Tag: Dont

Categories
Health

Nursing Properties Face Dilemma: Vaccinate Employees or Don’t Get Paid.

Nursing Homes Face Dilemma: Vaccinate Staff or Don’t Get Paid.

Marita Smith runs a nursing home in Seattle while Janet Snipes runs one in Denver. They share years of industry experience and painful memories of Covid-19, but have vastly different views on a new federal policy making vaccinations mandatory for all care home workers.

Ms. Smith said unvaccinated people should not be caring for a vulnerable population that has already been hit hard by the pandemic. The industry is seeing rising infection rates and deaths among residents again, but not reaching the highs of last year, and the mandate is expected to avert further increases.

“It’s great,” said Ms. Smith, administrator of the St. Anne Nursing and Rehab Center, calling the policy a “pretty big deal” that would “flush out health professionals who shouldn’t be in the health service.”

Such exits are exactly what worries Ms. Snipes, executive director of the Holly Heights Care Center in Denver. She, too, wants all homeworkers to be vaccinated, but not at the risk of losing employees who fail to do so in the midst of a labor shortage in an already high turnover industry.

Of the 1.5 million nursing home workers in the United States, approximately 540,000 – 40 percent of the workforce – are unvaccinated. Their fate could be directly affected by a directive announced by President Biden on Wednesday mandating vaccination of all nursing home workers, with the rules expected to go into effect in September. Institutions that fail to meet this goal could face fines or lose federal reimbursement, a major source of income for many.

The practical effect of the policy is that workers must be vaccinated or lose their jobs. Ms. Snipes said several employees told her they could leave. One who referred to her as her best nurse told her she was “very, very scared” of the vaccine, partly because she is black and worried about past medical experiments.

Getting vaccinated “is the safest thing for our residents and staff, but we believe he must contract all health care facilities,” Ms. Snipes said of President Biden. “We cannot afford to lose staff to hospitals and assisted living facilities.”

Several large nursing home chains and some states have already issued vaccination mandates. Industry officials said vaccinations were highly recommended, but their position on the new policy mirrored that of Ms. Snipes.

“We’re going to lose tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of workers,” said Mark Parkinson, president and chief executive officer of the American Health Care Association, a large nursing home trade group. He said he was hoping for policy changes and had already worked with Dr. Lee A. Fleisher, Chief Medical Officer of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, talked about it and looked for a meeting with Xavier Becerra, Secretary for Health and Human Services.

The most important change the industry is seeking is a signal from the administration that at some point there will be a mandate for all healthcare facilities so that nursing home workers can see there is nowhere else they can go. “Make it a commitment for everyone,” said Mr. Parkinson.

In fact, around 2,000 hospitals have already placed vaccination orders, reducing job opportunities for unvaccinated healthcare workers.

Dr. Fleisher said the CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saw a “direct link” in the latest data between rising infections in nursing homes and unvaccinated staff.

Updated

Aug. 19, 2021, 6:01 p.m. ET

“The higher the percentage of unvaccinated workers, the higher the percentage of cases we have seen in these homes,” said Dr. Butcher. “There was a strong relationship.”

Currently, 60 percent of nursing home workers nationwide are vaccinated, well below the previous industry target of 75 percent by the end of June.

Parkinson said the industry is also lobbying the government to “launch a much more intense media campaign to influence workers” that vaccines are safe and effective. The trade organization also wants the government to create a grace period for hesitant employees.

Uy, a geriatrician and medical director of a Philadelphia nursing home, said he had seen the human resource challenges and was “excited about the mandate.”

“I’m exhausted,” he said. “The vaccine is like a small fortress around the weakest, in which the people inside remain safe even though a fire is raging outside.”

The mandate aims to avoid an increase in Covid cases and deaths in a high risk population.

Of the 625,000 Covid deaths to date in the US, almost a fifth – 133,700 – were residents of nursing homes, according to the CDC

Understand the state of vaccination and masking requirements in the United States

    • Mask rules. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July recommended that all Americans, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in public places indoors in areas with outbreaks, reversing the guidelines offered in May. See where the CDC guidelines would apply and where states have implemented their own mask guidelines. The battle over masks is controversial in some states, with some local leaders defying state bans.
    • Vaccination regulations. . . and B.Factories. Private companies are increasingly demanding coronavirus vaccines for employees with different approaches. Such mandates are legally permissible and have been confirmed in legal challenges.
    • College and Universities. More than 400 colleges and universities require a vaccination against Covid-19. Almost all of them are in states that voted for President Biden.
    • schools. On August 11, California announced that teachers and staff at both public and private schools would have to get vaccinated or have regular tests, the first state in the nation to do so. A survey published in August found that many American parents of school-age children are against mandatory vaccines for students, but are more supportive of masking requirements for students, teachers and staff who do not have a vaccination.
    • Hospitals and medical centers. Many hospitals and large health systems require their employees to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, due to rising case numbers due to the Delta variant and persistently low vaccination rates in their communities, even within their workforce.
    • new York. On August 3, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that workers and customers will be required to provide proof of vaccination when dining indoors, gyms, performances, and other indoor situations. City hospital staff must also be vaccinated or have weekly tests. Similar rules apply to employees in New York State.
    • At the federal level. The Pentagon announced that it would make coronavirus vaccinations compulsory for the country’s 1.3 million active soldiers “by mid-September at the latest. President Biden announced that all civil federal employees would need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo regular tests, social distancing, mask requirements and travel restrictions.

And a recent CDC study of 4,000 nursing homes found that the effectiveness of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines among nursing home residents dropped from 75 percent in the spring to 53 percent by midsummer, when the delta variant spread further. “The results underline the crucial importance of the Covid-19 vaccination for employees, residents and visitors,” stated the authors of the study.

Health experts fear that unvaccinated employees could bring Covid-19 into a nursing home and infect residents. Nationwide, more than 80 percent of residents of nursing homes are vaccinated, but the number of cases in this population group is already increasing. In the week ending August 15, 354 care home residents died of Covid-19, the highest number since mid-March, and 3,585 tested positive, according to the CDC

The CDC has found that more employees are getting sick. In the week ending August 15, 5,810 nursing home employees contracted Covid-19, five times more than a month earlier, and 25 employees died.

Earlier this month, the Good Samaritan Society, which operates 142 nursing homes nationwide, announced that all 15,000 employees must be vaccinated by November 1, a position the company took after in homes where unvaccinated workers also tested positive , an increase in infections among residents was recorded. So far, the workforce has remained stable, said Randy Bury, the company’s CEO, who has argued in the past that such mandates would create safe and desirable jobs.

However, he argued that the Biden government’s new policy was wrong unless it was applied to the health sector as a whole. “What’s the difference in a nursing home versus a hospital?” Said Mr. Bury. “They are susceptible to the virus when they come into contact with unvaccinated employees.”

LeadingAge, a non-profit organization that represents 2,000 nursing homes and had previously requested mandates in individual homes, criticized the Biden policy for its narrow focus.

“The administration is right,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and chief executive officer of LeadingAge, in a released statement. “We are at war. It would be a tragic misstep for the nurses who continue to struggle on the front lines to withdraw funds. “

Ms. Snipes, the director of Holly Heights in Denver, said she spent months training the staff and promoting vaccinations. She said most of her unvaccinated employees agreed to obey the mandate, but she mentioned three that she feared might leave. One told her that she did not want to put anything strange in her body. A second Catholic said he did not want an mRNA vaccine for religious reasons and that he had a letter of support from his bishop.

The third was the black nurse, who “sounds the most fearful of all the people I have spoken to,” said Ms. Snipes. “I want to save you as an employee.”

Categories
Health

Dr. Gottlieb says places of work with vaccine mandates do not want extra precautions

Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects little impact on U.S. Covid cases

Companies that require office workers to get Covid vaccinations are unlikely to need to take additional precautions against the virus even as the Delta variant spikes, Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Thursday.

“I think companies probably don’t need to take any additional measures right now,” such as: B. regulated virus tests, Gottlieb told co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin in “Squawk Box”.

“The belief is that people who are vaccinated and develop the infection can be contagious early in the course of the infection, but clear the infection faster,” added Gottlieb, who was Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 2017 to 2019 Board member at several companies, including vaccine maker Pfizer.

Gottlieb pointed to real evidence in Israel showing that “people who get vaccinated and become infected spread within the household but not outside the household.”

Vaccinated people still need to be vigilant about the virus and get tested if they have a viral illness, he said.

“You can certainly see that infection rates are increasing among the vaccinated population. People who were vaccinated some time ago are more prone to Covid. Eventually, some of these infections will give poor results, ”he said.

The number of companies requiring their employees to vaccinate has increased in recent days, with McDonald’s being the latest corporate giant to put such a policy in place on Wednesday. The vaccination edict of the fast food chain applies to the company’s workforce.

Gottlieb said he expected more companies to follow suit, especially those that want employees to return to the office after more than a year of remote work in the fall. He cited the government’s vaccination requirement for U.S. military personnel and federal employees – as well as the potential full FDA approval of Covid vaccines – as “an added boost to businesses” that will “give them confidence that they have the legal basis to do so” stand in relation to compulsory vaccination. “

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the board of directors of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, health technology company Aetion, and biotechnology company Illumina. He is also co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.

Categories
Health

Covid vaccines required for journey, unvaccinated folks do not prefer it

Covid vaccines required for travel, unvaccinated people don't like it

Unvaccinated people are eager to travel again. But more and more, the rules make that harder.

Travelers are increasingly required to show proof of vaccination before they can cruise, book group tours, avoid quarantines, or vacation to tropical islands. Beyond that, vaccines are needed for everyday activities including attending some universities, returning to the workplace or eating in restaurants.

More cities and companies — from Paris to New York, from Disney to Fox Corp. — are issuing vaccine requirements of one sort or another, paving the way for others to follow.

The new rules fall short of true mandates, since people can often avoid them by submitting to rigorous testing and safety protocols. But the “near-mandates,” as they are being called, have the practical effect of making life logistically difficult for some unvaccinated people.

Vaccine-based rules have more support in Europe, but Americans are divided over them. The latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey found 49% favoring mandates and 46% opposing them. Views were sharply divided by age and political affiliation, with nearly 80% of unvaccinated people against them.

CNBC interviewed nearly a dozen unvaccinated travelers. A complex picture of their views emerged, highlighting fears, frustrations and an indifference toward vaccines and the restrictions that require them.

Waiting it out

Several people who oppose mandatory vaccines said they resent being grouped with so-called “anti-vaxxers.” Among them was a mental health counselor from the U.S. South, who asked not to be named due to her occupation.  

She said she is vaccinated against other diseases, and her children are as well. “I’m not anti-vaccine at all,” she said.

But she’s “against these rushed vaccines,” referring to the ones designed to combat Covid.

A mental health counselor from the Deep South was one of several people CNBC interviewed who expressed concern that the vaccines were not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Wolfgang Kumm | picture alliance | Getty Images

She travels monthly and fears catching the virus. Vaccine-based restrictions haven’t impeded her ability to travel, but she’s concerned they could, especially since her spouse is European. She said Covid tests “make more sense” — an argument which gained traction in The Atlantic last week — and are more equitable for those who can’t or won’t vaccinate.

“I will continue to wait it out and hope that over time a less desperate and more logical approach will arise,” she said. “When and if these vaccines are proven safe, I will get one.”

Singaporean Ng Syn Jae agrees. Singapore is on target to have 80% of its population vaccinated by next month, but the 27-year-old said he won’t be among them.

From Aug. 10, vaccinated people in Singapore can dine in restaurants again, while most unvaccinated adults and teenagers cannot.

Suhaimi Abdullah | NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Ng said he feels the vaccines being administered in Singapore — from Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna — are still in “an experimental stage.” He said he’s worried about possible long-term negative side effects, a fear expressed by others who spoke to CNBC.

The World Health Organization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other health agencies around the world do not share those worries. They’ve said repeatedly that approved vaccines, including those from Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna, are safe and effective against Covid-19 and existing variants.

Covid vaccines have been administered in 199 countries around the world with 30% of the global population having received at least one shot, according to the Our World in Data project at The University of Oxford.

Travel mandates likely would encourage Ng to get vaccinated, he said, though he feels they are unethical. He said he would likely opt for the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine because “the technology the vaccine uses is older” than the newer mRNA vaccines.

He said he will vaccinate “when the vaccine companies show they have done all the proper safety tests —and then, I might wait even longer.”

Frustrated, but not angry

Bert Valdez, a professional surfer living in Hawaii, isn’t vaccinated and doesn’t plan to be.

“It’s a drug, and we were always told not to do drugs,” he said.

His travel experience is wide — coastal locations including Tahiti, Fiji, Taiwan, Mexico and Costa Rica. He acknowledged that his decision not to get vaccinated will probably limit his ability to compete and earn money in the future.

This is not going to kill me.

Valdez said he’s frustrated, but not angry, about vaccine-based travel restrictions, which he said will be short-lived because the “people in power won’t be much longer,” both in the United States and abroad. He did not elaborate on how or why this global transition of power would occur.

Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, he said he believes vaccinated people are spreading the Covid variants while unvaccinated people take the blame.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unvaccinated people are much more likely to contract and transmit the virus that causes Covid-19, including the highly contagious delta variant.

As for the pandemic itself, Valdez said he laments how anger is dividing families and friends. He’s less worried about himself, but more for his three daughters.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life,” he said. “This is not going to kill me.”

Fearing the vaccine more than the virus

Beegy Morter lives in Dallas and described herself as a practitioner of “energy medicine.” She isn’t happy about vaccine-based travel restrictions. She said she can’t take vaccines because she’s allergic to a preservative they contain.

“I do feel discriminated” against, the 77-year-old told CNBC. “I’m not anti-vaxx — I’ve just done the research.”

Morter also said she has trouble wearing masks. They make her dizzy, so she avoids stores that require them.

“I would rather take my chances…”

She’s been given the “cold shoulder” by people who discover she’s unvaccinated, she said. She described encounters which mirror reports of rising resentment and hostility toward the unvaccinated.

Even without her allergy, Morter said she still wouldn’t get vaccinated. For one thing, she doesn’t fear getting Covid, she said.

“The survival rate of catching Covid is so good,” she said. “I would rather take my chances … than take the vaccine.”

U.S. officials have repeatedly contradicted views like hers about the risk Covid poses toward the unvaccinated. The vast majority of Covid-related hospitalizations and deaths in the United States are now occurring among unvaccinated people.

How Americans are responding to Covid variants

Likely to wear masks     Likely to avoid large gatherings
Vaccinated 62% 61%
Unvaccinated 37% 40%
Source: KFF Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor

Yet Morter isn’t alone. A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows 53% of unvaccinated adults in the United States fear the vaccines more than the disease itself.

Unvaccinated people are also less worried about getting “seriously sick” from Covid (73%) than vaccinated people (61%), according to the report.

‘Stubborn’

Dan Morris of Dunedin, Florida, said his plans to visit Australia this year are looking “extremely unlikely.”

He understands not getting vaccinated won’t help, since “there’s talk of [Australian authorities] not being willing to take unvaccinated people in the future” too.

Morris said he has “a range of reasons” for his decision, including having “a messed-up immune system” due to Crohn’s Disease, and concerns that mutations are making the vaccines less effective.

When asked if that was a circular argument — i.e., refusing vaccines because they may not be as effective against variants which, in turn, are more likely to develop if people refuse the vaccines — Morris said:

“Yes, if it is true that mutations are more likely or mostly occurring in the unvaccinated, then ‘the vaccines are continuing to mutate’ is not a great argument … I would be contributing to the problem. However, I think the mutations are going to come whether I vax or not.”

I’m really not bothered at all by the various restrictions…

The WHO has repeatedly said that Covid-19 vaccines are safe and life-saving. “One of the best ways of guarding against new variants is to continue… rolling out vaccines,” according to the WHO’s website.

In the meantime, Morris said he’s fine to wait years for long-term studies to be published. As to whether he would vaccinate to visit Australia, he isn’t budging.

“Tougher enforcement and restrictions make me less likely to be vaccinated in the future,” he said. “I’m stubborn!”

‘Not bothered’

Bryan Hale, a 54-year-old self-employed coach from Phoenix, isn’t vaccinated. But he isn’t averse to the idea either.

“I’m more than willing to get vaccinated if it becomes a serious issue or need,” he said. “I’ve just been busy.”

His vaccination status has resulted in backlash from his family, some of whom have refused to see him until he is immunized, he said.

Though studies indicate that unvaccinated people are less likely to wear masks or practice social distancing, Hale said he does both, especially since he travels weekly by car in the U.S. Southwest and Mexico.

Bryan Hale said he has experienced “zero” Covid-related delays at the U.S.-Mexico border — though news reports show others haven’t been as lucky.

Erin Clark | Boston Globe | Getty Images

“I’m really not bothered at all by the various restrictions and protocols that have been put in place for travelers,” he said, adding that he feels the government and society at large are “doing the best they can to deal with an unpredictable, complex and serious challenge.”

Hale said he respects the rights of individuals to choose to vaccinate, as well as businesses to implement rules for their organizations.

Deciding to vaccinate

Travel restrictions are coaxing people like Lois Lindsey over the line. The retired accountant from Houston got vaccinated last week solely to safeguard her upcoming vacation plans, she said.  

“I don’t want to take the vaccine but feel forced to do so since I will be taking a trip to Kentucky in October and a cruise in January,” she said. “I don’t want to … pay more or be delayed at the airport if I’m not vaccinated.”

If I could make my own decision, I would put my life in God’s hands.

According to a Time/Harris poll conducted in March, more than half (52%) of vaccinated respondents indicated their decision was influenced at least in part by the desire to travel.   

Lindsey’s cruise on Carnival Cruise Line requires all passengers aged 12 and older to be vaccinated. Exemptions are available, but unvaccinated travelers have to pay a $150 surcharge, submit to additional Covid tests, buy travel insurance (if leaving from Florida or Texas) and forgo “independent sightseeing in ports of call,” according to the company’s website.  

Lois Lindsey said she, her daughter and eldest grandchild decided to get vaccinated to go on a cruise departing this winter from Galveston, Texas.

Thomas Shea | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Lindsey says she feels there’s “conflicting information floating around” about who is spreading Covid, the effectiveness of masks, and whether vaccines protect against variants. She gets her news from CNN, Fox News, NBC News and talk radio, she said.

“If I could make my own decision, I would put my life in God’s hands,” said Lindsey.

A 50-year-old woman who works in New York’s financial sector and who did not wish to be identified told CNBC she’s considering getting vaccinated due to an upcoming trip to Hawaii.

Vaccinations aren’t required to enter the state, but she wants to avoid “any surprises” during the trip. Her travel companion is also pressing her to get vaccinated, which she feels she will likely do “for travel and for my parents … to feel safer.”   

She is currently working virtually from New Jersey, which lets her take a wait-and-see approach on vaccines. If called back into her New York office, “I would go forward with the vaccine,” she said.

‘Incredibly stubborn and foolish’

After a mild bout with Covid left her with a lingering cough for 10 months, Monica McLary, 45, decided to get vaccinated. She was initially hesitant, but the desire to travel with fewer restrictions spurred her to act.

“I want freedom to travel, I don’t want to get Covid again and I want to know that others cannot get the virus from me,” she told CNBC. “I feel like it’s everyone’s civic duty and find myself angered by those that continue to refuse based on misinformation.”

I am a conservative, voted for Trump, but these people are incredibly stubborn and foolish.

Since the pandemic started, the part-time Pilates instructor and real estate agent from Atlanta has traveled to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks (“oblivious to the pandemic with no rules or regulations”), Boston and Nantucket, Massachusetts (“so many restrictions”); Jackson Hole, Wyoming (“no masks required”); and Louisville to watch the Kentucky Derby (“we flew privately so that was the best”), among other places.

McLary persuaded her two teenage sons to get vaccinated so they could avoid masks and travel restrictions. Problems began, she said, when unvaccinated people stopped wearing masks too. Now Covid hospitalizations are rising again in Georgia and other U.S. states with low vaccination rates.  

“I am a conservative, voted for Trump,” she said, “but these people are incredibly stubborn and foolish.”

An article in the Economist last week indicated that the single greatest predictor of whether an American has been vaccinated is who they voted for in the last U.S. presidential election.

“I hope [Trump] doesn’t run again, and I hope more businesses — airlines included — and schools mandate vaccines,” McLary said.  

“It is not about politics, but about public safety,” she said. “We are all in this together.”

Read more from CNBC about travel and vaccinations

Categories
Health

What You Don’t Know About Meals Allergic reactions

What You Don’t Know About Food Allergies

The prevalence of severe food allergies ranges from 10 percent in 2-year-olds and 7.1 percent in children between 14 and 17 to 10.8 percent in adults aged 18 and over. Although milk, egg, wheat, and soy allergies are often overcome in infants and toddlers, others in the Big 9 almost always persist for life. And whoever was allergy-free as a teenager doesn’t necessarily have to stay that way. New food allergies can develop at any age.

According to Dr. Scott H. Safe, allergist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and co-authors: “Remarkably, about half of US adults with food allergies report developing at least one of their food allergies in adulthood, the shellfish allergy being for most of these cases is responsible. “

The only real food allergies are adverse immunological reactions, explained Dr. Safer. The body reacts to an otherwise harmless food like a life-threatening infection and starts a large-scale offensive. Symptoms can include hives, difficulty breathing, vomiting, or anaphylaxis – a severe, potentially fatal shock reaction that occurs within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen, sometimes in tiny amounts. For this reason, most airlines no longer offer passengers peanuts – simply spraying peanut dust can be fatal for some people with peanut allergies.

More than 40 percent of food allergic children and half of food allergic adults experience at least one severe reaction in their lifetime. Among those allergic to one or more of the Big 9 allergens, severe reaction rates exceed 27 percent, with peanut allergy topping the list at 59.2 percent in children and 67.8 percent in adults with peanut allergy.

However, many people who believe they have a food allergy don’t when tested with a blind oral provocation, which involves testing foods under medical supervision to see if a child is responding, the gold standard for diagnosing Food allergies. Others mistakenly view all kinds of food side effects – from upset stomach to headaches – as allergies. Food intolerances, for example to lactose, the natural sugar in milk, are not an immune reaction, but result from a deficiency in the enzyme lactase. Many Asians develop redness and redness when consuming alcohol because they lack an enzyme to digest it. Other people may think they are allergic because they are experiencing drug-like reactions, such as being extremely nervous from the caffeine in coffee and tea.

Sometimes long-term avoidance of a food can lead to an allergic reaction when that food is eventually consumed. This can happen to children with skin allergies who avoid milk; they may experience an allergic reaction later when they finally consume it. Occupational exposure, the use of skin care products, even tick bites can sometimes lead to food allergies in adulthood if both are cross-reactive with an allergenic substance.

And while allergy-prone families have historically been advised not to expose their children to peanuts until the age of 3 (advice that likely contributed to the current explosion in peanut allergies in children), it now appears that introducing it early – at 6 months – a highly allergenic food is actually protective and reduces the risk of a later reaction, said Dr. Safer.

Categories
World News

Do not park them inside or cost them unattended in a single day

Don't park them inside or charge them unattended overnight

The Vermont State Police released this photo of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV that caught fire on July 1, 2021 in the driveway of state Rep. Timothy Briglin, a Democrat.

Vermont State Police

General Motors is telling owners of 2017-2019 Bolt EVs that were part of a recent recall not to park their vehicles inside or charge them unattended overnight after two of the vehicles caught fire.

The two Bolt EVs were repaired as part of a recall of nearly 69,000 of the vehicles that were flagged for fire risks. The recall was initially announced in November by GM and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

One of the fires occurred while the vehicle was charging at the home of a a Vermont state lawmaker earlier this month. The other fire happened in New Jersey, a spokesman for GM said, adding that it was notified about it earlier this week.

“General Motors has been notified of two recent Chevrolet Bolt EV fire incidents in vehicles that were remedied as part of the safety recall announced in November 2020,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking owners of 2017-2019 Chevrolet Bolt EVs who were part of the recall population to park their vehicles outdoors immediately after charging and not leave their vehicles charging overnight while we investigate these incidents.”

Customers who have not had the repair completed should still visit their dealer for the recall while our investigation continues, according to the automaker.

“At GM, safety is our highest priority, and we are moving as quickly as we can to investigate this issue,” GM said.

The NHTSA in October opened an investigation into three reported fires involving Chevrolet Bolt EVs. The automaker is cooperating with the federal vehicle safety agency, a spokesman said. Another Bolt EV that caught fire was reported by media outlets in May, but not all the recall repairs had been conducted on the vehicle.

Categories
Health

CDC says totally vaccinated academics and college students needn’t put on masks indoors in up to date steering

CDC says fully vaccinated teachers and students don't need to wear masks indoors in updated guidance

Students wearing masks listen to teacher Dorene Scala during third grade summer school at Hooper Avenue School on June 23, 2021, in Los Angeles.

Carolyn Cole | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its public health guidance for schools Friday, saying fully vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside school buildings.

The CDC’s new guidance comes about two months after federal health officials permitted the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for kids ages 12 to 15, allowing middle and high school students to get the shots ahead of the fall school semester.

Teachers and students who are not vaccinated should still continue to wear masks indoors, the U.S. agency said, adding the practice is especially important when inside and in crowded settings, when social distancing cannot be maintained.

The agency also said it still recommends that students remain at least 3 feet apart in classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus.

“When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking,” the CDC wrote in its guidance.

The CDC’s recommendation will likely have no impact on students under 12, who are currently ineligible to get a Covid vaccine in the U.S.

The updated guidance comes as several states across the U.S. have largely done away with their mask requirements, social distancing and other pandemic-related restrictions because the Covid vaccines have helped drive down the number of new infections and deaths.

In mid-May, the CDC said fully vaccinated people didn’t need to wear masks in most settings, whether indoors or outdoors. They are still expected to wear masks on public transportation, the agency said, such as on airplanes, buses and trains. The federal government’s mask mandate on public transportation is scheduled to expire on Sept. 13 unless the CDC extends it once again.

The guidance may be controversial as scientists and other health experts say indoor mask mandates many make a return this fall, particularly in low vaccinated states, as the highly transmissible delta variant spreads across the U.S.

Already the dominant variant in the U.S., delta will hit the states with the lowest vaccination rates the hardest — unless those states and businesses reintroduce mask rules, capacity limits and other public health measures that they’ve largely rolled back in recent months, experts say.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Categories
Health

Authorities Warns Medical doctors and Insurers: Don’t Invoice for Covid Vaccines

Government Warns Doctors and Insurers: Don’t Bill for Covid Vaccines

The New York Times is investigating the costs associated with coronavirus testing, treatment, and vaccination. You can read more about the project and submit your medical bills here.

The Biden government is reminding doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and insurers that it is illegal to bill patients for coronavirus vaccines, a letter received from The Times shows.

The new warning responds to concerns from unvaccinated Americans that they could get a bill with their shot. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about a third of unvaccinated adults weren’t sure if insurance covered the new vaccine.

“We understand that there are costs associated with administering vaccines – from training staff to storing vaccines,” wrote Xavier Becerra, the health and social services secretary, in a letter to vaccinators and insurers. “Providers cannot bill patients for these expenses, but can request reimbursement through Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or other applicable coverage.”

The letter warns that billing patients could lead to state or federal “enforcement action” but does not specify what the penalty would be.

The federal government has written strong consumer protection to ensure patients don’t have to pay for coronavirus vaccines.

In the economic legislation last spring, insurers were prohibited from charging patients co-payments or deductibles for vaccines. The same law also created a fund that would cover the cost of vaccinating uninsured Americans.

Layered on top of these legal safeguards are the contracts doctors and hospitals have signed to get vaccines. These documents stipulate that vaccinations cannot charge patients for the service.

The stronger protection seems to have worked. While many patients have come across coronavirus bills for testing, only a handful have come with vaccines.

Still, the rules aren’t foolproof, and some patients have been illegally charged. In April, the Inspector General’s Office of Health and Human Services released a letter saying it was “aware of patient complaints about fees from providers to get their Covid-19 vaccines.”

Some patients have submitted bills with surprising fees for a Times project that collects patient bills for tests, treatments, and vaccinations. Fees range from $ 20 to $ 850. If you’ve received an invoice for your coronavirus vaccine, you can submit it here.

Patients who are billed for coronavirus vaccines can dispute the fee. Health insurers can turn to their plan to ask why they got a bill when two federal laws – the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the CARES law – prohibit it.

A small part of health insurance is exempt from the law. These “grandfather” plans existed prior to the Affordable Care Act and are not subject to requirements to fully cover the coronavirus vaccine or other preventive services.

But these patients, too, are still protected by the contract that the doctors concluded, excluding any invoicing. Doctors can send the outstanding fees to a new Coverage Assistance Fund created by the Biden administration last month to fill gaps in patient care.

Uninsured patients can instruct their providers to bill for the uninsured Covid-19 program that was set up to cover those without insurance.

If an insurer or doctor is unwilling to withdraw a bill, patients can seek help from state regulators. State insurance departments typically handle complaints about whether health insurances are not adequately covering medical care, while attorneys general tend to file complaints about possible inappropriate bills from doctors and hospitals.

Categories
Business

CDC eases summer time camp Covid steerage, says absolutely vaccinated teenagers do not want masks

CDC eases summer camp Covid guidance, says fully vaccinated teens don't need masks

kali9 | E + | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday relaxed their public health guidelines for summer camps, stating that fully vaccinated teens do not need to wear face masks or stay three feet away from others.

Fully vaccinated teens should continue to wear masks when necessary, including at local businesses and in the workplace, according to the CDC. Camps can support staff or campers who continue to wear a mask even if they are vaccinated, the agency added.

While unvaccinated adolescents should continue to wear masks, the CDC said they generally do not need to wear masks outdoors unless they are in a “significant to high transmission” area, in a crowded environment, or during activities that involve continued close contact with others.

The CDC’s new guide is approaching Memorial Day holiday weekend, the start of the summer vacation and camping season for many Americans.

On Wednesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky advised House lawmakers that the agency is revising its public health guidelines for summer camps to include vaccinated adolescents. Walensky approved expanded use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in 12 to 15 year olds two weeks ago.

As of Thursday, more than 165 million Americans 12 and older had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the CDC. According to the CDC, more than 132 million Americans 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

Previous CDC guidelines recommended that all children wear masks, regardless of vaccination, with some exceptions for certain activities such as eating, drinking, or swimming. It has been criticized by some public health experts and parents who say the risk of spreading Covid outdoors is low and children are less likely to develop serious illnesses.

“My whole goal is to make sure the camps stay open and there are no outbreaks,” Walensky said during the hearing. She added that her own children didn’t go to camp last summer. “I want the camps to be open this summer.”

The guidance also comes two weeks after the CDC said fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a face mask or stay 6 feet away in most environments, whether outdoors or indoors. People who were not vaccinated should continue to wear masks, the agency said, as they continue to be at risk of mild or serious illness, death, and the risk of the disease spreading to others.

Categories
Health

Scientists Don’t Need to Ignore the Wuhan ‘Lab Leak’ Concept, Regardless of No New Proof

Scientists Don’t Want to Ignore the Wuhan ‘Lab Leak’ Theory, Despite No New Evidence

As scientists find more animal coronaviruses, they can recognize more and more pieces of SARS-CoV-2 spread out among them. Researchers have also been able to reconstruct some of the evolutionary steps by which SARS-CoV-2 evolved into a potential human pathogen while it was still infecting animals.

This pattern is probably one that’s been followed by many viruses that are now major burdens on human health. H.I.V., for example, most likely had its origin in the early 1900s, when hunters in West Africa got infected with viruses that infected chimpanzees and other primates.

But some scientists thought it was too soon to conclude something similar happened in the case of SARS-CoV-2. After all, the coronavirus first came to light in the city of Wuhan, home to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where researchers study dozens of strains of coronaviruses collected in caves in southern China.

Still, that a top lab studying this family of viruses happens to be located in the same city where the epidemic emerged could very well be a coincidence. Wuhan is an urban center larger than New York City, with a steady flow of visitors from other parts of China. It also has many large markets dealing in wildlife brought from across China and beyond. When wild animals are kept in close quarters, viruses have an opportunity to jump from species to species, sometimes resulting in dangerous recombinations that can lead to new diseases.

That lab’s research began after another coronavirus led to the SARS epidemic in 2002. Researchers soon found relatives of that virus, called SARS-CoV, in bats, as well as civet cats, which are sold in Chinese markets. The discovery opened the eyes of scientists to all the animal coronaviruses with the potential of spilling over the species line and starting a new pandemic.

Virologists can take many measures to reduce the risk of getting infected with the viruses they study. But over the years, some accidents have happened. Researchers have gotten sick, and they’ve infected others with their experimental viruses.

In 2004, for example, a researcher at the National Institute of Virology in Beijing got infected with the coronavirus that causes SARS. She passed it on to others, including her mother, who died from the infection.

Categories
Health

Do not count on masking guidelines to vary in a single day

Don't expect masking rules to change overnight

Shoppers and diners are likely to see few, if any, immediate changes to company policies regarding social distancing and wearing masks when going to the grocery store or eating out, despite new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the UK Public health field.

“All in all, nothing is likely to happen,” said Joel Bines, global co-leader of the retail practice for consulting firm AlixPartners. “Most retailers will choose to continue doing what they did.”

The CDC issued updated guidelines on Thursday that, in most cases, fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask or stay 6 feet away. It marked a turning point in the Covid pandemic and paved the way for a degree of normalcy in both outdoor and indoor gatherings. The decision is made because nearly 59% of all adults in the US have received at least one dose of vaccine by Thursday.

However, the calculation is different for large retailers. Many, including Target, Home Depot, Gap, and Ulta Beauty, said they would maintain their pandemic precautions and continue to monitor developments over the coming weeks and months. Some said in company statements that they were still reviewing the guidelines. Others stressed the importance of safety, especially since some customers and employees have not received a Covid vaccination and children under the age of 12 are not eligible for a vaccination.

“We are aware of the updated CDC guidelines released today and are actively reviewing the impact of these updated guidelines on our guests and employees, with health and safety as our top priority,” said Ulta in a company statement.

Trader Joe broke the trend. In a statement on its website, the grocer urged shoppers to follow guidelines from health authorities – including the CDC guidelines that don’t require customers who are fully vaccinated to wear masks when shopping. However, the company did not reveal how to check customers’ vaccination status and said it would maintain other measures such as additional cleaning and wellness checks for staff.

Starbucks and Kroger didn’t have an immediate response to the updated CDC guidelines, but they did have notes on mask requirements in stores and on their websites.

In statements, leaders of the National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association said the safety of customers and employees will continue to be a priority.

Lisa LaBruno, Senior Executive Vice President, Retail Stores and Innovation at RILA, encouraged people to continue to obey the rules for private businesses.

“We urge all retail customers and guests to adhere to a store’s safety protocols, including wearing a mask and social distancing,” she said. “Frontline employees deserve that respect. Retailers are encouraging non-masking customers to shop online or through roadside pick-ups.”

Larry Lynch, senior vice president of science and industry for the National Restaurant Association, said operators must work with state and local regulators to ensure they are complying with other existing mandates. Lynch said the trading group won’t update its operating guidelines for Covid-19 immediately, but the CDC’s recommendation is encouraging as the industry looks to recover from the crisis.

According to Bines of AlixPartners, retailers and restaurants face a major operational challenge: they have no “visible evidence” of who is vaccinated or not when someone walks through the door. He said most don’t want to check customers’ vaccine status as it may seem political or intrusive.

They would also need to balance other factors, such as mask mandates that differ in different states and locations, and health concerns for customers and their own workforce.

“The Covid protocols are unlikely to unwind quickly – the [social distancing] Stickers, the plexiglass and so on – regardless of what the CDC put out and said today, because most retailers are going to take the “better safe than sorry” approach to deal with it, “he said.

He said there is one change that consumers might see: retailers who may switch to softer language on signs on their shop doors or in the aisles. Instead of saying that masks are required, companies could change the wording to include more nuances – for example, out of respect for other customers or out of kindness to employees, wearing masks.

This shift could also ease tensions with clients who opposed mandates and may be more open to masks out of courtesy, he said.

“It’s a little easier for them now because it’s not that polarized,” he said. “It’s not that black and white. It is now, ‘We want to encourage the wearing of masks for the benefit of our employees and for mutual benefit while we are in this uncertain time.'”

Some companies – mostly outdoor venues oriented companies – have dropped mask requirements or say they may soon. Hersheypark said in a tweet Thursday that face covering and social distancing are not required for fully vaccinated guests. The Pennsylvania amusement park followed on Friday morning with a message that it is up to customers to enforce the guidelines for themselves.

“At this point, we will be relying on our guests to strictly follow guidelines based on their vaccination status,” it said.

But not everyone was happy about the decision. One of the largest food unions in the country, the United Food and Commercial Workers, said again that frontline retail workers will find themselves in a difficult position as they interact with numerous strangers and help enforce the rules.

“Millions of Americans are doing the right thing and getting vaccinated, but key workers are still being forced to play masked police for shoppers who are not vaccinated and who refuse to follow local COVID safety measures,” said Marc Perrone, the international president of the Union, in a statement. “Shall you become the vaccination police now?”

– CNBC’s Amelia Lucas, Sarah Whitten, and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this story.