The Biden administration will use the Department of Education's civil rights office to discourage states from banning mask mandates in schools, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told the New York Times on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Several states have prohibited mask requirements from being implemented in schools, even as coronavirus cases continue to increase across the U.S. due to the Delta variant.
A Harvard-led scientific task force argues it would be far less expensive to prevent the next pandemic by stopping the spillover of animal pathogens to humans.
Why it matters: Though it's still unclear precisely how COVID-19 originated, scientists know most emerging human diseases begin in animals.
Facebook said Wednesday it's seeing signs that resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine is weakening both in the United States and abroad, though it acknowledged it still doesn't have hard numbers on how frequently misinformation is being shared on its platforms.
Why it matters: Facebook touts a survey showing improved attitudes toward the vaccines, but that survey finding raises questions, as other polling has shown significant and entrenched hesitancy, especially in the U.S. It also doesn't show that Facebook or other social media can be credited for any shift.
President Biden said Wednesday that nursing home and long-term care facilities must vaccinate their staff against COVID-19 to continue to receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding in response to lagging vaccination rates and a surge of new cases from the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Why it matters:Federal data showed that 60% of nursing home staff and around 82% of residents had been vaccinated against the virus in early August, even though they were among the first groups in the country to gain access to vaccines earlier this year.
Wednesday's announcement that all Americans will be eligible for COVID-19 boosters eight months after their second dose was met with skepticism at home and opposition abroad.
Driving the news: Many public health experts criticized the decision as premature or even unethical, and that eight months is too long — vulnerability can return as soon as five months after the second dose.
The school year has just started, and already tens of thousands of students and school staff members across the U.S. are isolating or quarantining after testing positive or possibly being exposed to COVID-19, school districts and other officials said this week.
Why it matters: The announcements come as health officials report an alarming number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 and amid tense debates over whether masks should be mandated for students and teachers.
A school district in Paris, Texas, will change its dress code to require masks — finding a possible loophole around Gov. Greg Abbott's statewide ban on mandates.
The Biden administration's top health officials announced Wednesday that beginning the week of Sept. 20, Americans who received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine should expect to be offered a booster shot eight months after their second dose.
Why it matters: The decision reflects a desire by the administration to get ahead of declining vaccine effectiveness, as the highly contagious Delta variant drives a new surge in infections across the country.
The amount of per-person health care spending is highest among white individuals compared to patients of other races, even after adjusting for age and health conditions, according to a study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.
Why it matters: Thestudy, published Tuesday in JAMA, provides evidence of inequities by race and ethnicity "from how physicians respond to patients to bias that exists in the algorithms that assess health needs and determine the appropriate intervention," the researchers write.
The Biden administration is expected to soon recommendbooster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for everyone, but that decision fails fundamental ethics tests, according to interviews with physicians and medical ethicists.
Why it matters: There is still a global shortage of vaccines. Even amid concerns of the spreading Delta variant, experts say it's difficult to justify a third dose for relatively healthy people in the U.S. when many others haven't gotten their first.
The Biden administration's decision to offer booster shots of coronavirus vaccine to most Americans comes down to staying ahead of declining vaccine effectiveness — especially if effectiveness against severe disease eventually begins to drop.
Why it matters: Even with more than half of the population fully vaccinated — well above most of the rest of the world — the coronavirus is still causing a domestic crisis, and the administration is determined to avoid worst-case scenarios.
The extreme heatwaves that blasted the Pacific Northwest this summer exposed a new reality for hospitals that were overwhelmed by patients with heat-related illnesses.
Why it matters: State and local health departments in Washington and Oregon report those who succumbed to heat-related illness were often older, with pre-existing conditions and had no air conditioning. Many were also socially isolated.
The Florida Board of Education voted Tuesday to sanction two public school districts for defying Gov. Ron DeSantis' order barring mask mandates in school, per NBC News.
Why it matters: It marks the first punishment doled out against school officials who have clashed with the Republican governor on the issue. Nearly 6,000 students and over 300 staff members have tested positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 in one district.
People will now have to wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses and at airports through Jan. 18, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told variousmedia outlets in a statement Tuesday.
Why it matters: The mandate was set to expire on Sept. 13, but the highly contagious Delta variant has forced the federal government to change course on mask mandates.
People in New Mexico will be required to wear face masks in all public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status starting on Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The spread of coronavirus has "increased dramatically" due to the highly infectious Delta variant and still-unvaccinated populations, Lujan Grisham's office said. State modeling projects that New Mexico will reach 1,000 new cases per day by the end of August.
