Science

Testing for COVID-19 has declined. Experts worry it's too soon for the US to let its guard down.

WESTMINSTER, CA - OCTOBER 16: Physicians assistant Tom Bui administers a COVID-19 test at Temple Dieu Ngu in Westminster, CA, on Friday, October 16, 2020. The Orange County Health Care Agency has contracted with the OC Asian American Pacific Island COVID-19 Taskforce to increase testing in these disproportionately affected communities. Together, they are launching the API Testing Strike Team with testing locations county-wide offering testing three times a week through December 31, 2020. Photo...
Tags: Science, US, Trends, Georgia, Ap, United States, United Kingdom, Associated Press, Delaware, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, South Carolina, Pacific Island, Los Angeles County, Jonathan Quick, Rockefeller Foundation, University of Colorado Boulder

Wealthy LA residents gain access to COVID-19 vaccination codes meant for Black and Latino communities

A volunteer receives an injection for a potential vaccine against COVID-19 in South Africa. Felix Dlangamandla/Beeld/Gallo Images via Getty Images California created a program so Black and Latino residents could use access codes to get a vaccine.  Affluent LA residents were able to access them and also get vaccinated, the LA Times reported. The codes were meant to help bridge the vaccine access gap in the state.  Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. Wealthy residents in ...
Tags: Science, California, Los Angeles, Trends, Vaccines, Times, Los Angeles Times, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, LA Times, Los Angles, Office of Emergency Services, Coronavirus, Sarah Al Arshani, Getty Images California, South Africa Felix Dlangamandla Beeld Gallo Images, Cal State LA and Oakland Coliseum Insider

See pictures of the White House candlelight ceremony honoring the 500,000 Americans who died in the pandemic

From left, President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, stand outside the White House during a ceremony to honor the 500,000 Americans that died from COVID-19, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021 in Washington. AP Photo/Evan Vucci President Joe Biden mourned the more than 500,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 on Monday. Biden drew on his own experiences of loss to offer advice and hope to those who lost loved ones.  The US has recorded mor...
Tags: Politics, UK, Science, Washington, Senate, White House, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Cnn, Features, Washington Dc, Biden, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Kamala Harris

Kids represent a small fraction of overall COVID-19 deaths in the US but 75% of them are children of color

A temperature check is taken as students return to St. Joseph Catholic School in La Puente, California on November 16, 2020. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images There have been fewer than 250 children who have died from the coronavirus.  More than three-quarters of the deaths were in children of color.  Overall, kids make up about 13% of the coronavirus cases in the US.  Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. Children make up a small percentage of the overall COVID-19 d...
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Fauci says it's 'possible' that Americans will still need to wear masks in 2022

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during a White House Coronavirus Task Force meeting on November 19. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Fauci predicts that Americans might still need masks in 2022, CNN reported.  He said how long masks are needed depends on the level of virus in the community. He added that there will be a great deal of normality restored by the fall.  Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. Dr. Anthony Fau...
Tags: Science, US, Trends, Cnn, United Kingdom, Biden, Anthony Fauci, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Dana Bash, Fauci, Johns Hopkins University, Tasos Katopodis Getty, Coronavirus, Sarah Al Arshani

COVID-19 hospitalizations reach the lowest they've been since early November

A doctor checks the vital signs of a patient at the Intensive Care Unit of Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California on January 3, 2021. Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images COVID-19 hospitalizations are less than half of what they were during their peak last month.  Cases and deaths have also been on the decline, but experts warn against complacency.  Public health experts worry that new, more transmissible strains could cause another surge.  Visit the Business sect...
Tags: Science, Nbc, Cdc, Brown University, US, Trends, Cnn, United Kingdom, The Washington Post, Rhode Island, Tom Frieden, Frieden, Tarzana California, Megan Ranney, Providence Cedars Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, Coronavirus

A coronavirus variant with a mutation that 'likely helps it escape' antibodies is already in at least 11 countries, including the US

A scientist working on COVID-19 samples to find variations of the virus. Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images A new coronavirus variant has been reported in the US, the UK, and nine other countries. One of its mutations could help it escape neutralizing antibodies, one expert said. Mutations are seen as one of the biggest obstacles to ending the coronavirus pandemic. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. A new coronavirus variant with three mutations "of biological significa...
Tags: Health, UK, Science, Scotland, US, Trends, Getty Images, Uganda, South Africa, News UK, Brazil, Vaccines, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, Afp, Irish Times

A coronavirus variant with a mutation which 'likely helps it escape' antibodies is already in at least 11 countries, including the US

A scientist works on COVID-19 samples to find variations of the virus. Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images A new variant of the coronavirus has been reported in the US, UK, and 9 other countries. One of its mutations could help it escape neutralizing antibodies, one expert said.  Mutations in the virus are one of the biggest obstacles to ending the pandemic. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. A new variant with three "mutations of biological significance" has been detect...
Tags: Health, UK, Science, Scotland, US, Trends, Getty Images, Uganda, South Africa, News UK, Brazil, Vaccines, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, Afp, Irish Times

Scientists concerned that 7 newly discovered US coronavirus variants could be more contagious

Coronavirus testing continues at the ProHealth testing centers in Jericho, New York on April 22, 2020. J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images Researchers have discovered seven variants of the coronavirus from across the US, a study found.  It's not yet known if these variations are more transmissible than the original strain.  "There's clearly something going on with this mutation," a virologist said. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. Researchers have dis...
Tags: Science, US, Trends, United Kingdom, New Mexico, Times, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Conrad Williams, University of Bern, Jericho New York, Kamil, Coronavirus, Emma Hodcroft, Sarah Al Arshani, Getty Images Researchers, Jeremy Kamil

China refused to give WHO raw data that could have helped determine when and how COVID-19 started

Experts from the WHO-China joint team Liang Wannian (L) and Peter Ben Embarek attend the WHO-China Joint Study Press Conference on February 9, 2021 in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. Zhang Chang/China News Service via Getty Images Chinese officials refused to turn over raw data on potential early COVID-19 cases to the WHO.  The two sides at some points got into contentious arguments, the Wall Street Journal reported.  The lack of that raw data makes it harder to pinpoint how the pandemic s...
Tags: Science, China, International, Trends, Joe Biden, New York Times, Who, World Health Organization, Getty, Wall Street Journal, Wuhan, Trump, Dominic Dwyer, L, Times Everybody, Coronavirus

California residents 16 or older with pre-existing conditions can get a COVID-19 vaccine starting next month

Getty/David Greedy California will expand vaccine eligibility starting next month.  Those between 16 and 64 years old with pre-existing conditions can be vaccinated starting March 15. The eligibility expansion comes as LA County closes vaccination sites due to a shortage of doses. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. California residents between the ages of 16 and 64 who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 complications could get vaccinated starting next month, state h...
Tags: Politics, Science, California, Paul Simon, Los Angeles, Trends, Joe Biden, Vaccine, Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Times, Trump, Los Angeles County, LA County, Garcetti, Dodger Stadium, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Read

Cuomo's office released more than 9,000 COVID-19 patients back to nursing homes early in the pandemic, AP finds

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seen attending a press conference on September 29, 2020. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Over 9,000 COVID-19 patients were released to nursing homes in New York state early in the pandemic. Gov. Cuomo's office underreported the deaths in nursing homes, the Associated Press reported. A top aide to Cuomo admitted to hiding nursing home data, The New York Post reported. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. More than 9,000 patients...
Tags: Post, New York Post, Politics, New York, Science, Trends, Joe Biden, Ap, Associated Press, Department Of Justice, Republican, Freedom Of Information, Andrew Cuomo, Donald Trump, New York State, Cuomo

Hair salons, dentist offices, and assisted living facilities are passing the costs of PPE and cleaning supplies on to customers, report says

There have been 510 complaints across 29 states over coronavirus-related charges at dentist offices, senior living facilities, hair salons, and restaurants, the Post reported. skaman306/Getty. Images Businesses like hair salons, dentist offices, and care homes are charging customers "Covid-19" fees.  The fees — which range from $5 to over $1,000 — are meant to cover the cost of cleaning and PPE. Covid-19 is not an excuse to "impose unauthorized costs" on customers, Michigan AG Dana Nessel ...
Tags: Post, Science, Washington Post, Trends, New York Times, The Times, Retail, Michigan, Times, American Medical Association, Michigan AG, American Dental Association, Dana Nessel, Nessel, Coronavirus, Sarah Al Arshani

The pandemic made travel nurses the frontline heroes fighting the virus, but the work has taken a heavy toll

Nurse Cindy Kelbert, left, checks on a critically ill COVID-19 patient through a glass door as she is surrounded by other nurses at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Calif., Tuesday, July 7, 2020. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo Travel nurses are in high demand in the US as COVID-19 cases surge and hospitals are overwhelmed.  Unlike early waves of the outbreak, staffing agencies say demand goes beyond just a few hotspots.  Nurses tell Insider they're burnt out and are unsure how long they can sta...
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Kroger says it will pay workers $100 to get vaccinated against the coronavirus

Kroger logo is seen at one of their stores in Athens, Ohio. Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Kroger says it will pay employees $100 to get vaccinated against COVID-19.  Those who can't get vaccinated can take a course for the payment.  Retailers like Instacart and Dollar General have also incentivized employees to get vaccinated. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. Kroger announced that it would pay all associates $100 if they get vaccinated again...
Tags: Science, White House, Trends, Joe Biden, Retail, Usa Today, Instacart, Wall Street Journal, Kroger, Long Beach California, Athens Ohio, Coronavirus, COVID, Sarah Al Arshani, Stephen Zenner, Getty Images Kroger

Supreme Court lifts California's ban on indoor worship services but keeps restrictions on limited occupancy

A visitor walks through the Serra Chapel during the reopening of Mission San Juan Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano, CA on Thursday, February 4, 2021. Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images The Supreme Court ruled that California cannot ban indoor worship service.  They can, however, limit capacity to 25% and ban singing and chanting. There were four different opinions given by the Justices on this case.  Visit the Business section of Insider for more storie...
Tags: Politics, New York, Science, Justice, Supreme Court, Law, California, Court, Trends, Cnn, Associated Press, Donald Trump, Chamath Palihapitiya, Trump, Sonia Sotomayor, Barrett

Trump's record number of executions last year led to rise in COVID-19 cases on death row

A no trespassing sign is displayed outside the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File Trump's administration conducted 13 executions in the final six months of his term.  The executions were likely super-spreader COVID-19 events, an Associated Press analysis found.  By the end, 70% of death row inmates had contracted the virus.  Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. The string of executions that former President Donald Trump's admini...
Tags: Politics, Science, Colorado, White House, Trends, Joe Biden, Ap, Death Row, Associated Press, Biden, Donald Trump, Justice Department, Hall, Cabinet, Chamath Palihapitiya, Trump

An LA councilman wants to sue the nation's 2nd-largest school district to reopen for in-person instruction

Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino delivers the annual State of the District address in San Pedro on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images An LA councilman wants to sue the school district to reopen, the Los Angeles Times reported.  The Los Angeles Unified School District, the 2nd largest in the country has been closed since March. There have several other calls to reopen schools for in-person learning.  Visit the Business s...
Tags: Politics, Science, Cdc, La, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Trends, The Times, Los Angeles Times, Cnbc, Southern California, San Pedro, Los Angeles County, SPAC, KABC, Los Angeles Unified School District

As Michigan hospitals reach capacity, restaurants rebel against coronavirus orders and remain open

FILE PHOTO: Restaurants reopen in Michigan Reuters At least 60 Michigan restaurants are defying state orders and remaining open for indoor dining.  Owners said they don't believe public health warnings about the dangers of coronavirus, The Washington Post reported. Many say they can't afford to operate without indoor dining.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Some restaurants in Michigan are refusing to abide by state-mandated measures to quell the spread of the coronavir...
Tags: Post, Politics, Science, Washington Post, Restaurants, Trends, Michigan, Lansing, Detroit News, Sparrow, Sparrow Hospital, Gretchen Whitmer, Whitmer, Vierling, Koloski, Coronavirus

Seattle health workers raced to inject 1,600 coronavirus vaccine doses in the middle of the night to whomever they could find after a freezer failed

Dado Ruvic/Reuters A freezer mishap resulted in a frantic effort to administer more than 1,600 vaccines overnight in Seattle, The Washington Post reported. Hundreds of people stood in the street in their robes and pajamas after Seattle's Swedish Health Services tweeted at 11 p.m. that it had vaccines that were about to expire within hours. Workers administered all the shots on time, and no doses went to waste. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Staff and volunteers at a S...
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CDC mandates wearing masks on public transportation

Naomi Gilens embraces Adi Kamdar in the Castro District the victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in San Francisco, Calif. Biden, the former Vice President under former President Barack Obama, is projected to win the 2020 presidential election, defeating the incumbent President Donald Trump. Santiago Mejia/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images The CDC will mandate masks on public transportation starting Monday.  The agency d...
Tags: Transportation, Politics, Science, Cdc, US, Barack Obama, Trends, Joe Biden, United States, Biden, Donald Trump, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Kamala Harris, Trump, Castro District, San Francisco Calif

CDC director says we should be treating every COVID-19 case as if it's a variant of the virus

A nurse enters a tent for coronavirus patients setup at University Medical Center on October 30, 2020 in El Paso, Texas. Cengiz Yar/Getty Images The new CDC Director warns that we have to treat every COVID-19 case like it could be a variant, as more cases of highly contagious variants are discovered in the US.  There have been 379 confirmed cases of the variant first discovered in the UK.  Some vaccines appeared to be less effective towards a variant first detected in South Africa.  Visit ...
Tags: UK, Science, Minnesota, Cdc, US, Trends, South Africa, United Kingdom, Brazil, Johnson, Anthony Fauci, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, South Carolina, University Medical Center, El Paso Texas, Novavax

US officials increased COVID-19 risk when they were ill-prepared to meet first batch of US evacuees from Wuhan, watchdog says

Personnel in biological hazard suits await passengers evacuated from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the heart of a growing outbreak of the deadly 2019 Novel Coronavirus shortly after the plane landed at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California on January 29, 2020. Getty Images US health officials did not take appropriate infectious disease management steps when they met the first batch of evacuees from Wuhan last year, The Washington Post reported.  The findings arose from investigation...
Tags: Post, Politics, Science, Washington Post, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Wuhan, Sen Dianne Feinstein, HHS, Department of Health and Human Services, Riverside California, The Post, Riverside County California, Office of Special Counsel, Henry Kerner

Oregon health workers vaccinated drivers after they got stuck in a snowstorm so that coronavirus vaccine doses would not go to waste

Dado Ruvic/Reuters Health care workers in Oregon vaccinated stranded drivers for the coronavirus after getting stuck in a snowstorm. The Josephine County Public Health Department said they had six doses that were close to expiring.  While they were intended for other recipients, the workers didn't want them to go to waste. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. After getting stuck in a snowstorm health workers in Oregon vaccinated stranded drivers before their remaining coron...
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Millions of dollars meant to prepare for public health threats went to things like office furniture removal, watchdog says

Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, testifies before a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing to discuss protecting scientific integrity in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Thursday, May 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP) Associated Press HHS misappropriated millions from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a new watchdog report found.  BARDA is responsible...
Tags: Politics, Science, Obama, Congress, US, Barack Obama, Trends, Joe Biden, Food And Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Capitol Hill, The Washington Post, Trump, Sen Dianne Feinstein, Lurie, HHS

The 5th largest school district in the US announced a plan to phase back into in-person learning after a rise in student suicides

Principal Nathan Hay checks the temperatures of students as they return to school on the first day of in-person classes in Orange County at Baldwin Park Elementary School on August 21, 2020 in Orlando, Florida, US. Face masks and temperature checks are required for all students as Florida's death toll from COVID-19 now exceeds 10,000, with some teachers refusing to return to their classrooms due to health concerns. Photo by Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images The Clark County schoo...
Tags: Florida, Science, News, Cdc, Suicide, US, Trends, Joe Biden, New York Times, The New York Times, Nevada, Biden, Times, Orange County, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Orlando

Deborah Birx says she 'always' considered quitting as she faced attacks from within the Trump administration and the science community

Joshua Roberts/Getty Images Deborah Birx says she always considered quitting while working on Trump's Coronavirus task force.  Birx faced criticism from the science community and from Trump for her work.  She says her role and the pandemic were politicized, thanks in large part to Trump.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of former President Donald Trump's White House Coronavirus task force said she always considered quitting. "I mean, why w...
Tags: Politics, Science, Cdc, White House, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Gop, Nancy Pelosi, Republican Party, Donald Trump, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Trump, Trump Read, Margaret Brennan, CBS News Face

A new coronavirus variant has been tied to at least 90 infections in a deadly outbreak at a medical center in San Jose, California

Co-director of the intensive care unit at CommonSpirit's Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center, Dr. Zafia Anklesaria, attends to a COVID-19 patient in the hospital where she works in Los Angeles, California on May 18, 2020. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters A new coronavirus variant is linked to a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center. The outbreak has resulted in at least 90 infections and one death.  The variant called L452R was discovered in other co...
Tags: UK, Science, Nbc, California, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Trends, Hospital, Healthcare, San Jose, Biden, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Los Angeles California, Santa Clara County, San Jose California

More than a year after the first COVID-19 case was discovered, more than 2 million people have died from the highly transmissible virus

Health workers in personal protective suits ferry the body of a man who died of COVID-19 on a handcart for cremation in New Delhi, India, May 28, 2020. AP Photo/Manish Swarup More than 2 million people worldwide have died from COVID-19 as of Friday.  The world hit one million COVID-19 deaths just three months ago.  The death toll is the equivalent to the entire country of Slovenia. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. More than a year after the first novel coronavirus case w...
Tags: UK, England, Science, US, Trends, South Africa, Slovenia, Nebraska, New Mexico, Bahrain, New Delhi India, Yale School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Aylin Woodward, Coronavirus, COVID

Already overworked and strained Los Angeles County ICU doctors brace themselves for another anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients

Michelle Goldson, RN works inside the ICU at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital on December 17, 2020 in Los Angeles. Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Doctors in Los Angeles County are bracing themselves for a likely rise in an already surging number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Physicians told Business Insider that their hospitals are running through multiple contingency plans to figure out how to best treat patients, maintain supplies, and keep healthcare...
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