Tag: Associated Press

New NY governor adds 12,000 deaths to publicized COVID tally

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://apnews.com/article/andrew-cuomo-health-coronavirus-pandemic-7312b49695e726eda8d59848e82271c5

Excerpt:

Delivering another blow to what’s left of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legacy, New York’s new governor acknowledged on her first day in office that the state has had nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 than Cuomo told the public.

“The public deserves a clear, honest picture of what’s happening. And that’s whether it’s good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that’s how we restore confidence,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said on NPR.

In its first daily update on the outbreak Tuesday evening, Hochul’s office reported that nearly 55,400 people have died of the coronavirus in New York based on death certificate data submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s up from about 43,400 that Cuomo reported to the public as of Monday, his last day in office. The Democrat who was once widely acclaimed for his leadership during the COVID-19 outbreak resigned in the face of an impeachment drive after being accused of sexually harassing at least 11 women, allegations he disputed.

The higher number is not entirely new. Federal health officials and some academic institutions tracking COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have been using the higher tally for many months because of known gaps in the data Cuomo had been choosing to publicize.

Author(s): MARINA VILLENEUVE

Publication Date: 25 August 2021

Publication Site: AP News

CDC reverses indoor mask policy, saying fully vaccinated people and kids should wear them indoors

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/27/cdc-to-reverse-indoor-mask-policy-to-recommend-them-for-fully-vaccinated-people-in-covid-hot-spots.html

Excerpt:

The CDC recommended that fully vaccinated people begin wearing masks indoors again in places with high Covid transmission rates.


The updated guidance comes ahead of the fall, when the delta variant is expected to cause another surge in new coronavirus cases and many large employers plan to bring workers back to the office.


Experts say Covid prevention strategies remain critical to protect people from the virus, especially in areas of moderate-to-high community transmission levels.

Author(s): Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Meg Tirrell, Associated Press

Publication Date: 27 July 2021

Publication Site: CNBC

US overdose deaths hit record 93,000 in pandemic last year

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://apnews.com/article/overdose-deaths-record-covid-pandemic-fd43b5d91a81179def5ac596253b0304

Excerpt:

Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday.

That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase.

“This is a staggering loss of human life,” said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University public health researcher who tracks overdose trends.

Author(s): Mike Stobbe

Publication Date: 14 July 2021

Publication Site: Associated Press

China says population grew in 2020 after report of decline

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://apnews.com/article/china-census-2020-business-2dff85f90c7f1bcfb3bfa3fe7fd6ce36

Excerpt:

China’s population grew last year, the government said Thursday, following a report that a census might have found a surprise decline, possibly adding to downward pressure on economic growth.

The National Bureau of Statistics gave no details in its one-sentence statement and said the population figure would be reported later. But the unusual decision to respond to the report by The Financial Times reflected the issue’s political sensitivity.

The Financial Times said people familiar with China’s 2020 census expect it to show the population, which edged above 1.4 billion in 2019, declined for the first time since famine in 1959-61 killed millions of people.

Author(s): JOE McDONALD

Publication Date: 29 April 2021

Publication Site: Associated Press

Worldwide COVID-19 death toll tops a staggering 3 million

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-brazil-caracas-portugal-india-ccad03475cfd5c846f11189a8bfd99c7?mc_cid=6daa5b724a&mc_eid=983bcf5922

Graphic:

Excerpt:

The global death toll from the coronavirus topped a staggering 3 million people Saturday amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France.

The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined.

And the true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment and the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.

Author(s): DAVID BILLER, MARIA CHENG, JOSHUA GOODMAN

Publication Date: 17 April 2021

Publication Site: Associated Press

US suicides dropped amid coronavirus, defying pandemic expectations

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.foxnews.com/health/us-suicides-dropped-amid-coronavirus-defying-pandemic-expectations

Excerpt:

The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic — the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data.

Death certificates are still coming in and the count could rise. But officials expect a substantial decline will endure, despite worries that COVID-19 could lead to more suicides.

….

U.S. suicides steadily rose from the early 2000s until 2018, when the national suicide rate hit its highest level since 1941. The rate finally fell slightly in 2019. Experts credited increased mental health screenings and other suicide prevention efforts.

The number fell further last year, to below 45,000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report. It was the lowest number of U.S. suicide deaths since 2015.

Author(s): Associated Press

Publication Date: 9 April 2021

Publication Site: Fox News

China admits its vaccines aren’t very good

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/11/china-covid-vaccines-480802

Excerpt:

In a rare admission of the weakness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines, the country’s top disease control official says their effectiveness is low and the government is considering mixing them to get a boost.

Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates,” said the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, Gao Fu, at a conference Saturday in the southwestern city of Chengdu.

Author(s): Associated Press

Publication Date: 11 April 2021

Publication Site: Politico

Pennsylvania pension system officials disclose federal probe

Mary Pat Campbell
Pennsylvania pension system officials disclose federal probe

Excerpt:

Officials atop Pennsylvania’s largest public pension system have received subpoenas from federal investigators, although the $64 billion Public School Employees’ Retirement System has yet to publicly discuss the nature or scope of the newly disclosed inquiry.

In addition to giving few details, pension system officials and board members — which includes state lawmakers, two members of Gov. Tom Wolf’s Cabinet and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — have declined to answer questions publicly about what information federal investigators are seeking.

Garrity told lawmakers at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday that “federal subpoenas have been served on several PSERS management officials.”

Author(s): Marc Levy, Associated Press

Publication Date: 8 April 2021

Publication Site: WHYY PBS

EU life expectancy drops across bloc amid virus pandemic

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://apnews.com/article/world-news-pandemics-europe-coronavirus-pandemic-covid-19-pandemic-8457898bffd5733e28eb9f566d54232c

Excerpt:

Life expectancy across much of the European Union has dropped last year, as the 27-nation bloc struggled with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The EU statistical agency Eurostat said Wednesday that “following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, life expectancy at birth fell in the vast majority of the EU member states.” It said the biggest drop was in Spain, with a loss of 1.6 years compared with 2019.

Bulgaria followed with a loss of 1.5 years, followed by Lithuania, Poland and Romania, which all saw a drop of -1.4 years. Denmark and Finland were the only nations to see a rise in life expectancy, with 0.1 years.

Publication Date: 7 April 2021

Publication Site: Associated Press

Legislators override veto of bill reforming pensions for future Kentucky teachers

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wdrb.com/news/education/legislators-override-veto-of-bill-reforming-pensions-for-future-kentucky-teachers/article_7cce8d94-90e7-11eb-99ba-d74ac0b11b3d.html

Excerpt:

Kentucky lawmakers voted Monday to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a bill that would change future teachers’ pension benefits. 

The House and Senate, both with GOP supermajorities, voted to override Beshear’s veto of House Bill 258, which would create a “hybrid” pension tier blending defined benefit and contribution components for new Kentucky teachers hired starting in 2022. 

That means teachers hired starting next January would be required to pay more toward their retirement and work longer before they can earn full benefits.

Author(s): Associated Press

Publication Date: 29 March 2021

Publication Site: WDRB

Amazon jumps into health care with telemedicine initiative

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/amazon-jumps-health-care-telemedicine-initiative-76508970

Excerpt:

Amazon is making its first foray into providing health care services, announcing Wednesday that it will be offering its Amazon Care telemedicine program to employers nationwide.

Currently available to the company’s employees in Washington state, Amazon Care is an app that connects users virtually with doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses who can provide services and treatment over the phone 24 hours a day. In the Seattle area, it’s supplemented with in-person services such as pharmacy delivery and house-call services from nurses who can take blood work and provide similar services.

On Wednesday, the tech giant announced it will immediately expand the service to interested employers in Washington who want to purchase the service for their employees. By the summer, Amazon Care will expand nationally to all Amazon workers, and to private employers across the country who want to join.

Author(s): MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press

Publication Date: 17 March 2021

Publication Site: ABC News

Uber to give UK drivers minimum wage, pension, holiday pay

Mary Pat Campbell
Uber to give UK drivers minimum wage, pension, holiday pay

Excerpt:

 Uber is giving its U.K. drivers the minimum wage, pensions and holiday pay, following a recent court ruling that said they should be classified as workers and entitled to such benefits.

The ride hailing giant’s announcement Tuesday comes after it lost an appeal last month at the U.K. Supreme Court following a yearslong court battle. The court’s decision holds wider implications for the country’s gig economy.

Uber said it’s extending the benefits immediately to its more than 70,000 drivers in the U.K. Drivers will earn at least the minimum wage, which currently stands at 8.72 pounds ($12.12), after accepting a trip request and expenses, and will still be able to earn more.

Author(s): Kelvin Chan, Associated Press

Publication Date: 16 March 2021

Publication Site: WTMJ