COVID-19 has severely set back key programs in fighting HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, according to a report released by the Global Fund on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Before the pandemic, the world had been making strides against those three diseases, with deaths dropping by half since 2004, per the New York Times.
NIAID Director Anthony Fauci in an interview with CNN Tuesday pushed back on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) claim last week that getting the COVID vaccine should be a personal choice that "really doesn't impact me or anyone else."
What he's saying: "When you're dealing with an outbreak of an infectious disease, it isn't only about you," said the nation's top infectious diseases expert. "There's a societal responsibility that we all have."
The Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that it will invest $700 million in grant funding to help farmworkers, meatpacking workers and front-line grocery workers cover health and safety costs incurred due to COVID-19.
Why it matters: The program expands pandemic agriculture aid, which has until now largely benefited farm owners, to include the primarily immigrant, low-income workforce, Bloomberg reports.
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will announce Tuesday it plans to send $452 million to more than a dozen states' reinsurance programs.
The big picture: The Biden administration has previously signaled support for these programs, which directly compensate insurance companies for some of their most expensive claims, preventing an increase in premiums.
Green groups say a critical UN climate summit hosted by the U.K. in Scotland this fall should be delayed because COVID restrictions and costs will hinder poor and vulnerable nations' participation.
Driving the news: The Climate Action Network, an umbrella group of climate NGOs, cited lack of vaccine access, rising travel and hotel costs and other factors.
COVID-era economic data tends to be noisy, and problematic to interpret. But in Friday’s disappointing jobs report, one thing was pretty clear: It’s Delta’s fault.
Why it matters: In some ways, that knowledge is a good thing: "It was definitely not as much progress as we were expecting, but the silver lining is that you can pretty clearly point to the cause of the weakness," Jeremy Schwartz, director of global strategy and economics at Credit Suisse, tells Axios.
Most parents back mask mandates, but the states where GOP parents are most opposed aren't the ones we always hear about, according to a new Axios/Momentive poll.
Why it matters: While plenty of attention has centered around debates around the public health measures in schools in states like Texas and Florida, the poll offers a glimpse at how much more widespread opposition is across the country.
The goal of the COVID-19 vaccines was always to reduce death and severe illness. Even with the Delta variant, the vaccines are still doing that. But that message is getting lost, infectious disease and vaccine experts tell Axios.
The big picture: Two-thirds of the world isn't fully vaccinated. To return to some semblance of "normal," health authorities need to emphasize how the vaccines aren't failing and drastically increase global vaccine production.
New Orleans officials are investigating what Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Monday called "unacceptable" conditions in several senior apartments, after five people were found dead in the complexes in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Driving the news: New Orleans Health Department teams discovered the bodies during wellness checks at senior apartment complexes, which found eight facilities unfit for occupancy, per a City of New Orleans statement Sunday.
Kentucky is in a "dire" situation because of a surge in new coronavirus cases driven by the Delta variant, Gov. Andy Beshear said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Why it matters: The number of new cases and hospitalizations in the state are increasing at the fastest growth rates since the start of the pandemic, and deaths are also beginning to surge since plateauing over the summer.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday an end to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown outside of Auckland, saying "we've done so well to get this outbreak under control."
What they're saying: "We are within sight of elimination, but we cannot drop the ball," Ardern said at a briefing confirming the rest of NZ will move to level 2 of the country's four-tier pandemic response measures at 11:59pm Tuesday.
Brazil and Argentina's soccer World Cup qualifier was postponed minutes after it began when Brazilian health officials intervened and raised concerns COVID-19 protocols had been broken Sunday.
Driving the news: South American soccer's governing body, CONMEBOL, confirmed the match at Sao Paulo's Neo Quimica Arena was suspended, after the health officials ran onto the pitch. The players walked off the field with the game at 0-0.
