Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., places a flag at the COVID Memorial Project's interfaith memorial service to honor the 200,000 people who died due to coronavirus on the National Mall on Sept. 22, 2020. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
The United States passed 200,000 deaths due to COVID-19 Tuesday and experts warn that number may double before the end of the year as an autumn surge in cases starts, according to USA Today.
<p>Researchers at the <a href="http://www.healthdata.org/" target="_blank">Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington</a> (IHME) analyzed various scenarios that include fatigue from wearing masks and social distancing to create projections for the number of COVID-19 deaths we should expect by Jan. 1. One of their models has the U.S. reaching just shy of 400,000 deaths by the beginning of 2021.</p><p>"The worst is yet to come. I don't think perhaps that's a surprise, although I think there's a natural tendency as we're a little bit in the Northern hemisphere summer, to think maybe the epidemic is going away," said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the IHME, earlier this month, as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/22/us-coronavirus-death-toll-tops-200000-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-.html" target="_blank">CNBC</a> reported.</p>
<p>The U.S. accounts for roughly one-fifth of all the confirmed COVID-related deaths around the world despite having only 4 percent of the population, according to CNBC. The virus claimed the lives of roughly 100,000 Americans in the first four months of the outbreak. That number doubled over the next four months. Now, several states are seeing surges in cases after summer peaks in the Southeast, Texas and Arizona have diminished.</p><p>The surges that took place across those states quickly declined with mitigation efforts like social distancing and mandated mask wearing, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/world/covid-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage#link-19bfa512" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-states-cases-increase/2020/09/22/105826b4-f9ef-11ea-a275-1a2c2d36e1f1_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>, 27 states and Puerto Rico have seen an increase in the number of cases over the last week. It also found that six states and Puerto Rico set record highs for the number of positive cases for a single day on Monday. While roughly half the states are seeing an increase in cases, only seven are seeing decreases, according to data from <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a>, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>"We're entering into the fall and into the winter, and that means there's going to be more indoor things than outdoor things," Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday during the Atlantic Festival, as CNN reported. "Going into that situation, I would like to have seen the baseline of where we are — the daily number of infections — come way, way down, and not be stuck at around 30 to 40,000 per day."</p>
<p>In addition to the death toll, experts note that we are just starting to learn about the long-term effects of people who have survived the virus, but are experiencing physical or cognitive side effects that hamper their daily life. Also, the true death toll may be much higher since there have been more than 200,000 excess deaths this year since February, according to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CDC statistics</a>, as CNBC reported. Excess deaths are the actual number of deaths compared to a projection based on historical averages.</p><p>"Pandemics are inevitable. They're going to happen. But does it have to get this bad? No," said Dr. Syra Madad, senior director of the systemwide special pathogens program at New York City Health + Hospitals, as CNBC reported. "That was avoidable, and we've made significant mistakes as a nation. We have been behind the eight ball from the very beginning."</p>
<p>The U.S. is not alone in seeing a surge in cases as the weather starts to change and restrictions ease up slightly. France, Spain and Israel are all struggling as new cases start to spread, according to The Washington Post. They were among the 73 countries that are seeing upticks in cases, as The New York Times reported.</p><p>In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced strict new measures that may last for the next six months as the country saw 5,000 new cases Tuesday. Pubs and restaurants will close by 10 p.m. and fines for not wearing a mask will double to $255, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/world/europe/boris-johnson-britain-plan-virus.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. The new mitigation efforts came as government scientists and medical advisers warned that the UK could see 50,000 new cases a day in short order if the virus is allowed to spread unchecked.</p><p>"We always knew that while we might have driven the virus into retreat, the prospect of a second wave was real," Johnson said to the House of Commons Tuesday, as The New York Times reported. "I'm sorry to say that, as in Spain and France and many other countries, we've reached a perilous turning point."</p>
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WHO Releases Plans for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution as U.S., China and Russia Opt Out
22 September
Health + Wellness
Headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva amid the COVID-19 outbreak on Aug. 17, 2020. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Monday that 64 high-income nations have joined an effort to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine fairly, prioritizing the most vulnerable citizens, as Science reported. The program is called the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or Covax, and it is a joint effort led by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
<p>The 64 high-income countries bring the total number of participating countries up to 156, but their participation is crucial to financing the 2 billion doses that the WHO hopes to purchase and distribute before the end of 2021, according to <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/21/64-high-income-nations-join-effort-to-expand-global-access-to-covid-19-vaccines-but-u-s-and-china-do-not/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">STAT News</a>.</p><p>The 156 economies participating in Covax make up 64 percent of the global population.</p><p>"COVAX is now in business: governments from every continent have chosen to work together, not only to secure <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vaccines">vaccines</a> for their own populations, but also to help ensure that vaccines are available to the most vulnerable everywhere," said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, in a WHO <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/21-09-2020-boost-for-global-response-to-covid-19-as-economies-worldwide-formally-sign-up-to-covax-facility" target="_blank">statement</a>. "With the commitments we're announcing today for the COVAX Facility, as well as the historic partnership we are forging with industry, we now stand a far better chance of ending the acute phase of this pandemic once safe, effective vaccines become available."</p>
<p>The United States, Russia and China have not agreed to join Covax. The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration plans to withdraw from the WHO by next July so it refuses to participate in a WHO-led campaign, as STAT News reported. China has not said if it will participate or not, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/coronavirus-vaccine-covax-who/2020/09/21/d21c7b4a-f9d3-11ea-a510-f57d8ce76e11_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>.</p><p>"COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis that demands an unprecedented global response," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement. "Vaccine nationalism will only perpetuate the disease and prolong the global recovery. Working together through the COVAX Facility is not charity, it's in every country's own best interests to control the pandemic and accelerate the global economic recovery."</p>
<p>At a briefing on Monday, Ghebreyesus denounced vaccine nationalism again, according to The Washington Post. "The race for vaccines is a collaboration, not a contest," he said to a gathering of reporters. "This is not charity. It's in every country's best interest. We sink or swim together."</p><p>Once a vaccine candidate reaches all of its endpoints for safety and efficacy, the WHO's plan will be implemented in two phases under a "fair allocation mechanism." The first phase has two discrete parts. After enough doses of a successful candidate are produced, each participating country will receive enough doses for 3 percent of their population. That first batch would go to health care and social care workers on the frontlines of the pandemic. After that first batch is distributed, a second set of doses will be distributed equally so 20 percent of the population can be inoculated. The second set of doses will be for vulnerable populations like the elderly and people with complicating health conditions, according to Science.</p>
<p>The second phase will distribute vaccine doses by need rather than by equal distribution. Countries that take part in Covax will receive vaccines based on how desperately they are needed. To determine urgency, Covax will look at the transmission rate, whether other diseases like flu are spreading rapidly, and if a healthcare system is seeing its hospitals and intensive care units overwhelmed, as Science reported.</p><p>"Providing each country with enough doses to start protecting the health system and those at higher risk of dying is the best approach to maximize the impact of the small quantities of vaccines," said Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão, the WHO's assistant director general for access to medicines and health products, as The Washington Post reported.</p><p>While the first phase of the plan may not address the most dire and urgent situations, the equal distribution of the vaccine in proportion to population is meant to encourage more countries to participate in Covax, according to The Washington Post.</p><p>"It's a very pragmatic and expedient way of trying to put forward a simple plan and will not ignite a food fight among different member states in the first phase," said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as The Washington Post reported.</p>
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Exterior of Cold Tube demonstration pavilion. Lea Ruefenacht
By Gloria Oladipo
In the face of dangerous heat waves this summer, Americans have taken shelter in air conditioned cooling centers. Normally, that would be a wise choice, but during a pandemic, indoor shelters present new risks. The same air conditioning systems that keep us cool recirculate air around us, potentially spreading the coronavirus.
<p>"Air conditioners look like they're bringing in air from the outside because they go through the window, but it is 100 percent recirculated air," said Forrest Meggers, an assistant professor of architecture at Princeton University. "If you had a system that could cool without being focused solely on cooling air, then you could actually open your windows."</p><p>Meggers and an international team of researchers have developed a safer way for people to beat the heat — a highly efficient cooling system that doesn't move air around.</p><p>Scientists lined door-sized panels with tiny tubes that circulate cold water. Stand next to a panel, and you can feel it drawing heat away from your body. Unlike air conditioners, these panels can be used with the window open — or even outdoors — making it possible to cool off while also getting some fresh air. This reduces the risk of spreading airborne viruses, like the coronavirus.</p>
<p>"If you look at what the health authorities and governments are saying, the safest place to be during this pandemic is outside," said Adam Rysanek, an assistant professor of environmental systems at the University of British Columbia, who was part of the research effort. "We're trying to find a way to keep you cool in a heat wave with the windows wide open, because the air is fresh. It's just that it's hot."</p><p>Cooling panels have been around for a while, but in limited use, because scientists haven't found a good way to deal with condensation. Like a cold can of Coke on a hot summer day, cooling panels collect drops of water, so they have to be paired with dehumidifiers indoors to stay dry. Otherwise, overhead panels might drip water on people standing underneath.</p><p>Meggers and his colleagues got around this problem by developing a thin, transparent membrane that repels condensation. This is the key breakthrough behind their cooling technology. Because it stays dry, it can be used in humid conditions, even outdoors.</p>
<p>In air conditioners, a dehumidifier dries out the air to prevent condensation. This component uses an enormous amount of energy, around half of the total power consumed by the air conditioner, researchers said. The new membrane they developed eliminates condensation with no energy cost, making the cooling panels significantly more efficient than a typical AC unit.</p><p>The research team involved scientists from the University of British Columbia, Princeton, UC Berkeley and the Singapore-ETH Centre. They published their <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/08/17/2001678117" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">findings</a> in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em>.</p><p>"This study demonstrates that we can maintain comfortable conditions for people without cooling all the air around them," said Zoltan Nagy, an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas, who was not affiliated with the study. "Probably the most significant demonstration of this study is that humans can be provided with comfort in a very challenging thermal environment using a very efficient method."</p>
<p>Researchers developed their technology for use in the persistently hot, muggy climate of Singapore, where avoiding condensation would be particularly difficult.</p><p>To test their design, they assembled a set of cooling panels into a small tunnel, roughly the size of a school bus. The tunnel, dubbed the "Cold Tube," sat in a plaza in the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore. Scientists surveyed dozens of people about how they felt after walking through the tunnel. Even as the temperature neared 90 degrees F outside, most participants reported feeling comfortable in the Cold Tube.</p>Scientists said they want to make their technology available to consumers as quickly as possible, for use in homes and offices, or outdoors. Climate change is producing <a href="https://time.com/5627355/climate-change-heat-waves/" target="_blank">more severe heat</a>, which is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/29/the-air-conditioning-trap-how-cold-air-is-heating-the-world" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">driving demand</a> for air conditioners. Researchers hope their cooling panel will offer a more energy-efficient alternative to AC units. If consumers can use less power, that will help cut down on the pollution that is driving climate change.
<p>Before they can sell the panels, researchers said they need to make them hardy enough to survive outdoors. The anti-condensation membrane is currently so thin that you could tear it with a pencil, so it must be made stronger. Scientists also need to demonstrate that the panels work efficiently indoors. Hospitals and schools in Singapore have already shown interest in the cooling system.</p><p>"We know the physics works. Now we need to do one more test so we have a bit more of a commercially viable product," Rysanek said. "It's really about trying to get this into people's hands as quickly as possible."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/new-cooling-technology-protects-against-severe-heat-and-viral-spread-1e5b96ae793a" target="_blank">Nexus Media.</a></em></p>
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Few U.S. Students Repeat a Grade but That Could Change Due to COVID-19
19 September
Health + Wellness
54% of parents with school-age children expressed concern that their children could fall behind academically, according to a poll conducted over the summer of 2020. Maria Symchych-Navrotska / Getty Images
By Pamela Davis-Kean
With in-person instruction becoming the exception rather than the norm, 54% of parents with school-age children expressed concern that their children could fall behind academically, according to a poll conducted over the summer of 2020. Initial projections from the Northwest Evaluation Association, which conducts research and creates commonly used standardized tests, suggest that these fears are well-grounded, especially for children from low-income families.
<p>Based on the association's findings and my own research <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sFKNk7EAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">regarding academic achievement and socioeconomic status</a>, I believe it's likely, based on these early projections, that the widespread and rapid switch to remote schooling will have negative long-term academic consequences.</p><p>One possibility is that the share of students who end up repeating at least one grade at some point could rise due to this unprecedented disruption.</p><p>According to government data collected in 2018, only about <a href="https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/9713-children-ages-6-to-17-who-repeated-one-or-more-grades-since-starting-kindergarten" target="_blank">6% of U.S. students</a> <a href="http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/graderet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had to repeat a grade</a> before graduating from high school prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDI5NzkxNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzMxNzExOH0.selMyETdcP84ZFiYNqsaFZRjPHh0Zwj9HI9ySU77Yl4/img.png?width=980" id="952f7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="99b9ddf4c6e5e0c4bcdbf9c2d9150f22" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Any potential effort to make students repeat a grade when they can't demonstrate they have learned enough to advance to the next one would build on some recent precedents.</p><p>Starting in 2001 with the <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/methods/reading/reading.html#4" target="_blank">No Child Left Behind Act</a>, reading proficiency by third grade became one of the federal mandates for schools to receive designated streams of federal funding.</p><p>This <a href="https://www.fcd-us.org/assets/2016/04/DoubleJeopardyReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal legislation, combined with research</a> indicating that children who couldn't yet read <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.06.004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fared better when they repeated a grade</a>, brought about a wave of state-level legislation. So far, a total of <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/third-grade-reading-legislation.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">16 states have enacted laws</a> that prevent students from moving on from third grade until they are considered <a href="http://hermes.cde.state.co.us/drupal/islandora/object/co%3A26127/datastream/OBJ/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proficient on standardized reading tests</a>.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/third-grade-reading-legislation.aspx" target="_blank">state laws vary</a>. Some states, like <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/1008.25" target="_blank">Florida</a>, require students who aren't reading well enough to repeat third grade altogether. Others, such as <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/120B.12" target="_blank">Minnesota</a>, let children move onto fourth grade and provide them with supplemental reading assistance until they can read at what the state deems to be a third-grade level. In practice, students typically don't repeat more than one grade.</p><p>I consider it likely that the academic consequences of the extended period of remote learning that began in March 2020 will be unequal. These consequences are bound to fall more heavily on students who are growing up facing persistent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.294" target="_blank">economic hardship</a>.</p><p>The practice of making children who are struggling to learn how to read repeat third grade, however well-intentioned, can be risky. For example, students who repeat a grade can feel <a href="http://hermes.cde.state.co.us/drupal/islandora/object/co%3A26127/datastream/OBJ/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stigmatized and less motivated to learn</a>.</p><p>Therefore, I believe parents, educators and policymakers will all need to try to address the inevitable gaps in learning bound to arise from widespread remote learning during the pandemic.</p>
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/pamela-davis-kean-1142666" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pamela Davis-Kean</a> is a </em><em>Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Pamela Davis-Kean receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD).</em><span></span>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/few-us-students-ever-repeat-a-grade-but-that-could-change-due-to-covid-19-143883" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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Former Pence Aid Endorses Biden, Says Trump Cared More About Re-election Than Stopping Coronavirus
18 September
Politics
In an ad released by Republican Voters Against Trump, former coronavirus task force member Olivia Troye roasted the president for his response. Republican Voters Against Trump / YouTube
Yet another former Trump administration staffer has come out with an endorsement for former Vice President Joe Biden, this time in response to President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>In an ad released by Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) Thursday, a former homeland security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, as well as his top aide on the White House coronavirus task force, accused the president of caring more about his chances of reelection than the pandemic.</p><p>"Towards the middle of February, we knew it wasn't a matter of if Covid would become a big pandemic here, it was a matter of when," the aide, Olivia Troye, said in the video, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/politics/former-pence-aide-coronvirus-task-force-slams-trump/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. "But the President didn't want to hear that, because his biggest concern was that we were in an election year, and how was this going to affect what he considered to be his record of success?"</p>
<div id="af97a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="998a352f5cc7ff389416d2b3276d97c9"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306685541220524046" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NEW AD: @OliviaTroye was @VP's lead staffer on COVID-19. She put her heart & soul into the job.
After a while she… https://t.co/Erfsf9W6cY</div> — Republican Voters Against Trump (@Republican Voters Against Trump)<a href="https://twitter.com/RVAT2020/statuses/1306685541220524046">1600373084.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Troye also said she witnessed Trump dismiss the severity of the new disease.</p><p>"It was shocking to see the president saying that the virus was a hoax, saying that everything's OK when we know that it's not," Troye said. "The truth is, he doesn't actually care about anyone else but himself."</p><p>Troye's video comes about a week after the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-coronavirus-woodward-tapes-2647565763.html" target="_self">release of tapes</a> in which Trump acknowledged to journalist Bob Woodward that he did in fact understand the severity of the virus, but downplayed the risks to the public in order to prevent panic. The disease has now sickened more than 6.6 million Americans and killed almost 200,000, according to Friday morning figures from <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a>.<br></p>
<p>In another shocking revelation, Troye recalled an extremely callous remark Trump had made about the new disease.</p><p>"Maybe this Covid thing's a good thing," Troye claimed the president said during a meeting. "I don't like shaking hands with people. I don't have to shake hands with these disgusting people."</p><p>Troye continued by reflecting that "those disgusting people" were the same people who supported the president and who he claimed to care about, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/olivia-troye-pence-advisor-endorses-biden-coronavirus-task-force/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CBS News reported</a>.</p><p>"If the president had taken this virus seriously, or if he had actually made an effort to tell how serious it was, he would have slowed the virus spread, he would have saved lives," Troye said.</p>
<p>The White House responded by saying that Troye, who left the administration in late July, was merely lashing out at her former employers.</p><p>"I haven't read her comments in any detail, but it reads to me like one more disgruntled employee who's left the White House and now has decided to play politics during an election year," Pence told reporters, as CNN reported. "I think my staff has indicated that she made no comments like that when she was serving on our team here at the White House coronavirus task force."</p><p>White House spokesperson Judd Deere said that Troye never attended private meetings with the president and that her statements were inaccurate, as CBS News reported. And White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1306747024210001922" target="_blank">tweeted</a> a letter Troye sent to the coronavirus task force upon her departure in which she praised its members for their efforts.</p>
<div id="2a391" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2ec3a912ad5dfd294d10417281f42254"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306747024210001922" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Interesting departure letter from a disgruntled former detailee who typically sat in the overflow room of task forc… https://t.co/wWBvf1Vusx</div> — Kayleigh McEnany (@Kayleigh McEnany)<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/statuses/1306747024210001922">1600387743.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>However, POLITICO pointed out that the letter was addressed to the task force and did not mention Trump, while Troye's video criticized Trump specifically. In the ad, Troye maintained that serving on the task force was the "honor of a lifetime," but she felt her efforts were undermined by Trump's decisions.</p><p>"I put my heart and soul into this role every single day," she said in the ad, as POLITICO reported. "But at some points I would come home at night, I would look myself in the mirror and say, are you really making a difference? Because no matter how hard you work or what you do, the president is going to do something detrimental to keeping Americans safe."</p><p>Fellow task force member and top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that Troye was a "good person" and "important to the team," as CBS News reported.</p>
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Moderna, Pfizer Release Study Designs as Vaccine Distrust Grows Among Americans
18 September
Health + Wellness
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld has his arm disinfected by Dr. Chao Wang during a Moderna clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine at Meridian Clinical Research in Rockville, Maryland on July 27, 2020. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The secretive blueprints for two of the leading vaccine candidates for the coronavirus were released Thursday. Pfizer and Moderna became the first two companies among the nine leading vaccine candidates to share their study designs, hoping that the disclosures will create trust and clarity for the public, as The New York Times reported.
<p>The details that the two companies shared are usually kept secret until after a study is complete, yet the companies decided to publish the size of their trials, the selection criteria for patients, and the adverse reactions that would cause the trials to stop prematurely. The Moderna trial will include 30,000 participants, while the Pfizer trial will have 44,000 participants, according to The New York Times.</p><p>The information released shows that the two companies and their executives still do not know if the vaccines are safe and effective. Furthermore, the disclosure shows that the ambitious time frame that President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> touts to have a vaccine available in a few weeks is all but impossible, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/17/vaccine-companies-reveal-their-study-designs-even-trump-sows-confusion/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>.</p>
<p>Trump's frequent comments about the availability of a vaccine to the general population by election day contradict the word of scientists, health officials and the companies manufacturing and testing the vaccine candidates. That mixed-messaging has sown confusion with the public and created the appearance that a vaccine candidate will be rushed to market prior to proving its safety and efficacy, according to The Washington Post.</p><p>"We need trust as much as we need efficacy," said Andrew Pavia, an infectious-diseases specialist at the University of Utah School of Medicine, to The Washington Post. "We can't afford to do anything that reduces the trust. It's not just the trust of the public. Experts in the field have to see enough of the data to feel comfortable to recommend it."</p><p>New poll number show that trust is eroding. Data released Thursday by the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/09/17/u-s-public-now-divided-over-whether-to-get-covid-19-vaccine/" target="_blank">Pew Research Center</a> show that the number of Americans who are willing to get a vaccine for the coronavirus has dropped precipitously since the beginning of the pandemic.</p><p>According to the new poll, about 51 percent of the population is likely to get the vaccine, while 49 percent said they are unwilling or unlikely to get it. Only 21 percent said they would definitely get the vaccine.</p>
<p>The percentage of people who were likely to get the vaccine is down from 72 percent in May, marking a 21 percent drop over the summer. The thorniest issue for study participants was their growing concern that a vaccine was being developed too fast and it would be widely distributed before it was proven to be safe and effective.</p><p>"Over the past month alone — a period in which President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised a vaccine will be delivered by the end of 2020 and possibly before the Nov. 3 election — the share of adults who say they would get vaccinated has fallen 8 points after public opinion on the matter generally remained steady over the summer," the researchers wrote, as <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/516952-americans-willingness-to-take-covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported.</p><p>That growing unease about a vaccine is what prompted the nine companies with the leading vaccine candidates to take the unusual step of banding together to pledge that a vaccine would not be released prematurely, according to The Hill. For a vaccine to be effective, confidence has to grow so enough people will receive the vaccine to raise immunity levels high enough to stop transmission of the virus.</p><p>As for a realistic timeframe, Thursday's disclosures by Moderna and Pfizer showed that there would not be a vaccine from either company by election day. Moderna's estimated timetable showed it would not likely know if its candidate works until 2021. Pfizer did not release an estimated timetable in its disclosure, according to The New York Times.</p>
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USDA and Meatpacking Industry Collaborated to Undermine COVID-19 Response, Documents Show
17 September
Politics
The USDA and the meatpacking industry worked together to downplay and disregard risks to worker health during the COVID-19 pandemic. RGtimeline / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the meatpacking industry worked together to downplay and disregard risks to worker health during the Covid-19 pandemic, as shown in documents published Monday by Public Citizen and American Oversight.
<p>The <a href="https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2020-OSEC-04055-F_2nd-Interim_Item-1_Redacted.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f7bf3f03-ce98-4df4-9c45-f44d9a6a5890" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">documents</a>, which the groups obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, reveal that a week before President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/catastrophic-harm-feared-trump-uses-emergency-powers-keep-meat-packing-plants-open" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued his controversial executive order </a>in April to keep meatpacking plants open—overriding closure orders from local health officials—a leading meat industry lobby group drafted a proposed executive order that was strikingly similar to Trump's directive.</p><p>North American Meat Institute president Julie Anna Potts drafted the document, which invoked the Korean War-era Defense Production Act in proposing a presidential proclamation that orders "critical infrastructure food companies continue their operations to the fullest extent possible."</p><p>The documents also show that the North American Meat Institute repeatedly requested that USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue discourage workers who were afraid to return to work from staying home, that meatpacking plants asked the USDA to intervene on multiple occasions when state and local governments either shut them down over health and safety concerns or sought to impose worker health and safety standards, and that pork producer and food processing giant Smithfield Foods repeatedly requested that the USDA "order" it to reopen its meat processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota—even though the agency lacks the legal authority for such a move.</p>
<div id="13077" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="11b9fe5ff48ebc437353df6df9c2c892"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305915938148147205" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Just a week before the Trump administration issued an executive order aimed at keeping meat packing plants open, th… https://t.co/DkbXgPm4YR</div> — ProPublica (@ProPublica)<a href="https://twitter.com/propublica/statuses/1305915938148147205">1600189597.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"While we knew that the meatpacking industry was lobbying the Trump administration to take steps to protect its profits regardless of the cost to workers' lives, the degree of collaboration these documents show is astounding," <a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/usda-meatpacking-industry-collaborated-to-undermine-covid-19-response-foia-docs-show/" target="_blank">said</a> Adam Pulver, attorney for Public Citizen.</p><p>"As outbreaks continue to emerge in meatpacking plants, it is stunning to see the cavalier attitude officials took to the health and safety of workers in the early part of the pandemic," Pulver added. "To the extent that the USDA impeded the efforts of state and local governments to contain the virus, the blood of meatpacking workers is on their hands."</p><p>According to July <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6927e2.htm" target="_blank">data</a> from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 23 states reported Covid-19 outbreaks in meat and poultry processing facilities, with 16,233 cases and 86 deaths reported in 239 facilities. Fully 87% of those cases occurred among racial or ethnic minorities. The problem is global, with other countries from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/53137613" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Britain</a> to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-jbs-specialreport/special-report-how-covid-19-swept-the-brazilian-slaughterhouses-of-jbs-worlds-top-meatpacker-idUSKBN25Z1HZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brazil</a> reporting widespread Covid-19 infection among their meatpackers.</p><p>A common theme connects all of these outbreaks around the world, critics said Tuesday—the prioritization of profit over people.</p>
<p>"During a global pandemic, Americans should be able to trust that public health experts are drafting public health standards, not big businesses looking out for their bottom lines," <a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/usda-meatpacking-industry-collaborated-to-undermine-covid-19-response-foia-docs-show/" target="_blank">said</a> Austin Evers, executive director at American Oversight. "This is corruption that came at the cost of lives and safety. Making matters worse, we know now that Trump knew the coronavirus was a deadly threat even while he played it down and took steps he knew were at odds with what experts advised."</p><p>The poultry industry, already the target of a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-03/u-s-chicken-industry-accused-of-conspiring-to-keep-immigrant-wages-down" target="_blank">massive class-action lawsuit</a> alleging some of the biggest animal agriculture corporations in the nation conspired to suppress worker wages and benefits, has been roiled by accusations of worker mistreatment during the pandemic. </p><p>"For us employees that work in production, we are treated like modern-day slaves," Tara Williams, an employee at a Tyson Foods poultry plant in Camilla, Georgia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/02/meat-plant-workers-us-coronavirus-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told</a> <em>The Guardian </em>in May.</p><p>"Excuse my language, but Tyson really aren't going to give a f**k about us at all," Williams—who has worked at the plant for five years and currently earns $13.55 an hour—said of the $22 billion company after her colleague Elose Willis, who worked at the plant for 35 years, <a href="https://www.loftonfuneralhome.com/obituary/Elose-Willis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">died</a> of Covid-19 in April. </p><p>"It was like they were keeping a secret," Williams said of Willis' death. "It took them about two weeks just to put a picture up, to acknowledge that she had died." </p><p>In related news, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/10/want-know-what-workers-life-worth-america-trumps-osha-fines-meat-company-just-13494" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fined</a> Smithfield's Sioux Falls plant just $13,494 last Thursday for failing to take adequate steps to contain the virus, leading to the infection of more than 1,200 plant employees and the deaths of four plant workers between March and June. Critics said the fine isn't nearly enough.</p>
<div id="36e4c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e7c8048c2755109629a3b3072fcb3261"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304424041814593539" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Meatpacking union @UFCW, which reps workers at this plant (four of whom died), slams OSHA for the small $13k fine a… https://t.co/tnhfKd89ab</div> — Dave Jamieson (@Dave Jamieson)<a href="https://twitter.com/jamieson/statuses/1304424041814593539">1599833901.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, which represents Smithfield Foods workers, <a href="https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2020/09/10/osha-fines-smithfield-foods-sioux-falls-south-dakota/5768786002/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f7bf3f03-ce98-4df4-9c45-f44d9a6a5890" target="_blank">slammed</a> the fine as "insulting and a slap on the wrist."</p><p>"How much is the health, safety, and life of an essential worker worth? Based on the actions of the Trump administration, clearly not much," said UFCW president Marc Perrone.</p><p>"This so-called 'fine' is a slap on the wrist for Smithfield, and a slap in the face of the thousands of American meatpacking workers who have been putting their lives on the line to help feed America since the beginning of this pandemic," Perrone added. </p><p>Other critics, including vegans, vegetarians, and animal rights and environmental advocates argued that the accelerated spread of Covid-19 from meatpacking facilities is but the latest compelling argument in favor of reducing—or eliminating—meat consumption.</p><p>"We know that Covid-19 originated in a meat market and that previous influenza viruses originated in pigs and chickens," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) <a href="https://www.peta.org/blog/meat-shortage-slaugherhouses-go-vegan/" target="_blank">said</a> in April amid news that a Foster Farms slaughterhouse in Livingston, California was <a href="https://www.peta.org/blog/coronavirus-covid-19-slaughterhouse-meat-concerns/?utm_source=PETA::Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=0420::veg::PETA::Twitter::Workers%20Blame%20Major%20Pig%20Slaughterhouse%20600%20Infected%20COVID-19::::tweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ordered closed</a> by local health authorities due to a Covid-19 outbreak that killed eight employees.</p>
<div id="28490" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="48ddd3480a2beb42597d9516ef652f0f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1252416495990140929" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! @SmithfieldFoods allegedly took NO PRECAUTIONS to protect the safety of its workers, leaving o… https://t.co/viAJ026pLy</div> — PETA (@PETA)<a href="https://twitter.com/peta/statuses/1252416495990140929">1587434336.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"It's not a matter of <em>whether</em> using and killing animals for food will give rise to another disease outbreak—it's a matter of <em>when</em>," said PETA. "There has never been a better, more obvious time for businesses to put an end to their dirty trade of slaughtering animals for their flesh." </p>
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Teen Depression Was Already a Problem; The Pandemic Could Be Making It Worse
17 September
Health + Wellness
A teenager reads a school English assignment at home after her school shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 22, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images
The pandemic has affected everyone, but mental health experts warn that youth and teens are suffering disproportionately and that depression and suicide rates are increasing.
<p>"While young people are generally physically healthy, they are psychiatrically vulnerable." Dr. Richard Friedman wrote in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/opinion/suicide-young-people.html?smid=em-share" target="_blank">New York Times</a> opinion piece in January.</p><p>The psychiatrist warned even then that there was already an "epidemic of teen depression and suicide" that was largely being overlooked and under-supported. He cited <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db352-h.pdf" target="_blank">evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)</a> that, after declining for almost 20 years, the suicide rate among Americans aged 10 to 24 had jumped 56 percent between 2007 and 2017. Suicide has been, and is still, the second leading cause of death, after accidents, for that same age range, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db352-h.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CDC</a> reported.</p>
<p>Shutdowns and other responses to the coronavirus pandemic since Friedman's article have exacerbated the already precarious situation of youth mental health and well-being.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm" target="_blank">CDC survey on mental health in June</a> found symptoms of anxiety and depression "up sharply," <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/10/911117577/the-pandemic-has-researchers-worried-about-teen-suicide" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported. 11% of respondents said they had "seriously considered" suicide in the past 30 days; among 18 to 34-year-olds, that number more than doubled to 25%. The news report offered up uncertainty about the future and the state of the world, educational and daily routine disruptions, and isolation from peers and caring adults as potential factors.</p><p>Teenagers crave structure, Mendi Baron, founder of Ignite Treatment Centers, told <a href="https://knpr.org/knpr/2020-07/toll-teens-mental-health-experts-say-pandemic-causing-uptick-depression-suicides" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KNPR's State of Nevada</a>. Without it, their mood and mental health suffer, she said.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/grief-loss.html" target="_blank">CDC</a>, many have experienced increased grief and loss due to the "drastic changes to daily routines and ways of life that usually bring us comfort and a feeling of stability." How adolescents experience and process this grief is similar and different than in children and adults, the center said.</p><p>"Adolescents may experience significant changes in their sleep patterns, isolate themselves more, frequently appear irritable or frustrated, withdraw from usual activities, or engage more frequently with technology," the CDC said. "It is important for parents or caregivers to engage with their adolescents over their grief to promote healthy coping and acceptance. Parents may also need to obtain mental health services for the adolescent and family to deal with grief."</p><p>Teens are also "hardwired to be social," Baron told the KNPR's State of Nevada. Caroline Edgeworth, a high school student and co-founder of Hope Means Nevada, told KNPR that school closures had "dramatically hurt" her and her friends because of lost time together and with their sports teams.</p><p>"It was kind of my escape from home and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/cabin-fever-coping-skills-2645677793.html" target="_self">now I'm stuck at home</a>," she said, reported KNPR.</p><p>Lisa Damour, an adolescent psychologist, agreed.</p><p>"Teenagers are in a developmental space where it is critically important that they have regular contact with their peers and are able to develop close and ongoing relationships with adults outside the home, such as their teachers, their coaches, their advisers," she told NPR. "And I worry very much about what it means for that to be disrupted by the pandemic."</p>
<p>Spending more time at home due to quarantine also increases another major factor in youth suicides: increased access to lethal weapons.</p><p>NPR reported that gun ownership in a particular state was the single strongest predictor of youth suicide rates in the state. A 2019 study found that for each 10 percent increase in household gun ownership, the suicide rate for 10- to 19-year-olds increases by more than 25 percent in that state, NPR reported.</p><p>Gun sales also doubled between March and June, the report stated, with 40% of the 10 million new guns sold during that time being to new gun owners. It's a "red flag" because firearms are used in over half of youth suicides, NPR reported.</p><p>Not having guns in the home or keeping them safely locked away is especially important with adolescents having to stay home due to the pandemic because "teens are impulsive," Damour told NPR.</p>
<p>These factors are causing some experts to push for schools to reopen, including CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield, reported <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/schools-reopen-students-mental-health-experts-weigh/story?id=71969959" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ABC News</a>. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) generally support the CDC's push to reopen schools for the sake of children's mental and developmental health, but not where coronavirus is circulating, ABC reported.</p><p>"Whether we are sending students back for in-person school or not, we need to put emphasis on providing mental health support," child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Avanti Bergquist, elected school board member and distinguished fellow of AACAP, told ABC.</p><p>Parents, caregivers and teachers can keep these tips in mind to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/childrens-mental-health-pandemic-family-support-2647353043.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5" target="_self">help kids and teens struggling during the pandemic</a>:</p><ul><li>Educate parents and teachers to recognize depression in young people and learn the warning signs of suicide, like sudden behavior changes, talking or writing about suicide, and giving away prized possessions, Friedman wrote in the New York Times.</li><li>Talk to kids. Check-in regularly. If a teen talks about hurting themselves or disappearing, ask directly, "Is that something you think you might really do or you think about doing? Or are you just letting me know that you're very upset right now?," Damour told NPR. Importantly, listen with compassion and without dismissing what they are saying.</li><li>Listen. The <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/ct-sta-vickroy-teens-mental-health-st-0826-20190823-xcp4eclb35hvjhhha7b6uiu25q-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chicago Tribune</a> reported on the importance of being heard. Ask students how they are doing, and listen with an open mind. The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/advice-for-parents-mental-health-children-covid-19/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a> stressed fostering relationships and creating an open-dialogue about wellness and feelings. "The stronger the connections are, the more opportunities they'll have to address something before it becomes untenable," said Nadjeh Awadallah, director of a Chicago INSPIRE program, reported the Tribune.</li><li>Acknowledge grief and loss. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/grief-loss.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CDC</a> suggested outlets to process and express grief such as music, art, writing, gardening and other creative activities.</li><li>Look out for anger as an indicator. "In teenagers, uniquely, depression can take the form of irritability," Damour said, reported NPR. "That depression in teenagers sometimes looks like a prickly porcupine. Everybody rubs them the wrong way. And that is easy to miss because sometimes we'll just dismiss that as being a snarky teenager."</li><li>Foster strong coping skills, also suggested the Tribune. Awadallah suggested meditation, conversation and other means of self-regulation and centering. Being reflective and able to calm yourself down is an important self-care component that everyone, including adults, should practice, Awadallah told the Tribune. For these pandemic times and beyond, there are <a href="http://mindfulnessforteens.com/guided-meditations/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">online resources</a> and <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/meditation-apps-to-try-now" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">even phone apps</a> specifically catering to teens to boost their mindfulness and mental and emotional well-being. </li><li>Develop new rituals to replace lost ones. The CDC suggested those that live together to play board games or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/quarantine-fatique-2645923350.html" target="_self">exercise together outdoors</a>. Those isolated can play virtual games together online.</li><li>Encourage safe outlets. Look for safe sports, work or volunteer opportunities that allow teens to have social time and contact with other caring adults, Damour told NPR.</li><li>Use <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/online-therapy-coronavirus-2646114980.html" target="_self">tele-therapy</a>. Damour noted that therapy over video chat has worked "surprisingly well" with adolescents, NPR reported.</li></ul><p>Finally, "one of the most important things to know about grief is that there isn't a quick fix," licensed therapist Jody Baumstein told <a href="https://www.strong4life.com/en/pages/behavior/articles/helping-kids-and-teens-deal-with-grief" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Strong4Life</a>. "The only way to truly deal with grief is to acknowledge it, feel it and work through it."</p><p><em>If you or someone you know is showing warning sides of suicide risk, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or at </em><a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>suicidepreventionlifeline.org</em></a><em>. The </em><a href="https://www.crisistextline.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Crisis Text Line</em></a><em> is available by texting TALK to 741741.</em></p>
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Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC and Trump participate in the daily briefing of the coronavirus task force at the White House on April 22, 2020 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer / Getty Images
Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), testified before the Senate health panel Wednesday and discussed a realistic timeline for a vaccine. While he said an initial vaccine for the novel coronavirus may be ready by November or December, the first batch will have an extremely limited supply that will go to the most vulnerable populations, as The Washington Post reported.
<p>Redfield then said that widespread distribution of the vaccine would happen gradually, with those least at risk likely not receiving the vaccine until the summer of 2021. For it to be "fully available to the American public, so we begin to take advantage of vaccine to get back to our regular life," he said, as The Washington Post reported. "I think we are probably looking at late second quarter, third quarter 2021."</p><p>In his testimony, Redfield also acknowledged that a vaccine is not 100 percent effective and works best when most people in a population have it. In contrast to the vaccine, he said, a mask is a reliable and scientifically proven tool to stop the spread of the virus.</p>
<p>"I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine, because the immunogenicity may be 70 percent," he said to lawmakers, as CNN reported. "And if I don't get an immune response, the vaccine is not going to protect me. This face mask will."</p><p>He added that the American public has not yet adapted to the widespread use of masks that could stop the transmission of the coronavirus outbreak.</p><p>The remarks under oath from Redfield clashed with President Trump's insistence that a vaccine will be ready in a few weeks. Redfield's championing of mask-wearing also contrasted with Trump's reluctance to wear one in public.</p>
<p>In a press conference Wednesday, Trump publicly undermined Redfield's testimony, continuing to say that a vaccine will be ready shortly, and expressing skepticism about the efficacy of masks, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/world/covid-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>In response to Redfield's testimony about a timeline for a vaccine, Trump said, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/16/cdc-director-coronavirus-vaccine-late-2021-trump" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, "I think he made a mistake with that statement. When he said it, I believe he was confused. I'm just telling you we're ready to go."</p><p>Trump then added that a vaccine would go "to the general public immediately," and "under no circumstance will it be as late as the doctor said," as The New York Times reported.</p>
<p>On the point of masks, Trump cast doubt on Redfield's testimony, saying that Redfield made a mistake and that he was confused by the question.</p><p>"Maybe he misunderstood it," Trump said, as CNN reported. He then added, "As far as the masks are concerned, I hope that the vaccine is going to be a lot more beneficial than the masks."</p><p>He also expressed doubt that they were effective.</p><p>"Masks have problems too ... A lot of people did not like the concept of mask initially, Dr. Fauci didn't like it initially," Trump said, as The Guardian reported. However, he did not add that Dr. Fauci later clarified his comments that he did not want to see panic that would create a run on N95 masks and leave a shortage for health care workers.</p>
<p>After Trump publicly rebuked the head of the world's preeminent health agency, Redfield released a statement that reiterated the importance of a vaccine and masks, but did not address the idea that he was mistaken.</p><p>"A COVID-19 vaccine is the thing that will get Americans back to normal everyday life. The best defense we currently have against this virus are the important mitigation efforts of wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancing and being careful about crowds," he said in the statement, as CNN reported.</p>
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A man is tested for coronavirus in New Delhi on Sept. 6. PRAKASH SINGH / AFP via Getty Images
A record number of new coronavirus cases within a 24-hour-period was reported Sunday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
<p>The agency reported 307,930 additional cases, breaking its previous 24-hour-record of new cases set Sept. 6, with 306,857 new infections, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who-cases-idUSKBN2640WI?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3keRZFDPtvVyuwnRIXHHSd0xztGNjeZUuooXCZ6IpaV3NTzYJbmsIaBuk" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. However, the number of new deaths reported Sunday was far below the previous record. The WHO reported 5,537 new deaths, while its record stands at 12,430 and dates back to April 17. But head of the WHO's European branch Hans Kluge warned that the pandemic could turn deadlier again in the fall.</p><p>"It's going to get tougher," he told AFP Monday, as <a href="https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/who-european-covid-19-mortality-rise-october-november" target="_blank">VOA News reported</a>. "In October, November, we are going to see more mortality."</p>
<p>As of Monday morning, the <a href="https://covid19.who.int/" target="_blank">WHO</a> had reported a total of 28,871,176 cases and 921,801 deaths.</p><p>Sunday's daily case record was driven by cases from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/india" target="_self">India</a>, the U.S. and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/brazil" target="_self">Brazil</a>, Reuters reported. India reported 94,372 new cases, the U.S. reported 45,523 and Brazil 43,718.</p><p>The U.S. continues to lead the world for both coronavirus cases and fatalities. It is responsible for almost a quarter of the world's cases at more than six million, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-54142502" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. It also leads the world for deaths with more than 194,000.</p>
<p>However, the number of new cases reported each day is now declining in the U.S., <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/14/global-coronavirus-report-who-record-daily-rise-cases-world" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian pointed out</a>. It has fallen about 44 percent from a July 16 peak of more than 77,000. Daily totals are also trending downward in Brazil.</p><p>In India, however, the daily caseload is on the rise, and the country broke a world record when it reported 97,570 cases in a single day last week, according to Johns Hopkins University data. It now has the second highest number of cases in the world at more than 4.75 million. It also broke a global monthly record for new cases when it reported almost two million for the month of August, according to BBC News.</p><p>It has also reported more than 1,000 deaths every day since the beginning of September. Some places are even beginning to run out of medical oxygen, The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>"Many hospitals are getting pretty desperate for getting adequate supplies of oxygen," Dr. Amit Thadhani, the director of Niramaya Hospital in Navi Mumbai, told <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/shortage-of-medical-oxygen-a-cause-for-concern-as-coronavirus-cases-in-india-grow" target="_blank">The Straits Times</a>.</p><p>His hospital currently needs around 90 cylinders of oxygen a day but only has access to around 20, he said.</p><p>There are some reports that hospitals in smaller cities of the hard-hit state of Maharashtra have stopped admitting new critically ill COVID-19 patients altogether.</p><p>Other countries seeing an upturn in new cases include Argentina, Indonesia, Morocco, Spain and Ukraine, according to Reuters. All told, infections are rising in 58 countries.</p>
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OPEC remains only a pale shadow of its past glory. Pxfuel
By Ashutosh Pandey
In 1973, a handful of oil-rich countries, led by Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, brought the mighty U.S. economy to its knees by slapping an oil embargo on Washington and its allies. The suspension of oil shipments from the Middle East to the U.S. and steep production cuts in retaliation for the Americans' support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy, leading to fuel shortages and causing oil prices to go through the roof.
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opec-saudi-arabia-russia-united-states-peak-oil-covid-19/a-54875289?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2647641514#/" target="_self"></a></p>
<p>The ban was lifted within months following hectic negotiations, but not before it pushed the U.S. economy into its worst recession since World War II. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which until then had maintained a relatively low profile, mainly negotiating higher oil prices from major oil companies for its members, had emerged as a force to reckon with.</p><p>Nearly five decades later, OPEC remains only a pale shadow of its past glory, weakened by infighting within its ranks, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/us-shale-oil-forecasts-too-optimistic-even-iea-agrees/a-46296507" target="_blank">the rise of the United States as a major oil exporter</a> thanks to a shale boom, and a global push for renewable sources of energy amid climate change worries. </p><p>"OPEC is significant primarily as a political club. It fails economically as a cartel, but it does boost the prestige and standing of its members, most of whom would not otherwise have a seat at the table in world affairs," said Jeff Colgan, a professor at Brown University who authored the book <em>Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War.</em> "A functional cartel needs to set tough limits to production and stick to them. OPEC sets easy targets and still often fails to meet them," he told DW.</p><p>The bloc has seen its market share progressively diminish over the years, in part thanks to its efforts to artificially boost oil prices by holding back its own production. OPEC's share of the global oil market has fallen to around 30% from above 50% in 1973. It has also been hurt by involuntary losses in war-torn Libya and the fallout from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/iran-tankers-come-to-the-rescue-of-oil-starved-venezuela/a-53586364" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. sanctions in both Iran and Venezuela</a>. </p><p>It was OPEC's weakness amid the rise of the U.S. as a major oil producer that prompted the once exclusive club to join hands with <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-oil-shock-tests-saudi-arabia-russia-coalition/a-52292320" target="_blank">Russia and some other oil producers to form OPEC+ and attempt to balance the oil markets.</a> The alliance's inception in 2016 was preceded by a disastrous campaign by the Saudi-led bloc to force weaker U.S. shale players out of business, which caused oil prices to collapse to around $30 a barrel. U.S. shale players then proved to be more resilient than the Saudis had expected — strong enough to push the U.S. to become the world's biggest oil producer. </p>
Peak Oil Debate Heats Up Amid COVID-19 Crisis
<p>The bloc's waning influence has coincided with oil's fall from grace. The fossil fuel has seen its share in the global energy mix diminish to about 33% from a peak of 50% in 1973, according to estimates by BP, as governments and companies shift to cleaner energy sources to combat climate change. By contrast, renewables, mostly from solar and wind, have seen their share rise, accounting for over 40% of global energy growth last year, according to BP's data.</p><p>"Oil isn't as significant or visible as it used to be. For example, do you know who the head of Exxon is? Probably not. Do you know who the head of Tesla is? Yes, Elon Musk," said Philippe Benoit, from consultancy Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050. </p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has further dimmed oil's prospects. Global lockdowns brought cars, planes and trains to a screeching halt, causing oil consumption to drop by a quarter and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/oil-prices-collapse-with-biggest-drop-since-1991-gulf-war/a-52687503" target="_blank">oil prices to crash to multiyear lows,</a> even trading below $0 a barrel in the US at one point. Transportation accounts for close to a third of the global oil demand. </p><p>Experts don't see the automobile and aviation sectors returning to their pre-pandemic levels for the next 3-5 years at least. The airline industry was touted to be the biggest growth engine for oil, riding on demand from people getting richer, but that now looks unlikely, especially over the next few years. </p><p>Oil industry leaders, including BP's chief executive, Bernard Looney, and Royal Dutch Shell's boss Ben van Beurden, have said the current crisis may cause the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/when-will-peak-oil-hit-global-energy-markets/a-51367939" target="_blank">oil demand to peak sooner than expected.</a></p><p>"The backdrop of declining demand means that the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] and its Gulf allies would find it increasingly difficult to manipulate supply and boost prices for any length of time," Jason Tuvey, of Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients. "If prices are kept artificially high for an extended period, oil demand will end up declining at an even faster pace and the nimbleness of U.S. shale production means that non-OPEC supply will expand." </p>'OPEC Is a Saudi Mouthpiece'
<p>OPEC was founded in Baghdad in September 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The bloc, which has expanded and contracted over the years, has been plagued by squabbles over strategy and regional power struggles, which have occasionally turned into full-blown conflicts like the Iran-Iraq war and Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. </p><p>Saudi Arabia, which produces a third of OPEC's oil, has remained the de facto leader of the bloc since the 1990s, when conflicts, corruption and poor management wrecked production in other member countries, including regional rivals Iran and Iraq. </p><p>Riyadh has oscillated between propping up crude oil prices and shielding its market share, often unilaterally. "OPEC is a Saudi mouthpiece," Colgan said. In March, when OPEC+ negotiations to cut output in response to the pandemic collapsed, Saudi Arabia launched a price war against Russia — much to the dismay of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/oil-price-war-saudi-arabia-russia-us-nigeria-angola/a-52718595" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">weaker OPEC members such as Nigeria and Angola,</a> already bleeding due to low oil prices caused by Riyadh's 2015-16 misadventure. </p><p>Despite all its sway, Saudi Arabia has struggled to rein in the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/will-coronavirus-oil-shock-rein-in-opec-cheaters/a-53277101" target="_blank">bloc's so-called cheaters, including Nigeria and Iraq,</a> which have been notorious for failing to comply with pledged output cuts aimed at propping up oil prices. Riyadh, which is more vulnerable to low oil prices than other major oil producers with its break-even oil price exceeding $80 a barrel, has ended up doing much of the heavy lifting to ensure overall compliance.</p><p>Tuvey of Capital Economics says in the medium-term Saudi Arabia will scale back its efforts to prop up oil prices and revert to the strategy of shielding its market share at any cost to avoid leaving substantial quantities of oil stranded amid falling demand. </p><p><span></span>"Such a shift in policy, particularly if it were sudden and unexpected, would put some downward pressure on oil prices. But this is unlikely to be too troubling for the kingdom, and the government has proven its willingness to impose harsh fiscal austerity," Tuvey said. "Saudi policymakers won't have much sympathy for other producers that fail to adjust their economies to low oil prices."</p>Bigger Role for OPEC?
<p>Yet it may be too early to write an obituary for the bloc, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-considering-breaking-up-opec-report/a-46226353" target="_blank">which has survived many crises in the past 60 years,</a> eliciting comparisons to the proverbial cat with nine lives. Oil is likely to remain the world's most important commodity for years to come.</p><p>"Paradoxically, OPEC as an aggregator, a point of meeting for many producing nations, could potentially play a bigger role in managing the tensions of a contracting market among those oil producers," Benoit said. </p>
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Dr. Anthony Fauci says that it may not be safe to attend movie theaters or indoor events until a year after the U.S. has a safe, effective vaccine. Pxfuel
By Jessica Corbett
As the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the United States surpassed 6.43 million and the nation's death toll topped 192,600, the federal government's top infectious disease expert warned Friday that life likely won't return to normal until sometime—perhaps late—in 2021.
<p>During a televised interview, <em>MSNBC</em>'s Andrea Mitchell asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about his comments earlier this week that it may not be safe to attend movie theaters or indoor events until a year after the U.S. has a safe, effective vaccine.</p><p>Fauci said that he remains confident the U.S. could have a vaccine for Covid-19 by the end of this year or early next year, "but by the time you mobilize the distribution of the vaccinations and you get the majority or more of the population vaccinated and protected, that's likely not gonna happen till the mid or end of 2021."</p><p>"If you're talking about getting back to a degree of normality which resembles where we were prior to Covid, it's gonna be well into 2021, maybe even towards the end of 2021," Fauci added, referencing the local and state level lockdowns and social distancing practices that have been implemented throughout this year.</p>
<div id="38899" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c876b6251b5bd2514394cc7fcffb6486"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304450398883807232" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Live now on @MSNBC: @mitchellreports interviews Dr. Fauci.
https://t.co/MPjgQRmzjX https://t.co/qrS4zxbvqZ</div> — MSNBC (@MSNBC)<a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC/statuses/1304450398883807232">1599840185.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>A White House adviser, Fauci also disagreed with President Donald Trump's <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-press-briefing-091020/" target="_blank">claim</a> during a Thursday press briefing that the United States has "rounded the final turn" in the pandemic. Looking at the statistics, "they're disturbing," Fauci told Mitchell. "We're plateauing at around 40,000 cases a day and the deaths are around 1,000."</p><p>The expert expressed hope that the U.S. won't see a post-Labor Day Weekend surge in cases like what occurred after July 4 and Memorial Day, and stressed the importance of driving down infection numbers heading into the fall and winter months.</p><p>"What we don't want to see is going into the fall season, when people will be spending more time indoors—and that's not good for a respiratory borne virus—you don't want to start off already with a baseline that's so high," he said.</p>
<p>Fauci also <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBCPR/status/1304458897353211904" target="_blank">denied</a> that he has been influenced by the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/09/emails-show-how-trump-official-hhs-tried-get-fauci-downplay-covid-19-threat-school" target="_blank">reported</a> efforts of a Trump-allied official within the Department of Health and Human Services to muzzle him or otherwise guide what the expert says publicly about the pandemic.</p><p>Regarding AstraZeneca's <a href="https://www.statnews.com//09/08/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-study-put-on-hold-due-to-suspected-adverse-reaction-in-participant-in-the-u-k/" target="_blank">decision</a> earlier this week to halt human trials for a potential vaccine after a participant in the U.K. showed signs of a suspected adverse reaction, Fauci said the development was unfortunate but should also reassure the public that safety concerns are being taken seriously.</p><p>The trial delay came as AstraZeneca joined eight other pharmaceutical companies in pledging to "stand with science" amid alarm that Trump may pressure the industry and the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine ahead of the general election. As <em>Common Dreams</em> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/08/what-it-has-come-amid-fears-politicization-fda-big-pharma-pledge-stand-science-met" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> Tuesday, public health experts responded to Big Pharma's promise with cautious optimism.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/11/fauci-warns-pre-pandemic-normalcy-not-likely-until-well-or-towards-end-2021?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Now No. 1 in World - EcoWatch ›
- Trump Terminates U.S. Ties With the World Health Organization ... ›
- Fauci Warns Bad Second Wave of Coronavirus Could Hit U.S. ... ›
- WHO Releases Plans for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution as U.S., China and Russia Opt Out - EcoWatch ›
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MilkRun, a Portland, Oregon-based company, is supporting small, local farmers by enabling them to sell produce safely and directly to consumers' homes. Pikist
By Sean Taylor
MilkRun, a Portland, Oregon-based company, is supporting small, local farmers by enabling them to sell produce safely and directly to consumers' homes.
<p>Founded by farmer and entrepreneur Julia Niiro, MilkRun is an online platform that lets farmers set their own prices, cutting out wholesalers, shippers, and truckers. Once consumers place an order through MilkRun, farmers deliver produce to an aggregation hub, which MilkRun then boxes and ships to consumers' doorsteps.</p><p>On average, farmers receive <a href="https://www.fb.org/newsroom/fast-facts" target="_blank">eight percent</a> of the purchase price from grocery stores according to The American Farm Bureau Federation. But MilkRun estimates a return of up to 70 percent of the purchase price through their platform.</p><p>The platform is also trying to provide data on consumer purchasing patterns, purchase quantities, and food mileage, information that is often difficult for small farmers to obtain.</p>
<p>"Ninety percent of our nation's farms right now don't have even simple tools…they are having to recreate every data point… how can we help them do their jobs better?" Niiro tells Food Tank.</p><p>Niiro believes that the future of farming is bright, and she hopes to help farmers achieve success. "For young farmers, they need to know there's hope…you should be able to make a living and realize your dreams," Niiro tells Food Tank. "Who are we going to leave our food system to if not them?"</p><p>Niiro says that COVID-19 is also having unexpected benefits for both MilkRun and farmers. "COVID has put farmers back in business," Niiro tells Food Tank. She explains that while wholesale orders from restaurants have decreased dramatically, direct purchasing from consumers is offsetting the loss.</p>
<p>According to Niiro, farmers are re-scaling, creating new safety practices, and adapting to direct consumer demands. She says these changes are enabling farmers to turn a profit during the pandemic.</p><p>"I've never been more proud to be someone who's in this work and serving people," Niiro says. "The pride that comes with serving people and giving them an incredible experience makes us essential."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from<a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/09/an-online-platform-is-enabling-farmers-to-deliver-straight-to-consumers/" target="_blank"> Food Tank</a>.</em></p>
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