Florida broke several records for the number of cases reported in a single day reaching 76,000 new cases on New Year’s Eve. Florida is experiencing a 849 percent increase in COVID-19 cases this week. The Hill reported that Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis allowed more than 1 million COVID-19 rapid tests to expire while sitting in a
Safety Decision The Supreme Court ruled CMS’s vaccine or testing requirement for healthcare workers was constitutional. The Court’s 5-4 decision lifted two injunctions blocking the safety requirement. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh joined the three liberal-leaning justices, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan in issuing the majority opinion
The evidence now proves that somebody infected with Omicron is less likely to need hospital treatment than somebody infected with an earlier version of Covid. Omicron is so contagious that it has led to an explosion of mild cases. Symptoms are milder on average than among people who were hospitalized in previous waves. Millions of adults
QAnon and alt-right fanatics spread misinformation causing unnecessary deaths. It is a shame. At least, Twitter suspended crazy Georgia politician Marjorie Taylor Greene for violating its Covid misinformation policies. Omicron will do terrible damage among the unvaccinated in January. Nursing homes and hospitals risk of being overwhelmed in the coming weeks. CMS issued safety guidance on facilities’
North and South Carolina nursing homes report hundreds of coronavirus cases and outbreaks in recent weeks. Hospitalizations and deaths remain steady. Poor infection control make it easy for COVID to spread. Healthcare experts and elder advocates urge long-term care facilities to get all eligible residents and staff a booster shot by year’s end. Early access
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) provided emergency authorization for an antiviral pill for home use to treat COVID-19 infections. Just in time for Christmas! The Biden Administration committed funds to purchase enough Pfizer pills to treat 10 million Americans. Pfizer’s drug is called Paxlovid. Clinical trials showed the pill results in a 90 percent