Although the Ohio Department of Health published mostly accurate coronavirus data over the past year of the pandemic, the department could have done better with the specificity of that data and disseminating it to the state’s residents, according to an audit by the Ohio Auditor of the State released this week.
Read the full storyTag: Coronavirus
Ohio Law Signed Last Week Provides Relief for Students, Waives Certain Requirements
Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law last week that modifies student requirements to provide relief for end-of-year assessments for Ohio students.
The law, which aims at providing students with relief during the pandemic, will apply for a single school year. It was co-sponsored by state Reps. Adam Bird (R-66-New Richmond) and Kyle Koehler (R-79-Springfield).
Read the full storyOhio to Experiment with Walk-Up Vaccinations at Clinics, DeWine Said on Thursday
Ohio will be experimenting with a walk-in vaccination clinic that does not require an appointment, Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine announced on Thursday.
Read the full storyVaccine to be Available for All Ages by March 29, DeWine Says
Vaccinations will soon become available to those older than 16 in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday.
Read the full storyOhio Crosses 20 Percent Threshold for Vaccinations
Ohio has administered at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to more than 20 percent of its population, crossing the threshold over the weekend, according to data from the Ohio Department of Health.
Read the full storyFauci: Daily New Cases Should Be Below 10,000 Before U.S. Lifts Pandemic Restrictions
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that the U.S. should not relax restrictions that have been put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus until new infections are under 10,000 per day, a number that is about 85% lower than current case levels.
Fauci said that the case levels may have to be “considerably less” than 10,000 per day for him to support rolling back mask and social distancing mandates in place in many U.S. cities and states.
Read the full storyOhio Representative Introduces Legislation to Curb Executive Orders, Health Mandates
Ohio State Representative Larry Householder (R-2-Glenford) introduced two bills on Thursday that would allow the state and individual counties to overturn executive and health order.
Read the full storyBiden Administration Won’t Allow Media to Tour Migrant Children Facility ‘Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic’
Members of the media will not be able to visit migrant detention centers holding minors near the southern border due to COVID-19, a spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Reporters will not be allowed inside the Carrizo Springs facility for unaccompanied minors that was recently opened under the Biden administration in Texas, a Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) spokesperson told the DCNF.
Read the full storyOhio Department of Health Removes Capacity Restrictions for Proms, Weddings
The Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud signed two orders on Tuesday, changing coronavirus guidance for events like wedding receptions and funerals, as well as sports and entertainment venues.
Read the full storyPhase 1C, Phase 2 of Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution to Open this Week, DeWine Says
The next phase of distribution for the COVID-19 vaccine in Ohio will begin this week and include increased eligibility, according to an announcement from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday.
Read the full storySteve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’
An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.
Read the full storySporting, Entertainment Venues to Reopen in Ohio with Limited Capacity
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on Thursday that sporting and entertainment venues will be allowed to reopen with limited capacity.
Read the full storyJohnson & Johnson’s Coronavirus Vaccine Offers Strong Protection, Reduces Spread, FDA Analysis Finds
Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine is effective in preventing severe and fatal coronavirus cases, and may reduce the virus’s transmission among vaccinated people, the FDA said in new analyses Wednesday.
The drug maker announced in January that its vaccine was 72% effective against the virus in the United States and 64% effective in South Africa, where a mutated, more transmissible strain has become dominant. Its vaccine was 86% effective in preventing severe virus cases in the U.S., meaning that a vaccinated individual is at a far smaller risk of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19.
Read the full storyU.S. to Pay $4 Billion for Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution in Poor Countries
Joe Biden is set to announce today that the United States will be spending $4 billion on an effort to increase distribution of the coronavirus vaccine in poor and third-world countries, as reported by ABC.
Congress had approved spending the funds on an international vaccine distribution effort back in December; half of the money will go to an organization called Gavi, an international group that focuses specifically on vaccine distribution and is backed by the United Nations. The funding will cover Gavi’s operations throughout 2021 and 2022.
Read the full storyDeWine Encourages Nursing Homes to Allow Compassionate Care Visitation
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is encouraging nursing homes in the states to open for compassionate care visits for residents who have been struggling during the pandemic.
Read the full storyHome Schooling in Minnesota Skyrocketed 50% Amid School Closures
A Friday report from the Minnesota Department of Education confirmed what many have suspected all along: parents are opting to take their children out of public schools.
Overall public-school enrollment decreased by 2% between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, MDE said in its report, which translates to a net loss of about 17,000 students. This decrease was driven largely by a 9% drop in public kindergarten enrollment, according to the MDE.
Read the full storyPfizer, Moderna Vaccines May Offer Less Protection Against South African Coronavirus Variant
Recent studies indicate that the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines may have reduced protection against the South African coronavirus strain, according to reports in the New England Journal of Medicine, raising concerns that they could be less effective against future mutations.
Though both vaccines appeared to generate enough antibodies to neutralize the mutant strain, they both produced fewer antibodies when compared to the original virus. But experts warned that it was unclear just how much protection was needed to neutralize the variant, which scientists believe is more contagious than the original strain.
Read the full storySteve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’
An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.
Read the full storyBuckeye Institute Publishes Report Advocating for Education Savings Accounts for Ohio Students
The Buckeye Institute recently released a report advocating for the implementation of Education Savings Accounts for Ohio’s students, something it says could help school districts and educators put students first.
Read the full storyOhio Gov. DeWine Says He Would Veto Bill Aimed at Curbing Health Emergency Powers
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on Tuesday that he would veto a bill aiming to curb emergency health orders if it made it to his desk.
Read the full storyOhio Publishes List of Disorders that Qualify People for Coronavirus Vaccine
The state of Ohio has published a list of medical conditions that qualify residents to receive the coronavirus vaccination in the most recent phase of eligibility.
Read the full storyChina Withheld COVID-19 Data from World Health Organization Team Investigating Virus Origins: Report
Chinese authorities refused to share raw data on 174 early cases of Covid-19 with a World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the scientists on the team told The Wall Street Journal.
According to The Journal, government authorities provided summaries of the coronavirus cases to the WHO team, but withheld raw data that could provide clues about how the virus transmitted early on in the pandemi
Read the full storySteve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’
An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.
Read the full storyOhio to Add 4,000 Deaths to Coronavirus Tally After Discovery of Misreported Count
Ohio will be adding roughly 4,000 deaths to the state toll after the Ohio Department of Health announced it had discovered a reconciliation error in the state’s reporting system.
Read the full storySafety Concerns Make a Third of Americans Hesitant to Receive the Coronavirus Vaccine, Poll Shows
Approximately a third of Americans say that they are unlikely to receive the coronavirus vaccine due to perceived safety concerns, according to an Associated Press poll released Wednesday.
While 67% of Americans said that they either planned to receive the vaccine or had already done so, 17% said that they were unlikely to receive it and 15% said that they were definitely not going to receive it, the poll showed. Among those who expressed vaccine hesitancy, the majority cited concerns over possible side effects and doubts over whether it was really safe, and nearly 40% said that they did not believe that they needed a vaccine.
Read the full storyNext Vaccine Eligibility Phase to Include Drop in Age, Ohio Gov. DeWine Says
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on Tuesday that the next group of Ohioans to be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine will under the age of 65, although he did not say exactly who will be included in the next phase.
Read the full storyLife Will Return to Normal in Seven Years, Vaccine Database Shows
It will take seven years for life to return to normal and for coronavirus to subside, a Bloomberg database tracking worldwide coronavirus vaccinations found.
Although countries like the U.S. and Israel have administered coronavirus at a rate that will ensure herd immunity by 2022, most countries have fallen behind that pace and will not catch up for seven years, according to Bloomberg. More than 119 million vaccines have been administered in 67 countries and the most recent rate of vaccination was 4.54 million doses per day, the vaccine database showed.
Read the full storyGov. DeWine Can’t Say When Most Ohioans Can Expect to be Vaccinated
The pace of coronavirus vaccinations is accelerating in Ohio, but Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday said it was still too early to say when non-priority Ohioans can expect to get a shot in the arm.
There was good news on the vaccine front, DeWine said during one of his regular coronavirus press conferences.
Read the full storySteve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’
An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.
Read the full storyOhio Gov. DeWine, First Lady Receive First Dose of Coronavirus Vaccine
Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine and First Lady Fran DeWine received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday as eligibility continues to open up to various groups in the state.
Read the full storyTennessee Ranks 33rd Among States in Percentage of COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered
Tennessee ranks 33rd of the 50 states for the percentage of COVID-19 vaccines it has distributed versus the number of doses it received, data show.
The ranking was revealed by Becker’s Hospital Review, and is available here. Becker’s updated the data on Tuesday.
Read the full storyOpen Schools for In-Person Learning, Says Decisive Majority in New Poll
By a decisive margin, voters want their local schools open for in-person learning, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.
Read the full storyThe Buckeye Institute Goes After DeWine for ‘Pork Spending’ Budget
The Buckeye Institute has slammed the newly released Ohio budget for excess spending, saying that while it commends the governor for balancing the budget, the state missed an opportunity for reform.
Read the full storyJohnson & Johnson’s Coronavirus Vaccine Is 72 Percent Effective, But Offers Weaker Protection Against New Strains
Johnson & Johnson announced on Friday that its coronavirus vaccine was 72% effective in combating COVID-19, but only 57% effective against a novel South African strain.
While slightly less effective than Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines, which were both approved by the FDA in December, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines provides significant distribution advantages that could be crucial in the nation’s fight against the virus. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna, Pfizer’s vaccine is just one shot, and can be stored in refrigerators instead of freezers.
Read the full storyNew Jobless Claims Decrease to 847,000, Economists Expected 875,000
The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 847,000 last week as the economy continued to suffer the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) figure released Thursday represented a decrease in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Jan. 16, in which there were 900,000 new jobless claims reported. Roughly 18.3 million Americans continue to collect unemployment benefits, according to the BLS report Thursday.
Read the full storyNortham Extends Virginia’s COVID-19 Restrictions
Virginia’s public gathering limits, daily curfews, face mask requirements and other COVID-19 restrictions will stay in place until the end of February, drawing concern from some members of the business community.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday he issued Executive Order 72, which extends and slightly modifies the state restrictions. Under the new restrictions, face masks will be required in not only indoor settings but also in any outdoor setting when a person cannot remain 6 feet away from other people.
Read the full storyTennessee Legislator Proposes Bill Preventing Businesses from Denying Service to Maskless or Unvaccinated Customers
State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) filed a bill for introduction that would amend certain aspects of the Tennessee Code relative to discrimination. Senate Bill 320 would expand the Code’s provisions to prevent businesses from denying services to individuals who don’t wear or use a certain medical device, or if they haven’t received a certain medical treatment. It would also prevent local government entities from enforcing individual compliance with those medical devices or treatments.
Medical devices covered by the bill are instruments; apparatuses; implements; machines; appliances; implants; reagents for in vitro use; softwares; and materials such as face masks, shields, or cloth coverings. Medical treatments are procedures or medications such as immunizations.
Read the full storyEPA Approves Tennessee’s Use of Technology That Kills Over 98 Percent of Airborne COVID-19 Particles
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will allow Tennessee to use technology that reportedly kills over 98 percent of airborne COVID-19 particles. The emergency exemption request was approved under Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
The antiviral air treatment, Grignard Pure, is composed of Triethylene Glycol (TEG) vapor and nanoparticles that permeate and kill the COVID-19 virus particles by disrupting the protein and membrane structures. The EPA confirmed prior independent lab reports that the treatment kills over 98 percent of COVID-19 particles.
Read the full storyTeachers, School Staff in 10 Counties Eligible to Receive Coronavirus Vaccine Next Week
The Ohio Department of Health has published a list of school districts whose staff will be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine starting next week.
Read the full storyU.S. Sees Largest Rise in Poverty Rate in 50 Years Amid Pandemic
The U.S. poverty rate saw its sharpest increase since the 1960s as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy in 2020, according to a recent study.
The poverty rate increased 2.5 percentage points from 9.3% in June to 11.8% in December, according to the study released Monday by economists Bruce Meyer, of the University of Chicago, and James Sullivan, of the University of Notre Dame, Bloomberg reported. In total, 8.1 million Americans were added to ranks of the poor, according to the researchers.
Read the full storyOhio Curfew Will Lift if State Drops Below 2,500 Hospitalizations for Seven Days, DeWine Says
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on social media on Tuesday that he would lift the curfew in the state if hospitalizations dropped below a certain threshold.
Read the full storyMexico President Says He’s Tested Positive for the Coronavirus
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday that he tested positive for coronavirus, according to The Hill.
“I regret to inform you that I am infected with COVID-19,” López Obrador tweeted, according to The Hill. “The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward.”
Read the full storySteve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’
An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.
Read the full storyRep. Cooper Celebrates Re-Entry to China-Friendly World Health Organization
A U.S. House member from Tennessee Thursday celebrated the United States’ re-entry in to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is notoriously tied to the Communist Chinese.
“Thank you [President Biden] for halting the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization. A global pandemic needs a global response & I’m thankful we had representation at the [World Health Organization]meeting today,” Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) said. “We will continue working together to combat #COVID19.”
Read the full storyOhio Residents Ages 80 and Older Eligible for Coronavirus Vaccine Starting Tuesday
Ohio residents ages 80-years-old and older will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccination starting on Tuesday, January 19 as Phase 1B of the Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program begins.
Read the full storyU.S. Deficit 60.7 Percent Higher Than This Time Last Year
The federal deficit in the first three months of the budget year is 60.7 percent higher than over the same time period as last year, a record-breaking $572.9 billion.
The deficit surged as a result of Congressional spending of $3.5 trillion in 2020 in response to the coronavirus, although critics note that spending on pork barrel programs that had nothing to do with the virus increased and also drove the deficit. At the same time, revenue declined because of ongoing state lockdowns.
Read the full storyTennessee Health Officials Warn of COVID-19 Vaccine Scams
The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) warned individuals about scammers attempting to sell COVID-19 vaccines or spots on the vaccine wait list. The messaging was addressed to all Tennesseans, but heavily emphasized relaying the warning to the elderly.
TDH listed several common tactics they’d learned were being solicited by door-to-door scammers. These scams encouraged individuals to issue a payment in order to obtain the vaccine, placement on a vaccine priority list, and early access to the vaccine.
Read the full storySteve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’
An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.
Read the full storyNew Coronavirus Strain Found in Ohio, Is Possibly More Contagious
Researchers at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine announced this week that they discovered a new variant of COVID-19 which is potentially more infectious than other variants.
Read the full storyTennessee Reports 90 Percent Decrease in Flu Cases Between Last Weeks of 2019 and 2020; Yet COVID Cases Increased
Despite COVID-19 cases spiking around the same time, Tennessee experienced a marked decrease in flu cases last month. Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) data sets from the last week of 2019 and 2020 revealed a 90 percent decrease in overall flu cases. The end of December registered a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, near the all-time high in the state’s positivity rates.
TDH recorded over 6,700 flu cases in the final week of 2019, as compared to just over 600 during the last week of 2020. Last month, the percentage of individuals with flu-like illnesses visiting the reporting healthcare sites was exactly 2 percent; the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) baseline for Tennessee sits at around 3 percent. According to the CDC, two or more consecutive weeks that fall under 2 percent reporting constitutes a “non-influenza week.”
Read the full story