Boston Marathon tentatively set for October if Covid-19 allows
The organizers of the Boston Marathon said Tuesday they had selected Oct. 11 as the date for this year’s race, if pandemic restrictions in Massachusetts allow it.
“We announce the 2021 Boston Marathon date with a cautious optimism, understanding full well that we will continue to be guided by science and our continued collaborative work with local, city, state, and public health officials,” Tom Grilk, president of the Boston Athletic Association, said in a statement.
The Boston Marathon is usually held in April and was canceled last year because of Covid-19, though there was a virtual edition. It was the first time in the race’s 124-year history that it was canceled.
Boston joins other major marathons that are moving their events from early in the year to October to try to avoid cancellation. London’s marathon is scheduled for Oct. 3, and Tokyo’s is scheduled for Oct. 17.
N.J. governor says state is 'desperately short' on vaccine doses
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said on MSNBC Tuesday that while the rate of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations in the state has slowed, it was "desperately short" on supplies of vaccine doses.
"We don't have enough supply," Murphy told Willie Geist on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." He added that there are roughly 270 locations around the state ready to administer vaccine doses.
He emphasized that unlike other states, New Jersey was sticking with an "appointment-based system" for vaccine distribution instead of a first come, first served model.
Murphy, a first-term Democrat, expressed confidence that the Biden administration would help speed the vaccine rollout nationwide.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said the city's supply of vaccine doses is running very low, too.
Regeneron's antibody cocktail effective in preventing Covid-19, company says
Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday its antibody cocktail was effective in preventing Covid-19 in people exposed to those infected with the new coronavirus, based on interim results from a late-stage study.
The two-antibody cocktail, REGEN-COV, caused a 100 percent reduction in symptomatic infection and roughly 50 percent lower overall rates of infection, based on an analysis of about 400 participants in the trial who had a household member with Covid-19.
Regeneron said it would discuss the interim results with U.S. health regulators to potentially expand the antibody cocktail’s current emergency use authorization (EUA). Full data from the trial is expected early in the second quarter.
What do coronavirus variants mean for your masks?
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that when it comes to wearing two masks to protect against the coronavirus, it "makes common sense" that more than one layer of masking would be more effective.
There is no specific research on how well face coverings work against new variants of the virus, including the more transmissible variant from the United Kingdom that has been detected in at least 22 states in the United States.
A mask "is a physical covering to prevent droplets," Fauci said Monday on NBC's "TODAY" show. "So, if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective."
Asked at a White House briefing last week whether the new variant would make masks less effective, he said that on the contrary, the variants are "the reason why you absolutely should be wearing a mask."
U.K. coronavirus death toll passes 100,000, official data shows
The death toll from the coronavirus in the United Kingdom has passed 100,000 people, according to data published Tuesday by the country's Office for National Statistics, which revises upward previous public figures.
The U.K. has the highest death toll in Europe, with criticism of the government's handling of the pandemic growing louder.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is quick to point to a new, highly transmissible variant of the virus that appears to have originated in England and has now spread to other countries.
But experts say that while Johnson may have been dealt a bad hand, he has played it poorly, particularly by allowing tens of millions of people to travel and congregate over the Christmas holiday.
10 percent of kids, teens in China reported psychological distress amid pandemic
In a March 2020 survey, 10 percent of children and adolescents in China reported psychological distress amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a JAMA Network Open study released Tuesday.
The survey found that students who never wore a face covering were at a higher risk for symptoms of psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety, compared to students who wore one frequently.
The same was found in students who exercised less than 30 minutes a day compared with students who exercised for more than an hour a day.
"These findings suggest that the prevalence of self-reported psychological distress among school-aged children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic was relatively high," the researchers said in a summary of the study's key findings.
The researchers added that other realities of the pandemic — including shelter-in-place orders, fears of infection, inadequate information, lack of personal space at home, challenges with online learning, family financial woes and social isolation — "could have adverse and enduring outcomes" among young people.
Mexican president's Covid diagnosis stirs criticism of government
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican president's announcement that he had Covid-19 just a few hours after taking a commercial flight unleashed renewed criticism of his handling of the pandemic, which has left the country with the fourth-highest death toll worldwide.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has a history of heart problems and high blood pressure, said Sunday evening that he was being treated for mild symptoms of Covid-19 after attending meetings and public events in preceding days.
The news capped the deadliest week of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and left questions unanswered about how many people had been close to the president during his three-day visit to parts of northern and central Mexico.
"How irresponsible and careless of him just to get onto a flight knowing that he might be infected," said Jesús Ortega, a former leader of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and one-time ally of the president.
"The problem is he's the president. If the president violates the health guidelines, he's setting a bad example to others," said Ortega, wishing López Obrador a quick recovery.
E.U. threatens to restrict exports of Covid-19 vaccines amid rollout anger
LONDON — The European Union threatened to restrict the export of Covid-19 vaccines from the bloc amid growing anger at the slow rollout of immunizations across the 27-country bloc.
“E.U. member states are united: Vaccine developers have societal and contractual responsibilities they need to uphold,” health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said after two tense negotiating sessions with representatives of vaccine maker AstraZeneca, in which the commissioner said "insufficient explanations" were provided.
It is unclear what exactly E.U. officials can and will do to restrict the export of the vaccine.
AstraZeneca took E.U. officials by surprise last week when it announced its initial delivery volumes of the Covid-19 vaccine would be lower than originally anticipated because of manufacturing issues in Europe. The company did not say how much lower the volumes will be.
This came just a week after Pfizer-BioNTech announced there will be a temporary reduction in its vaccine deliveries to the bloc, also without stipulating the size of the reduction, but reassuring it will resume its delivery schedule to the E.U. this week.
Dubai restaurants offering up to 20 percent discount to vaccinated diners
Restaurants in Dubai are offering diners money off their bill if they can prove they have had two shots of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Five of Gates Hospitality's outlets in the Gulf city — each with outdoor seating — are offering a 10 percent discount to anyone who's had one dose and 20 percent to people who have had two. The offer, which began Monday and lasts until the end of February, has attracted a lot of attention on social media and in international media.
"The initiative is really to create awareness what the vaccine is," the group's CEO and founder, Naim Maadad, told NBC News. "It’s rewarding individuals...[and] makes sure we keep on engaging with our community in a positive way."