Month: April 2021

Categories
Politics

Biden American Households plan excludes Medicare enlargement, drug value cuts

Biden American Families plan excludes Medicare expansion, drug price cuts

United States President Joe Biden speaks about updated CDC guidelines on masks for people fully vaccinated during an event held outside the White House on April 27, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s new plan to strengthen the social safety net would not expand Medicare coverage, an omission that could anger dozens of Democratic lawmakers who urged him to expand the program to more Americans.

The White House on Wednesday unveiled the $ 1.8 trillion plan for American families, the second part of the president’s $ 4 trillion stimulus plan. It calls for paid holidays and free preschool to be expanded, childcare and higher education to be made more affordable, and family tax credits passed under this year’s coronavirus law to be extended.

The plan does not include Biden’s commitments to create a public health insurance option and lower the Medicare Eligible Age to 60 years. It plans to invest $ 200 billion in permanent premium cost reductions for people who buy insurance in the individual market. The guideline was adopted as part of the pandemic aid.

Dozen of Biden’s party lawmakers have urged him to lower the Medicare Eligibility Age as part of the proposal, saying the move would expand coverage to millions more Americans. They also asked him to allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies to cut costs. The new package did not make the determination.

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Seventeen senators wrote to Biden on Sunday asking him to include both guidelines in the family plan. More than 80 House Democrats sent a similar letter to the president on Monday.

Biden plans to outline the restoration proposal ahead of a joint session of the democratically held Congress on Wednesday evening.

When asked Tuesday why the government hasn’t called to lower the Medicare eligibility age or allow direct negotiation of drug prices as part of the plan, a senior administrator pointed out funding to lower the cost of premiums. The policy is “one of the most powerful investments we can make” to bring down prices and expand coverage, said the official, who refused to be named.

“The president was very, very clear that he remained fully committed to negotiating the price of prescription drugs. You will hear him as a top priority and something he thinks is urgent,” he said Officer.

It is now unclear whether the exclusion of health policy will jeopardize Biden’s passage in Congress. With Republicans opposed to both major social security expansion and tax hikes, Democrats may have to approve the proposal themselves through a budget vote.

Health insurance emerged as the top priority in Democratic elementary school last year – even before millions of people lost their private insurance during an economic slump and deadly pandemic. A wing of White House hopefuls, led by Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Called for a deposit system that covers all Americans.

Biden chose to expand gradually, advocating a public option, and then a Medicare eligible age of 60. Despite the intense focus on insurance during the campaign and a health crisis that uncovered loopholes in the current system, the White House has not yet proposed these health plans.

The government has taken steps to protect people during the pandemic. Along with the subsidy increases passed earlier this year, the federal government opened a special registration deadline for Obamacare so that Americans can buy plans.

The Democrats in Congress, who support Medicare’s expansion, have called it a direct tool to both increase insurance coverage and reduce health inequalities. The agents and senators who wrote to Biden suggested an estimate that lowering the eligible age to 60 would allow 23 million more people to qualify for Medicare.

Lowering the threshold to 55 would call 42 million more people into question for the program, lawmakers wrote.

Proponents of direct Medicare price negotiations with drug companies say the change would not only lower costs for consumers, but also free up money for the federal government to pay for their coverage.

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Categories
Entertainment

Wayne Peterson, Pulitzer Prize-Profitable Composer, Dies at 93

Wayne Peterson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer, Dies at 93

Wayne Peterson, a prolific composer whose winning 1992 Pulitzer Prize sparked the debate over whether the best judges of music were the experts or the average listener, died in San Francisco on April 7th. He was 93 years old.

His son Grant confirmed the death in a hospital that he said came just seven weeks after that of Mr. Peterson’s decade-long companion, Ruth Knier.

Mr. Peterson won the Pulitzer for his composition “The Face of the Night, the Heart of Darkness”, but it was only after the 19-member Pulitzer Committee rejected the advice of the three-member music jury that Ralph Sheay’s “Concerto Fantastique” received the award.

The jury consisted of composers who had the opportunity to study the scores of the works under consideration, while the members of the committee, mainly journalists, had no particular musical expertise. The dedusting began when the jury’s recommendation to the committee only presented one piece, Mr. Shapey’s, and not the usual three candidates.

The committee returned the recommendation and requested at least one more name. When the jury responded with the work of Mr. Shapey and Mr. Peterson and indicated that Mr. Shapey’s work was the first choice, the committee awarded the award to Mr. Peterson instead. The judges responded with a sharply worded complaint, which in part said: “Such changes by a committee with no professional musical expertise, if continued, will guarantee a regrettable devaluation of this uniquely important award.”

The incident sparked considerable contemplation as to whether experts or a more general body should determine the winner of the music award, an issue the Pulitzers previously faced in other genres. The argument was puzzling because, as the New York Times music critics later wrote, it wasn’t necessarily that Mr. Peterson’s work was more listener-friendly than Mr. Shapey’s – both men wrote atonal works. Some authors suggested that it was simply the Pulitzer Committee, which reiterated its dominance over the jury.

In any event, the controversy put Mr. Peterson in an awkward position because he knew the judges who had objected to the decision and because he showed admiration for Mr. Shapey’s work.

“He would have been thrilled to finish second,” said Grant Peterson.

“There was no bad blood,” he added. “It was just kind of crap because he didn’t do it.”

Mr Peterson himself admitted that the argument left him with mixed feelings.

“I had submitted the work as a lark and I didn’t think I had any remote chance of winning at all,” he told The Times in 1992. “I’ve won other awards, but the Pulitzer’s prestige is greater than that.” that of the others. The controversy made it a little different. I just hope the Pall that cast it doesn’t jeopardize what the Pulitzer could mean to get my music into circulation. “

Grant Peterson said the episode turned out to be a plus in that regard – the award increased his father’s notoriety and earned him more lucrative jobs.

Wayne Turner Peterson was born on September 3, 1927 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. His father, Leslie, was “a victim of the Depression,” he told The Associated Press in 1992, who “jumped from one thing to another”. ;; His mother, Irma (Turner) Peterson, died when he was young, and he lived with his grandmother afterwards, his son said.

His musical skills, which he said came from his mother’s side, showed up early on.

“I was very interested in jazz piano and was a professional jazz musician from the age of 15,” he said. “I made my way through college playing jazz, three degrees from the University of Minnesota” – a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree, all of which were earned in the 1950s.

In 1960 he became professor of music at San Francisco State University, where he taught composition for more than 30 years. He was living in San Francisco when he died.

Mr. Peterson’s career as a composer began in 1958 with the performance of his “Free Variations” by the Minnesota Orchestra. He composed for orchestras, chamber ensembles and other, sometimes unusual, groups. “And the Winds Shall Blow”, which premiered in Germany in 1994, was described as a fantasy “for saxophone quartet, wind instruments and percussion”. There was also his duo for viola and violoncello.

“The duo is a nervous, effectively written piece, filled with dark melodies that are well suited to these lower string instruments. It reaches a quick and exciting climax,” wrote Michael Kimmelman in The Times when the work was on 92nd Street in 1988 Y was listed.

Mr. Peterson felt it was important for a composer to hear the works of others across a broad spectrum.

“I don’t limit myself to a group of composers,” he told The San Francisco Chronicle in 1991. “I try to hear everything and when I hear something I like it gets distilled in my psyche and comes out somewhere in my music. “

His love for jazz found its way into his compositions, including “The Face of the Night, the Heart of Darkness”.

“There’s a lot of syncopation that can be associated with jazz,” he said of the work, “but it’s not a jazz piece.”

It was premiered by the San Francisco Symphony in October 1991. George Perle, the chairman of the Pulitzer jury who recommended the Shapely piece, endeavored to praise Mr. Peterson’s composition despite the controversy.

“It’s absolutely worthy of a Pulitzer Prize,” he said in 1992. “But the Pulitzer Prize is supposed to be for the best job of the year, and on that occasion we felt there was one job that was more impressive.” ”

Even Mr Shapey, who died in 2002 and was known for being open-minded, came to view his missed award with a touch of humor.

“A Chicago critic called me ‘Ralph Shapey the Non-Pulitzer Prize Winner,'” he told The Times in 1996. “You have to put that on my tombstone.”

Mr. Peterson’s marriage to Harriet Christensen ended in divorce in the 1970s. In addition to his son Grant, three other sons, Alan, Craig and Drew, as well as two grandchildren survive.

Grant Peterson said that since his father’s death he had looked through his papers and marveled at his productivity – not just about his 80 or so finished compositions, but also the countless fragments.

“There is the stuff that is bound and ready and released,” he said, “but mixed in with it is the chicken scratch on yellow tablets. The guy was a music machine.”

Categories
Health

Each day U.S. knowledge on April 28

Daily U.S. data on April 28

A health worker delivers Jansen’s (Johnson and Johnson) Covid-19 vaccine to the public on April 26, 2021 at a FEMA-operated Covid-19 mobile vaccination clinic at Biddeford High School in Bidderford, Maine.

Joseph Precious | AFP | Getty Images

The United States reports an average of 2.7 million Covid-19 vaccinations per day over the past week. This is based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is roughly the same as a month ago. Daily reported vaccinations peaked at 3.4 million on April 13.

More than 40% of Americans have received at least one shot, and that number is roughly 54% for those 18 and over. Half of adults in most states are at least partially vaccinated.

US vaccine shots administered

The country reported that 1.6 million shots were fired on Tuesday. This is usually the lowest day of the week for data reporting as it includes numbers from the weekend when fewer shots are administered. The 7-day average of vaccinations reported daily, which is used to compensate for fluctuations in reports on the weekday, is 2.7 million.

US health officials on Friday lifted a hiatus in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration and CDC stopped using the vaccine “out of caution” on April 13 following reports of rare blood clots.

A third option alongside Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna can help accelerate the rollout pace. Although the J&J shot is a small fraction of the total doses given so far, it has proven useful for certain communities that have multiple difficulties accessing vaccination sites, and is easier to transport and store.

US percentage of the vaccinated population

Approximately 43% of the US population have received at least one shot, and 29% are fully vaccinated.

Of those over 18 years of age, 54% are at least partially vaccinated. More than half of adults got a shot in 34 states and the District of Columbia, led by New Hampshire, where that number is 73%, and Massachusetts and Connecticut, both 66%.

In 10 states, more than 60% of adults have received one or more bumps.

US Covid cases

According to the Johns Hopkins University, the United States reports nearly 54,000 new infections every day.

The recent nationwide trend is masked by the removal of more than 10,000 cases from the New Jersey total after state officials announced they had removed duplicate case numbers, according to Hopkins and local media reports. Although these duplicate cases in various places throughout the pandemic may have counted towards nearly 1 million cases in the state, cases are currently reported to be cleared for April 26th. This can be adjusted in the future.

The number of cases was already decreasing before this reporting error. On Monday, the White House chief medical officer, Dr. Anthony Fauci that Americans should see a turning point in the pandemic “within a few weeks.”

US Covid deaths

The 7-day average of US deaths from Covid is 676, according to Johns Hopkins, a 6% decrease from the previous week.

Categories
Business

Paid go away of as much as $4,000 a month for 12 weeks a part of Biden proposal

Paid leave of up to $4,000 a month for 12 weeks part of Biden proposal

aquaArts studio | E + | Getty Images

It would be one of the largest expansions to the US Social Security Network in decades – a new policy of federal paid leave for all workers.

That’s what President Joe Biden is expected to propose on Wednesday night when he launches his $ 1.8 trillion spending and tax credit plan to get the country’s economy back on its feet after a devastating year.

The national paid family and sick leave program would cost around $ 225 billion in a decade, and the White House says it would be paid for primarily by increasing taxes on the rich.

Within 10 years, Biden’s plan would guarantee workers 12 weeks of paid vacation that they could use to “bond with a new child, care for a critically ill loved one, cope with a relative’s military mission, find safety from sexual assault and.” Stalking. ” or domestic violence, healing from their own serious illness or taking time to deal with the death of a loved one, “according to a draft published by the White House.

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Workers could earn up to $ 4,000 a month while on vacation, with at least two-thirds of their average weekly wage replaced. The low-wage workers would receive 80% of their previous income. Biden’s plan also provides that workers have three days of bereavement leave per year from year one. Grief was a major theme of Biden’s presidency. He often talked about losing his son Beau to brain cancer at the age of 46.

The President also called on Congress to pass a law requiring employers to give workers seven paid sick days a year.

Currently, companies with 50 or more employees are required to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off thanks to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. However, the United States is one of the few countries that does not guarantee workers paid time off when they have a new child or deal with an illness.

In Japan and Norway, new parents receive more than a year of paid leave.

Why is the US different from other countries? “We have had low taxes and a tight safety net in the past,” said Isabel Sawhill, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

For the same reason – corporate opposition – the US lacks universal health coverage, said Ruth Milkman, a sociologist and labor expert at the City University of New York.

“You are allergic to government intervention in the job market,” said Milkman.

The vast majority of American voters – around 80% – support the idea of ​​a national paid vacation program.

But while Americans want access to paid family and sick leave, “a government program is not the solution,” said Rachel Greszler, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

“Most would much rather have flexible and accommodating guidelines from their employers than deal with government bureaucrats and the constraints of a unified government program,” Greszler said.

In the absence of a federal paid vacation policy, some states – including California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island – have implemented programs of their own to compensate workers who take time off.

As most workers are at the mercy of their employers’ policy, fewer than one in five have access to paid family or parental leave. Less than half of the paid leave is now offered. Access is even rarer among people of color and low-income workers.

“Too many people have been forced to make impossible choices between the incomes they need and the families they love because they don’t have paid vacations,” said Ruth Martin, senior vice president of the MomsRising community.

“It has become an even more devastating problem during the pandemic that has made millions sick, brought hospital stays to unprecedented levels and forced even more people to take time off to care for relatives with Covid-19,” Martin said.

By one estimate, the typical working-age adult will lose more than $ 9,500 after taking 12 weeks off without pay.

A national paid vacation program would likely be funded through payroll taxes, much like the unemployment system funded, Sawhill of the Brookings Institution said.

In shaping its policies, the federal government should learn lessons from states that offer paid vacation, said Linda Houser, a professor at Widener University.

“One of the many fascinating elements of the state’s paid vacation laws is how they’re paid,” said Houser. “Most of them are funded mainly through employee bonuses.

“In some cases, both employees and employers contribute,” she added. “As with other social security programs in the US and elsewhere, the idea is that everyone pays in.”

Another feature of the state programs that the federal government should investigate is how they have found a way to engage the growing numbers of freelancers, gig workers, and the self-employed, Milkman said.

“It’s pretty cheap, so the self-employed and gig workers choose to do it by just paying the tax, just like some do with Social Security,” Milkman said. “These programs are an insurance model.

“When you pay the tax, you can make a claim when an insured event such as a new baby occurs.”

While Republicans endorse certain paid vacation policies, they oppose Biden’s plan to collect taxes to fund the program. This could make such laws difficult to pass, although Democrats could also use the budget vote process to introduce paid vacation.

This avenue enables them to pass laws by simple majority, which is all they have. Other bills typically need 60 votes to move forward, thanks to Senate procedural rules. The next budget vote process is expected to take place in autumn.

“Paid leave certainly has an impact on the budget so it can go through the reconciliation process,” said Martin.

Categories
World News

S&P 500 is flat amid combined earnings outcomes, looming Fed resolution

5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday, April 12

US stocks were flat on Wednesday as investors digested key technology earnings and prepared for the recent Federal Reserve policy announcement.

The S&P 500 hovered over the flatline but hit a new intraday record at the beginning of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 140 points, hurt by a 7% decline in Amgen stock. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1%.

Boeing lost about 2% after posting its sixth straight quarterly loss, which also weighed on the Dow.

The Google parent alphabet reported a better-than-expected result on Tuesday after the bell, sending the tech giant’s shares up more than 4%. Alphabet saw sales grow 34% year over year.

Meanwhile, Microsoft shares fell about 2.5% even after the company beat analyst earnings. Microsoft saw the largest revenue growth since 2018, in part due to the increase in PC sales due to the coronavirus-induced shortage last year.

AMD and Visa holdings were higher after results turned out to be better than expected.

The Fed concludes its two-day meeting on Wednesday. The central bank is not expected to take action, but economists expect it to defend its policy of temporarily heating inflation. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference 30 minutes after the decision is announced at 2:30 p.m. ET. These comments could move the markets.

“Any advice given in the Board of Directors’ statement or in the subsequent press conference about a possible reduction in QE – when and how quickly – would likely move both the equity and bond markets,” said Paulsen.

Tech darlings Apple and Facebook will report their winnings on Wednesday after the bell.

“Lots of FAANGs are reporting this week and the stock market can wait for some of these key reports to be released before deciding on the next major direction,” said Jim Paulsen, Leuthold Group’s chief investment strategist.

On Tuesday, the most important averages around the flatline were traded. The Dow Jones Industrial Average only rose 3 points. The S&P 500 closed flat after hitting an all-time high on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative underperformer, falling 0.34% while Tesla fell 4.5%.

Elsewhere later on Wednesday, President Joe Biden will unveil a $ 1.8 trillion new spending and tax credit plan aimed at helping families. The Biden government’s new spending plan would raise the highest income tax rate for the richest Americans to 39.6% and raise capital gains taxes to 39.6% for households earning more than $ 1 million, according to senior government officials. Stocks had taken a hit last week when reports of the tax hike surfaced.

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Business

TV Manufacturing Tailored to Climate the Pandemic. Now What?

TV Production Adapted to Weather the Pandemic. Now What?

“Law & Order: SVU” has been a merit in the Playbill biographies of stage actors for many years, but when Broadway closed it became an even more important part of their work diet – also because flying into the stars was made difficult by quarantine rules, and in part out of a conscious effort to help the New York theater community.

“When everything was shut down, we all said, ‘What do we do now? “Said Adriane Lenox, a Tony Prize winner who played a judge on SVU just a few months after testing positive for the virus at the start of the pandemic. Ms. Lenox said, like many other actors, she would have to get unemployed at some point tried to make ends meet by searching for jobs like dog walking on sites like ZipRecruiter.

According to Warren Leight, her showrunner, she was one of more than 100 local stage actors to appear on the show this year.

“I just called early on, ‘Let’s make this the year the first pool of actors we go to is the Broadway actors, the off-Broadway actors,” he said. “It really seems to be the right thing to do. From a logistical point of view, it is easier to rent on site. “

The effects of the pandemic were felt most clearly in cities like Los Angeles and New York, which at least during the prepandemic period were home to about two-thirds of the country’s film, television and theater assignments. In New York City, for example, officials have estimated that employment in the arts, entertainment and leisure sectors fell 66 percent from December 2019 to December 2020.

But there are signs of recovery. According to FilmLA, the official film bureau for the city and county of Los Angeles, television shooting days in Los Angeles had rebounded to around 62 percent from 2019 by the end of last year. After a winter hiatus when a California outbreak hobbled, TV production in the city is nearing normal pre-pandemic levels, FilmLA reported last week, although other sectors of the entertainment industry are lagging behind.

Categories
Health

Food plan and Train Throughout Being pregnant Impacts Little one’s Well being, Examine Says

Diet and Exercise During Pregnancy Impacts Child’s Health, Study Says

For the new study, which was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in March, scientists from the University of Virginia Medical School and other institutions first gathered a large group of mice. Some of the males and females were allowed to eat high-fat and high-calorie diets, which led to obesity and metabolic problems, while others stayed at their usual weight on normal food.

Next, the mice teamed up with obese animals of both sexes, which mated with mice of normal weight, so theoretically one parent in each mating could leave the young with unhealthy habits and metabolism. Some normal weight animals without metabolic problems also mated to produce control offspring.

Finally, some mothers, including the obese, jogged on small exercise bikes during the resulting pregnancies, voluntarily walking up to seven miles a week in the early stages of their three-week pregnancy.

The researchers then tracked the metabolic health and underlying genetic activity of the offspring until they reached adulthood. This second generation ate normal food and lived normal lives with laboratory mice.

However, many developed several metabolic problems as adults, including obesity, insulin resistance, and other disorders of their blood sugar control. These conditions were most pronounced in male children of obese mothers and in both male and female children born to obese fathers.

Interestingly, the underlying genetics of their conditions differed according to the gender of the parents. Mice born to obese mothers showed unusual activity in a number of genes known to be involved in inflammation. Those born to obese fathers did not.

In other words, the genetic inheritance of mothers and fathers “works in different biological ways,” says Zhen Yan, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Skeletal Muscle Research at the University of Virginia Medical School, who oversaw the new study.

Categories
Business

Boeing (BA) Q1 2021 earnings report: One other loss

Boeing (BA) Q1 2021 earnings report: Another loss

Boeing posted its sixth straight quarterly loss on Wednesday but expects 2021 to be a turning point for its business as more people get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Here are the numbers:

  • Loss per share: $ 1.53. Analysts had expected a loss per share of $ 1.16, according to Refinitiv, but it is immediately unclear whether the numbers are comparable.
  • Revenue: $ 15.22 billion versus $ 15.02 billion analyst expects, according to Refinitiv.

The manufacturer had a net loss of $ 561 million on revenue of $ 15.2 billion in the first three months of 2021, 10% less than last year, but ahead of analysts’ estimates.

On an adjusted basis per share, Boeing lost $ 1.53. The company reported a $ 318 million input tax fee related to issues with an Air Force One supplier.

Boeing shares fell 0.9% in premarket trading after reporting results.

Boeing struggled with the pandemic’s impact on travel and jetliner demand, as well as the extended landing of its best-selling 737 Max aircraft after 346 people were killed in two fatal accidents. Regulators started removing grounding in November 2020.

However, demand for new aircraft has increased this year as some large customers such as United Airlines and Southwest Airlines returned to plans to upgrade their fleets and prepare for growth due to the increased demand for travel. In March, Boeing’s new aircraft orders exceeded cancellations for the first time since 2019.

Boeing reiterated its forecast of increasing production of the 737 Max to 31 per month in early 2022.

“As the global pandemic continues to challenge the broader market environment, we see 2021 as a major turning point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates and we are working together across governments and industries to enable a robust recovery,” said CEO Dave Calhoun in a publication of results.

Boeing raised Calhoun’s retirement age by five years to 70 last week and announced that its CFO and longtime managing director Greg Smith will retire this summer.

The Chicago-based company is also likely to provide an update on grounding some 737 Max jetliners due to electrical issues.

Boeing stock was up around 13% that year at close of trading on Tuesday, compared with the S&P 500, up 11.5%.

Boeing executives will call to discuss the findings at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Investors will look to Boeing’s outlook for the pace of aircraft delivery, which is vital as airlines and other customers pay most of the aircraft price when manufacturers hand them over. Boeing resumed shipments of its 787 wide-body aircraft last month after reporting production issues last year. Executives will likely be more detailed about how many of the jets are expected to be delivered this year.

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Categories
Politics

Tim Scott Will Ship the Republican’s Rebuttal to Biden

Tim Scott Will Deliver the Republican's Rebuttal to Biden

After President Biden delivered his first joint address to Congress on Wednesday night, the task of countering the president’s vision rests with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Scott, 55, offers a kind of unapologetic conservatism that has helped him rise from a seat on Charleston County Council to national notoriety in the Republican Party.

More than a decade ago, Mr Scott raised his profile as a vocal critic of the Obama administration and brought a wave of tea party support to Washington, winning a seat in the House of Representatives in 2010 and endearing himself to conservative groups with a strong little government philosophy .

As the only black Republican in the Senate, Mr. Scott has also become a pioneer within his party breaking a number of historical barriers and rising in an environment that was often hostile to black politicians.

In the primary election for his first House campaign, Mr. Scott defeated Paul Thurmond, the son of former Senator Strom Thurmond, who for years helped lead the Republican Party’s resistance to racial integration. And in 2013, when then-Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Mr. Scott to fill a position left by former Senator James DeMint. He entered the Senate as the first black politician since the reconstruction to represent a southern state.

Mr Scott was tapped by Republican leaders – Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California – to provide the counter-argument at a time when the GOP was keen to increase its support for people of color. And during his years in the Senate, Mr. Scott has often advised colleagues on racial issues.

More recently, as the debate about police brutality has intensified, Mr Scott has had his own candid experience in the Senate of police profiling against racism. He has also positioned himself as an informed voice on the challenges of working families, referring to his early years growing up poor with a single working mother.

While many of the policy proposals Mr Biden is due to discuss Wednesday have met with stiff opposition from Republicans, Mr Scott has stated that he does not intend his rebuttal to constitute an excoriation of the President’s agenda similar to the highly charged rhetoric that has become common on Capitol Hill.

“We face serious challenges on several fronts, but I am more confident than ever about America’s promise and potential,” said Scott in a statement anticipating his remarks. “I look forward to having an honest conversation with the American people and sharing the Republicans’ optimistic vision of expanding opportunities and empowering working families.”

Categories
Health

Single dose of vaccine can virtually halve transmission

Pfizer says shot is 100% effective in kids ages 12 to 15

A nurse, Cindy Mendez, wearing a protective mask, holds a syringe containing a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem Hospital in the Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. New York, February 25, 2021.

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

LONDON – A single dose of coronavirus vaccine can cut transmission within a household by up to half, a study by Public Health England found.

People who became infected with the coronavirus three weeks after receiving a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine were between 38% and 49% less likely to pass the virus on to their household contacts than those who weren’t vaccinated, the PHE found -Study.

Protection was observed approximately 14 days after vaccination with similar levels of protection regardless of the age of the cases or contacts.

That protection comes on top of the reduced risk that a vaccinated person will develop symptomatic infection in the first place, which is around 60% to 65% – four weeks after a dose of either vaccine, according to PHE. Both doses of a coronavirus vaccine (the delay between doses is up to 12 weeks in the UK) offer even greater protection against Covid infections.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the study’s results as “great news”. “We already know that vaccines save lives, and this study is the most comprehensive real-world data to show that they also reduce the transmission of this deadly virus.”

“It further underscores that vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic as they protect you and potentially prevent you from unwittingly infecting anyone in your household.”

“I urge everyone to get their vaccines as soon as they are eligible and make sure you get your second dose to ensure the best possible protection,” he added.

Both Pfizer BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines are used extensively in the UK, and the Moderna vaccine is now also included in the immunization program.

The introduction of vaccines was a tremendous success in the UK and a silver lining after the devastation of the pandemic that has caused over 127,000 deaths in the country to date.

In the UK, cases, hospitalizations and deaths have fallen dramatically since it was launched in December, along with strict lockdown measures. To date, nearly 34 million adults in the UK have had a first dose of vaccine and over 13 million two doses, government data shows.

The PHE study found that households are at high risk for transmission and provide early evidence of the effects of vaccines on preventing transmission. Similar results might be expected in other settings with similar transmission risks, for example in shared apartments and prisons.

The study, which is a pre-print that has not yet been peer-reviewed, included over 57,000 contacts from 24,000 households who had a laboratory-confirmed coronavirus case vaccinated, compared to nearly 1 million contacts from unvaccinated cases.

By linking case and household contact data with vaccination status, the study compared the probability of transmission for a vaccinated case with a non-vaccinated one.

PHE is also conducting separate studies on the effects of vaccination on transmission in the broader population.