his own health and safety and also to generate more confidence among the people who follow him so closely,” Giroir said.
NEW: “I would encourage the president to get a vaccine for his own health and safety and also to generate more confidence among the people who follow him so closely,” Adm. Brett Giroir of the White House COVID-19 task force tells @GStephanopoulos. https://t.co/3DLfDf3VVJ pic.twitter.com/9TGRCbEpme — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 20, 2020
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Public health experts have said COVID-19 vaccines are the only way to stop the pandemic, which has included surges in cases across the U.S. in recent months. As of Sunday, the U.S. has recorded the most infections and deaths in the world with more than 17.6 million and more than 316,000, respectively.
Trump, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, has largely taken credit for the country’s rapid vaccine development but hasn’t yet committed to getting vaccinated publicly.
The White House did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--Mitt Romney Warns Russia Hack Could Potentially 'Cripple' U.S. Electricity, Water

Sen. Mitt Romney ( R-Utah ) on Sunday warned that the recent Russian cyberattack against U.S. agencies and companies could potentially “ cripple ” electricity and water systems in the country .
He also criticized President Donald Trump for failing to condemn Russia for the unprecedented hack .
“ It is an extraordinary invasion of our cyberspace , ” Romney told NBC ’ s “ Meet the Press ” of the attack , which impacted the U.S. Treasury , Commerce Department and State Department among other agencies .
“ They basically have the capacity to know what we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They even got into the agency that ’ s responsible for our nuclear capacities , for our research with regards to nuclear weaponry .
This is an extraordinarily damaging invasion .
And it went on for a long , long time.
” He added that the hack has “ enormous national security implications , ” citing Russia ’ s ability to potentially “ cripple ” the U.S. economically and “ with regards to our water and electricity and so forth.
” Despite the U.S. intelligence community determining Russia was behind the massive hack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the matter .
Romney on Thursday called out the White House in a tweet for its “ inexcusable silence and inaction ” on the cyber espionage operation .
“ In this setting , not to have the White House aggressively speaking out and protesting and taking punitive action is really quite extraordinary , ” he said during an interview with Sirius XM ’ s Olivier Knox that day .
But Trump on Saturday , in his first public comments about the attack , suggested without evidence in a tweet that China ― not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , contradicting his own top officials .
“ I think we ’ ve come to recognize that the president has a blind spot when it comes to Russia , ” Romney told NBC .
“ And the reality here is that the experts , the people who really understand how our systems work and how computers work and software and so forth , the thousands upon thousands of the CIA and the NSA and the Department of Defense have determined that this came from Russia.
” Asked if Trump ’ s decision to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. amounted to more than a “ blind spot , ” Romney said he wasn ’ t going to “ psychoanalyze the president.
” Trump “ doesn ’ t want to recognize Russia as the problem they are and the extraordinarily bad actor they are on the world stage because it reflects poorly on him , ” Romney said , adding that Russia “ really is a geopolitical adversary.
” “ They go against us on every front , ” he continued .
“ They have now invaded our cyberspace again .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether it ’ s politicians or media people.
” President-elect Joe Biden ’ s team is reportedly weighing options for punishing Russia for the attack once he ’ s sworn into office next month .
Some potential responses include financial sanctions and cyberattacks against Russia , Reuters reported Sunday .

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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Sunday warned that the recent Russian cyberattack against U.S. agencies and companies could potentially “cripple” electricity and water systems in the country. He also criticized President Donald Trump for failing to condemn Russia for the unprecedented hack.
“It is an extraordinary invasion of our cyberspace,” Romney told NBC’s “Meet the Press” of the attack, which impacted the U.S. Treasury, Commerce Department and State Department among other agencies.
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“They basically have the capacity to know what we’re doing,” Romney continued. “They even got into the agency that’s responsible for our nuclear capacities, for our research with regards to nuclear weaponry. This is an extraordinarily damaging invasion. And it went on for a long, long time.”
He added that the hack has “enormous national security implications,” citing Russia’s ability to potentially “cripple” the U.S. economically and “with regards to our water and electricity and so forth.”
WATCH: Russia hack is an “extraordinary invasion of our cyberspace,” says @SenatorRomney on #MTP
Romney: “They basically had the capacity to know what we are doing. … This is an extraordinarily damaging invasion.” pic.twitter.com/m4SWf5r92U — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 20, 2020
Despite the U.S. intelligence community determining Russia was behind the massive hack, Trump has remained largely silent on the matter.
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Romney on Thursday called out the White House in a tweet for its “inexcusable silence and inaction” on the cyber espionage operation.
“In this setting, not to have the White House aggressively speaking out and protesting and taking punitive action is really quite extraordinary,” he said during an interview with Sirius XM’s Olivier Knox that day.
On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged that Russia was “pretty clearly” the perpetrator of the hack.
But Trump on Saturday, in his first public comments about the attack, suggested without evidence in a tweet that China ― not Russia ― may have been behind it, contradicting his own top officials.
Romney on Sunday said he was “disappointed” by Trump’s false claim about China.
“I think we’ve come to recognize that the president has a blind spot when it comes to Russia,” Romney told NBC. “And the reality here is that the experts, the people who really understand how our systems work and how computers work and software and so forth, the thousands upon thousands of the CIA and the NSA and the Department of Defense have determined that this came from Russia.”
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Asked if Trump’s decision to downplay Russia’s hostility toward the U.S. amounted to more than a “blind spot,” Romney said he wasn’t going to “psychoanalyze the president.”
Trump “doesn’t want to recognize Russia as the problem they are and the extraordinarily bad actor they are on the world stage because it reflects poorly on him,” Romney said, adding that Russia “really is a geopolitical adversary.”
“They go against us on every front,” he continued. “They have now invaded our cyberspace again. They kill people in their own country, whether it’s politicians or media people.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--Lou Dobbs' Vote Fraud Lies Debunked On His Program After Legal Threat By Vote Tech Firm

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs aired a segment on his program Friday debunking his own screeds about election fraud following a legal threat from a company he ’ s been baselessly attacking .
Dobbs featured a nonpartisan election expert who shot down his attacks after Fox News , which owns Fox Business , received a letter from a lawyer representing the election tech company Smartmatic .
“ There are lots of opinions about the integrity of the election , ” Dobbs said at the start of the segment , before turning to a pretaped interview with Edward Perez of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his claims about Smartmatic .
The detailed 20-page letter from Smartmatic demanded a “ full and complete retraction of all false and defamatory statements and reports ” aired by the network in its coverage of the presidential election .
Similar letters were sent to media outlets Newsmax and One America News , which regularly back Donald Trump .
“ Fox News has engaged in a concerted disinformation campaign against Smartmatic , ” the letter stated .
“ Fox News told its millions of viewers and readers that Smartmatic was founded by [ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that its software was designed to fix elections , and that Smartmatic conspired with others to defraud the American people and fix the 2020 U.S. election by changing , inflating , and deleting votes.
” The claims are categorically false , stated the letter , which included quotes from Dobbs that it slammed as “ false and defamatory statements/implications.
” Fox News , Newsmax and One America News could have “ easily discovered the falsity of the statements and implications made about Smartmatic by investigating their statements before publishing them to millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted .
The letter said the three media operations have exaggerated the company ’ s role in the elections , and that Smartmatic was involved with only Los Angeles County ’ s publicly owned voting system .
As part of a scramble to avoid being sued by the company , the same fact-checking segment was aired on Fox News ’ “ Justice With Judge Jeanine ” Saturday night .
It is also scheduled to air on “ Sunday Morning Futures , ” hosted by Maria Bartiromo , on Sunday , Fox News told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both programs had spewed false , defamatory information , including in statements given on the programs by Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and QAnon-supporting lawyer Sidney Powell .
Trump alarmed his aides Friday as he revealed at a meeting in the Oval Office that he was considering naming Powell as a special counsel to investigate his imagined election fraud .
Dominion Voting Systems , which was also baselessly attacked by Trump supporters , demanded this week that Powell retract her statements about its voting systems .
“ Your reckless disinformation campaign is predicated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s business and the lives of its employees , ” lawyers for the company wrote .

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Fox Business host Lou Dobbs aired a segment on his program Friday debunking his own screeds about election fraud following a legal threat from a company he’s been baselessly attacking.
Dobbs featured a nonpartisan election expert who shot down his attacks after Fox News, which owns Fox Business, received a letter from a lawyer representing the election tech company Smartmatic.
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“There are lots of opinions about the integrity of the election,” Dobbs said at the start of the segment, before turning to a pretaped interview with Edward Perez of the nonprofit Open Source Election Technology Institute contradicting his claims about Smartmatic.
This is very bizarre. Lou Dobbs ran a segment tonight basically debunking his own lies about Smartmatic voting machines pic.twitter.com/FDM91SPtT1 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 19, 2020
The detailed 20-page letter from Smartmatic demanded a “full and complete retraction of all false and defamatory statements and reports” aired by the network in its coverage of the presidential election. Similar letters were sent to media outlets Newsmax and One America News, which regularly back Donald Trump.
“Fox News has engaged in a concerted disinformation campaign against Smartmatic,” the letter stated. “Fox News told its millions of viewers and readers that Smartmatic was founded by [the late Venezuelan President] Hugo Chávez, that its software was designed to fix elections, and that Smartmatic conspired with others to defraud the American people and fix the 2020 U.S. election by changing, inflating, and deleting votes.”
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The claims are categorically false, stated the letter, which included quotes from Dobbs that it slammed as “false and defamatory statements/implications.”
Fox News, Newsmax and One America News could have “easily discovered the falsity of the statements and implications made about Smartmatic by investigating their statements before publishing them to millions of viewers and readers,” the letter noted.
The letter said the three media operations have exaggerated the company’s role in the elections, and that Smartmatic was involved with only Los Angeles County’s publicly owned voting system.
As part of a scramble to avoid being sued by the company, the same fact-checking segment was aired on Fox News’ “Justice With Judge Jeanine” Saturday night. It is also scheduled to air on “Sunday Morning Futures,” hosted by Maria Bartiromo, on Sunday, Fox News told The Washington Post.
The letter noted both programs had spewed false, defamatory information, including in statements given on the programs by Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and QAnon-supporting lawyer Sidney Powell.
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Trump alarmed his aides Friday as he revealed at a meeting in the Oval Office that he was considering naming Powell as a special counsel to investigate his imagined election fraud.
Dominion Voting Systems, which was also baselessly attacked by Trump supporters, demanded this week that Powell retract her statements about its voting systems.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--Negotiators Near Agreement On Nearly $1 Trillion COVID-19 Stimulus

WASHINGTON ( AP ) — Top negotiators appear on the brink Sunday of agreeing to long-delayed legislation to deliver a new round of aid to pandemic-slammed businesses , $ 300 bonus jobless benefits and a $ 600 direct payment to most Americans , an aid package that is smaller than Democrats and President-elect Joe Biden would like .
The must-pass measure , coming in at more than $ 900 billion , is expected to be released late Sunday and would be brought immediately to the House floor for a vote .
It includes tens of billions of dollars to pay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and bail out struggling transit systems and the Postal Service .
Propelling optimism on Sunday was a Saturday night agreement on the last major obstacle to a COVID-19 economic relief package , top negotiators agreed , yet Sunday was being spent ironing out a handful of issues .
All sides said a Sunday agreement appeared very likely , but it quickly became clear that another stopgap funding bill would be needed to avert a partial government shutdown at midnight .
Lawmakers and aides said it would likely require all of Sunday to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which was already guaranteed to be the largest spending measure yet , combining COVID-19 relief with a $ 1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and reams of other unrelated legislation on taxes , health , infrastructure and education .
Late-breaking decisions would limit $ 300 per week bonus jobless benefits — one half the supplemental federal unemployment benefit provided under the CARES Act in March — to 10 weeks instead of 16 weeks as before .
The direct $ 600 stimulus payment to most people would be half the March payment , subject to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual ’ s payment begins to phase out after $ 75,000 .
The COVID-19 legislation was held up by months of dysfunction , posturing and bad faith .
But talks turned serious last week as lawmakers on both sides finally faced the deadline of acting before leaving Washington for Christmas .
In the meantime , with a government shutdown deadline looming at midnight Sunday , lawmakers faced the reality of needing to enact another temporary spending bill — the second in as many days — to avert a shutdown of non-essential activities by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not announced any plans , but such legislation quickly swept through on Friday to keep the government fully open another two days for weekend talks .
Lawmakers had hoped to avoid that step , but progress slowed Saturday as Toomey pressed for the inclusion of a provision to close down Fed lending facilities .
Democrats and the White House said it was too broadly worded and would have tied the hands of the incoming Biden administration , but Republicans rallied to Toomey ’ s position .
The Fed ’ s emergency programs provided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bought state and local government bonds .
Those bond purchases made it easier for those governments to borrow , at a time when their finances were under pressure from job losses and health costs stemming from the pandemic .
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last month that those programs , along with two that purchased corporate bonds , would close at the end of the year , prompting an initial objection by the Fed .
Under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law passed after the Great Recession , the Fed can only set up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treasury secretary .
Toomey said those emergency powers were designed to stabilize capital markets at the height of the pandemic this spring and were expiring at the end of the month anyway .
Democrats said that Toomey was trying to limit the Fed ’ s ability to boost the economy , just as Biden prepared to take office .

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., walks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top negotiators appear on the brink Sunday of agreeing to long-delayed legislation to deliver a new round of aid to pandemic-slammed businesses, $300 bonus jobless benefits and a $600 direct payment to most Americans, an aid package that is smaller than Democrats and President-elect Joe Biden would like.
The must-pass measure, coming in at more than $900 billion, is expected to be released late Sunday and would be brought immediately to the House floor for a vote. It includes tens of billions of dollars to pay for distributing vaccines, help schools reopen, and bail out struggling transit systems and the Postal Service.
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Propelling optimism on Sunday was a Saturday night agreement on the last major obstacle to a COVID-19 economic relief package, top negotiators agreed, yet Sunday was being spent ironing out a handful of issues. All sides said a Sunday agreement appeared very likely, but it quickly became clear that another stopgap funding bill would be needed to avert a partial government shutdown at midnight.
“Barring a major mishap, the Senate and House will be able to vote on final legislation as early as tonight,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The Saturday night breakthrough involved a fight over Federal Reserve emergency powers that was resolved by Schumer and conservative Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Aides to lawmakers in both parties said the compromise sparked a final round of negotiations.
Lawmakers and aides said it would likely require all of Sunday to finalize and draft the final agreement, which was already guaranteed to be the largest spending measure yet, combining COVID-19 relief with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill and reams of other unrelated legislation on taxes, health, infrastructure and education.
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The virus relief measure was finally nearing passage amid a frightening spike in coronavirus cases and deaths and accumulating evidence that the economy was struggling.
Late-breaking decisions would limit $300 per week bonus jobless benefits — one half the supplemental federal unemployment benefit provided under the CARES Act in March — to 10 weeks instead of 16 weeks as before. The direct $600 stimulus payment to most people would be half the March payment, subject to the same income limits in which an individual’s payment begins to phase out after $75,000.
President Donald Trump was supportive, particularly of the push for providing more direct payments. “GET IT DONE,” he said in a late-night tweet.
It would be the first significant legislative response to the pandemic since the $1.8 trillion CARES Act passed virtually unanimously.
The COVID-19 legislation was held up by months of dysfunction, posturing and bad faith. But talks turned serious last week as lawmakers on both sides finally faced the deadline of acting before leaving Washington for Christmas.
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The measure was being added to a $1.4 trillion spending bill and combined with lots of other unfinished work, including previously stalled legislation to extend tax breaks, authorize water projects, and address the problem of surprise sky-high medical bills for out-of-network procedures.
It would be virtually impossible for lawmakers to read and fully understand the sprawling legislation before a House vote. Senate action would follow.
In the meantime, with a government shutdown deadline looming at midnight Sunday, lawmakers faced the reality of needing to enact another temporary spending bill — the second in as many days — to avert a shutdown of non-essential activities by federal agencies on Monday. They had not announced any plans, but such legislation quickly swept through on Friday to keep the government fully open another two days for weekend talks.
Lawmakers had hoped to avoid that step, but progress slowed Saturday as Toomey pressed for the inclusion of a provision to close down Fed lending facilities. Democrats and the White House said it was too broadly worded and would have tied the hands of the incoming Biden administration, but Republicans rallied to Toomey’s position.
The Fed’s emergency programs provided loans to small and mid-size businesses and bought state and local government bonds. Those bond purchases made it easier for those governments to borrow, at a time when their finances were under pressure from job losses and health costs stemming from the pandemic.
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last month that those programs, along with two that purchased corporate bonds, would close at the end of the year, prompting an initial objection by the Fed. Under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law passed after the Great Recession, the Fed can only set up emergency programs with the support of the treasury secretary.
Toomey said those emergency powers were designed to stabilize capital markets at the height of the pandemic this spring and were expiring at the end of the month anyway. Democrats said that Toomey was trying to limit the Fed’s ability to boost the economy, just as Biden prepared to take office.
The emerging agreement on virus aid would deliver more than $300 billion to businesses and provide money for vaccine distribution, renters, schools, the Postal Service and people needing food aid.
The governmentwide appropriations bill would fund agencies through next September. That measure was likely to provide a last $1.4 billion installment for Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall as a condition of winning his signature.
___
AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--Elliot Page Thanks Supporters In First Post Since Coming Out As Transgender

“ I love that I am trans .
And I love that I am queer .
And the more I @ @ @ @ @ embrace who I am , the more my heart grows and the more I thrive @ @ @ @ @ “ To all the trans people who deal with harassment , self-loathing , abuse , @ @ @ @ @ every day : I see you , I love you , and I will do @ @ @ @ @ this world for the better.
” His comments were flooded with support from celebrities including @ @ @ @ @ , Lena Dunham , Natalie Portman , Kate Mara , Laura Linney and many others @ @ @ @ @ of fans and well-wishers .
Page ’ s wife , dancer and choreographer Emma Portner @ @ @ @ @ so proud ” of him and asked for patience and privacy and for followers to @ @ @ @ @ fervent support of trans life every single day .
”

“I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive,” Page wrote.
“To all the trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse, and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better.”
His comments were flooded with support from celebrities including Julianne Moore, Ruby Rose, Lena Dunham, Natalie Portman, Kate Mara, Laura Linney and many others, as well as thousands of fans and well-wishers.
Page’s wife, dancer and choreographer Emma Portner, said she was “so proud” of him and asked for patience and privacy and for followers to join her in “the fervent support of trans life every single day.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-20--College Football Semifinal Moved From Rose Bowl Due To Coronavirus Restrictions

Wolterk via Getty Images The 2021 College Football Playoff semifinal game scheduled to take place at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena , California , has been relocated to AT & T Stadium in Arlington , Texas .
The College Football Playoff semifinal game previously scheduled to take place in Southern California ’ s famed Rose Bowl stadium on New Year ’ s Day has been officially relocated to a stadium in Texas after county officials barred groups of spectators from attending due to spiking coronavirus cases and deaths in California .
Officials for the College Football Playoff and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rose Bowl annually , announced Saturday that the game will be played at AT & T Stadium in Arlington , Texas , where county officials will allow coaches and players from both teams to invite guests .
“ While the Pasadena Tournament of Roses is extremely disappointed that this year ’ s game will not take place at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena , the decision to move the game is based on the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California along with the inability to host player and coach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” tournament officials said in a statement .
“ We are very grateful to Rose Bowl officials and the City of Pasadena .
They have worked hard to listen to the concerns of the CFP , the teams that might have played there , and their state and government officials , ” said Bill Hancock , executive director of the College Football Playoff .
Texas , like California and several other states across the country , is experiencing a spike in new coronavirus cases and deaths , according to data from Johns Hopkins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Lone Star State will host the relocated College Football Playoff game came roughly a month after Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott ( R ) vowed to oppose “ any more lockdowns ” designed to stop the spread of the virus , such as those restricting large gatherings .
On Friday , University of Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters Notre Dame football might boycott the playoffs unless restrictions on spectators were relaxed .
By Saturday , the previously scheduled game in California was moved to Texas , which was among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guidelines at the start of the pandemic and one of the first states to relax them .
College athletics have been haphazard throughout the pandemic , with some conferences and schools electing to cancel their seasons while others tried to move forward with plans as usual .
The result has been a mess of a schedule , with schools playing varying numbers of games often scheduled around teams ’ coronavirus outbreaks .
The rush by some university and team officials to get unpaid college athletes back on the field and in front of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ programs are to the financial survival of universities throughout the country .
With that knowledge , earlier this year , hundreds of college athletes threatened to boycott the season to secure better health protocols and compensation .

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The College Football Playoff semifinal game previously scheduled to take place in Southern California’s famed Rose Bowl stadium on New Year’s Day has been officially relocated to a stadium in Texas after county officials barred groups of spectators from attending due to spiking coronavirus cases and deaths in California.
Officials for the College Football Playoff and the Tournament of Roses, which hosts the Rose Bowl annually, announced Saturday that the game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where county officials will allow coaches and players from both teams to invite guests.
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“While the Pasadena Tournament of Roses is extremely disappointed that this year’s game will not take place at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, the decision to move the game is based on the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Southern California along with the inability to host player and coach guests at any game in California,” tournament officials said in a statement.
“We are very grateful to Rose Bowl officials and the City of Pasadena. They have worked hard to listen to the concerns of the CFP, the teams that might have played there, and their state and government officials,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff.
The 2021 College Football Playoff semifinal game scheduled to take place at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, has been relocated to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Wolterk via Getty Images
Texas, like California and several other states across the country, is experiencing a spike in new coronavirus cases and deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Saturday’s announcement that the Lone Star State will host the relocated College Football Playoff game came roughly a month after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vowed to oppose “any more lockdowns” designed to stop the spread of the virus, such as those restricting large gatherings.
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On Friday, University of Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters Notre Dame football might boycott the playoffs unless restrictions on spectators were relaxed. By Saturday, the previously scheduled game in California was moved to Texas, which was among the last states to enforce social distancing guidelines at the start of the pandemic and one of the first states to relax them.
College athletics have been haphazard throughout the pandemic, with some conferences and schools electing to cancel their seasons while others tried to move forward with plans as usual. The result has been a mess of a schedule, with schools playing varying numbers of games often scheduled around teams’ coronavirus outbreaks. The rush by some university and team officials to get unpaid college athletes back on the field and in front of spectators has demonstrated just how vital athletic programs are to the financial survival of universities throughout the country.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-21--How Worrying Is Britain's Fast-Spreading COVID-19 Variant?

The strain , referred to by some experts as the B.1.1.7 lineage , is not the first new variant of the pandemic virus to emerge , but is said to be up to 70 % more transmissible than the previously dominant strain in the United Kingdom .
Most scientists say yes .
The new variant has rapidly become the dominant strain in cases of COVID-19 in parts of southern England , and has been linked to an increase in hospitalization rates , especially in London and in the adjacent county of Kent .
While it was first seen in Britain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dec. 9 in London , 62 % of COVID-19 cases were due to the new variant .
That compared to 28 % of cases three weeks earlier .
The governments of Australia , Italy and the Netherlands say they detected cases of the new strain .
It was identified in the Netherlands in early December .
A few cases of COVID-19 with the new variant have also been reported to the ECDC , Europe ’ s disease monitoring agency , by Iceland and Denmark .
Media reports in Belgium say cases have also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right to take it seriously , ” said Peter Openshaw , a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London .
Shaun Fitzgerald , a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge , said the situation was “ extremely concerning.
” The main worry is that the variant is significantly more transmissible than the original strain .
It has 23 mutations in its genetic code - a relatively high number of changes - and some of these are affecting its ability to spread .
Scientists say it is about 40 % -70 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Saturday it could increase the reproduction “ R ” rate by 0.4 .
This means it is spreading faster in Britain , making the pandemic there yet harder to control and increasing the risk it will also spread swiftly in other countries .
“ The new B.1.1.7 ... still appears to have all the human lethality that the original had , but with an increased ability to transmit , ” said Martin Hibberd , professor of emerging infectious disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine .
WILL COVID-19 VACCINES @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there ’ s no evidence that vaccines currently being deployed in the UK - made by Pfizer and BioNtech - or other COVID-19 shots in development will not protect against this variant .
“ It ’ s unlikely that this will have anything more than a minor , if any , effect on the vaccine ’ s effectiveness , ” said Adam Finn , a vaccine specialist and professor of paediatrics at Bristol University .
Britain ’ s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance also said COVID-19 vaccines appeared to be adequate in generating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coronavirus .
“ We are not seeing ... any gross changes in the spike protein that will reduce vaccine effectiveness so far , ” said Julian Tang , professor and clinical virologist at Leicester University .
DOES THE NEW VARIANT AFFECT TESTING ?
To some extent , yes .
One of the mutations in the new variant affects one of three genomic targets used by some PCR tests .
This means that in those tests , that target area , or “ channel ” , would come up negative .
“ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to detect the virus , ” said Robert Shorten , an expert in microbiology at the Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine .
Since PCR tests generally detect more than one gene target , however , a mutation in the spike protein only partly affects the test , reducing that risk of false negative results .
ARE THERE OTHER SIGNIFICANT SARS-CoV-2 VARIANTS ABOUT ?
Yes .
Strains of the COVID-19-causing virus have emerged in recent months in South Africa , Spain , Denmark and other countries that have also raised concern .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ been found to contain mutations that make it more deadly , or more likely to be able to evade vaccines or treatments .
DID THIS NEW VARIANT ORIGINATE IN BRITAIN ?
Vallance said on Saturday he thought the new variant might have started in the UK .
Some scientists in Europe have credited British expertise in genomic surveillance for identifying the mutation .
“ The UK has one of the most comprehensive genetic surveillance programmes in the world - 5 % to 10 % all virus samples are genetically tested .
Few countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , head of viral diseases at the Belgian Institute of Health , told a news conference on Monday .

The strain, referred to by some experts as the B.1.1.7 lineage, is not the first new variant of the pandemic virus to emerge, but is said to be up to 70% more transmissible than the previously dominant strain in the United Kingdom.
ARE THE CONCERNS JUSTIFIED?
Most scientists say yes. The new variant has rapidly become the dominant strain in cases of COVID-19 in parts of southern England, and has been linked to an increase in hospitalization rates, especially in London and in the adjacent county of Kent.
While it was first seen in Britain in September, by the week of Dec. 9 in London, 62% of COVID-19 cases were due to the new variant. That compared to 28% of cases three weeks earlier.
The governments of Australia, Italy and the Netherlands say they detected cases of the new strain. It was identified in the Netherlands in early December.
A few cases of COVID-19 with the new variant have also been reported to the ECDC, Europe’s disease monitoring agency, by Iceland and Denmark. Media reports in Belgium say cases have also been detected there.
“It is right to take it seriously,” said Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London. Shaun Fitzgerald, a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge, said the situation was “extremely concerning.”
WHY?
The main worry is that the variant is significantly more transmissible than the original strain. It has 23 mutations in its genetic code - a relatively high number of changes - and some of these are affecting its ability to spread.
Scientists say it is about 40%-70% more transmissible. The UK government said on Saturday it could increase the reproduction “R” rate by 0.4.
This means it is spreading faster in Britain, making the pandemic there yet harder to control and increasing the risk it will also spread swiftly in other countries.
“The new B.1.1.7 ... still appears to have all the human lethality that the original had, but with an increased ability to transmit,” said Martin Hibberd, professor of emerging infectious disease at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
WILL COVID-19 VACCINES PROTECT AGAINST THIS VARIANT?
Scientists say there’s no evidence that vaccines currently being deployed in the UK - made by Pfizer and BioNtech - or other COVID-19 shots in development will not protect against this variant.
“It’s unlikely that this will have anything more than a minor, if any, effect on the vaccine’s effectiveness,” said Adam Finn, a vaccine specialist and professor of paediatrics at Bristol University.
Britain’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance also said COVID-19 vaccines appeared to be adequate in generating an immune response to the variant of the coronavirus.
“We are not seeing...any gross changes in the spike protein that will reduce vaccine effectiveness so far,” said Julian Tang, professor and clinical virologist at Leicester University.
DOES THE NEW VARIANT AFFECT TESTING?
To some extent, yes.
One of the mutations in the new variant affects one of three genomic targets used by some PCR tests. This means that in those tests, that target area, or “channel”, would come up negative.
“This has affected the ability of some tests to detect the virus,” said Robert Shorten, an expert in microbiology at the Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine.
Since PCR tests generally detect more than one gene target, however, a mutation in the spike protein only partly affects the test, reducing that risk of false negative results.
ARE THERE OTHER SIGNIFICANT SARS-CoV-2 VARIANTS ABOUT?
Yes. Strains of the COVID-19-causing virus have emerged in recent months in South Africa, Spain, Denmark and other countries that have also raised concern.
However none, so far, has been found to contain mutations that make it more deadly, or more likely to be able to evade vaccines or treatments.
DID THIS NEW VARIANT ORIGINATE IN BRITAIN?
Vallance said on Saturday he thought the new variant might have started in the UK. Some scientists in Europe have credited British expertise in genomic surveillance for identifying the mutation.
“The UK has one of the most comprehensive genetic surveillance programmes in the world - 5% to 10% all virus samples are genetically tested. Few countries do better,” Steven Van Gucht, head of viral diseases at the Belgian Institute of Health, told a news conference on Monday.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-21--As A Doctor, I Plead With You To Cancel Your Holiday Plans

Justin Sullivan via Getty Images A nurse evaluates a patient with COVID-19 who was just been admitted to the emergency room at Regional Medical Center in San Jose , California .
I say this because I spoke to you ― or someone just like you ― in the weeks after Thanksgiving .
I have continued talking to you with your fever and chills , your persistent cough , your severe headache , your body aches and diarrhea , your loss of smell and taste , your nasal congestion , your “ head cold , ” your audibly worsening shortness of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or someone like you ― before and after your COVID-19 diagnosis .
I heard about your 40th birthday party in Cabo San Lucas , Mexico , in the middle of a global pandemic , which you did not cancel because tickets were cheap .
And when you and a half dozen of the people you were with developed symptoms upon your return home , you marveled that this happened even though you “ were so careful.
” I bit my tongue when you ― or someone like you ― feverish and scared and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you and your friend had masks on the whole time you were together but “ of course took them off when we ate lunch.
” It has been exhausting mustering the compassion , grasping for the expressions of solace , calibrating the exact balance of words that will make you forgive yourself for what you did at Thanksgiving ― or any other time this year ― but not so much that you ’ ll repeat it at Christmas and New Year ’ s .
“ Forgive but don ’ t forget , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my approach the past few weeks .
I have asked you ― or someone like you ― if you felt comfortable to share your story and be a much-needed public health evangelist .
Tell them over your group chat or Facebook , I encouraged .
Let them know that all it took was one gathering .
Just two families , and now everyone is sick .
“ Tell your friends , ” I said casually , like a salesperson peddling goods .
My favorite patient in the past month was the one who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some COVID-19 shoptalk with me .
I said , “ Use me as your excuse .
Say that you just got off the phone with this intense doctor , and she said you can ’ t come home for the holidays to potentially kill your parents .
Tell them I said so.
” I heard your audible , palpable sigh of relief at having this way out .
I ’ m also guessing you are not a member of the superelite who doesn ’ t have to pay the price for their carelessness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of their actions .
If you contract the virus , there will be no guaranteed bed for you , no teams of doctors lining up to administer monoclonal antibody treatments .
I am not an ICU doctor .
I do not know the feeling of having a full panel of sick and dying COVID-19 patients .
I do not know the trauma of holding phones and iPads up to patients and bearing witness to screen-facilitated final goodbyes .
I have not experienced the discombobulating fear and horror and rage of walking off those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maskless throngs gathering at the bars .
But I have sent you ― or someone like you ― to these very hospital colleagues of mine because I immediately noticed your pause , your gasp for air between sentences when you explained your symptoms to me .
I noted the wracking cough over the phone that just didn ’ t stop , and so I sent you to the ER .
And I heard your genuine remorse about the indoor , unmasked gathering with loved ones who you thought didn ’ t have COVID-19 @

A nurse evaluates a patient with COVID-19 who was just been admitted to the emergency room at Regional Medical Center in San Jose, California. Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
It is not too late to cancel your Christmas plans. Your holiday hangouts. Your annual end-of-the-year, multifamily, multigenerational bonanzas. This is a reminder, a plea, an entreaty tossed in the wind with the hope it snags onto a wintry branch of your consciousness and clings there.
I say this because I spoke to you ― or someone just like you ― in the weeks after Thanksgiving. I have continued talking to you with your fever and chills, your persistent cough, your severe headache, your body aches and diarrhea, your loss of smell and taste, your nasal congestion, your “head cold,” your audibly worsening shortness of breath.
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I listened to you ― or someone like you ― before and after your COVID-19 diagnosis. I heard about your 40th birthday party in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in the middle of a global pandemic, which you did not cancel because tickets were cheap. And when you and a half dozen of the people you were with developed symptoms upon your return home, you marveled that this happened even though you “were so careful.”
I counseled you ― or someone like you ― at your grandfather’s house, where you gathered to celebrate his milestone birthday but started to feel sick, wondering out loud whether you should have come because until then you had been “so good overall.”
I bit my tongue when you ― or someone like you ― feverish and scared and isolating from your kids, told me that you and your friend had masks on the whole time you were together but “of course took them off when we ate lunch.”
I ordered the COVID-19 test for you ― or someone like you ― after the Las Vegas family vacation, after which all of you are now sick at home.
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I witnessed your incredulity when you said, “But it was just my household and my parents’ household. It was just two families! How could this have happened?”
I sent your COVID-19-positive teenager to the emergency room because he was in his second week of the illness with new onset chest pain.
I absorbed your diabetic mother’s sigh when she explained that she doesn’t blame you for visiting her after your trip to the East Coast because nobody thought you had anything worse than a cold.
I comforted you as you isolated in one room of your home, staying as far away from the children as possible, while your mother struggled to breathe in a hospital not so far away.
It has been exhausting mustering the compassion, grasping for the expressions of solace, calibrating the exact balance of words that will make you forgive yourself for what you did at Thanksgiving ― or any other time this year ― but not so much that you’ll repeat it at Christmas and New Year’s. “Forgive but don’t forget,” I cautioned. That has been my approach the past few weeks.
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I have asked you ― or someone like you ― if you felt comfortable to share your story and be a much-needed public health evangelist. Tell them over your group chat or Facebook, I encouraged. Let them know that all it took was one gathering. Just two families, and now everyone is sick. “Tell your friends,” I said casually, like a salesperson peddling goods.
“I can’t count how many patients needed me to give them an out so they could skip the wedding, the funeral, the Thanksgiving gathering. They knew better but didn’t know how to do better.”
One person dies every half a minute in our country right now. We are running out of intensive care unit beds in California. The state has ordered 5,000 body bags and 60 morgue trucks to deal with the COVID-19 dead there. This is not a drill.
I can’t count how many patients needed me to give them an out so they could skip the wedding, the funeral, the Thanksgiving gathering. They knew better but didn’t know how to do better.
My favorite patient in the past month was the one who canceled his Bay Area-to-Los Angeles trip after some COVID-19 shoptalk with me. I said, “Use me as your excuse. Say that you just got off the phone with this intense doctor, and she said you can’t come home for the holidays to potentially kill your parents. Tell them I said so.” I heard your audible, palpable sigh of relief at having this way out.
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Now I’m giving it out to you. Please use it.
You can have COVID-19 and not know it. And if you breathe, you can spread it. It is that simple.
I promise you have not been careful enough that you are not a risk to your loved ones. Unfortunately, you are not exceptional. When it comes to COVID-19, none of us are.
I’m also guessing you are not a member of the superelite who doesn’t have to pay the price for their carelessness because they receive top medical care regardless of their actions. If you contract the virus, there will be no guaranteed bed for you, no teams of doctors lining up to administer monoclonal antibody treatments.
I am not an ICU doctor. I do not know the feeling of having a full panel of sick and dying COVID-19 patients. I do not know the trauma of holding phones and iPads up to patients and bearing witness to screen-facilitated final goodbyes. I have not experienced the discombobulating fear and horror and rage of walking off those wards and onto city streets to see maskless throngs gathering at the bars.
But I have sent you ― or someone like you ― to these very hospital colleagues of mine because I immediately noticed your pause, your gasp for air between sentences when you explained your symptoms to me. I noted the wracking cough over the phone that just didn’t stop, and so I sent you to the ER. And I heard your genuine remorse about the indoor, unmasked gathering with loved ones who you thought didn’t have COVID-19.
Please stay home.
Every day now, the death toll is worse than 9/11, and we are approaching a half million dead. We all just have a little more ways to go. The light of that vaccine is at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.
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Please stay home.
Please do not gather indoors with family and friends, and for the love of whomever or whatever you love, please don’t take those masks off.
We live in a failed nation with a vacuum where leaders should be. None of our fates should be left to individual decisions, but apparently they are. Basically, right now, if you don’t live with them, you shouldn’t be seeing them.
Please love your loved ones enough to stay apart from them just a little bit longer so that you can ensure that they will be around for a little bit longer.
Note: Personal details were slightly altered in order to protect the privacy of the author’s patients.
Dipti S. Barot is a primary care doctor in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also a freelance writer. You can follow her on Twitter at @diptisbarot.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-21--Panel Recommends That People Over 75, Essential Workers Should Be Next For Vaccines

It ’ s not clear how long it will take to vaccinate those groups .
Vaccine doses have come out slower than earlier projections .
But at the same time , some experts noted that not everyone who is recommended to get vaccinated may choose to get a shot .
The committee also voted that behind those groups should be people aged 65 to 74 , numbering about 30 million ; those aged 16 to 64 with medical conditions like obesity and cancer who are at higher risk if they get COVID-19 , numbering as many as 110 million ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This group of as many as 57 million includes a wide category of food service and utility workers but also those in legal and financial jobs and the media .
The expert panel ’ s recommendation next goes to the CDC director and to states as guidance to put together vaccination programs .
CDC directors have almost always signed off on committee recommendations .
No matter what the CDC says , there will be differences from state to state , because various health departments have different ideas about who should be closer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Public health experts say the shots — and others in the pipeline — are the only way to stop a virus that has been spreading wildly .
Nationwide , more than 219,000 people per day on average test positive for the virus , which has killed over 316,000 in the U.S. and nearly 1.7 million worldwide .
In Louisville , Kentucky , UPS driver Todd Elble said his vaccine shipment was the “ most important load that I ’ ve hauled ” in a 37-year career .
His parents contracted COVID-19 in November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He said the family speculates that his father got infected while traveling on a hunting trip with four other relatives to Wyoming , and some are still sick .
“ I ’ m going to take the vaccine myself .
I ’ m going to be first in line for my father — I ’ ll tell you that much — and any others that should follow , ” he said .
“ I feel in my heart that everybody should , to help get this stopped.
” There won ’ t be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spring , so doses will be rationed at least for the next several months .
President-elect Joe Biden pledged earlier this month to have 100 million doses distributed in his first 100 days in office , and his surgeon general nominee said Sunday that it ’ s still a realistic goal .
But Vivek Murthy told NBC ’ s “ Meet the Press ” it ’ s more realistic to think it may be midsummer or early fall before vaccines are available to the general public , rather than late spring .
Murthy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toward having the shots available to lower-risk individuals by late spring but doing so requires “ everything to go exactly on schedule.
” Meanwhile , Trump ’ s surgeon general , Jerome Adams , defended the administration ’ s handling of the Pfizer vaccine Sunday , a day after the Army general charge of getting COVID-19 vaccines across the U.S. apologized Saturday for “ miscommunication ” with states over the number of doses to be delivered in the early stages of distribution .
At least a dozen states reported they would receive a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than they had been told previously .
“ I want to reassure people that your information when collected to get your second shot , if you get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine , will not be used in any way , shape or form to harm you legally , ” Adams said .
“ That is something that I have been assured of .
”

LOADING ERROR LOADING
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal advisory panel recommended Sunday that people 75 and older and essential workers like firefighters, teachers and grocery store workers should be next in line for COVID-19 shots, while a second vaccine began rolling out to hospitals as the nation works to get the coronavirus pandemic under control.
The two developments came amid a vaccination program that began only in the last week and has given initial shots to about 556,000 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech already is being distributed, and regulators last week gave approval to the one from Moderna Inc. that began shipping Sunday.
Earlier this month, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said health care workers and nursing home residents — about 24 million people — should be at the very front of the line for the vaccines.
Sunday’s vote by the panel was who should be next in line, and by a vote of 13-1, it decided that it should be people 75 and older, who number about 20 million, as well as certain front-line workers, who total about 30 million.
The essential workers include firefighters and police; teachers and school staff; those working in food, agricultural and manufacturing sectors; corrections workers; U.S. Postal Service employees; public transit workers; and grocery store workers. They are considered at very high risk of infection because their jobs are critical and require them to be in regular contact with other people.
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It’s not clear how long it will take to vaccinate those groups. Vaccine doses have come out slower than earlier projections. But at the same time, some experts noted that not everyone who is recommended to get vaccinated may choose to get a shot.
The committee also voted that behind those groups should be people aged 65 to 74, numbering about 30 million; those aged 16 to 64 with medical conditions like obesity and cancer who are at higher risk if they get COVID-19, numbering as many as 110 million; and a tier of other essential workers. This group of as many as 57 million includes a wide category of food service and utility workers but also those in legal and financial jobs and the media.
The expert panel’s recommendation next goes to the CDC director and to states as guidance to put together vaccination programs. CDC directors have almost always signed off on committee recommendations. No matter what the CDC says, there will be differences from state to state, because various health departments have different ideas about who should be closer to the front of the line.
Federal officials expect that vaccine doses will be limited for several months. CDC officials say up to 20 million are projected to start getting shots this month, another 30 million next month, and 50 million in February. That’s 100 million out of a population of more than 330 million.
Pfizer’s shots were first shipped out a week ago and started being used the next day, kicking off the nation’s biggest vaccination drive.
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Public health experts say the shots — and others in the pipeline — are the only way to stop a virus that has been spreading wildly. Nationwide, more than 219,000 people per day on average test positive for the virus, which has killed over 316,000 in the U.S. and nearly 1.7 million worldwide.
Earlier Sunday, trucks left the Olive Branch, Mississippi, factory, near Memphis, Tennessee, with the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The much-needed shots are expected to be given starting Monday, just three days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized their emergency rollout.
In Louisville, Kentucky, UPS driver Todd Elble said his vaccine shipment was the “most important load that I’ve hauled” in a 37-year career. His parents contracted COVID-19 in November, and his 78-year-old father died. He said the family speculates that his father got infected while traveling on a hunting trip with four other relatives to Wyoming, and some are still sick.
“I’m going to take the vaccine myself. I’m going to be first in line for my father — I’ll tell you that much — and any others that should follow,” he said. “I feel in my heart that everybody should, to help get this stopped.”
He added: “To bring this back, I feel Dad was in the truck with me today.”
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the chief science adviser to the federal government’s vaccine distribution effort, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that nearly 8 million doses will be distributed Monday, about 5.9 million of the Moderna vaccine and 2 million of the Pfizer vaccine.
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Slaoui also predicted the U.S. will experience “a continuing surge,” with larger numbers of coronavirus cases possible from gatherings for Christmas.
“I think, unfortunately, it will get worse,” he said.
There won’t be enough shots for the general population until spring, so doses will be rationed at least for the next several months. President-elect Joe Biden pledged earlier this month to have 100 million doses distributed in his first 100 days in office, and his surgeon general nominee said Sunday that it’s still a realistic goal.
But Vivek Murthy told NBC’s “Meet the Press” it’s more realistic to think it may be midsummer or early fall before vaccines are available to the general public, rather than late spring. Murthy said Biden’s team is working toward having the shots available to lower-risk individuals by late spring but doing so requires “everything to go exactly on schedule.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s surgeon general, Jerome Adams, defended the administration’s handling of the Pfizer vaccine Sunday, a day after the Army general charge of getting COVID-19 vaccines across the U.S. apologized Saturday for “miscommunication” with states over the number of doses to be delivered in the early stages of distribution. At least a dozen states reported they would receive a smaller second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine than they had been told previously.
Gen. Gustave Perna told reporters in a telephone briefing that he made mistakes by citing numbers of doses that he believed would be ready. Slaoui said the mistake was assuming vaccines that had been produced were ready for shipment when there was a two-day delay.
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“And unless it’s perfectly right, we will not release vaccine doses for usage,” he said. “And, sometimes, there could be small hiccups. There have been none, actually, in manufacturing now. The hiccup was more into the planning.”
But Adams told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that “the numbers are going to go up and down.”
“It absolutely was not poor planning,” he said. “There’s what we plan. There’s what we actually allocate. There’s what’s delivered, and then there’s what’s actually put in people’s arms.”
Adams, who is Black, said he understands that mistrust of the medical community and the vaccine among Blacks “comes from a real place,” the mistreatment of communities of color. He cited the decades-long Tuskegee experiment in Alabama, where Black men with syphilis were not treated so the disease could be studied.
He also said immigrants in the U.S. illegally should not be denied the vaccine because of their legal status because “it’s not ethically right to deny those individuals.”
“I want to reassure people that your information when collected to get your second shot, if you get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, will not be used in any way, shape or form to harm you legally,” Adams said. “That is something that I have been assured of.”
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Both the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot require two doses several weeks apart. The second dose must be from the same company as the first. Both vaccines appeared safe and strongly protective in large, still unfinished studies.
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