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Entertainment

Los Angeles to Require Masks at Massive Out of doors Concert events and Occasions

Los Angeles to Require Masks at Large Outdoor Concerts and Events

With coronavirus cases continuing to surge, Los Angeles County said Tuesday that masks must be worn at large outdoor concerts and sporting events that attract more than 10,000 people.

The new rule, which comes into effect Thursday at 11:59 p.m., means that visitors to the Hollywood Bowl, Dodger Stadium, outdoor music festivals and events designated by the county as “mega-events” must now wear masks. The rule applies to people regardless of their vaccination status.

People are allowed to take off their masks while eating and drinking, but only for a short time.

The order came as cities across the country took steps to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Chicago joined Los Angeles County, Washington, DC, San Francisco, and other areas to require masks in indoor public spaces. New York City Requires Proof of Vaccination for Indoor Dining and Entertainment Activities; Broadway will require proof of vaccination and masks when it reopens.

The new rules requiring masks at major outdoor events in Los Angeles came when the county reported that cases, hospitalizations, and positivity rates have all increased significantly. According to data collected by the New York Times, Los Angeles County is seeing an average of 3,361 new cases per day, an 18 percent increase from the average two weeks ago.

Los Angeles County has been aggressive in introducing masking requirements amid evidence that the Delta variant of the virus has spread. In the past month, people were forced to wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of their vaccination status.

Covid guidelines at the Hollywood Bowl have changed repeatedly over the year as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which runs the Bowl, tried to adhere to the county’s changing regulations. It has drawn large crowds for the past six weeks. With a few exceptions, the people in the audience were maskless, as allowed by the district rules. But they tend to put on their masks when they join the hustle and bustle of people walking down the crowded sidewalks after the show.

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Health

Covid Is Particularly Dangerous for Individuals With H.I.V., Giant Research Finds

Covid Is Especially Risky for People With H.I.V., Large Study Finds

“HIV knocks out all the brakes on the immune system, and as a consequence you get this inflammatory response that is robust and persistent – and now you still have Covid,” said Dr. Steven Deeks, an HIV expert at the University of California, San Francisco. “I would be surprised if HIV wasn’t linked to the progression of Covid-19”.

Updated

July 15, 2021, 7:14 p.m. ET

Dr. Deeks disagreed with the study researchers’ decision to adjust the calculations for the presence of other conditions such as obesity, as HIV infection itself can cause many of these diseases. “For 25 years we have argued that a history of HIV infection is an independent risk factor for the progression of heart disease, cancer and aging,” he said. Without this statistical adjustment, the increased risk of death for these patients would most likely have been higher than the 30 percent reported in the study.

Many previous studies had a bias that could have masked some of the risk: Doctors tend to hospitalize Covid-19 patients with HIV out of caution, which means patients are less sick and more likely to survive compared to those who do not having HIV.This larger number of patients would make HIV infection seem less of a problem than it is, said Dr. Matthew Spinelli, an infectious disease doctor at San Francisco General Hospital.

“Early studies may have misled people on this issue,” he said. The results of the new study are more in line with large, population-based studies from South Africa and England showing HIV infection doubles the risk of dying from Covid-19, and from a similar study in New York state, he added added.

The new findings should prompt doctors to give people with HIV quick access to monoclonal antibodies or antiviral drugs to treat Covid-19, said Dr. Deeks. The data also underscores the need to understand how HIV infection affects a person’s response to a Covid vaccine and whether some people with HIV need a booster vaccination, as many immunocompromised people do.

AIDS activists successfully campaigned for the inclusion of people with HIV in clinical trials with coronavirus vaccines, but the data are limited. A clinical study in South Africa showed the coronavirus vaccine, manufactured by Novavax, to be more effective than analysis excluded people with HIV, suggesting that HIV infection undermines the immune response to vaccines.

Out of 100 countries that have released information, 40 listed people with HIV as a priority group for Covid-19 vaccination, said Dr. Meg Doherty, WHO directs HIV programs

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Business

FDA says photographs for brand spanking new variants will not want giant medical trials

FDA says shots for new variants won't need large clinical trials

Erick Vazquez receives the Pfizer vaccine during an event to vaccinate approximately 500 healthcare workers and adults over 65 years of age against COVID-19 organized by Labor Community Services, the Los Angeles Federation of Labor, and the St. Johns Well Child and Family Center shaped work of love, in Pico Union, February 13, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA.

Dania Maxwell | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that modified Covid-19 vaccines against new, emerging variants can be approved without the need for lengthy clinical trials.

The new guidelines, published in a 24-page document on the FDA’s website, would release the new vaccines as an amendment to a company’s originally approved emergency application, according to the FDA. The company would have to submit new data showing the modified vaccine produces a similar immune response and is safe, similar to annual flu vaccines.

“Preliminary reports from clinical trials evaluating COVID-19 vaccine candidates in several countries, including South Africa, have contributed to concerns that the vaccine may be less effective against variant B.1.351 than against the original virus,” the wrote Agency found in the document with reference to the strain in South Africa. “Therefore, there is an urgent need to initiate the development and evaluation of vaccines against these SARSCoV-2 variants.”

The updated guidelines come because U.S. health officials, including White House Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, fear the virus could potentially mutate enough to evade the protection of current vaccines and reverse advances in the pandemic.

For the past few weeks, officials have urged Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible before potentially new and even more dangerous variants of the virus emerge.

As of Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 1,661 cases of variant B.1.1.7, which were first identified in the UK. The agency has identified 22 cases of the B.1.351 strain from South Africa and five cases of P.1, a variant first identified in Brazil.

The FDA approved Pfizer and Moderna’s emergency vaccines in December, and the two drug makers have since announced plans to change their vaccines to target new variants. The guidelines could speed up the regulatory review process for the vaccines.

Public health officials and infectious disease experts said there was a high chance that Covid-19 would become an endemic disease, meaning it will never go away completely, although it will likely spread at lower levels than it is now. Health officials must constantly look for new variants of the virus so scientists can make vaccines against them, medical experts say.

Richard Webby, director of a World Health Organization flu center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said the clearance process for modified Covid-19 vaccines may be very similar to the procedure for annual flu shots.

The U.S. and other nations need to step up their surveillance of new tribes and then make regular recommendations as to which variants to target, he said in a recent interview. “It’s not there for Covid at the moment.”

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Health

J&J doesn’t have massive stock of doses, Biden official says

J&J does not have large inventory of doses, Biden official says

Illustration of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine

Given Ruvic | Reuters

Johnson & Johnson will not hold a “large inventory” of its Covid-19 vaccine until regulatory approval expected this month, President Joe Biden’s Covid tsar said Wednesday.

Jeff Zients said the government has learned in recent weeks that J&J will only manufacture “a few million” doses if its single vaccine is likely to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Federal and state health officials expected vaccine supplies to increase rapidly once the J&J emergency vaccine was approved. The FDA scheduled a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products on February 26th to discuss the vaccine. The US could approve the vaccine the next day.

J&J currently has a contract with the U.S. government to deliver 100 million doses of its vaccine by the end of June, said Zients, the president’s Covid-19 response coordinator. Assuming the vaccine is approved, the Biden government will work with J&J to increase supply as soon as possible. US officials hope many of these cans will be available in the first few months of their introduction.

“We are doing everything we can to work with the company and accelerate the delivery schedule,” Zients told reporters during a White House press conference on the pandemic.

The news comes as the Biden government works to increase the supply of cans after states complained that demand for the shots was rapidly exceeding supply. Around 39.7 million out of roughly 331 million Americans have received at least their first dose of Pfizer’s or Moderna’s two-dose vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 15 million of those people have already got their second shot.

Biden announced Thursday that the US has received 100 million more doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and 100 million more of the Moderna vaccine, bringing the total US supply to 600 million doses. Since the vaccines require two doses, a total of 600 million doses would be enough to vaccinate 300 million Americans.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced that the Biden administration is increasing the number of Covid-19 vaccine doses sent weekly to states, shipping 13.5 million doses this week and doubling the number of pharmacies sold to pharmacies.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that most Americans will have access to a Covid-19 vaccine by mid to late May or early June, a slight delay compared to previous predictions made in late March and April.

The White House chief medical officer said the federal government expects J&J to “significantly increase” starting doses.

“I’m a little disappointed that the number of doses we’re getting early from J&J is relatively small, but as we get further into spring there will be more and more,” said Fauci.

Meanwhile, Pfizer and Moderna are looking into whether their vaccines can prevent transmission of the virus, he said on Wednesday, adding that early studies point in a “favorable direction”.

Categories
Politics

A big share of Republicans need Trump to stay head of the get together, CNBC survey reveals

A large share of Republicans want Trump to remain head of the party, CNBC survey shows

US President Donald Trump looks on after presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Celtics basketball legend Bob Cousy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on August 22, 2019.

Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

A CNBC poll conducted in the days leading up to the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump found that a large segment of Republicans want him to remain party leader, but the majority of Americans want him out of politics.

The CNBC All-America Economic Survey shows that 54% of Americans want Trump “completely removed from politics”. That was the opinion of 81% of Democrats and 47% of Independents, but only 26% of Republicans.

When it comes to Republicans, 74% want him to stay active in some way, including 48% who want him to stay head of the Republican Party, 11% who want him to start a third party, and 12% who who say he should remain active in politics, but not as party leader.

“When we talk about Donald Trump’s future, the poll right now shows that he still has that strong core support in his own party that really wants him to continue to be its leader,” said Jay Campbell, an associate at Hart Research and the democratic pollster for the poll.

But Micah Roberts, the poll’s Republican pollster and partner with Public Opinion Strategies, emphasized the change from Trump as president. Pre-election polls regularly showed that Trump has a GOP approval rating of around 90%, which means that at least some Republicans have deviated from Trump.

The online poll of 1,000 Americans across the country has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%. It was conducted February 2-7 ahead of Trump’s Senate riot and sparking the January 6th riot in the Capitol. In the unlikely event of a conviction, the Senate could prevent Trump from ever holding public office again.

The poll shows that Trump continues to enjoy strong support among non-college Americans, a key population group for the GOP: 89% of the group want him to stay in politics, including 52% who want him to stay head of the Republican Party . That’s the highest percentage of any group and a potential red flag for Republican Party leaders if they vote to condemn Trump.

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Business

New York Gov. Cuomo says Barclays Middle, different massive arenas within the state, can reopen beginning Feb. 23

New York Gov. Cuomo says Barclays Center, other large arenas in the state, can reopen starting Feb. 23

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to reporters during a press conference at a COVID-19 pop-up vaccination center in the William Reid Apartments in Brooklyn, New York City, the United States, on Jan. 23, 2021.

Altaffer | Reuters

Large stadiums and arenas in New York can reopen with limited capacity from February 23, if approved by the state Department of Health, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday.

Stadiums with 10,000 or more seats are capped at 10% and anyone entering the buildings must present a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of the event. Face covering, social distancing and temperature checks on arrival will also be required, Cuomo said.

The first major event already approved by state health officials will take place at New York’s Barclays Center, where the Brooklyn Nets will play the Sacramento Kings on February 23, Cuomo said.

“Any major stadium or arena – hockey, basketball, soccer, soccer, baseball, music shows, performances – can open on February 23,” Cuomo said at a press conference.

Source: New York State

This is the first time since mid-March, when the coronavirus first pierced New York state and overloaded its hospital system, allowing stadiums to reopen to fans across the state. Cuomo said Monday that reopening the state’s economies, including theaters and major venues, through Covid-19 testing “is something where New York wants to lead the way”.

Much of the state’s plan to reopen arenas is based on a pilot program that ran in January that allowed nearly 7,000 football fans to attend the Buffalo Bills home game as long as they presented a negative Covid-19 test. Cuomo called the program “an unprecedented success”.

“This hits the balance of safe reopening,” said Cuomo.

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Categories
Health

NY goals to reopen Broadway, massive venues, with Covid testing, Cuomo says

NY aims to reopen Broadway, large venues, with Covid testing, Cuomo says

All New York theater performances will be suspended until the end of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Pictured Broadway theater with shutters.

Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images

New York plans to use extensive coronavirus testing to reopen its difficult entertainment options, which have been closed for months during the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.

The coronavirus has crippled the live theater industry, particularly at its central hub in New York City. Broadway has been closed since March 2020 and is not expected to reopen until May 30 this year, according to the Broadway League, a trade organization that represents producers and theater owners.

However, Cuomo said there was hope that New York could allow Broadway, among other entertainment options, to reopen with some restrictions. The state would likely set an audience size limit, require everyone to take a negative Covid-19 test before entering, and require proper ventilation systems in theaters, the governor said.

“Would I go to a play and sit in a playhouse with 150 people? If the 150 people tested and they were all negative, I would,” Cuomo said during a press conference. “I think reopening with testing will be key.”

Cuomo said he couldn’t immediately provide a timetable for major venues to reopen. Much of the state’s plan depends on a pilot program that ran in January that allowed nearly 7,000 football fans to attend the Buffalo Bill’s home games as long as they presented a negative Covid-19 test.

The governor had already announced in late January that New York will allow some wedding ceremony venues to reopen on March 15 with limited capacity. Attendees can hold a wedding if all attendees are tested prior to the event and organizers get approval from their local health department in advance, he said.

“Opening locations with testing is something New York wants to lead the way,” Cuomo said Monday.

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