The White Home is making ready for future pandemics.
The Biden administration unveiled a plan to improve the nation’s means to reply to organic threats, evaluating its scope to the Apollo Program, which was initiated to place a person on the moon.
“We’d like higher capabilities,” stated Eric Lander, director of the White Home Workplace of Science and Know-how Coverage, “as a result of there is a affordable probability that one other severe pandemic that may very well be worse than COVID-19 will happen quickly and presumably even inside the subsequent decade.”
The fee? $65.3 billion over the subsequent decade.
A superb chunk of that cash will go towards vaccine improvement and distribution, the White Home stated. Administration officers are hoping an preliminary $15 billion will cross by way of Congress as a part of the large $3.5 trillion spending bundle on the desk for this fall.
The plan consists of:
- Dramatically increasing the arsenal of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
- Strengthening public well being methods each within the U.S. and internationally.
- Enhancing the power of the U.S. to supply private protecting tools and different very important provides.
- Enhancing early detection of pandemic threats.
- Making a centralized “mission management” to be in control of an effort that may draw on a number of federal businesses.
Additionally within the information:
► New Zealand reported its first COVID demise in over six months on Saturday — a lady in her 90s who had underlying well being situations, based on authorities. New Zealand stays in lockdown that started final month after one optimistic case.
► A German man attacked well being care employees at a vaccination website after he demanded a vaccination certificates with out receiving a shot, they usually refused to offer it to him. Police stated he grew to become violent and injured two employees, who have been handled in a hospital and later launched.
► Michigan faculties this yr are nonetheless required to show details about reported COVID-19 instances publicly on their web sites, below an order from the state well being division final October. However a few of these dashboards are exhausting to search out or navigate.
📈 As we speak’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded greater than 39.8 million confirmed COVID-19 instances and greater than 647,500 deaths, in accordance to Johns Hopkins College information. International totals: Greater than 219.7 million instances and 4.5 million deaths. Greater than 175.5 million People — 52.9% of the inhabitants — have been totally vaccinated, based on the CDC.
📘 What we’re studying: The mu variant of the coronavirus has been marked as a “variant of curiosity” by the World Well being Group and has unfold throughout Chile, Peru and components of the U.S. and Europe. This is what we all know in regards to the mu variant.
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Hawaii struggles with delta surge, begs vacationers to remain away
Hawaii has already reported greater than twice as many coronavirus instances this yr because it did in all of 2020, Johns Hopkins College information present.
The information present Hawaii had been reporting 66,778 COVID-19 instances by way of Saturday afternoon. It had reported 22,007 instances in all of 2020.
‘I am conflicted’:Vacationers weigh Hawaii plans after governor begs vacationers to not come amid COVID-19 surge
The annual comparisons do not start to inform how a lot Hawaii struggled with a wave of instances pushed by the delta variant. In simply the final month, Hawaii has reported extra instances than it did in all of final yr.
Hawaii’s governor has begged vacationers to avoid the islands by way of October.
– Mike Stucka
Kentucky well being care employees sue over COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Claiming necessary COVID-19 vaccines are “a fraud upon all the American public,” 40 workers of St. Elizabeth Healthcare have filed a federal lawsuit difficult a requirement they be vaccinated.
The 93-page lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Courtroom in Covington, comes amid a surge in COVID-19 instances — largely amongst unvaccinated sufferers — that threatens to overwhelm most Kentucky hospitals.
Fueled by the delta variant, COVID-19 continues to have an effect on Kentuckians in document numbers.
The lawsuit follows an announcement Aug. 5 by many of the state’s main hospital methods, together with St. Elizabeth’s, primarily based in Northern Kentucky, that they’d require vaccines for all employees with no medical or spiritual exemption to strive management the surge of COVID-19 in Kentucky.
– Deborah Yetter, Louisville Courier Journal
Denmark bans unvaccinated US vacationers
Denmark is banning unvaccinated vacationers from the US, becoming a member of a rising checklist of European Union member states which are tightening journey restrictions as COVID-19 instances rise.
The change comes after the nation moved the U.S. to its “orange” journey advisory class on Saturday. Beforehand, U.S. vacationers might enter Denmark by exhibiting a unfavorable coronavirus take a look at or proof of restoration. Entry necessities don’t change for totally vaccinated U.S. vacationers, who are nonetheless exempt from testing and quarantine necessities.
The Netherlands, one other EU member state, on Saturday began implementing a quarantine interval for vaccinated U.S. vacationers and prohibited entry amongst unvaccinated vacationers. Bulgaria introduced it might prohibit journey from the U.S. and Italy added testing and self-isolation necessities for U.S. vacationers.
– Bailey Schulz
Contributing: The Related Pres
