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Vaccine distribution problems: complicated by use of algorithms

Mon, 2021-02-08 11:22 — mike kraft

Faced with the daunting task of parceling out a limited supply of coronavirus vaccines, Trump administration officials came up with a seemingly simple formula last year to streamline distribution of the shots.

First, federal administrators would run an automated algorithm to divide vaccine doses nationwide, based on the size of each state’s adult population. Then each state would decide how to dole out the shots to local hospitals, nursing homes and clinics.

But rather than streamline vaccine distribution, public health experts say, the algorithm has increased the burden for many states. It requires them to come up with multiple delivery plans for their weekly quotas of Pfizer and Moderna shots, even if the different shipments are destined for the same clinics and hospitals.

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Mutated virus may reinfect people already stricken once with covid-19, sparking debate and concerns

Sat, 2021-02-06 13:13 — mike kraft

Mutated virus may reinfect people already stricken once with covid-19, sparking debate and concerns The finding, though far from conclusive, has potential implications for how the pandemic will be brought under control, underscoring the critical role of vaccination. Carolyn Y. Johnson, William Wan Washington Post

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Walgreens, CVS beef up protections against threat of 'bot' attacks on vaccine program

Fri, 2021-02-05 12:00 — mike kraft

Walgreens, CVS beef up protections against threat of 'bot' attacks on vaccine program U.S. retailers and pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS Health are preparing for a fresh round of "bot" attacks by scalpers hoping to snap up Covid-19 vaccine appointments as they did hoarding Sony PlayStation 5s and Nike sneakers. Melissa Fares, Richa Naidu, Lisa Baertlein U.S.

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As pandemic fatigue sets in, trauma and exhaustion plague health care workers

Thu, 2021-02-04 09:56 — mike kraft

As pandemic fatigue sets in, trauma and exhaustion plague health care workers

NY Times:

.... Doctors, paramedics and nurses’ aides have been hailed in the United States as frontline Covid-19 warriors, but gone are the days when people applauded workers outside hospitals and on city streets. A year into the pandemic, with emergency rooms packed again, vaccines in short supply and more contagious variants of the virus threatening to unleash a fresh wave of infections, medical workers are feeling burned out and unappreciated.

Some health care experts are calling for a national effort to track the psychological well-being of medical professionals, much like the federal health program that monitors workers who responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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What went wrong with America’s $44 million vaccine data system?

Mon, 2021-02-01 17:24 — mike kraft

What went wrong with America’s $44 million vaccine data system? The CDC ordered software that was meant to manage the vaccine rollout. Instead, it has been plagued by problems and abandoned by most states. Cat Ferguson MIT Technology Review

The first time Mary Ann Price logged into her employer’s system to schedule a vaccine, she found an appointment three days later at a nearby Walgreens pharmacy. She woke up the next day to an email saying it had been canceled.

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With All Eyes on Covid-19, Drug-Resistant Infections Crept In

Thu, 2021-01-28 15:37 — mike kraft

As Covid-19 took hold over the last year, hospitals and nursing homes used and reused scarce protective equipment — masks, gloves, gowns. This desperate frugality helped prevent the airborne transfer of the virus.

But it also appears to have helped spread a different set of germs — drug-resistant bacteria and fungi — that have used the chaos of the pandemic to grow opportunistically in health care settings around the globe.

These bacteria and fungi, like Covid-19, prey on older people, the infirm and those with compromised immune systems. They can cling tenaciously to clothing and medical equipment, which is why nursing homes and hospitals before the pandemic were increasingly focused on cleaning rooms and changing gowns to prevent their spread.

That emphasis all but slipped away amid an all-consuming focus on the coronavirus. In fact, experts warn, the changes in hygiene and other practices caused by the Covid-19 fight are likely to have contributed to the spread of these drug-resistant germs.

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Coronavirus variants are impacting tests, FDA official says

Wed, 2021-01-27 17:20 — mike kraft

Coronavirus variants are impacting tests, FDA official says Coronavirus variants popping up across the US are beginning to affect tests for the virus, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. By Zahid Mahmood, <a href="/profiles/jessie-yeung">Jessie Yeung</a>, Adam Renton and Hannah Strange, CNN CNN

Coronavirus variants popping up across the US are beginning to affect tests for the virus, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

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The stresses on ambulance crews, front line workers, US and Spain

Mon, 2021-01-25 12:27 — mike kraft

In ambulances, an unseen, unwelcome passenger: COVID-19 LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's crowded in the back of the ambulance. Two emergency medical technicians, the patient, the gurney — and an unseen and unwelcome passenger lurking in the air. For... AP NEWS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s crowded in the back of the ambulance.

Two emergency medical technicians, the patient, the gurney — and an unseen and unwelcome passenger lurking in the air.

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In a major setback, Merck to stop developing its two Covid-19 vaccines and focus on therapies

Mon, 2021-01-25 10:25 — mike kraft

In a major setback, Merck to stop developing its Covid-19 vaccines - STAT Merck announced it is stopping development of both of the current formulations of the Covid-19 vaccines the company was working on. Matthew Herper STAT

Merck said Monday it will stop developing both of the current formulations of the Covid-19 vaccines the company was working on, citing inadequate immune responses to the shots.

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