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When Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021, it allocated $350 billion in assistance to state and local governments – providing the largest infusion of cash to local governments since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For New Orleans, that money represented a desperately needed lifeline. The city had been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. It was an early hotspot for the virus. And Black residents, who comprise about 60% of the city’s population, were disproportionately impacted, accounting for more than 75% of COVID deaths in the first few months of the pandemic. As...

White House updates http://COVID.gov to a website outlining how the pandemic originated from a Chinese lab leak

Since scientists first began playing around with dangerous pathogens in laboratories, the world has experienced four or five pandemics, depending on how you count. One of them, the 1977 Russian flu, was almost certainly sparked by a research mishap. Some Western scientists quickly suspected the odd virus had resided in a lab freezer for a couple of decades, but they kept mostly quiet for fear of ruffling feathers. Yet in 2020, when people started speculating that a laboratory accident might have been the spark that started the Covid-19 pandemic, they were treated like kooks and cranks. Many public health officials...

The New York Times published an opinion column claiming the scientific community "badly misled" the public in an effort to suppress the theory that COVID-19 originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, even after the paper's own science writer called the theory "racist." The March 16 piece, "We Were Badly Misled About the Event That Changed Our Lives," by Times columnist and Princeton Sociology Professor Zeynep Tufekci, argued that the scientific community long suspected COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan lab, but purposefully "hid or understated crucial facts," to mislead the public about the lab’s "terrifyingly lax" safety precautions. "We have...

WASHINGTON (TNND) — As the world marks over five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, its effects continue to reverberate across the United States. A recent Pew Research Center survey reveals that only 20% of Americans now view the coronavirus as a major threat, a significant drop from 67% in 2020. "For most folks, the public health threat is in the rear view mirror," Alec Tyson, Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center noted. However, the pandemic's impact remains profound, particularly among younger generations who may have missed out on school events and may have...

Bereaved families and communities nationwide have come together to reflect on and mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Events have been taking place across the UK to remember those who died - and to pay tribute to frontline health staff, social care workers, volunteers and researchers who played crucial roles. There were emotional scenes in towns and cities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as the pain, grief, compassion and sacrifice of those difficult times were remembered.

What we're covering here Infections in US rise: There are now more than 550 cases of the novel coronavirus in the US, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the CDC. Around the globe: The novel coronavirus has killed more than 3,800 people, and infected more than 108,000, according to CNN’s tally — the majority in mainland China.

A Washington election observer has been charged with a felony after refusing to wear a mask during the November presidential vote count. Timothy Hazelo, a Republican from Oak Harbor, was charged last week with unauthorized access to a voting center over a dispute that started when he refused to don a mask while monitoring ballot-counters. Police were called on the 57-year-old when he refused to follow the mask-mandate that Island County Auditor Shelia Crider had imposed on local ballot-counting rooms — a measure that Hazelo says the elected official had no legal right to establish. We have to stand up...

Shares of vaccine companies fell after a Senate panel voted to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services to the full chamber. Moderna’s stock fell more than 4%, shares of BioNTech dropped 3% and shares of Novavax and GSK both fell around 1%. Pfizer’s stock fell almost 2%, even after the company reported fourth-quarter results that topped expectations.

The NHS has been urged to step up health services for its own staff amid fears that many are suffering post-traumatic stress disorder following their experiences during the Covid pandemic. Health minister Stephen Kinnock is to investigate, following warnings that medical workers are suffering “flashbacks” but have received no support.

Dr Anthony Fauci was given a pre-emptive pardon by outgoing President Biden on Monday - likely due to fears he could be charged with perjury by Trump's DOJ. The former White House advisor has long been accused of misleading Congress under oath about funding risky virus research in Wuhan before the Covid pandemic. While Fauci had not been charged with a crime, there were growing calls among Republicans - including Elon Musk - to charge the 84-year-old with perjury, which carries a prison sentence of at least five years. In a May 2021 Senate hearing on the origins of Covid,...

It really spiraled into a long, arduous journey of learning what happens when big corporate interests overtake the needs of an individual," said Brianne Dressen. ... She struggled to survive a COVID vaccine clinical trial, but Brianne Dressen’s story led to a global movement and a historic court battle. ... In 2020, Dressen was a busy mom, a preschool teacher, and married to a PhD chemist. She volunteered to be part of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine trial. “It just seemed like second nature to me. I was watching what was going on on the news. Medical professionals are in my...

he United States vaccine injury compensation system is grappling with significant challenges in handling claims tied to COVID-19 vaccines. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic warns that without major reforms, clearing the backlog in the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) could take almost 10 years, revealing significant system inefficiencies. The CICP, designed to handle emergencies on a smaller scale, has struggled to adapt to the demands of a global vaccination effort. According to a report from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, "The current backlog would take nearly a decade to eliminate without accounting for any new...

During the early days of Donald J. Trump’s first presidency, lawyers at the attorney general’s office in Washington State would gather to strategize about what they saw as troubling directives being handed down by the White House.There were orders barring travelers from Muslim-majority countries, rolling back environmental rules and ending protections for young immigrants. Lawyers in Washington and other states controlled by Democrats believed the actions were endangering rights and lives.But there was one thing working to their advantage: Many of the administration’s orders were written in such a sloppy fashion, said Bob Ferguson, Washington State’s attorney general, that he...

The House report on HHS Covid propaganda is devastating. The Biden administration spent almost $1 billion to push falsehoods about Covid vaccines, boosters, and masks on the American people. If a pharma company had run the campaign, it would have been fined out of existence. HHS engaged a PR firm, the Fors Marsh Group (FMG), for the propaganda campaign. The main goal was to increase Covid vax uptake. The strategy: 1. Exaggerate Covid mortality risk 2. Downplay the fact that there was no good evidence that the Covid vax stops transmission. ... The propaganda campaign extended beyond vax uptake and...

Uncle Sam infected by a different strain of “long Covid”... As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) carries out widely-criticized responses to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, officials say the agency’s Disaster Recovery Fund is incapable of handling a third major storm. While some are circulating false accusations that disaster funds have been diverted to immigrants or poured into the proxy war in Ukraine, a review of the agency’s 2024 outlays reveals a different, ongoing drain on FEMA’s coffers: Long after the end of the declared Covid-19 emergency, FEMA is still pumping out billions of dollars to pay for pandemic expenses...

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and Prevention estimates infections are growing or likely growing in 39 states. While the agency no longer keeps track of the number of coronavirus cases, its latest data is based on emergency department visits and wastewater testing in each state. Most of the states where infections are believed to be growing are along the coasts, including California, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas. Some states in the Northeast, Deep South and Great Lakes region have also been labeled as “growing.” Based on the data, California, Arizona and Florida are experiencing the...

Anthony Fauci is still getting a taxpayer-funded security detail and SUV, despite retiring from his $480,000-a-year government job 18 months ago. Now a top Republican has accused the former White House COVID advisor of trying to get 'sympathy' by claiming extremists want to kill him and he is the target of death threats. During the publicity tour to promote his new book, 83-year-old Fauci recently said he is scared 'deep down, that there's a possibility that somebody's gonna kill me.' But that is just a strategy to 'develop empathy and sympathy' and paint 'Republicans as creating this danger,' Sen. Rand...

California’s COVID numbers are on the rise thanks, in part, to new subvariants, suggesting an earlier-than-normal start to the summer season.The percentage of COVID tests coming back with positive results in the state rose to 5.3% for the week that ended June 3, up from 2.2% the month before. The numbers are still relatively low — last summer’s peak positive test rate was 13.1% — but the increases have the attention of doctors and health officials as the summer travel season begins.“Numbers are definitely going up,” said Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California....

The Los Angeles City Council officially terminated its vaccination mandate for municipal employees Monday... The council members voted to end the city’s vaccination mandate .. The decision was unanimous, with all present council members voting 13-0 to rescind the mandate, effective retroactively from June 2. This move aligns with actions taken by other Southern California cities and comes more than a year after the city lifted its coronavirus emergency declaration. The ordinance ends the vaccine requirement for current and future city employees and allows those fired or who resigned over the mandate to seek re-employment, ABC 7 reported. The council...