Aug 5, 2020 - Health

UConn becomes first FBS team to cancel its football season

The University of Connecticut announced Wednesday that it is cancelling its football program for the upcoming school year, citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: It's the first FBS program to back out of this year's season — and it could be just the first domino to fall among other major programs.

What they're saying: "The safety challenges created by COVID-19 place our football student-athletes at an unacceptable level of risk," said UConn athletics director David Benedict in a news release.

  • "The necessary measures needed to mitigate risk of football student-athletes contracting the coronavirus are not conducive to delivering an optimal experience for our team."
  • "Ultimately, the student-athletes would rather preserve their year of eligibility with an eye to competing under more typical circumstances during the 2021 season."  

Go deeper

Caitlin Owens, Dan Primack
Sep 28, 2020 - Health

The childless vaccine

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

It'll likely be a long time before children are vaccinated against COVID-19, even though vaccinating kids could eventually play an integral role in reducing the virus' spread.

The big picture: None of the leading contenders in the U.S. are being tested for their effectiveness in children. Even once one of them gains authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, there will only be a limited number of available doses.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated Sep 28, 2020 - Health

World coronavirus updates

Expand chart
Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

India became on Monday the second country after the U.S. to surpass 6 million cases.

By the numbers: Globally, nearly 997,800 people have died from COVID-19 and over 33 million have tested positive, Johns Hopkins data shows.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
Updated Sep 27, 2020 - Health

3 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week

Data: Compiled by Axios; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Utah, North Carolina and Wyoming set new highs last week for coronavirus infections recorded in a single day, according to the COVID Tracking Project (CTP) and state health departments. Utah and Wyoming surpassed records set the previous week.

Why it matters: Record case highs have usually meant that more hospitalizations and other serious outcomes are on the way, CTP's latest weekly update notes.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow