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Media Outlet Blames Numerous COVID Deaths on Small Wedding That Victims Did Not Attend

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The Los Angeles Times featured a story on Thursday about a wedding in Maine, which the CDC believes “likely” caused a COVID-19 outbreak, to argue that people should reconsider their small holiday gatherings.

“If you want to know why public health officials are so nervous about how much worse the COVID-19 pandemic will get as the holiday season unfolds, consider what happened after a single, smallish wedding reception that took place this summer in rural Maine,” the article states.

The LA Times claims that while only 55 people were actually at the reception, one guest reportedly spread the virus before the onset of their symptoms, causing 176 others to test positive within less than 40 days. Seven died.

The catch in this scenario, however, is that none the seven deaths that the article implies occurred because people gathered had attended the event.

An official CDC report about the spread stated that none of the people who attended the reception and tested positive were even hospitalized. (Read more from “Media Blames Seven COVID Deaths on Small Wedding That Victims Did Not Attend” HERE)

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Holidays Under Threat as Pandemic Worsens

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Government officials are imploring people to revise their Thanksgiving plans out of concern for the coronavirus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance for celebrating safely on Thursday that recommends that people scale back on travel, wear masks whenever possible, bring their own food and drinks, and keep gatherings small.

Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, also recommended that instead of traveling, people send their loved ones gifts and share meals remotely via video message. Collins said his own family changed their holiday plans and will stay home in Maryland rather than travel to relatives in Michigan and North Carolina.

“Not only did we want to reduce the risk of possibly contracting COVID-19 from — or transmitting it to — our faraway loved ones, we want to do everything we can to protect our local friends and co-workers from the coronavirus,” Collins said. (Read more from “Holidays Under Threat as Pandemic Worsens” HERE)

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Biden Informed of Pfizer’s Vaccine News Before Government Health Officials

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Former Vice President Joe Biden was informed of Pfizer’s successful coronavirus vaccine news before the nation’s incumbent chief health care administrator, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

“I, as Secretary of Health and Human Services, learned about this from media reports on Monday morning,” Azar said Wednesday during an interview with Washington D.C. radio station WMAL. . .

“If the Biden campaign found out Sunday night but you … didn’t find out until Monday, that sounds like there’s a problem there,” WMAL host Vince Coglianese said during his interview with Azar.

“There certainly was a gap in communication, let’s say,” Azar responded.

According to RealClearPolitics, White House staff fumed at learning of the vaccine through the media as opposed to directly from the company as Biden did. (Read more from “Biden Informed of Pfizer’s Vaccine News Before Government Health Officials” HERE)

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Volunteers Reveal How They Felt After Taking Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine

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Some volunteers who took part in Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine trials say they were left feeling like they had a “severe hangover,” according to reports.

The more than 43,500 people in six countries who took part in phase three trials by the pharmaceutical giant were never told whether they were injected with the vaccine or a placebo in the double-blind tests.

But some said they believe they had the drug because of headaches, fever and muscle aches that were compared to getting the flu shot or recovering from a heavy night out, the Sun said.

Texan Glenn Deshields, 44, said his “severe hangover” symptoms soon cleared up, however — and he later took an antibody test that came back positive. (Read more from “Volunteers Reveal How They Felt After Taking Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine” HERE)

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Andrew Cuomo Imposes New Lockdown on New York

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a series of new restrictions targeting restaurants, bars, and gyms in response to the increasing coronavirus test positivity rate.

“We’re seeing a global COVID surge, and New York is a ship on the COVID tide,” Cuomo said. “Today, we’ve seen the country set a new record in terms of COVID cases. It is really getting much, much worse by the day.”

Starting Friday night, any establishment with a New York state liquor license, including bars and restaurants, must close at 10 p.m. Restaurants can do food-only curbside pick-up after. Gyms must also close at 10 p.m.

Cuomo also said private residential gatherings will be capped at 10, citing house parties as superspreader events. (Read more from “Andrew Cuomo Imposes New Lockdown on New York” HERE)

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Study: It Was a Mistake To Close Schools

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. . .Finally just such a study has appeared, as released by the medical paper repository Medxriv: “Association between living with children and outcomes from COVID-19: an OpenSAFELY cohort study of 12 million adults in England.” . . .

To quote from the study directly:

This is the first population-based study to investigate whether the risk of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes from COVID-19 differ between adults living in households with and without school-aged children during the UK pandemic. Our findings show that for adults living with children there is no evidence of an increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes although there may be a slightly increased risk of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection for working-age adults living with children aged 12 to 18 years. Working-age adults living with children 0 to 11 years have a lower risk of death from COVID-19 compared to adults living without children, with the effect size being comparable to their lower risk of death from any cause. We observed no consistent changes in risk of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes from COVID-19 comparing periods before and after school closure.

What does this imply?

Our results demonstrate no evidence of serious harms from COVID-19 to adults in close contact with children, compared to those living in households without children. This has implications for determining the benefit-harm balance of children attending school in the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Read more from “Study: It Was a Mistake To Close Schools” HERE)

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‘Serious Adverse Event’ That Led Brazil To Suspend Sinovac Trial Has ‘No Relation’ To Coronavirus Vaccine

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A “serious adverse event” that led Brazil’s health authorities to halt clinical trials of a Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine was not related to the vaccine trial itself, the director of Brazil’s Butantan biomedical institute said on Tuesday.

Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) suspended the trial on Monday after an incident on October 29. A note from Anvisa said the trial had been paused in order to better evaluate the data and assess the risk.

But Dimas Covas, the institute’s director, told reporters at a news conference in Sao Paulo that the incident was in no way linked to the vaccine trial.

“The serious adverse event observed in a volunteer in the trial has no relation to the vaccine,” Covas said. “It was analyzed and determined that there was no relation.” (Read more from “‘Serious Adverse Event’ That Led Brazil To Suspend Sinovac Trial Has ‘No Relation’ To Coronavirus Vaccine” HERE)

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U.S. COVID Vaccine Is Strongly Effective, Early Data Indicates

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Pfizer and partner BioNTech said Monday that their vaccine against Covid-19 was strongly effective, exceeding expectations with results that are likely to be met with cautious excitement — and relief — in the face of the global pandemic.

The vaccine is the first to be tested in the United States to generate late-stage data. The companies said an early analysis of the results showed that individuals who received two injections of the vaccine three weeks apart experienced more than 90% fewer cases of symptomatic Covid-19 than those who received a placebo. For months, researchers have cautioned that a vaccine that might only be 60% or 70% effective.

The Phase 3 study is ongoing and additional data could affect results.

In keeping with guidance from the Food and Drug Administration, the companies will not file for an emergency use authorization to distribute the vaccine until they reach another milestone: when half of the patients in their study have been observed for any safety issues for at least two months following their second dose. Pfizer expects to cross that threshold in the third week of November. (Read more from “U.S. COVID Vaccine Is Strongly Effective, Early Data Indicates” HERE)

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Democratic Lockdown Governors ‘Fully Prepared to Put People in Jail’

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Democratic governors by nature are big-government, take-control, tell-the-populace-how-to-act politicians.

And Rush Limbaugh is warning residents in their states to beware amid reports of a rise in COVID-19 cases.

His comments came after a listener suggested it’s time to “get rid of the stupid mask mandates … get back to hugging each other and shaking hands. Let’s go back to church … Let’s just take our country back.”

“I feel duty-bound to warn you,” Limbaugh said, that some Democratic governors “are fully prepared to put people in jail if they violate these edicts.”

He cited some of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rules: “You can only have a certain number of people over for Thanksgiving, gotta wear a mask the whole damn time you’re inside except when you’re eating and you gotta put ’em back on soon as you’re finished eating. You can only have certain family members over. It’s restrictive as it can be. And it’s an attempt to shut down Thanksgiving. Christmas is gonna be the same way. (Read more from “Democratic Lockdown Governors ‘Fully Prepared to Put People in Jail'” HERE)

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CDC Guidance Says People With COVID-19 Can Still Vote in Person

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that sick voters can safely cast their ballots in person as long as they follow proper coronavirus guidance.

“Voters have the right to vote, regardless of whether they are sick or in quarantine,” the CDC said in a guidance updated on Monday, adding that those who are ill with COVID-19 or are quarantining after possible exposure should take precautions to ensure poll workers and other voters are not exposed to the virus.

“This includes wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, and washing your hands or using hand sanitizer before and after voting,” the guidance says. “You should also let poll workers know that you are sick or in quarantine when you arrive at the polling location. Check with local authorities for any additional guidance.”

The CDC guidance urged voters coming to the polls to be prepared by wearing a mask, bringing hand sanitizer, tissues, and a black ink pen. (Read more from “CDC Guidance Says People With COVID-19 Can Still Vote in Person” HERE)

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