Author: James Martin

The new data come from a small study of 140 children ages 5 through 11 who were given a third 10-microgram dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at least six months after their second dose.The researchers analyzed antibody levels in serum — the clear part of the blood — from a subset of 30 children in this group one month after their third shot and found that antibodies against the Omicron variant were 36 times higher than they had been after the second dose of the vaccine.In an analysis from 140 children with no evidence of prior Covid-19 infection, antibody…

The experts — current and former CDC staffers as well as outsiders who’ve worked closely with the agency — told CNN they hope the review could improve deep-seated problems that showed themselves in glaring ways during Covid-19, the worst pandemic in the United States in more than a century. “At the end of the day, the killer thing here for me is the layers, the bureaucracy, the clearance, the process — it just takes way too much time during a crisis, especially when that crisis is moving at warp speed,” a senior federal official said. That official and others described…

People in the US won’t face a shutdown like the one currently in place in Shanghai, where no one is allowed to leave their residential compounds, Covid testing is mandatory and food supplies are running low. It’s unlikely most Americans will see local governments bring back even moderate pandemic restrictions. That leaves it mostly to individuals to protect themselves. After three years, most people know how to do that: vaccines, masks, physical distancing, handwashing and — let’s not forget — ventilation. But as we head into offices, schools and public spaces, there are some things we can control — like…

Oklahoma had become familiar with picking up after its neighbors since Texas’ Senate Bill 8 was enacted, effectively outlawing abortions past six weeks of pregnancy. Now, Oklahomans may lose their own access to abortion, causing a ripple effect for residents of neighboring states who have relied heavily on the state for abortion care. “Overall, we saw about a 2,500% increase in patients coming to [Oklahoma’s] health centers from Texas,” said Emily Wales, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which serves Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Oklahoma has only four abortion centers. Since September, when Texas’ ban was…

The CDC estimates that 106,854 people died due to drug overdose in the 12-month period ending November 2021. Annual drug overdose deaths have more than doubled over the past six years, jumping 16% over the past year alone.Synthetic opioids — including fentanyl — were involved in about two-thirds of drug overdose deaths over the past year. While deaths involving heroin have declined in recent months, deaths involving synthetic opioids or psychostimulants have nearly doubled in number over the past two years. Over the past year, overdose deaths rose in all but three states: Wyoming, Hawaii and New Hampshire. A third…

Former White House aide Stephen Miller testified on Thursday to the House select committee investigating January 6 about whether Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol, according to a source familiar with the matter.The virtual deposition, which lasted for roughly eight hours and was earlier reported by the New York Times, also touched on Miller’s role in the former president’s schemes to overturn the results of the 2020 election and return him to office, the source said.Miller was Trump’s top domestic policy adviser and chief speechwriter. His appearance made him the latest Trump White House official to…

Twitter on Friday adopted a limited-duration shareholder rights plan to protect itself from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s $43bn cash takeover offer.Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and the world’s richest person, had offered to buy the social media platform for $43.4bn, arguing he wanted to release its “extraordinary potential” to support free speech and democracy across the world.Musk’s bid came after the entrepreneur had bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter and was offered a seat on the board, which he declined.More details soon … Source link

Millions of people were lining up daily to get their shots. Instead of the steady drumbeat of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, we were tracking a new number: the percentage of Americans who had been vaccinated. This number, we believed, was our best chance to beat the virus.The US was caught up in a fever dream of reaching herd immunity, a threshold we might cross where vulnerable individuals — including those too young to be vaccinated or those who didn’t respond well to the vaccines — might be protected anyway because, as a community, we would weave an invisible safety net…

Hugh Grant is leading a renewed attempt to prove phone hacking took place at the Sun, even as Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper continues to maintain no illegality took place there.The actor has followed Paul Gascoigne and Sienna Miller in bringing a so-called “Sun-only” phone-hacking claim, specifically alleging that illegality took place at the daily tabloid in the 2000s. Rebekah Brooks, the current chief executive of Murdoch’s News UK business, was editor of the Sun during the period in question.Murdoch’s News UK company has already paid out millions of pounds to settle claims from the likes of Miller and Gascoigne about the…

CNN  —  A recent outbreak of Covid-19 cases among officials in Washington, with dozens testing positive after attending the Gridiron Club Dinner, has put the concept of Covid-19 superspreading back in the spotlight. Covid-19 superspreading, which involves the virus spreading at a single event on a larger scale than what is typically expected, is still possible and poses a risk. But in this stage of the pandemic, a large event may not necessarily be an invitation to widespread, unchecked illness – if people use tools now available to limit risk, according to public health experts. Now, there are more tools…