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Is Indoor Dining Safe After Vaccination? CDC Guidelines

Kristen Rogers As the vaccinated percentage of the population increases, you may be wondering whether now is finally the time to enjoy a meal that isn’t homemade or takeout. Indoor dining and drinking at restaurants and bars is riskier than some other places for a few reasons, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Not only are people from different households gathering in the same space, but you have to take your mask off to eat and drink. “You still have to be very careful with being in these areas,” said Dr. Ada Stewart, a family physician

Vaccine Passports: What They Are and Why They Matter

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By Theresa Waldrop With millions of Americans being vaccinated against Covid-19 every day, a heated debate is underway — do these people need proof of immunization in the form of a vaccine passport? Just like a national passport, a vaccine passport could allow the bearer entrance to a venue, like a crowded concert, or a foreign country that demands proof of vaccination in addition to a visa and valid national passport. Vaccination cards from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aren’t quite the same as a vaccine passport. Though they are a record of what vaccine a person

Fauci Warns of US Covid-19 Surge Amid Vaccine Rollout

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By Madeline Holcombe The number of new Covid-19 cases has plateaued at a “disturbingly high level,” and the US is at risk from a new surge, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Wednesday. Although off the highs of earlier this year, there were still more than 61,000 new cases reported on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And the lack of continued significant decreases in infections is a concern, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, particularly given the spread of variants. “It’s almost a race between getting people vaccinated and

Report: Black Adults Face More Health Care Discrimination

By Nicquel Terry Ellis Black adults were more likely than their White and Latino/Hispanic counterparts to report having been discriminated against or judged unfairly by a health care provider or their staff in the months leading up to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new analysis finds. The report was released this week by the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study, conducted in September 2020, found that 10.6% of Black nonelderly adults said they faced discrimination while seeking care based on their race, sexual orientation, disability, gender or health condition, compared to 3.6% of White adults

Biden Moves Vaccine Eligibility to April 19 Nationwide

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By Kaitlan Collins, Kate Sullivan and Maegan Vazquez President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he is moving up his deadline for states to make all American adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by almost two weeks, but said Americans must remain on a “war footing” to beat the virus. With all states having opened eligibility to the public or at least having announced when they plan to do so, Biden announced that every adult in the country will be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19, instead of his original deadline of May 1. Speaking at the White House

Congressman Alcee Hastings Dies at 84 After Cancer Battle

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Congressman Alcee Hastings has passed away at the age of 84 after battling pancreatic cancer.  A democrat, Hastings represented Florida’s 20th Congressional District, including areas around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. He announced in 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer but said he planned on remaining in Congress. The dean of the Florida congressional delegation, Hastings was the longest-serving member from the Sunshine State. A civil rights activist, Hastings became the first African American federal judge in Florida in 1979, but was impeached and convicted by the Senate in 1989. After running for Congress in 1992, he won a

Biden Balances US Vaccine Supply and Global Sharing Plans

By Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood and Priscilla Alvarez President Joe Biden, well on his way to reaching a new goal of vaccinating 200 million Americans by the end of April, is taking initial steps toward helping other nations ramp up shots, including by boosting global manufacturing and appointing a top global health expert who previously advocated for shipping vaccines from the United States’ surplus abroad. Diplomats view the developments as a sign Biden is moving toward sharing some of the hundreds of millions of doses the United States will have left over once every American is vaccinated. But the President

Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Sparks GOP Clash

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Analysis by Stephen Collinson The meaning of the word “infrastructure” suddenly depends on your politics. President Joe Biden is using a sleight of hand by crafting a bill that might be traditionally associated with repairs to potholed highways to instead be his latest effort to reshape the US economy and social safety net. His move encapsulates the White House’s own sense of momentum and explains why Republicans are lining up to block his ambitions before they change the character of the country. In one example, the President has stretched the definition of infrastructure to insert $400 billion in the bill

Detroit Pastor Urges Covid Vaccines During Easter Service

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By Sarah Jorgensen When Pastor Kenneth J. Flowers took to the pulpit on Easter Sunday, tapping a tambourine along with a choir singing “he got up,” the morning represented resurrection in more ways than one. “This time last year, we couldn’t come to the sanctuary,” he preached to his congregation at Detroit’s Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church. “This time last year, we were dealing with coronavirus in the early stages. This time last year, I had to have Easter all by myself in my basement.” Flowers himself had Covid-19. His wife, Terri Flowers, was in the hospital with

Experts Warn of Fourth Covid Surge as Vaccines Expand

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By Madeline Holcombe With fears growing that the US may be facing a fourth surge of Covid-19 cases, health experts are pleading with Americans to keep taking precautions until they are fully vaccinated. “Please wait until you’re fully vaccinated before you’re traveling, before you’re engaging in high-risk activities,” said CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen. “No doubt when you become vaccinated, the activities that were once higher risk are now going to be lower risk and so just wait until then.” Wen said she worries the US is on the “precipice” of a fourth surge as data is showing that

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