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Senate Passes Nonbinding Joint Resolution to End National COVID Emergency
The Senate passed a symbolic joint resolution Thursday calling for an end to the national emergency declared by former President Trump on March 13, 2020, regarding COVID-19.
The resolution, which passed 48-47 and now heads to the House of Representatives, was introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas. Senators Mike Braun of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky also supported it.
“The Senate has spoken. We are ready to end the COVID national emergency like more than a majority of Americans,” Marshall tweeted. “Hope our House colleagues join us in returning the ability to make decisions related to the virus back to the American people.”
As Lab Owners Buy Luxury Cars, Biden Tightens Oversight of $5 Trillion in COVID Relief
USA TODAY via Yahoo!News reported:
When patients came to the South Florida testing lab owned by Christopher Licata, they got the COVID-19 tests they requested — plus more lucrative but medically unnecessary genetic and respiratory tests, allowing Licata to bill $6.9 million to Medicare, federal prosecutors say.
Licata got caught — the Delray Beach man pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud Medicare and is scheduled to be sentenced Mar. 24 — but federal officials are scrambling to tighten oversight of more than $5 trillion in pandemic relief funding passed by Congress over the past two years.
The federal government has paid more than $500 million to 3 labs with ties to a handful of nationwide testing operations now under investigation.
More Than 90% of U.S. Population Can Ditch Facemasks Under CDC COVID Guidance
More than 90% of the U.S. population lives in areas where they no longer need to wear facemasks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
The CDC issued new guidance last week that focuses on severe disease from COVID and hospitalizations when making recommendations on whether or not facemasks are needed.
The guidance is broken into three color-coded levels. People in green and yellow counties, with low and medium COVID levels, respectively, do not need to wear masks.
Everyone is still required by federal law to wear facemasks on planes, trains and other forms of public transportation. The facemask requirement for planes expires on Mar. 18. CDC officials have said they are reviewing whether or not the requirement is still necessary.
Could Your Blood Type Make COVID Worse?
U.S. News & World Report reported:
Your blood type may strongly influence your risk of severe COVID-19, new research suggests.
After screening more than 3,000 blood proteins, scientists linked 6 with an increased risk of severe COVID-19 and found eight that could help protect against severe disease.
One of the proteins (ABO) linked to severe illness determines blood type, suggesting that blood types (groups) play a major role in whether people develop severe forms of COVID-19, according to the authors of the study published Mar. 3 in the journal PLOS Genetics.
FDA Declines Pediatric EUA for Ocugen’s COVID Vaccine Covaxin
Ocugen Inc. (OCGN.O) said on Friday U.S. regulators have declined to issue an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Covaxin, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by its Indian partner Bharat Biotech, for use in individuals aged 2 to 18 years.
Shares of Ocugen slumped 30% premarket on the news.
Ocugen said it intends to continue working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to evaluate the process for getting an EUA for pediatric use of Covaxin.
Most EU Women Blame COVID Pandemic for Spike in Gender Violence — Poll
Nearly 3 out of 4 European Union women think the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred an increase in physical and psychological violence against them, according to a Eurobarometer poll published on Friday.
The poll, commissioned by the European Parliament ahead of Women’s Day on Mar. 8, shows 77% of women in the EU think the pandemic caused a rise in gender violence in their countries, with 9 in 10 respondents in Greece and Portugal saying so.
Asked how to tackle the problem, 58% of interviewed women said it should be made easier to report gender violence.
Arthritis Drug Shown to Reduce Risk of COVID Death in Large UK Trial
Eli Lilly (LLY.N) and Incyte’s (INCY.O) arthritis drug baricitinib helped reduce the risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients by 13% regardless of which other coronavirus treatment they were given, according to a large British study.
Over 8,000 patients were administered baricitinib in addition to usual care, at random, or usual care alone, as part of the so-called RECOVERY trial, scientists from the University of Oxford said on Thursday.
Results showed 546 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days but only 513 patients in the baricitinib group died where they were also given a corticosteroid like dexamethasone, tocilizumab or remdesivir.
South Africa Risks Destroying 100,000 Vaccine Doses by End-March Due to Slow Uptake
About 100,000 doses of Pfizer‘s COVID-19 vaccine (PFE.N) are at risk of being destroyed by the end of this month due to slow uptake by citizens, South African health authorities said on Friday.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the department was trying to ramp up inoculations to save the vaccine doses from being discarded. South Africa has so far fully vaccinated around 43% of its 40 million adults.
Almost a Third of People Report Lingering Symptom 6 to 12 Months After COVID — Study
Almost a third of people report at least one ongoing symptom between 6 and 12 months after their coronavirus infection, a survey of 152,000 people in Denmark has found.
The study includes one of the largest groups yet of people who were not hospitalized with COVID, and followed them for longer than other major studies, the researchers from Denmark’s State Serum Institute (SSI) said.
The questionnaire-based study suggested that the most commonly reported long-term symptoms were changes in sense of smell and taste, as well as fatigue.
