Three Hawaii residents who were fully vaccinated against the CCP virus have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH).
All three patients had received both doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, reported KITV4. They all experienced mild symptoms and did not appear to spread the disease to others, the DOH told the news station.
COVID-19 vaccines don’t prevent infection, however they mitigate severe symptoms and lower the risk of hospitalization, health experts say.
Man Holds National Guardsmen Transporting COVID-19 Vaccines at Gunpoint, Gets Arrested: Police
An Arizona man held National Guardsmen in Texas at gunpoint on Monday, officials confirmed to The Epoch Times.Larry Harris of Wilcox just before 8 a.m. followed Guard personnel from a Love’s Travel Station in Lubbock County and tried to run the vans they were driving, which contained COVID-19 vaccines, off the road, according to an incident summary.
After failing in his attempts, Harris then turned his vehicle into oncoming traffic and stopped the vans about 2 miles east of Idalou before pointing a gun at a soldier, claiming he was a detective, and demanding to search the vehicles.
Brazil Posts Record Single-Day Toll of 3,251 Virus Deaths
Brazil reported more than 3,000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day for the first time Tuesday amid calls for the government and the new health minister to take action to stem the nation’s resurgence of coronavirus infections.In recent weeks, Latin America’s largest country has become the pandemic’s global epicenter, with more deaths from the virus each day than in any other nation. Tuesday’s record toll of 3,251 deaths was driven by the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous, which recorded 1,021 new deaths, far above the previous high of 713 last July.
The pandemic has brought the health systems of Brazilian states to near collapse, with hospitals watching their ICU beds fill up and stocks of oxygen required for assisted breathing dwindle. Most of the states in recent days adopted measures to restrict activity, over the fierce resistance of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Death From COVID-19 Vaccine Will Not Affect Life Insurance Pay Out
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine will not impact people’s life insurance policy payout in the event of death, according to the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), a trade association that represents the life insurance industry in the United States.“Life insurance policy contracts are very clear on how policies work, and what cause, if any, might lead to the denial of a benefit,” Paul Graham, senior vice-president of ACLI said in a press release. “A vaccine for COVID-19 is not one of them.”
“Policyholders should rest assured that nothing has changed in the claims-paying process as a result of COVID-19 vaccinations,” he added.
Italy Reports Highest Death Toll Since January
Italy registered 551 deaths, its highest one-day death toll from the CCP virus since mid-January.The European country has been struggling with a surge of infections and health experts say it’s partly fueled by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus variant found in Britain.
WH: 27 Million Vaccine Doses to Be Shipped Next Week
The White House says 27 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed next week, more than three times the number when President Joe Biden took office just over two months ago.COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients informed governors on their weekly conference call that 23 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna and about 4 million of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine will be shipped next week.
US Adults Gained Over 1 Pound Each Month During Lockdowns: Study
Adults in the United States gained about one pound and a half on average each month under lockdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.Researchers collected nearly 7,500 weight measurements for analysis between February and June 2020 from participants residing in 37 different U.S. states, Dr. Gregory M. Marcus, the senior author of the research letter, wrote in the study published on JAMA Network Open.
The study found that 269 participants who volunteered to report their measurements experienced a steady weight gain at a rate of 0.59 pounds on average every 10 days spent under lockdown, or approximately 1.5 pounds per month.
Pfizer Begins Early-Stage Study of Oral Drug
Pfizer Inc has started an early-stage U.S. trial of an oral COVID-19 antiviral therapy that could be prescribed to patients at the first sign of infection, the company said on Tuesday.The drugmaker, which developed the first authorized COVID-19 vaccine in the United States with Germany’s BioNTech SA, said the antiviral candidate showed potent activity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in lab studies.
Brazil Consumer Confidence Posts Third Biggest Fall
Consumer confidence in Brazil registered its third-largest monthly fall on record, a survey indicated on Tuesday, hammered by a deadly second wave of the CCP virus pandemic and near collapse of the public health system in several cities.The Getulio Vargas Foundation’s (FGV) consumer confidence index fell 9.8 points to a 10-month low of 68.2 points in March, The current situation index fell 5.5 points and the expectations index tumbled 12.3 points, FGV said.
Sinovac Says Its Vaccine Is Safe for Children as Young as 3
Sinovac claims its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3–17, based on preliminary data, and it has submitted the data to Chinese drug regulators.More than 70 million shots of Sinovac’s vaccine have been given worldwide, including in China. Two recipients developed high fevers in response to the vaccine, one a 3-year-old and the other a 6-year-old, while many others in the trial experienced mild symptoms, Gang Zeng, the medical director at Sinovac said.
Fauci Warns of Possible Surge in US
Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning that a surge of CCP virus cases in Europe could foreshadow a similar surge in the United States.Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, urged Americans to remain cautious. In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” he said he is “optimistic” of COVID-19 vaccines’ effectiveness and expressed hope that the AstraZeneca vaccine could join the arsenal of inoculations.
Germany’s Merkel Banks on Easter Circuit-Breaker to Combat ‘New Pandemic’
Germany is extending its lockdown until April 18 and calling on citizens to stay at home for five days over the Easter holidays to try to break a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease caused by the CCP virus, Chancellor Angela Merkel said early on Tuesday.In talks that ran deep into the night, Merkel pushed the leaders of Germany’s 16 states to take a tougher stance to fight the pandemic, reversing plans for a gradual re-opening of the economy agreed earlier this month after a sharp rise in the infection rate.
AstraZeneca May Have Used Outdated Information in Vaccine Trial: US
Results from a U.S. clinical trial testing the efficacy and safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine may have included “outdated information,” American officials said early Tuesday.The Data Safety Monitoring Board notified the company and two health agencies late Monday that it was worried by the information AstraZeneca released on its trial.
The board, which monitors trials and reviews data collected at regular intervals, “expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data,” according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the agencies.
Isabel van Brugen, Meiling Lee, Zachary Stieber, Lorenz Duchamps, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
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