August 3, 2021 US coronavirus news

The San Francisco Department of Public Health said Tuesday it will allow people vaccinated with the one-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to receive a supplemental mRNA vaccine dose. Doses will be available at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

Department officials said they were making an “accommodation” for those who have consulted with a physician and said it was not a recommendation or policy change. They said the health department aligns with the US the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which does not currently recommend a booster shot for anyone, including J&J vaccine recipients.

Bobba said the supplemental vaccinations will be recorded the same way all Covid-19 vaccinations are. “These get entered into the system, just like other doses have as well, and the patients that have gotten them will be followed, just as others have gotten the vaccines throughout the country have continued to be followed,” Bobba said.

When asked whether anyone can walk in and receive a supplemental mRNA vaccine dose, Bobba said that each vaccine site in the city will choose how to proceed with the accommodation, but “the expectation is that they have had a discussion with a healthcare provider when they come in.”

The mRNA vaccines are made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, and require two doses for full immunization.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a fresh stop on certain evictions Tuesday, saying that evicting people could be detrimental to public health and would interfere with efforts to slow the pandemic. 

“In the context of a pandemic, eviction moratoria—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of communicable disease. Eviction moratoria facilitate self-isolation and self-quarantine by people who become ill or who are at risk of transmitting COVID-19 by keeping people out of congregate settings and in their own homes,” it added.

“This order will expire on October 3, 2021 and applies in United States counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2.”

President Biden announced earlier Tuesday that the CDC would issue a new moratorium after a previous hold on evictions expired July 31.

“The emergence of the Delta variant has led to a rapid acceleration of community transmission in the United States, putting more Americans at increased risk, especially if they are unvaccinated,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.

President Biden today singled out states that have made rules that could hinder the fight against Covid-19, telling local governments to help the fight or "get out of way."

"Others have declined to step up. I find it disappointing," said Biden, contrasting actions taken in states including Texas and Florida, to those taken by many private corporations which are preparing to require employees to get vaccinated. 

"Worst of all, some state officials are passing laws or are signing orders that forbid people from doing the right thing," continued Biden. "As of now, seven states not only ban mask mandates but also ban them in their school districts even for young children who cannot get vaccinated."

Biden then singled out Texas where new rules stipulate that state universities or community colleges could be fined if they allow teacher to ask for unvaccinated students to wear a mask.

"What are we doing?" asked Biden. "Covid-19 is a national challenge. And we have to come together, all of us together, as a country to solve it."

"Use your power to save lives," he concluded.

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The Biden administration is expected to announce new efforts aimed at limiting evictions, according to an administration official, though details of the effort – and what impact it would have — are still unclear.

The White House and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have continued to search for legal avenues to extend a now-expired nationwide ban on evictions during the pandemic as the issue drives a major wedge between President Biden and members of his party.

Administration lawyers had been unable to identify how Biden could use his administrative authority to continue the eviction freeze following a late-June decision by the Supreme Court.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki sought to further explain Biden's thinking on Tuesday, suggesting a challenge to the court could hamper the federal government's public health authorities going forward.

She indicated the search process had not ended, even though White House and CDC lawyers have made clear they do not currently see a legal pathway to extending the moratorium.  

The US is on a similar path to a Delta variant outbreak like the one seen earlier this year in the United Kingdom, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday. 

“Since an acceleration of vaccines doesn't give a result until several weeks after, we are already on a trajectory that looks strikingly similar to the sharp incline that the UK saw,” Fauci said during a discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Fauci said this is what he “projects” will happen. “You never can guarantee it's going to be accurate, but I think this is what's going to happen,” he said.

Fauci said this acceleration further enforces the importance of vaccines now. 

“In order to make sure that by the time we get into the fall we don't continue to accelerate but turn around and start coming down acutely, we've got to get those 93 million people who are eligible to be vaccinated, who are not getting vaccinated."

Toyota is the latest major manufacturer in the US to require workers to wear masks at the workplace as the Delta variant continues to spread.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday hinted at, but would not give specifics, on a “comprehensive” approach to pandemic response coming in the future. 

In a discussion hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, moderator J. Stephen Morrison asked Fauci if “we are going to see some time soon a kind of formal rollout of a pandemic preparedness strategy” that would include the development and stockpile of drug therapies. 

“The answer is yes, we are in active discussion right now,” Fauci said. He said there were “sometimes sensitive” discussions about resources. “So I would rather not give you granular details of that right now,” he said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that politicians and officials, including Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas – who are banning mask mandates and/or vaccine requirements – should “get out of the way” so lives can be saved from Covid-19, adding that they have a choice between saving lives and personal politics. 

“You’ll hear the President convey later, if you are not going to be a part of the solution, you’re not going to be a part of saving people’s lives, then get out of the way and let other people do the job,” Psaki said. 

Asked what she meant by “get out of the way,” Psaki said plainly, “That means don’t ban, don’t make it harder for people to put requirements on masks or asking for vaccination status into law.” 

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced today, that he has called a special session of the Arkansas Legislature to amend ACT 1002, a law passed to “end mandatory face covering requirements,” in order to give local school districts the flexibility to add protection for children under 12, who cannot be vaccinated. 

“The local school districts should make the call,” the governor said. “And they should have more options to make sure that their school is a safe environment during a very challenging time for education.”

When asked if he regretted signing the bill, Hutchinson said he signed it at the time because Arkansas’ cases were at a very low point and he knew that it would be overridden by the legislature if he didn't sign it. 

“I signed it for those reasons, that our cases were at a low point. Everything is changed now,” Hutchinson added. “And yes, in hindsight I wish that had not become law, but it is the law, and the only chance we have is either to amend it, or for the courts to say that it has an unconstitutional foundation.”

According to Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. José Romero, as of Aug. 1 of this year, nearly 19% of all active Covid-19 cases in Arkansas are in children under 18 years of age and at this point, those under 12 account for more than half of that percentage between April and July of this year.