Four workers died at a facility with one of the largest U.S. outbreaks, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration never conducted an inspection. It's a pattern that's played out across the nation, a KHN investigation finds. (Aneri Pattani and Robert Lewis and Christina Jewett, 11/30)
A Trump administration maneuver allows executives who are leading the federal effort to keep investments in drug companies that would benefit from the pandemic response. (Rachana Pradhan, 11/30)
Across the nation, primary care practices that were already struggling are closing, victims of the pandemic's financial fallout. And this is reducing access to health care, especially in rural and other regions already short on doctors. (Laura Ungar, 11/30)
Tests for the coronavirus are supposed to be free. And, usually, they are. But sometimes … things happen. Here's how to avoid getting a surprise bill for a test. (Dan Weissmann, 11/30)
Major health reform meets political divide: Presidential pen?
- Paul Hughes-Cromwick
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if you want us to include your name. Keep in mind that we give extra points if you link back to a KHN original story.
Moderna released final testing data that shows its vaccine to be 94.1% effective. Of the few trial participants who contracted COVID-19, a "remarkable" zero developed a severe form of the disease.
CNBC: Moderna Covid Vaccine Is 94.1% Effective, Plans To Apply For Emergency OK Monday Moderna said Monday it will request emergency clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its coronavirus vaccine after new data confirms the vaccine is more than 94% effective in preventing Covid-19 and was safe. Moderna is the second drugmaker to seek emergency use from the FDA after Pfizer, another front-runner in the Covid-19 vaccine race, applied for the same authorization on Nov. 20. The announcement means some Americans could get the first doses of Moderna's two-dose vaccine within a few weeks. (Lovelace Jr., 11/30)
AP: Moderna Asking US, European Regulators To OK Its Virus Shots Moderna is just behind Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech in seeking to begin vaccinations in the U.S. in December. Across the Atlantic, British regulators also are assessing the Pfizer shot and another from AstraZeneca. Moderna created its shots with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and already had a hint they were working, but said it got the final needed results over the weekend that suggest the vaccine is more than 94% effective. (Neergaard, 11/30)
Science Magazine: 'Absolutely Remarkable': No One Who Got Moderna's Vaccine In Trial Developed Severe COVID-19 Continuing the spate of stunning news about COVID-19 vaccines, the biotech company Moderna announced the final results of the 30,000-person efficacy trial for its candidate in a press release today: Only 11 people who received two doses of the vaccine developed COVID-19 symptoms after being infected with the pandemic coronavirus, versus 185 symptomatic cases in a placebo group. That is an efficacy of 94.1%, the company says, far above what many vaccine scientists were expecting just a few weeks ago. More impressive still, Moderna's candidate had 100% efficacy against severe disease. There were zero such COVID-19 cases among those vaccinated, but 30 in the placebo group. (Cohen, 11/30)
The Guardian: Moderna Covid Vaccine Has 94% Efficacy, Final Results Confirm Although the firm has done deals around the world, the US will get access first. Moderna said it expected to have 20m doses of its vaccine ready for use in the US by the end of this year. In August, the US bought 100m doses with an option on 400m more. Moderna says it is on track to manufacture 500m to 1bn doses globally in 2021. (Boseley, 11/30)
Also —
KHN: How Pharma Money Colors Operation Warp Speed's Quest To Defeat COVID April 16 was a big day for Moderna, a Massachusetts biotech company on the verge of becoming a front-runner in the U.S. government's race for a coronavirus vaccine. It had received roughly half a billion dollars in federal funding to develop a COVID shot that might be used on millions of Americans. Thirteen days after the massive infusion of federal cash — which triggered a jump in the company's stock price — Moncef Slaoui, a Moderna board member and longtime drug industry executive, was awarded options to buy 18,270 shares in the company, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The award added to 137,168 options he'd accumulated since 2018, the filings show. (Pradhan, 11/30)
The trip from Belgium is the first step in a complex supply chain required to manufacture, transport and store the vaccine in anticipation of FDA emergency use authorization.
Wall Street Journal: United Begins Flying Pfizer's Covid-19 Vaccine United Airlines Holdings Inc. on Friday began operating charter flights to position doses of Pfizer Inc.'s Covid-19 vaccine for quick distribution if the shots are approved by regulators, according to people familiar with the matter. The initial flights are one link in a global supply chain being assembled to tackle the logistical challenge of distributing Covid-19 vaccines. Pfizer has been laying the groundwork to move quickly if it gets approval from the Food and Drug Administration and other regulators world-wide. (Sider and Loftus, 11/27)
USA Today: FAA Confirms First 'Mass Air Shipment' Of Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine From Belgium As US Preps For Distribution Charter flights bringing Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to the United States from Belgium began on Friday, the start of what the Federal Aviation Administration calls the first "mass air shipment" of a coronavirus vaccine. There are no authorized coronavirus vaccines in the U.S. yet, but preparations for distribution are ramping up. Under FDA rules, vaccine cannot be shipped to actual administration sites until it was been either licensed or authorized by FDA. (Weise and Aspegren, 11/29)
In related developments on vaccine distribution —
Bloomberg: Covid Task Force Promises Rapid December Vaccine Rollout Members of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force fanned out across Sunday talk shows to promise a rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccines to millions of Americans by year-end. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the federal government hopes to quickly review and approve requests from two drugmakers for emergency approval of their Covid-19 vaccines. (Condon and Yang, 11/29)
Houston Chronicle: State Officials Ready To Distribute Pfizer's Covid-19 Vaccine 'In The Coming Days,' Abbott Says State officials were prepared to distribute doses of drugmaker Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine "in the coming days," Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday. Abbott tweeted a link to a Wall Street Journal article that reported United Airlines had started operating charter flights to position doses of the vaccine for rapid distribution if approved by federal and global regulators and wrote, "Texas is ready to distribute these vaccines in the coming days." (Serrano, 11/28)
With available early batches of COVID-19 vaccine limited, a CDC panel of advisers will meet Tuesday to hammer out recommendations on who will get inoculated in the first wave.
AP: CDC Panel Meets Tuesday To Vote On COVID-19 Vaccine Priority A panel of U.S. advisers will meet Tuesday to vote on how scarce, initial supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine will be given out once one has been approved. Experts have proposed giving the vaccine to health workers first. High priority also may be given to workers in essential industries, people with certain medical conditions and people age 65 and older. (11/28)
FierceHealthcare: Many Adults Say They'll Wait To Get COVID-19 Vaccine, Poll Finds While many adults older than 50 say they plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available, plenty indicated they probably won't rush to get it right away, a new poll found. According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging from the University of Michigan, 58% of adults between the ages of 50 and 80 years old said they were somewhat or very likely to get the vaccine if it became available at no cost to them. (11/25)
Boston Globe: There's A Big Obstacle Looming For Coronavirus Vaccines — A Strong Antivaccine Movement For as long as there have been vaccines, there have been people like Winnie Harrison who shun them. Harrison, 67, a former educator and mother of four, became an ardent disbeliever in immunizations after her first child had an adverse reaction to a measles, mumps, and rubella shot some three decades ago. But it wasn't until recent years that she and other skeptics began to forge online connections, fostering fear about vaccines and what doctors call a growing ecosystem of health misinformation that has only ramped up amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Ulloa, 11/28)
The Washington Post: Mass Vaccination Against Covid Will Be A Challenge For Alabama And Other Poor, Rural States Overcoming distrust of a covid-19 vaccine is about "survival instincts" for Shane Lee, a family physician in Perry County, Ala., a rural, mostly African American community of about 9,000 where more than a third of people live in poverty. When the outbreak erupted in Alabama's Black Belt in the summer and "swept through hospitals and nursing homes like a grass fire," the 59-year-old doctor, a retired Army general, became infected. His heart muscle grew inflamed. Months later, he is still short of breath. (Stanley-Becker, 11/29)
Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, Surgeon General Jerome Powell and testing czar Brett Giroir all pleaded with the public to battle COVID fatigue and double down on precautions over the next few weeks.
Politico: Fauci Says U.S. Could See 'A Surge Upon A Surge' In Coronavirus Cases Those who are traveling during the holiday weekend should quarantine and get tested for coronavirus if possible to "prevent further spread and further surge," according to the government's top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci. "The travel that has been done has been done," Fauci said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Right now as people go back, we want to urge them, if they've been in situations outside of the family setting in which they really don't know the level of exposure, to be really careful when you either return from the place that you went or other people come back into your house." (Bice, 11/29)
The Washington Post: Bracing For A 'Superimposed' Holiday Surge, Top Health Experts Urge Americans To Take Restrictive Measures America's top infectious-disease expert sounded the alarm Sunday, warning of a "surge superimposed upon" a surge of coronavirus cases over the coming weeks due to Thanksgiving travel and celebrations. Anthony S. Fauci and other experts urged Americans to take aggressive action as the December holidays loom to mitigate the surge overwhelming hospitals across the country. As the number of coronavirus-related deaths per day rose to its highest point since April, Fauci and others highlighted the importance of complying with mask mandates and physical distancing. (Alemany, 11/29)
The Hill: Surgeon General: Pandemic Is 'Going To Get Worse,' Actions Now 'Will Determine How Bad It Is' U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Sunday that the coronavirus pandemic will "get worse" in the weeks ahead, but noted that the first vaccines would likely be available to vulnerable populations by mid-December. "I want to be straight with the American people, it's going to get worse over the next several weeks, but the actions that we take in the next several days will determine how bad it is or whether or not we continue to flatten our curve," Adams told guest host Bret Baier on "Fox News Sunday." (Budryk, 11/29)
Fox News: Biden Coronavirus Adviser Makes Grim Prediction After Thanksgiving Holiday A member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory board on Saturday made a grim prediction about U.S. coronavirus cases in the coming weeks after millions of Americans traveled for Thanksgiving, despite warnings from public health officials. "We fully expect that in about a week or two after Thanksgiving we will see an increase in cases first, then about a week or two later you'll start to see an increase in hospitalizations, and then another week or two after that you'll start to see deaths," Dr. Celine Gounder told CBS News. (Betz, 11/29)
And Dr. Fauci looks ahead to Christmas and New Year's —
USA Today: Fauci: Christmas Could Look A Lot Like Thanksgiving Amid COVID Surge Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested Thanksgiving may be the beginning of a dark holiday season as the surge in coronavirus cases is likely to persist, or even get worse, through December, January and February. "If the surge takes a turn of continuing to go up and you have the sustained greater than 100,000 infections a day and 1,300 deaths per day and the count keeps going up and up ... I don't see it being any different during the Christmas and New Year's holidays than during Thanksgiving," he said in an interview with USA TODAY last week. (Rodriguez, 11/27)
The Hill: Fauci: Restrictions Likely Won't Be Reversed Before Christmas "I cannot see, all of a sudden, a relaxation of the kinds of recommendations or restrictions because we're getting into colder weather and an … even larger holiday season, as people travel to come back and forth for Christmas," Fauci said on ABC News's "This Week." (Coleman, 11/29)
Determining the severity of new infections acquired during Thanksgiving gatherings will take at least four weeks as the virus runs through its cycle. To try to contain the spread even further, some experts recommend that travelers quarantine and get tested.
CNN: 'A Natural Disaster ... In All 50 States' Is Unfolding Just As Travelers Disperse Nationwide After Thanksgiving As millions of Americans head home after Thanksgiving, the coronavirus could be hitching a ride -- threatening to plant seeds of infection across the country as the US on Sunday topped more than 100,000 new cases for the 27th consecutive day. ... A surge of new travel-related infections could overwhelm hospitals already stretched to capacity. Hospitalizations of Covid-19 patients reached a record high of 93,238 on Sunday, trumping Saturday's record-breaking 91,635 figure, according to the Covid Tracking Project. (Yan and Holcombe, 11/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Thanksgiving Draws Travel To A Pandemic Peak The weekend after Thanksgiving met expectations that it would be the busiest travel period in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic began, aided by clement weather and lower gas prices that encouraged some to drive rather than fly. Almost 50 million people were expected to have made a journey during the Thanksgiving holidays, said AAA, despite tightening local clampdowns and warnings from federal health officials. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Nov. 19 recommended people not travel over Thanksgiving. (Cameron and Sider, 11/29)
Stat: How Much Did Thanksgiving Contribute To Covid-19 Spread? It's Wait And See For Now And now we wait. Thanksgiving is over, and public health officials' persistent warnings that large celebrations and travel could douse accelerant on out-of-control Covid-19 spread have passed. But whether their warnings were heeded — and what kind of impact Americans' decisions might have had — won't be clear for a few weeks. (Joseph, 11/29)
CNN: Should You Quarantine After Thanksgiving? Yes, CNN's Dr. Leana Wen Explains First and foremost, anyone who traveled to visit with family and friends or hosted guests outside their immediate household unit should quarantine, [Leana] Wen advised. Taking action to protect others around you will help mitigate the spread of Covid-19, especially with Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's just around the corner. (Chiu, 11/27)
CNN: Experts Urge Thanksgiving Travelers To Get Tested For Covid-19 As Hospitalizations Are At Their Highest As millions of people in the United States travel back home from the Thanksgiving holiday, Covid-19 hospitalizations are inching closer to 100,000 -- the highest they've ever been. With infections expected to increase, experts say the stakes are even higher for the public to get tested to help slow the spread. (Holcombe, 11/30)
In related news from Maine and Massachusetts —
Bangor Daily News: Virus-Related Hospitalizations Rise In Maine With Thanksgiving Delaying Case Counts Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Maine rose again on Friday, even as a temporary drop in testing and reporting over the Thanksgiving holiday may lead to a artificial drop in the number of new reported cases this weekend. The spread of the virus in Maine has spiked over the past month, with the seven-day average of new cases rising to 221 on Thursday, up from only 40 one month earlier. But the Thanksgiving closure of the state lab that processes tests led to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention not reporting case data on Friday. (Piper, 11/27)
Boston Globe: COVID-19 Impact From Thanksgiving Travel And Gatherings Could Be 'Precursor' For Upcoming Holidays Fallout from Thanksgiving travel and festivities could intensify challenges Massachusetts will face as it continues to battle the pandemic through the December holidays, when officials will be navigating more uncertain terrain amid soaring numbers of cases. While more indications emerge that people are chafing under pandemic restrictions, those measures are vital to curb the spread and ease pressure on the state's health care system, officials said. (Hilliard and Tziperman Lotan, 11/29)
In response to a new U.S. rule allowing the bulk import of certain prescriptions drugs, Canada moves to safeguard its access to medications in shorter supply.
NPR: Canada Blocks Export Of Medications In Short Supply In Response To Trump Plan Ahead of an expected surge in U.S. demand for prescription drugs, the Canadian government has blocked the distribution of certain medications outside Canada in order to avoid a shortage within the country. The Canadian health minister signed an order Friday to limit bulk exports, saying it would help safeguard the country's drug supply. The move comes in response to a new U.S. rule that would let pharmacists or wholesalers import certain prescription drugs in bulk. (Schwartz, 11/29)
Bloomberg: Canada To Prevent Distribution Of Some Drugs Ahead Of U.S. Rule Canada has imposed measures to limit the distribution of some drugs, a move that's largely aimed at the U.S. The Canadian government is putting the new guidelines in place to protect its drug supply from bulk sales across the border that could worsen the current deficit, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement. Companies will now be required to provide information to assess existing or potential shortages, and within 24 hours in serious cases. (Balji, 11/28)
The Hill: Canada Moves To Limit Prescription Drug Exports After Trump Order Canadian officials, responding to a move by President Trump allowing Americans to import some prescription drugs, blocked bulk exportation of drugs in cases in which a domestic shortage would be created. The order took effect Friday ahead of the U.S. rule, which drug suppliers have warned could lead to shortages within Canada, Reuters reported. (Budryk, 11/29)
Also —
Tampa Bay Times: Trump's Plan To Import Drugs Into U.S. And Florida Faces Legal Challenge An influential pharmaceutical lobbying group is suing to end the Trump administration's plan to allow prescription drugs to be imported from Canada into the United States. That could have major implications for Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Donald Trump have highlighted state and federal efforts to lower the cost of prescriptions. DeSantis announced last week that Florida's importation plan had been submitted to the federal government. (Wilson, 11/27)
The president, who announced Oct. 2 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, may still be reaping the benefits of COVID antibodies. But scientists still aren't sure how long they protect people from getting infected a second time.
AP: Pa. Lawmaker Gets A Positive Test At Trump Meeting A Pennsylvania state senator abruptly left a West Wing meeting with President Donald Trump after being informed he had tested positive for the coronavirus, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on Sunday. Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano had gone to the White House last Wednesday with like-minded Republican state lawmakers shortly after a four-hour-plus public meeting that Mastriano helped host in Gettysburg — maskless — to discuss efforts to overturn president-elect Joe Biden's victory in the state. (Scolforo, 11/29)
The Hill: Pa. Lawmaker Was Informed Of Positive Coronavirus Test While Meeting With Trump: Report A Republican lawmaker from Pennsylvania abruptly left a White House meeting with President Trump after he was informed that he had tested positive for COVID-19, The Associated Press reported Sunday. Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) was informed during the Wednesday meeting with Trump about the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results that he had tested positive for the virus and was led away by White House medical staff, one source at the meeting told the AP. (Bowden, 11/29)
In other Trump administration news —
Politico: Surgeon General Makes Plea: Wearing A Mask 'Will Protect My Mother' U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams made clear on Sunday that mask-wearing is personal to him. In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," Adams cited his hospitalized mother as a reason Americans should start wearing masks to curb coronavirus case counts that have skyrocketed in recent weeks and placed a severe strain on the nation's hospitals. (Semones, 11/29)
The Hill: White House Testing Czar Promotes Mask Wearing, Social Distancing: 'Testing Alone Will Never Solve This Issue' White House testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir promoted mask wearing and social distancing on Sunday, saying that "testing alone will never solve this issue." Giroir told CNN's "State of the Union" that the U.S. is "doing everything we can" to improve COVID-19 testing as the number of coronavirus hospitalizations and cases surge across the nation amid the Thanksgiving holiday. "Unless we can control the viral spread, by doing the things like wearing a mask, avoiding indoor crowded spaces, you cannot test your way out of this," he said. (Coleman, 11/29)
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 on Wednesday to bar New York from reimposing limits on religious gatherings. Gov. Andrew Cuomo claimed Thursday that the ruling was "moot" because the groups are now out of the most-restrictive tiers. Still, the ruling was the first significant indication of a rightward shift since Justice Amy Coney Barrett took the bench last month.
Fox News: Supreme Court Rules Against Cuomo's Coronavirus Limits — With Barrett Playing Key Role The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday night blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from reimposing strict attendance caps at worship services in areas hit hard by the novel coronavirus. The court ruled 5-4 to bar Cuomo from enforcing his Oct. 6 "Cluster Initiative" against houses of worship that sued to challenge the restrictions. (Aaro, 11/26)
Politico: Major Shift At Supreme Court On Covid-19 Orders The Supreme Court signaled a major shift in its approach to coronavirus-related restrictions late Wednesday, voting 5-4 to bar New York state from reimposing limits on religious gatherings. The emergency rulings, issued just before midnight, were the first significant indication of a rightward shift in the court since President Donald Trump's newest appointee — Justice Amy Coney Barrett — last month filled the seat occupied by liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. (Gerstein, 11/26)
New York Post: Gov. Cuomo: Supreme Court Church Ruling 'Irrelevant' Despite Decision The Supreme Court's order temporarily blocking New York from setting coronavirus capacity limits at houses of worship is "irrelevant" and "moot," Gov. Andrew Cuomo claimed Thursday. ... Cuomo, in a Thanksgiving Day conference call with reporters, insisted the order was moot because the houses of worship in question in the curt battle are no longer in designated red and orange zones in Brooklyn in Queens so the restrictions no longer apply to them. (Campanile, Hogan and Hicks, 11/26)
Also —
Boston Globe: Governor's Office: Mass. Pandemic Restrictions On Churches 'Consistent' With US Supreme Court Ruling Pandemic restrictions on places of worship in Massachusetts won't run afoul of a US Supreme Court ruling this week that barred certain capacity limits on religious gatherings in areas of New York where coronavirus infections were rising, according to legal scholars and Governor Charlie Baker's office. "The administration believes the Supreme Court decision is consistent with the way Massachusetts is working with our houses of worship during the pandemic," Baker spokeswoman Sarah Finlaw said in an e-mail. (Pan and Finucane, 11/27)
Newsweek: Supreme Court Deals Blow To Controversial Louisiana Pastor Over Coronavirus Restrictions U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito denied a Louisiana pastor's legal petition requesting an exemption from state restrictions effected in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Reverend Tony Spell—who currently faces a half-dozen misdemeanor charges for violating Louisiana's COVID-19 orders and an assault charge for alleged conduct during a protest last spring—filed his petition in Louisiana over the summer. After multiple rejections, Spell's attorneys brought his case before the Supreme Court. (Czachor, 11/29)
But Modern Healthcare points out the new Trump administration rule seeking to benefit patients will likely be challenged in the courts.
Modern Healthcare: Trump Drug Plan Would Make Providers Responsible For Negotiating Discounts The Trump administration's plan to tie Medicare payment for outpatient drugs to prices charged in foreign countries depends on providers negotiating drugmakers' prices down to meet reduced reimbursement levels. While the administration pitches the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation demonstration as an effort to lower drug prices, it's unclear whether or by how much drugmakers would actually lower the prices they charge healthcare providers. If they don't, providers have to choose whether to offer the drugs at a financial loss. (Cohrs, 11/25)
Also —
FierceHealthcare: CMS Releases Proposed Regulations For 2022 ACA Insurance Exchange Issuers, Including Lower User Fees The Trump administration proposed lowering the user fee for Affordable Care Act insurers from 3% to 2.25% of the premium for the 2022 coverage year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released late Wednesday the proposed Notice of Benefit Payment Parameters for the 2022 coverage year. The rule also proposes enabling states to partner with the private sector to create a website that competes with the state-run exchange website or HealthCare.gov. (King, 11/25)
Modern Healthcare: Little Change In Regional Medicare Spending Differences, Despite Attention Just over a decade ago, celebrated surgeon and writer Dr. Atul Gawande penned a New Yorker article that called out certain areas of the country for their high Medicare spending. But despite the public lashing some regions endured, the most recent data from the Dartmouth Atlas show little has changed since then with respect to the communities atop the Medicare spending tower and those at the bottom. Miami was highest among hospital referral regions in the latest price-adjusted data, from 2017, followed by two smaller cities that were also near the top in 2010: Munster, Ind., and Monroe, La. Grand Junction, Colo., Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu had among the lowest spending in both years. (Bannow, 11/28)
A nurse, epidemiologist and Navajo Nation Department of Health director are the three latest members to join the Biden transition team. Other aspects of the president-elect's plans to tackle the pandemic are also in the news.
The Hill: Biden Transition Adds New Members To Coronavirus Task Force President-elect Joe Biden announced Saturday he is adding three new members to his transition team's coronavirus task force as the incoming administration focuses on preparation to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The transition said in a statement that Jane Hopkins, Jill Jim and David Michaels are joining the team, which is co-chaired by David Kessler, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Marcella Nunez-Smith. The task force is charged with helping Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and the transition cobble together a "robust and aggressive response to contain the virus." (Axelrod, 11/28)
Politico: Biden's Plan For An Army Of Disease Trackers Faces Long Odds A raging pandemic and a gridlocked Congress could upend President-elect Joe Biden's plan to hire 100,000 public health workers to trace Covid-19's spread, despite widespread agreement it's needed to finally end the crisis. Contact tracing will be essential even after Covid-19 vaccines become widely available, because not everyone will get shots and scattered outbreaks will continue to ripple across the country. Quickly identifying who's been exposed to people with infections can guide efforts to stamp out new hot spots and break chains of transmission. (Ollstein and Goldberg, 11/26)
CNN: How The Coronavirus Is Really The Only Issue That Matters A new Monmouth University poll finds that 27% of Americans say that the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest issue facing President-elect Joe Biden over the next four years. That's the top percentage for any issue, and it follows months of polling from Gallup showing that Americans think the coronavirus is the most important problem facing the country. (Enten, 11/29)
Also —
Politico: Biden's Other Health Crisis: A Resurgent Drug Epidemic President-elect Joe Biden, long viewed as a drug policy hawk during his four decades in the Senate, is signaling a different approach to confronting a still-raging drug addiction epidemic made worse by the pandemic. Biden, who has stocked his team with addiction experts with extensive backgrounds in public health, will emphasize new funding for substance abuse treatment and prevention, while calling to eliminate jail time for drug use. It's a departure from his tough-on-crime approach as a senator — and from President Donald Trump's frequent focus on a law enforcement response to the drug crisis, which experts said undercut necessary public health measures. (Goldberg and Ehley, 11/28)
A CT scan taken Sunday revealed a midfoot break that President-elect Joe Biden sustained while playing with his German Shepherd.
Politico: Biden To Require Walking Boot After Fracturing His Foot President-elect Joe Biden will need a walking boot after sustaining small fractures to his right foot while playing with one of his dogs, according to his doctor. Biden was injured Saturday and visited an orthopedist at Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists in Newark, Del., for an examination Sunday afternoon, according to a pool report. (Genota, 11/29)
AP: Biden Breaks Foot While Playing With Dog, To Wear A Boot Fractures are a concern generally as people age, but Biden's appears to be a relatively mild one based on his doctor's statement and the planned treatment. At 78 he will become the oldest president when he's inaugurated in January; he often dismissed questions about his age during the campaign. (Jaffe, 11/30)
The New York Times: Biden Fractures Foot Playing With His Dog, Putting Him In A Boot Although initial X-rays showed no obvious fracture, a "follow-up CT scan confirmed hairline (small) fractures of President-elect Biden's lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones, which are in the midfoot," Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the director of executive medicine at GW Medical Faculty Associates, said in a statement distributed by Mr. Biden's office. (Karni, 11/29)
The Hill: Biden Diagnosed With Fractured Foot After Slipping While Playing With Dog President-elect Joe Biden suffered hairline fractures in his right foot while playing with his dog and will wear an orthopedic walking boot, Biden's transition team said Sunday. Biden slipped and twisted his ankle on Saturday while he was playing with Major, one of his two German shepherds, and he was seen by a doctor on Sunday. (Coleman and Bowden, 11/29)
With weeks left in their current term, lawmakers return to Capitol Hill as the accumulating financial stress of the pandemic on Americans adds to the urgency of relief negotiations.
AP: Congress Returns With Virus Aid, Federal Funding Unresolved After months of shadowboxing amid a tense and toxic campaign, Capitol Hill's main players are returning for one final, perhaps futile, attempt at deal-making on a challenging menu of year-end business. COVID-19 relief, a $1.4 trillion catchall spending package, and defense policy — and a final burst of judicial nominees — dominate a truncated two- or three-week session occurring as the coronavirus pandemic rockets out of control in President Donald Trump's final weeks in office. (Taylor, 11/30)
CNBC: Congress Stalled On Stimulus Talks As Millions Face A 'Benefits Cliff' For many, the outcome is of extreme financial importance: Evidence suggests the unemployed have drawn down savings at a rapid clip and are going hungry more often than those who've kept their jobs and hours intact. Time is quickly running out to pass something by year-end to prevent a "benefits cliff," which would erase temporary protections in place for renters, student loan borrowers and the jobless. (Iacurci, 11/28)
The Hill: Obama Chief Economist Says Democrats Should Accept Smaller Coronavirus Relief Package If Necessary Former President Obama's chief economist said on Sunday that Democrats should accept a smaller coronavirus relief package if necessary in order to get at least minimal relief to Americans. Former White House Chief Economist Austan Goolsbee told CNN's "Inside Politics" that he's "not an expert on the political negotiations" but he said he hopes that Congress can agree on a relief package soon because Americans are "really hurting." (Coleman, 11/29)
In related news on COVID's economic toll —
Politico: Millions Of Workers Poised To Lose Access To Paid Leave As Virus Spikes Tens of millions of workers stand to lose access to federally mandated paid sick and family leave at the end of December, compounding the hardship over the surging pandemic for American families. Families First, a relief package enacted in March, required many employers to provide workers with two weeks of coronavirus-related sick leave at full pay and up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave to care for family members at two-thirds pay. Researchers estimate this covered half the U.S. workforce. (Mueller, 11/29)
AP: Despite Federal Ban, Renters Still Being Evicted Amid Virus A nationwide eviction ban was supposed to protect tenants like Tawanda Mormon, who was forced out of her two-bedroom apartment last month in Cleveland. The 46-year-old, who was hospitalized in August for the coronavirus and can't work due to mental health issues, said she fell behind on her $500-a-month rent because she needed the money to pay for food. When she was evicted in October, Mormon said she was unaware of President Donald Trump's directive, implemented in September by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that broadly prevents evictions through the end of 2020. (Casey, 11/29)
In other news from Capitol Hill —
CNN: Carlos Gimenez: Newly Elected Florida Congressman Tweets He Has Tested Positive For Covid-19 Rep.-elect Carlos Gimenez of Florida announced Friday evening that he and his wife tested positive for Covid-19 Thursday and are self-isolating in their home. "After several negative tests, both Lourdes and I tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. We are both feeling good and experiencing no symptoms at this time," Gimenez said in a statement. (Flores and LeBlanc, 11/27)
At Wisconsin's Mayo Clinic Health System, "a bed is a gift right now," said one administrator.
NPR: As Hospitals Fill With COVID-19 Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard To Find Hospitals in much of the country are trying to cope with unprecedented numbers of COVID-19 patients. As of Sunday, 93,238 were hospitalized, an alarming record that far exceeds the two previous peaks in April and July, of just under 60,000 inpatients. But beds and space aren't the main concern. It's the work force. Hospitals are worried that staffing levels won't be able to keep up with demand, as doctors, nurses and specialists such as respiratory therapists become exhausted or, worse, become infected or sick themselves. (Farmer and Feibel, 11/30)
The New York Times: How US Hospitals Are Stretched Way Too Thin Due To Covid-19 In excruciating pain with lesions on her face and scalp, Tracey Fine lay for 13 hours on a gurney in an emergency room hallway. All around her, Covid-19 patients filled the beds of the hospital in Madison, Wis. Her nurse was so harried that she could not remember Ms. Fine's condition, and the staff was slow to bring her pain medicine or food. In a small rural hospital in Missouri, Shain Zundel's severe headache turned out to be a brain abscess. His condition would typically have required an operation within a few hours, but he was forced to wait a day while doctors struggled to find a neurosurgeon and a bed — finally at a hospital 375 miles away in Iowa. (Abelson, 11/27)
The Washington Post: Inside A Hospital As The Coronavirus Surges: Where Will All The Patients Go? As the coronavirus pandemic swelled around the 160-bed Mayo Clinic hospital, the day was dawning auspiciously. Two precious beds for new patients had opened overnight. At the morning "bed meeting," prospects for a third looked promising. Better yet, by midmorning, there were no patients in the Emergency Department. None. Even in normal times, a medium-size hospital like this can go many months without ever reaching zero. Everyone knew better than to trust this good fortune. They were right. (Bernstein, 11/29)
Modern Healthcare: Providers Try To Address Care Delays As COVID-19 Continues Like many primary-care physicians across the country, Dr. Trevor Huber is using telehealth to triage patients for COVID-19 symptoms. In one of these recent visits, a man in his mid-60s was complaining of chest pain, thinking it may be the virus. Huber wasn't convinced, urging him to come into his practice in Little Elm, Texas, right away to make sure he wasn't having a heart attack. After hooking the patient up to an electrocardiogram, it was clear the patient was in cardiac arrest. Huber's team called 911 right away. (Castellucci, 11/28)
USA Today: 'I'm Scared. Are You Scared?': A Michigan Mom's Harrowing Story Of Leaving Her Autistic Son To Fight COVID-19 Alone In The Hospital In the emergency room of Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, Pam Warfle begged for compassion. Her autistic son had COVID-19 and needed to be hospitalized, though the staff informed her she couldn't stay." 'You don't understand. You're going to have to carry me out of here. He cannot communicate,'" Warfle recalled telling the doctors and nurses as she pleaded to stay. " 'You can put me in bubble wrap. I'll stay in a corner.' "But the hospital wouldn't bend: "We cannot do it," they said. (Baldas, 11/29)
In other health care industry news —
KHN: Thousands Of Doctors' Offices Buckle Under Financial Stress Of COVID Cormay Caine misses a full day of work and drives more than 130 miles round trip to take five of her children to their pediatrician. The Sartell, Minnesota, clinic where their doctor used to work closed in August. Caine is one of several parents who followed Dr. Heather Decker to her new location on the outskirts of Minneapolis, an hour and a half away. Many couldn't get appointments for months with swamped nearby doctors. (Ungar, 11/30)
North Carolina Health News: Done Deal: How Mission Health Wooed HCA The news stunned Asheville and Western North Carolina, where Mission Health System Inc. was the area's largest employer, its main healthcare provider, and a long-time source of civic pride. Seemingly out of the blue, Mission's directors publicly announced on March 21, 2018, that they had voted to sell the 133-year-old nonprofit to HCA Healthcare, the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain, for an estimated $1.5 billion. "To say that [Mission's] announcement … was a surprise would be an understatement," the Asheville Citizen Times observed in an editorial. "There has not been the slightest hint anything was afoot until Mission announced that its board had approved the deal unanimously." (Lewis, 11/26)
North Carolina Health News: Mission Sale: Good For WNC, Or Just HCA? Years from now, the decision in 2018 by the directors of Mission Health to sell to HCA Healthcare might be seen as a brilliant strategic maneuver, one that guaranteed affordable, high-quality healthcare for future generations of western North Carolinians. This was, and still is, the position of the directors and executives who pushed the deal. (Lewis, 11/27)
Kelby Krabbenhoft had been president and CEO since 1996. The health system named Bill Gassen as its new president and chief executive. And in Oregon, an oncology nurse was put on leave after a video showed her mocking her coworkers' response to her lack of COVID-19 precautions.
Detroit Free Press: Oregon Nurse Placed On Leave After Mocking COVID Protocols On TikTok An oncology nurse in Oregon has been placed on administrative leave after posting a video on social media showing disregard for COVID-19 restrictions. In the video, uploaded Friday to TikTok, the nurse, identified by Salem Health hospital officials as Ashley Grames, says she doesn't wear a mask in public outside of work, continues to travel and allows her children to have playdates. (Barreda, 11/29)
In other news on health care personnel —
KHN: OSHA Let Employers Decide Whether To Report Health Care Worker Deaths. Many Didn't. As Walter Veal cared for residents at the Ludeman Developmental Center in suburban Chicago, he saw the potential future of his grandson, who has autism. So he took it on himself not just to bathe and feed the residents, which was part of the job, but also to cut their hair, run to the store to buy their favorite body wash and barbecue for them on holidays. "They were his second family," said his wife, Carlene Veal. (Pattani, Lewis and Jewett, 11/30)
Bangor Daily News: Nurses And Doctors Now Face 'Fear Of The Known' As COVID-19 Brings People To The Hospital When the coronavirus first flared up across Maine last spring, many of the state's frontline health care workers were scared by how little they knew about it. Would they have enough face masks and gowns? Would they bring the virus home to their loved ones? Would they die from it? And how quickly would the strange new infection storm across a rural state whose large elderly population was particularly threatened by it? (Eichacker, 11/28)
Modern Healthcare: Workers Leaving 'Healthcare Prisons' Over COVID-19 Stress Carol Siewert wasn't planning to leave hospital-based nursing for another two to five years. But then the novel coronavirus swept across the globe and into her 39-bed unit in a teaching hospital in Madison, Wis., and she knew it was time to go. "I left because of staffing. I left because of health reasons, because I had blood clots in both lungs last summer, and I'm concerned that I'm higher risk for COVID complications like blood clots or acute respiratory distress. I also left because I was, quite literally, heartsick at doing my job," she said. "I realized I was experiencing what healthcare people have come to call 'moral injury,' or a kind of PTSD, and that it was best for my health if I left." (Christ, 11/25)
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Dentists Report An Increase In Teeth Grinding Since The Pandemic Began Alaskans are stressed, and their dentists can tell."There's no question there has been increased incidence of people grinding their teeth," said Dr. Dave Logan, executive director of the Alaska Dental Society. "I think that's to be expected with the stress of the pandemic," he said. "Certainly I have seen more (incidence of grinding) than usual," said Dr. Guy Burk, a dentist at Midtown Dental in Anchorage. (Burman, 11/29)
The infant, born in Singapore, did not actually carry the disease. The boy's mother had contracted the disease when she was 10 weeks' pregnant.
Reuters: Singapore Studies COVID-19 Pregnancy Puzzle After Baby Born With Antibodies Doctors are studying the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their unborn babies in Singapore, where an infant delivered by an infected mother earlier this month had antibodies against the virus but did not carry the disease. The ongoing study among the city-state's public hospitals adds to international efforts to better understand whether the infection or antibodies can be transferred during pregnancy, and if the latter offers an effective shield against the virus. (Aravindan and Geddie, 11/30)
The Washington Post: Months After Contracting Coronavirus, Singaporean Woman Gives Birth To Child With Antibodies Celine Ng-Chan, 31, is part of an ongoing study taking place at several public hospitals in Singapore that seeks to better understand the impacts of covid-19 on pregnant women and their babies. She told the paper that she and several family members all got sick in March after returning from a vacation in Europe, and that she experienced relatively mild symptoms while her mother spent nearly a month on life support. At the time, Ng-Chan was 10 weeks pregnant. When her son, Aldrin, was born in early November, he had antibodies but not the virus — but her antibodies seemed to have disappeared. "My doctor suspects I have transferred my Covid-19 antibodies to him during my pregnancy," Ng-Chan told the Straits Times. (Farzan, 11/30)
In other science and research news —
The New York Times: Could Covid-19 Cause Your Teeth To Fall Out? Earlier this month, Farah Khemili popped a wintergreen breath mint in her mouth and noticed a strange sensation: a bottom tooth wiggling against her tongue. Ms. Khemili, 43, of Voorheesville, N.Y., had never lost an adult tooth. She touched the tooth to confirm it was loose, initially thinking the problem might be the mint. The next day, the tooth flew out of her mouth and into her hand. There was neither blood nor pain. (Yan, 11/26)
CIDRAP: Less Than 10% Of Americans Had COVID By September, Study Finds Large-scale seroprevalence studies conducted over the summer show that, through September, less than 1 in 10 of Americans had evidence of previous coronavirus infection, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine. In the nationwide seroprevalence survey, researchers from the CDC's COVID-19 Response Team tested blood serum samples from people in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico during four periods from July through September, looking for the presence of detectable antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, (the virus that causes COVID-19. (Dall, 11/25)
News is on a potential blood test to detect cancers, genetic screening efforts and more.
Stat: Study Offers New Clues For Treating Brain Cancer In Children Brain tumors are among the most common — and the most deadly — cancers among children. A new paper, published Wednesday in the journal Cell, explores the intricacies of how cancers of the brain operate in children and proffers tantalizing clues about how they may be treated. (Keshavan, 11/25)
In other developments —
CNN: UK Health Service To Pilot Blood Test That May Detect 50 Types Of Cancer The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is to pilot a simple blood test that may detect more than 50 types of cancer and, it is hoped, could help thousands of people by allowing the disease to be treated more successfully at an earlier stage. The Galleri blood test, developed by Californian healthcare company Grail, will be piloted with 165,000 patients in what the NHS described as a "world-first deal" in a news release Friday. (Smith-Spark, 11/27)
Modern Healthcare: Targeting High-Risk Cancer Patients With Genetics Adventist Health for several years has been rolling out a genetic testing and cancer risk-assessment program to sites across the Roseville, Calif.-based system. Now, the program is playing a part in Adventist's efforts to get patients in need of cancer screenings back into its facilities despite fears over COVID-19. In the wake of the pandemic, patients have deferred or canceled preventive care appointments out of concern they'll be exposed to the virus. That could have long-term consequences for cancer care, since fewer patients screened could make it harder to catch cancer cases at an early stage. (Kim Cohen, 11/28)
Stat: The Race To Deliver CAR-T Cancer Therapy During The Pandemic On the evening that would jolt the global traffic of cancer treatments, David Kim was driving his baby daughter around, trying to get her to sleep. Bedtime was rough: Only the smooth motion of a car could get her to doze off. So Kim was playing dad-chauffeur, with the radio on low, when he heard that President Trump was banning travel between the United States and Europe. (Boodman, 11/30)
In other news, super long lines form for testing in Massachusetts, sampling sewage helps health workers predict surges and more.
FierceHealthcare: JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic Set To Roll Out COVID-19 'Health Pass' App In December Following a successful test with United Airlines in October, four more major airlines plan to start offering passengers a digital health pass to certify they are COVID-19-free. JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic will begin the roll-out of CommonPass mobile app in December to help bring back global travel. The health pass app will be used on select flights departing from New York, Boston, London, and Hong Kong. (Landi, 11/25)
Boston Globe: Across The State, Lengthy Lines For COVID-19 Testing Reflect A Bigger Problem Driven in part by holiday plans and fears of exposure amid a second wave, a record number of Massachusetts residents are seeking tests. At many sites, particularly the appointment-free locations meant to offer convenience, test-seekers are greeted by long lines that wind around buildings and blocks, through parking lots and playgrounds. Waits can extend for hours as staff struggle to test hundreds of people who suddenly — and urgently — want to know whether they have COVID-19. But don't expect the lines to dissipate anytime soon. Experts warn that serious shortcomings in the state's testing infrastructure, including inadequate space and staffing, have left providers ill-equipped to meet the demand for testing as the pandemic's second wave crashes over the state. (Moore, 11/27)
AP: Sewage Testing Helps Health Officials For Virus Surges A study that tests for parts of the coronavirus in sewage is giving public health workers advance notice of virus surges. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the City of Lawrence has been taking weekly sewage samples at both of its wastewater treatment plants to test for components of the virus shed in feces as part of a study contracted through the University of Kansas School of Engineering. The city has also been sharing that data with local and state health departments. (11/28)
KHN: 'An Arm And A Leg': How To Avoid A Big Bill For Your COVID Test Tests for the coronavirus are supposed to be free. And, usually, they are. But sometimes … things happen. Here's how to keep those things from happening to you. New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff has been asking readers to send in their COVID-testing bills. She's now seen hundreds of them, and she ran down for us the most common ways things can go sideways, and how to avoid them. (Weissmann, 11/30)
Restaurants remain some of the hardest-hit businesses, and unlike in the spring, no relief package is in sight. News is on revelers, substance abuse treatment on line and more, as well.
Politico: Food Industry Braces For New Coronavirus Wave Turkey farmers raised smaller birds for reduced Thanksgiving gatherings. Restaurants are begging Congress for a lifeline as state and local officials clamp down on indoor dining. And major grocers including Kroger, H-E-B and Publix are bringing back per-customer limits on high-demand items like toilet paper and household cleaners. Across the food and grocery industry, the holidays are starting to resemble the panic of the pandemic spring, when the supply chain was stressed and businesses were teetering. This time around, grocers say the limits are proactive measures, rather than a sign of looming shortages. Still, photos of empty store shelves have again started cropping up online — a sign that the country's food industry is still on edge as worried customers snap up more toilet paper and milk than they may need. (McCrimmon, 11/26)
The Wall Street Journal: Restaurant Holdouts Defy Covid-19 Shutdown Orders Some restaurants are rejecting a new round of shutdown orders, saying that serving customers indoors is their only way to stay in business and that they can do so safely. Mike Coughlin is breaking an Illinois state order by doing what he has done for 26 years—serving pot-roast and fish-fry platters inside his Village Tavern and Grill. He says it is worth the risk if it keeps his restaurant in business through the coronavirus pandemic. (Haddon and Wernau, 11/29)
The New York Times: Party With Nearly 400 People Is Shut Down In Manhattan Sheriff's deputies arrived at a building in Midtown Manhattan just before 3 a.m. on Saturday and found almost 400 people drinking and partying inside. Few were wearing face masks. Deputies shut the party down and arrested four people. The episode reflected the way that, despite the onset of a second wave of the coronavirus, people are continuing to gather at large events in New York City in violation of public health safeguards. (Zaveri, 11/29)
The New York Times: A.A. To Zoom, Substance Abuse Treatment Goes Online Until the coronavirus pandemic, their meetings took place quietly, every day, discreet gatherings in the basements of churches, a spare room at the YMCA, the back of a cafe. But members of Alcoholics Anonymous and other groups of recovering substance abusers found the doors quickly shut this spring, to prevent the spread of Covid-19. What happened next is one of those creative cascades the virus has indirectly set off. Rehabilitation moved online, almost overnight, with zeal. Not only are thousands of A.A. meetings taking place on Zoom and other digital hangouts, but other major players in the rehabilitation industry have leapt in, transforming a daily ritual that many credit with saving their lives. (Richtel, 11/28)
The Wall Street Journal: Your Home-Office Ergonomics Are Still A Mess—Do Something About It It's been a long time since employers around the world abruptly sent their staff home, and workers are feeling it. What was once a creative workaround or show of resilience—plop a monitor on your ironing board, take a conference call in your car—has become an ergonomic nightmare. ... Left unchecked, ergonomic issues can lead to permanent pain, disability and an inability to work at all. Still, at the beginning of the pandemic, employers were understandably more concerned with pressing crises—keeping their businesses afloat, keeping workers safe from the virus—than the threat of aches and pains. (Feintzeig, 11/29)
In sports news —
The Washington Post: Saints Fined $500,000, Lose Seventh-Round Draft Pick For Coronavirus Protocol Violations The NFL fined the New Orleans Saints $500,000 and stripped them of a seventh-round draft choice for violations of the sport's coronavirus protocols during a postgame locker room victory celebration without masks. The Saints become the second NFL team to lose a draft pick because of protocol violations. The Las Vegas Raiders previously were fined $500,000 and stripped of a sixth-round selection because of violations. (Maske, 11/29)
The Wall Street Journal: The NFL's Thanksgiving Weekend Has Become A Covid Crisis The National Football League's Thanksgiving weekend is supposed to be a feast of tradition and marquee matchups. The pandemic-year edition has exploded into a series of crises that threaten to break the NFL's season. Over the past several days, new coronavirus problems erupted across the league as Covid-19 cases continued to surge throughout the country. The situation is so severe that, after Sunday's games, the NFL will shut down most in-person activities for two days to regroup from the weekend amid worries that behavior over the holiday may make matters worse. (Beaton, 11/29)
AP: Amid Pandemic, NBA Gives Teams Health Protocols For Season NBA players who test positive for the coronavirus this season may have to miss nearly two weeks in some instances before being allowed to return to the court, the league told its teams Saturday. That revelation was one of many in a 63,000-word document, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, that explained some of the heath and safety protocols for the looming season. Preseason games begin Dec. 11 and regular-season contests start Dec. 22. (Reynolds, 11/28)
News outlets report on news from New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Colorado, Oregon, California, and more, as well.
The Washington Post: New York City Reopening Schools For Special-Education Students And Younger Grades New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday that he would begin to allow the city's youngest students and those with special needs to return to classrooms beginning next week, abandoning a previous plan that forced the entire school system to close 10 days ago and marking another disruption in an already challenging school year. The move, which will be accompanied by ramped-up coronavirus testing, only impacts a fraction of the more than one million public school students in New York City, home to by far the largest school system in the nation. (Balingit, 11/29)
North Carolina Health News: NC's Historically Black Colleges Avoid COVID In August, the semester at UNC Chapel Hill came to an abrupt end as hundreds of students fell ill as a result of COVID-19. When students were told to move off campus and classes moved online exclusively, UNC became something of a national punchline for how quickly the wheels fell off. (Bowden, 11/30)
The New York Times: Ransomware Attack Closes Baltimore County Public Schools The public schools in Baltimore County, Md., will remain closed Monday and Tuesday as officials respond to a cyberattack that forced the district to cancel remote classes for its 115,000 students just before the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said. The attack, first detected late Tuesday night, affected the district's websites and remote learning programs, as well as its grading and email systems, officials told WBAL-TV. (Paybarah, 11/29)
In other news from Colorado, Oregon, California and New York —
KMGH: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, First Gentleman Test Positive For COVID-19 Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and his partner both tested positive for COVID-19, the governor's office said Saturday evening. Polis, who went into quarantine on Wednesday after saying he was exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, said in a statement he and partner, First Gentleman Marlon Reis, were asymptomatic and "feeling well." (Miller, 11/28)
CNN: An Oregon Mink Farm Has Reported A Covid-19 Outbreak An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of coronavirus among mink and farmworkers. Ten mink samples submitted all came back positive for coronavirus, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) said in a news release on Friday. The farm has been placed under quarantine, meaning "no animal or animal product can leave the farm until further notice," according to ODA. (Elassar, 11/28)
Los Angeles Times: California Sets Pandemic Record For COVID Hospitalizations California has more people hospitalized with COVID-19 than at any time since the pandemic began, an ominous development that comes as officials warn of further virus spread after the long holiday weekend. The rising numbers raise new concerns about hospitals filling up in the coming weeks, which has been predicted as coronavirus cases surge to unprecedented levels across the state and, in particular, Los Angeles County. (Wigglesworth and Lin II, 11/29)
Also —
AP: Health Officials To Offer Free HIV Testing Across SC South Carolina health officials are offering free HIV and other testing as part of World Aids Day. The testing for the virus that causes AIDS along with sexually transmitted diseases and Hepatitis C will be conducted Tuesday at local health clinics across the state, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. (11/29)
Philadelphia Inquirer: As Oregon Decriminalizes Drugs, Philly Officials Are Paying Close Attention Since Oregon became the first state in the country to decriminalize drugs earlier this month, advocates there are hoping the new law could shift national perceptions around addiction and how to treat it. Officials in Philadelphia are paying close attention. The ballot measure, written by the national advocacy organization Drug Policy Alliance and backed by a slew of local groups in Oregon, will make the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use — including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine — a violation punishable by a $100 fine or a substance-abuse screening, instead of a criminal misdemeanor. (Whelan, 11/30)
News reports are from England, Russia, China, Brazil, Japan, Korea and Argentina.
AP: UK Stocks Up On Vaccines, Hopes To Start Virus Shots In Days Britain said Sunday it has secured 2 million more doses of a promising coronavirus vaccine as it gears up to launch within days the country's most ambitious inoculation program in decades. ... The Department of Health said Sunday it had increased its order for a vaccine developed by U.S. firm Moderna from 5 million to 7 million doses, enough for 3.5 million people. The Moderna vaccine is expected to be referred soon to the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, to see if it is safe and effective. Two other vaccines — one developed by Pfizer and German firm BioNTech, the other by Oxford University and AstraZeneca — are already being assessed by the regulator, the final stage before being rolled out. (Lawless, 11/29)
Bloomberg: U.K. Set To Be First To Clear Pfizer-BioNTech Covid Vaccine The U.K. is poised to become the first country to approve Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE's Covid-19 vaccine, ahead of a long line of countries waiting for protection from the coronavirus. Clearance is possible as early as this week, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the process is confidential. (Hipwell, Kresge and Ross, 11/28)
Bloomberg: U.K. Moves To Get Astra Covid Vaccine Approved Before The EU Health Secretary Matt Hancock asked the U.K. medical regulator to potentially bypass its European Union counterpart and approve the supply of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine to speed its deployment. Until the end of the year, when the U.K. exits a post-Brexit transition period, vaccines there must be authorized by the European Medicines Agency. But on Friday, Hancock said he invoked a special rule allowing Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to authorize a temporary supply of the vaccine Astra is developing with Oxford University if the data is robust enough, after it showed positive results in trials this week. (Morales, 11/26)
In other global developments —
AP: Brazil's Bolsonaro Rejects COVID-19 Shot, Calls Masks Taboo Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he won't take any working COVID-19 vaccine himself and calls the use of masks to limit the spread of the disease "the last taboo to fall." Bolsonaro's comments, broadcast on his social media channels Thursday night, alarmed health experts who said they could undermine efforts to achieve vaccination levels essential to halting the pandemic and might scare off vaccine makers negotiating with local authorities. (Savarese, 11/27)
The Washington Post: Japan, Korea Young Women Suicides Spike In Coronavirus Pandemic Suicide rates among young women have increased notably in Japan and South Korea, raising possible links to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic as it amplifies stress levels, worsens economic woes and aggravates feelings of loneliness and isolation. No comprehensive global studies are yet available on whether the pandemic has caused higher suicide numbers or how it may have affected different age groups and genders. (Denyer and Kashiwagi, 11/29)
Also —
The New York Times: Offices Of Diego Maradona's Doctor Raided Over His Death The authorities searched the home and offices of Diego Maradona's personal doctor on Sunday as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the soccer star's death last week. Prosecutors requested a search warrant for the doctor, Leopoldo Luque, after collecting evidence and interviewing Mr. Maradona's relatives, according to a statement by the prosecutor's office in San Isidro, Buenos Aires Province. The statement did not provide more details. (Politi and Kwai, 11/29)
Editorial pages focus on these pandemic topics and others.
The Washington Post: What Changes After Covid-19? I'm Betting On Everything. "We're almost there." That's what I've been thinking recently, and especially during our eerily sparse Thanksgiving celebrations. Things may be unpleasant now, but if everything goes well, then sometime next summer, we should reach the end of this miserable journey through plagueland. But on closer inspection, the more I realize I don't really know what "there" will look like. For all the talk of a "return to normal," large chunks of the old normal are due for a post-covid-19 rethink. And I'm not just talking about movies heading to video or takeout cocktails — though, please, let's keep the takeout cocktails. The more I think about it, the more I think I'm talking about practically everything. (Megan McArdle, 11/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Deploying Big Data To Determine How Well Vaccines Work The Food and Drug Administration may approve a Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use within the next few weeks. Within days of that green light, millions of doses will start making their way to patients. The distribution and administration will be logistically complex and difficult. And the study of a vaccine's safety and efficacy doesn't end with FDA approval. Researchers will be gathering evidence on how well these products work in the real world. The vaccine is likely to reduce the odds of serious or symptomatic infection. But will vaccinated patients be less likely to be infected at all? Do the vaccines confer, as preliminary evidence suggested, "mucosal immunity," in which immune cells in the respiratory tract can help reduce the chance of spreading the virus? If so, parts of the country with low spread and high rates of vaccination may be able to ease up on mitigation measures like wearing masks and distancing. (Scott Gottlieb and Mark McClellan, 11/29)
Bloomberg: How AstraZeneca-Oxford Can Recover From Thieir Covid-19 Vaccine Stumble With the Covid-19 pandemic now resurgent across the globe, it's a comfort to know that there are several promising vaccine candidates in speedy development. Their success is crucial in fighting the virus and charting a path back to normal. It's important, though, that we are able to see rigorous, clean and transparent trial data, to help gain trust in any vaccine and know that proper protocols are in place. Unfortunately, one of the leading vaccine candidates – from AstraZeneca Plc, working with the University of Oxford — is having a problem in this area. (Sam Fazeli, 11/30)
Stat: Dueling Infections: I Had The Flu And Covid-19 At The Same Time My painful excursion into the world of dueling infections started on a Tuesday afternoon with a scratchy throat and a mild-yet-annoying cough. I chalked it up to fall in Kentucky, where sunny afternoons in the mid 70s can be followed by freezing temperatures at night. I'm no stranger to respiratory infections, having lived for years with the triple threat of allergies, asthma, and low immunity. (Lauren Hines, 11/27)
The Hill: COVID-19, Masks And The Freedom To Drive Drunk Does freedom mean the right to refuse to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic? Many Americans think so. It is President Trump's most important legacy. Here's one implication that is too little noticed: If that is what freedom means, then we owe drunk drivers an apology. (Andrew Koppelman, 11/29)
CNN: A Leaderless America Slips Deep Into A Grim Pandemic Winter America is sliding into a winter limbo of alarming spikes in Covid-19 cases and deepening economic pain while an apathetic lame duck White House and a deadlocked Congress provide no political leadership. The darkest holiday season in modern history beckons, yet President Donald Trump and his closest aides, sulking after his election defeat, are doing little to save lives, apart from claiming credit for a vaccine that represents a way out of the nightmare of 2020 but remains months away for most Americans. (Stephen Collinson, 11/30)
CNN: Pressure Mounts On Congress To Help Struggling Americans As Covid-19 Surges With federal health officials meeting this week to make crucial decisions about who they will recommend to get the coronavirus vaccine first, pressure is mounting on Congress to step back into the governing role that they have abdicated and strike an agreement not only on the expiring aid for struggling Americans, but also the dollars needed by cash-strapped states to ensure the vaccine is equitably and effectively distributed. (Maeve Reston, 11/29)
The Washington Post: Science-Led Policy Will Get Montgomery's Schools Reopened Communities facing rising cases of the novel coronavirus are reconsidering their policies on public gatherings. That makes this the perfect time to devise new, evidence-based policy on reopening our schools. Montgomery County leadership has made unreasonable health metrics, not grounded in science or the interests of our children, a prerequisite for hybrid learning: a daily average of fewer than five cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. This is far more stringent than the state recommendation and approximately four times stricter than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. (Margery Smelkinson, 11/27)
CNN: Supreme Court's Scientifically Illiterate Decision Will Cost Lives Last month, I wrote that Amy Coney Barrett would help to usher in a new post-truth jurisprudence on the Supreme Court. While I had cited her anti-science statements on climate change, her arrival on the court has created a new 5-4 majority against public-health science at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. When it ruled this week against New York state's decision to limit religious gatherings in a few high-incidence parts of New York City, the court proved the dangers of scientifically illiterate judges overturning government decisions that were based on scientific evidence. (Jeffrey D. Sachs, 11/27)
Opinion writers express views about these public health topics and other issues, as well.
Stat: States Must Act Protect Essential Food Workers During The Pandemic The darkest days of the pandemic are still ahead of us, as we head into the winter with a surge of cases and without a national strategy to address Covid-19. It will be especially grim for essential food workers like farmworkers and meat packers who still lack basic protections in the workplace. (Amy K. Liebman, 11/30)
The Wall Street Journal: Can Republicans Regroup On Health Care? ObamaCare returned to the Supreme Court this month and the law seems sure to survive a legal challenge from GOP state attorneys general. That lawsuit has long looked like a futile exercise, and the real question for Republicans is: How many elections will the party lose before coming up with a potent political argument on health care? For all the Republican success in Senate and House races, health care continues to haunt the GOP. John Hickenlooper, the Colorado Democrat who defeated GOP Senator Cory Gardner, set up the subtly named CoryGardnerWontProtectPreexistingConditions.com. Many others pounded the GOP as wanting to snatch away health insurance from Americans during a pandemic. Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly cut an ad touting himself as a defender of the vulnerable featuring a mother of a child with a heart defect. (11/29)
USA Today: Broncos QB Fiasco Shows NFL Needs To Hit Pause To Save Rest Of Season There is determination in the face of adversity and then there is sheer stupidity. Right now, the NFL is going all in on the latter.The Baltimore Ravens put six more players on the reserve-COVID-19 list Saturday and another two Sunday, leaving them with 36 active players. The San Francisco 49ers are homeless after Santa Clara County banned all contact sports for the next three weeks. And the Denver Broncos called up a wide receiver from the practice squad to play quarterback against the New Orleans Saints because they had no others available – yes, you read that right, none – after Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles were found to have had "high-risk" contact with Jeff Driskel, who tested positive for COVID on Thursday.Yet the NFL is continuing to pretend that it's business as usual, insisting that the games be played. (Nancy Armour, 11/28)
Stat: Covid-Caused Health Problems, Deaths Join Football-Related Injuries Our fourth annual Football Injury Highlight Reel is taking a different tack this year. In previous years — 2017, 2018, and 2019 — we surveyed injuries to youth, high school, college, and pro football players, some quite serious and some even career- or life-ending. This year we focus on the effect Covid-19 has had on the game because in 2020 a chief health harm of football at all levels of play hasn't been the physicality of the game itself but the coronavirus. (Lisa Kearns, Kathleen Bachynski and Arthur L. Caplan, 11/26)
Stat: Rethinking Black Friday To Include End-Of-Life Conversations With more than 250,000 Americans killed by Covid-19, it's time to think about reimagining Black Friday... If Black Friday celebrates American consumers spending in order to live well, we could also adopt it as a day to consider what it means to die well. As the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus ostensibly put it, "The art of living well and the art of dying well are one." (L.S. Dugdale, 11/27)
The Undefeated's newsroom has done it again. We've compiled 24 items that could get you through this tough holiday season as you shop for your loved ones. This year has been wild, but the items on this list will surely make the season jollier. Filled with Black-owned brands and the hottest must-haves, our gift guide could mean one less thing to worry about this year.
For the techie in your life, give the gift of clearer pictures and faster internet right at their fingertips. The iPhone just keeps getting better and the iPhone 12 Pro Max is the proof. Starting at $999, the improved portrait mode and night mode makes this a must-have for your socially distanced selfies. The 12 Pro Max leaps from an 8 to 10-bit HD recording, allowing you to capture millions of colors for more lifelike videos. Released on Nov. 13, this is the perfect gift for your loved ones who like to stay on the cutting edge.
For the gaming guru, the PS5 is an easy choice. They've been dropping all the hints and doing extra chores, so go ahead and get your partner or kid the new PlayStation 5 they've been begging for. Sony's fifth console release in 25 years recently dropped and it's caused quite the fuss. Retailing at $499, this highly anticipated system comes with a PS5 gaming console, a dualsense wireless controller, ultra high speed, a USB Type-C to Type-A charging cable and more. Each console is preloaded with a free game to get you going, or you can download NBA 2k21 and pay homage to the late, great Kobe Bryant. To get your hands on one, you might have to wait a while, as they're currently sold out everywhere.
For the fashion-forwards in your life. Queen Bey is back with another apparel collection called "Drip 2." The latest line of activewear, created by Beyonce', has recently dropped and it's flying off the shelves. Her new collection, all under $200, features vibrant colors with catchy names such as Honey Drip and De-Grassy, and her latest, the Black Pack, is a walk on the dark side. A partnership with Adidas, this collection has a plethora of items with inclusive sizing for women and men, and shoes and accessories to match. With styles ranging from sporty to a night on the town, it can easily be your one-stop clothing shop this Christmas.
For the curly girls, these products are the perfect gifts. As if Tracee Ellis Ross hasn't blessed us enough with her roles as Rainbow Johnson on black-ish and Joan Carol Clayton on Girlfriends, she's now provided a natural hair product line for curly girls and guys to enjoy. Whether you have high or low porosity, kinkier coils or loose waves, this hair care line is for everyone. Pattern Beauty has made Christmas shopping simpler by creating the perfect bundle kits starting at $24.
There aren't many places you can find Black-owned, unisex handbags, but the Telfar brand has you covered. Created by Liberian American New Yorker Telfar Clemens, these new, sleek "shopping bags," hats, shirts, shoes and even durags are the gifts you didn't know you needed. Various colors of shopping bags are available, starting at $150, and they sell out quickly so shop today.
For the quarantine cooks. At the Spice Suite, food is fashion, and this spice shop has the perfect gifts to complement your meals and your kitchen! Founded and run by self-proclaimed "Spice Girl" Angel Gregorio, this spice shop was a dream she didn't know she had. The once vacant storefront stood out to her while walking by one day in 2015, and she followed her gut and pursued it. This led Gregorio to a successful shop of hundreds of spices from all over the world, and a small business incubator for minority women. If you're in the Washington area, you can shop for some of the world's most unique spices in person, and if you're anywhere else, you can purchase your own SpiceBox, state-of-the-art utensils, glassware, dinner plates and more online, starting at just $30.
For the fashionable friend, Henry Mask is the choice. Pandemic. Who says you can't be cute during COVID-19? Created by two brothers Patrick Henry and Chase Morgan from Memphis, Tennessee, these chic masks are a great way to keep the men, women and children in your life stylishly safe. With a variety of colors and patterns, you're sure to stand out with these masks, and with their buy one-donate one program, your purchase could help someone on the front lines. With every travel mask purchase, Henry Mask donates a mask to a health care worker or a family in need. A four-pack of these must-have masks is $39.99.
For your favorite HBCU (historically Black college and university) grad, Heritage Hill is a great option. The pandemic put a rain check on homecoming season across the country, but we can still look the part. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris being a Howard University graduate and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. is reminding us that it might be time to show our favorite alums and Divine Nine members a little more love this season, and Heritage Hill can help do just that. Whether they're an alumnus of Florida A&M or Fisk University, a lady of Delta Sigma Theta Inc. or a man of Alpha Phi Alpha, find the perfect paraphernalia here or customize your own, starting at just $20.
For the health-conscious cooks in your life, the air fryer is a must-have. Move over Instant Pot, the air fryer is the new star of the show. Give someone special the gift of prepping their favorite fried foods without all of the oil, grease or guilt. The air fryer works by circulating hot air around your food of choice, creating a crunchy texture without having to deep fry it, thus producing lower calorie meals. This is a great gift for anyone and it doesn't have to break the bank. Available at most retail stores with kitchenware, the air fryer can be found at Walmart for $69.99.
For the bookworm, this is the right choice. Hot off the press! We might have just elected the 46th president of the United States, but we haven't seen the last of the 44th. Released on Nov. 17, A Promised Land is former President Barack Obama's first volume of his presidential memoirs. This vulnerable, intimate page turner details his journey from humble beginnings to the leader of the free world and beyond, and makes the perfect stocking stuffer. Find it here for as low as $23.96.
For the makeup mavens (and amateurs). The Crayon Case is a cruelty-free makeup brand that offers all of your makeup must-haves. Lipsticks, blushes, eye shadows, whatever you need, the Crayon Case has it and in a variety of colors. The nostalgic packaging for these cosmetics takes you back to grade school with their unique cases reminiscent of crayon boxes, No. 2 pencils and more. For the makeup artist, the makeup enthusiast or the makeup novice, this brand has everything a makeup lover wants, with prices starting at $6.
For the naturalista, Melanin Haircare products are the move. Natural hair guru and YouTube star Whitney White, better known as @Naptural85, partnered with her sister Taffeta to create a natural hair care line with healthy hair and scalp as the focus. Naturally luxurious and highly effective are the brand's promises, as it delivers nourished hair from the inside out without the harmful ingredients. These products are paraben, sulfate and silicone-free and work for a variety of textures. If you can't decide on the right product, give the gift of options and purchase a gift card from their website. Products start at just $16.99.
For the beauty girls, The Lip Bar belongs on your list. This vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand is designed to make every girl feel special. Lipsticks, foundation, mascara, find it all here at this one-stop makeup shop. Founded by Melissa Butler while working on Wall Street, the company was birthed due to what she calls a lack of diversity in the beauty industry. These must-have colors have come a long way from Butler's kitchen production and are now featured in Target stores across the country. The Lip Bar has made it super easy to have a professional makeup consultation without leaving the comfort of your own home with their popular Fast Face kits. Shop their many products, starting at just $8.
For the fitness junkie. Maintaining a gym schedule has been a challenge this year. Most gyms were closed for months and many people aren't comfortable returning as some reopen. E.F.F.E.C.T. Fitness has a solution for your friend that needs their fitness fix. Founded by Loucious Dooley, E.F.F.E.C.T. Fitness began with group workouts in a small garage and has morphed into a private gym with hundreds of members. Known for its high-intensity boot camps and colorful playlists, this gym is one of Atlanta's best and it's now available to anyone in the world. For $40, you can purchase the E.F.F.E.C.T. Fitness app for a month of unlimited bootcamp, spin or "keddlesthenics" classes and give the gift of fitness this year.
For your friend that enjoys a good bottle of wine. Black Girl Magic is a movement to celebrate the accomplishments, beauty and resilience of Black women and girls all over the world. It's a mindset, a state of being, and now, it's a nice bottle of wine! The collection is produced by the McBride Sisters, a wine company led by two half siblings Robin and Andrea, oblivious to the other's existence for half of their lives. Fate connected them as teenagers, and they learned that they share a father and later, a passion for winemaking. The Black Girl Magic collection gives reverence to the culture and story of Black women and is intentionally affordable, with each bottle under $25.
For the fragrance fanatic. The Harlem Candle Company is a luxury candle brand that honors the history, vitality and culture of the Harlem Renaissance. Created by lifestyle and travel expert Teri Johnson, the candles each represent her love for fragrance, jazz and Harlem. The collection includes candles that give nods to Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes and others. The fragrances are combinations of rose, jasmine and tobacco notes and more, and transport you right to the 1920s. Purchase an individual candle like the "Holiday" for $45 to set the Christmas mood, or select the Ultimate Candle gift box that includes four 12-ounce candles for your loved ones, on sale now for $180.
For the flavor lovers. Just in time for the holidays, celebrity Chef Huda has released her new premium and gourmet spice line, Just Savor by Chef Huda. The line features more than 20 specially curated spices such as jammin' jerk, turmeric gold, garlic goodness, spicy garlic madness, maple sugar magic and more. As a top Food Network champion and American Heart Association ambassador, Chef Huda also features heart-healthy, salt-free options in her new line. All spices are vegan and gluten-free and contain no artificial additives or preservatives. The spices can be purchased for just $7.99.
For the kids who love the camera. This year has been a tough one for most of us, and kids are no exception. Virtual learning and little-to-no in-person interaction with friends has called for increased screen time for young people everywhere. With the VTech KidiZoom Creator Cam, your little loved ones can enjoy being in front of the camera a little more. This HD video camera, complete with a tripod, built-in microphone and special effects, will help your favorite youngster make memorable videos. Grab it for $59.99 at Target while they last.
For the self-care lover. The woman and Black-owned wellness brand, LumiBloom, has put together the perfect holiday care packages for those of us who need a little more tender love and care this year. LumiBloom carries an array of products for beauty from the inside out, including hair, skin and hygiene care. The carefully curated packages include the "Relax" set for stress and anxiety that includes a sleep CBD tincture, CBD tea, lavender CBD bath bomb and body scrub. There's even a "Stay Well COVID kit" that includes CBD hand sanitizer, CBD immunity capsules and a CBD immunity booster tincture.
Purchase one of Oprah's Favorite Things for one of your favorite people. The socially conscious lifestyle brand, Ubuntu, offers a vast collection of shoes, bags and accessories handmade from Africa. Select one of their unique bracelets starting at just $19 or a pair of their Lamu Mules, which are all under $100. The Kenyan-based brand was established to create opportunities that empower the local community to lift themselves out of poverty and has created thousands of jobs since its founding. These one-of-a-kind items can be found at Whole Foods, Nordstrom and Free People.
For the watch collector. If you're looking to purchase a sleek, stylish timepiece for your loved one that rivals the pricier brands at a fraction of the cost, Talley and Twine is the perfect brand for you. Named after two intersecting streets in Virginia once known for high crime and now for vitality and progress, Talley and Twine exemplifies growth and a brighter future. Whether you select a gold, leather or canvas watch, you'll find the No. 7 on each face, representing completion, and serving as a reminder to always finish what you start. Watches start at $125.
For the handmade jewelry lover. Mombasa is a jewelry and accessory brand that wants to redefine luxury as handmade or hand-touched items. The brand is named after the colorful city in Kenya and has an array of quality jewelry items ranging from multigemstone necklaces to leather bracelets. Mombasa collaborates with artisans from around the world to produce bold statement pieces and continue the cycle of women helping women. The brand's leading ladies, Regbe Surafel and Hanna Wagari, both born in Ethiopia, combine their expertise in art and marketing to make Mombasa a worldwide brand. Browse through a plethora of handmade goodies starting at $30.
For the athlete in the family, Powerhandz has the perfect accessories to level up your workouts. This black and women-owned brand produces weighted, fingerless gloves known as powerfit training gloves, to enhance hand and arm muscle strength during any fitness activity. Anti-grip weighted gloves for increased hand speed and pure grip gloves for resistance training are also among the Texas-based brand's innovative products designed to boost human performance. Used by NFL and NBA players, as well as actors such as the late Chadwick Boseman as he trained for Black Panther, Powerhandz are sure to bring out the power in any athlete. Shop now for products starting at just $15.99.
For the guys who love grooming. If your mister has been on the "nice" list this year, get something just for him from Bevel. Beard oil, body wash, state-of-the-art trimmers, you name it, Bevel has something to make the men in your life a little merrier this year. Complete with a fragrant body wash, body lotion, deodorant and bar soap, the Body Essentials bundle takes away the guesswork and offers a total package for just $23.99. Bevel is a brand by Walker & Company, designed to make health and beauty simpler for people of color.
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday the state would give notice to the federal government that it plans to borrow $2 billion from a federal program created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to fill the state's budget deficit.
That figure is less than the $5 billion in short-term borrowing authorized by the Illinois General Assembly in May when it passed legislation allowing the state to tap into the Federal Reserve's Municipal Liquidity Facility program. The program permits the central bank to buy the debt of state and local governments that are in need of funds.
Pritzker said the $2 billion will be used to cover revenue losses and unforeseen COVID-19 expenses for this current fiscal year.
The state previously borrowed $1.2 billion from the Fed's MLF program to cover losses from the last quarter of the previous fiscal year, and is the only state that has borrowed from the MLF thus far.
The state has paid $200 million toward the first $1.2 billion federal loan, according to Pritzker's spokesperson. The interest rate incurred on the $1.2 billion loan was 3.82 percent.
Since the announcement Wednesday was only for a notice of intent, the interest rate on the $2 billion would not be known until the actual sale is finalized. As of Nov. 23, the website for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a sample rate of roughly 3.37-3.41 percent for municipalities with Illinois' investment grade, which is one notch above what is referred to as "junk status."
"Although the General Assembly authorized as much as $5 billion of borrowing from the Federal Reserve, I am very reluctant to saddle our state with that large amount of short term debt. I believe it would be irresponsible to borrow that entire amount, given the persistent fiscal pain it would cause over the next three years, as we would struggle to repay that entire amount," he said Wednesday. "Our collective intention is to repay this line of credit as early as possible, after either the awarding of stimulus by Congress or a sufficient recovery of state revenues."
Pritzker said the goal of the short term borrowing is to continue managing the state's massive bill backlog, which has reached more than $7 billion as of Wednesday, according to the Illinois Comptroller's Office.
The governor's comments on the state's financial situation came during his daily COVID-19 briefing, which he and members of his administration delivered remotely on Wednesday as they have each day this week.
Pritzker also used the briefing to urge Illinoisans to stay home on Thanksgiving, if possible, avoid large gatherings, and wear masks.
"The safest thing we can do for one another, is stay within our own household. But if you are gathering with others, outside your own home, please do it with just a few people. And importantly, this is not the year to have everybody over at grandma's house," he said. "Every day that we take action to stop the spread gets us one day closer to widespread distribution of the vaccines, with fewer lives lost along the way. Just as importantly, every day we throw caution to the wind, even if it's a holiday, is a day we backtrack on any progress that we've made for our health care workers, many of whom don't get to see their families on holidays."
On Wednesday, IDPH reported 11,378 new confirmed and probable cases of the disease, and an additional 155 deaths since Tuesday, bringing the statewide total death count to 11,832.
As of late Tuesday night there were 6,133 people in the state hospitalized for COVID-19. Of those hospitalized, 1,208 were in intensive care units, and 679 were on ventilators, which are both second-wave highs.
Instead of shopping at stores on the day after Thanksgiving for Black Friday, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said residents should shop online.
"While it will look different and perhaps not at all how we want to, try to make this upcoming holiday season one of cheer, and not one of fear for more COVID-19 illnesses and life loss that could have been prevented," Ezike said.
Can you solve these real 'Jeopardy!' clues about holidays?
Can you solve these real 'Jeopardy!' clues about holidays?
You may notice that holiday decorations are showing up around department stores, and the Christmas tree pop-up shops are beginning to line sidewalks. That must mean we're approaching the holiday season, but as everyone's favorite quiz show proves, fun and festive holidays go way beyond the season of mistletoe and Santa Claus. There are federal holidays (which everyone loves for the day off of work—except maybe essential workers), religious holidays (with delicious cuisines and days of prayer), and patriotic holidays replete with fireworks and parades no matter where they're celebrated.
Stacker scoured through "Jeopardy!" archives, the online archive of "Jeopardy!" clues, to create a quiz of 25 questions about holidays. Using primary news sources and government reports, Stacker's quiz includes holidays from around the world and explains the origins, traditions, and pop culture references associated with these events. Each "clue" slide includes the clue, category, value, and date the episode aired, followed by the answer (in traditional "Jeopardy" format). All clues are from November 2020 or before.
Do you know which football teams dating back to the 1960s have been regular combatants on Thanksgiving Day? What about the violent history of a certain holiday associated with Cupid, chocolates, and cards? This quiz explains all of the above as well as the Vietnamese traditions on Lunar New Year, the symbols and traditions associated with Kwanzaa, and the rich and important history of Juneteenth.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans will be staying at home this holiday season, but that shouldn't diminish the importance of reflection and fun when celebrating in the coming months. For starters, try out this quiz and see if you can top your friends, family, and co-workers on your knowledge of holidays. Who knows? Perhaps a tryout on the actual "Jeopardy!" game show could come under the tree.
- Clue: One of the two NFL teams that traditionally hold games on Thanksgiving Day.
- Category: THANKSGIVING
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: Nov. 23, 2010
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #1: Who are the Detroit Lions (or the Dallas Cowboys)?
The Cowboys began their tradition of playing on Turkey Day in 1966, but the Lions have hosted Thanksgiving games since the 1930s. The American Football League also held Thanksgiving games, but beginning in 1970, Detroit and Dallas became the only two annual hosts. That changed in 2006 when the NFL added a third Thanksgiving game.
Leon Halip // Getty Images
Clue #2
- Clue: In March 1762, the first recorded parade of this type was held in New York City by Irish soldiers serving in the British army.
- Category: AMERICAN HISTORY
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: June 16, 2016
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #2: What is St. Patrick's Day?
The modern parade route heads up 5th Avenue between 44th Street and 79th Street in midtown Manhattan; author Mary Higgins Clark once served as grand marshal of the parade. The parade is known for revelry and drawing in tourists who engage in copious amounts of alcohol consumption ("The Simpsons" once mocked St. Patrick's Day in an episode about prohibition). John Mayer wrote a less rowdy themed song called "St. Patrick's Day."
Anadolu Agency // Getty Images
Clue #3
- Clue: Will Smith starred in this film as a Marine fighter pilot helping humanity fight off an alien invasion.
"Independence Day" was actually released on July 3, 1996, but the film still went on to become a box office hit, grossing over $800 million worldwide. The holiday synonymous with fireworks and hot dogs commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by the Continental Congress.
Twentieth Century Fox
Answer #4: What is Labor Day?
Not wearing white after Labor Day is a dated tradition emanating from elitists. However, Labor Day remains one of the last times northeast beachgoers can wear bathing suits, as the holiday signals the unofficial end of summer.
Allen J. Schaben // Getty Images
Clue #5
- Clue: The first of these Sundays was Jan. 15, 1967; the XXXIIIrd was Jan. 31, 1999.
- Category: DAYS OF OUR LIVES
- Value: $600
- Date episode aired: June 25, 1999
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Clue #7
- Clue: Commemorating an event from 1777, June 14 is this holiday.
- Category: CHECK YOUR CALENDAR
- Value: $1000
- Date episode aired: June 1, 2020
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #7: What is Flag Day?
Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Flag Day a holiday in 1916, although congressional legislation made it official in 1949. A Wisconsin school teacher is often credited with the idea of creating a Flag Day holiday, way back in 1885.
Pixabay
Answer #8: What is 'Love, Actually'?
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, and Hugh Grant are just a few of the stars in this ensemble romantic comedy that has become a holiday favorite. In 2017, much of the cast reunited for a short film to celebrate Red Nose Day, which has become a popular British holiday that raises funds for underserved communities. Besides snuggling up near a fireplace on watching a holiday film, other cultures celebrate Christmas Eve by lighting fireworks or performing comedy sketches in costume.
Universal Pictures
Answer #15: Who is Adam Sandler?
Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song" led to three follow-up versions, but the original is best known for its references to Ebenezer Scrooge, Rod Carew, and Tom Cruise's agent. In 2002, Sandler created an animated film about Chanukah, titled "Eight Crazy Nights."
- Clue: Bastille Day, Parents' Day, and Nelson Mandela Day are all observed during this month.
- Category: CHECK YOUR CALENDAR
- Value: $600
- Date episode aired: June 1, 2020
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #16: What is July?
Bastille Day is a French national holiday, celebrating the storming of the Bastille fortress in the opening moments of the French Revolution. Parents' Day is every fourth Sunday in July, and Nelson Mandela Day honors the birthday of the South African politician and civil rights advocate.
Noyna Nanoy // Shutterstock
Clue #17
- Clue: The Asian Lunar New Year also has this palindromic three-letter name.
- Category: YEARLY BELOVED
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: June 21, 2018
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #17: What is Tet?
Tet is the name for the Lunar New Year in Vietnam, and much like other celebrations, is steeped in family time, hearty meals, and parades. In New York, an annual New Year parade in Chinatown draws revelers from around the country, as dancers, dragons, and bands enliven the neighborhood's historic streets. In South Korea, Lunar New Year is a time of mass travel, similar to Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States.
Linh Pham // Getty Images
Clue #18
- Clue: In 1966, Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies, gave the world this celebration.
Kwanzaa is modeled after African harvest celebrations—the name of the holiday is Swahili for "first fruits." Red, black, and green, and the number seven are important symbols of the holiday, which begins on Dec. 26.
David Cooper // Getty Images
Clue #19
- Clue: If Dec. 26 falls on a weekend, the public observance of this event in Britain takes place on the following Monday.
- Category: THERE'LL ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND
- Value: $2000
- Date episode aired: Oct. 11, 2017
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #19: What is Boxing Day?
Another Dec. 26 holiday, Boxing Day, is celebrated throughout Great Britain and Canada. A noted shopping holiday, Boxing Day is also known in sporting circles for its annual slate of Premier League football (soccer) matches.
NIKLAS HALLE'N // Getty Images
Clue #20
- Clue: The month of Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr, meaning the breaking of this.
- Category: WORLD HOLIDAYS
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: March 21, 2016
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #20: What is the fast?
Eid al-Fitr normally lasts three days and includes prayers, family gatherings, and gifts to children. Various desserts are commonly served at feasts, including cakes and puddings.
- Clue: June 19: It's this portmanteau holiday also called Emancipation Day.
- Category: ON THE CALENDAR
- Value: $1600
- Date episode aired: May 2, 2019
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #21: What is Juneteenth?
On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, discovered they were free. Last summer, amid a series of violent attacks against unarmed Black citizens, Juneteenth rose in awareness throughout America. For decades, though, Black Americans have celebrated the holiday with parades, feasts, and calls for social justice.
OLIVIER DOULIERY // Getty Images
Clue #22
- Clue: On July 1, our neighbor to the north celebrates this national holiday.
- Category: OTHER JULY OBSERVANCES
- Value: $600
- Date episode aired: July 15, 2013
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #22: What is Canada Day?
Much like America's Independence Day three days later, Canada Day is full of parades and fireworks throughout the Great White North. July 1 is also a prominent day for immigrants to become Canadian citizens.
Hannamariah // Shutterstock
Clue #23
- Clue: May Day grew out of a festival that celebrated this Roman goddess of flowers and spring.
In Ancient Roman times, the Festival of Flora lasted about six days, honoring the goddess of fertility, flowers, and spring. Maypole dancers and the crowning of a May queen are tentpoles of May Day festivals. May Day is also a term for International Labor Day, which is prominent in Russia.
Maria Letizia Avato // Shutterstock
Clue #24
- Clue: This eight-day observance celebrates the liberation of Jews from Egyptian bondage.
- Category: ANNUAL EVENTS
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: July 3, 1997
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #24: What is Passover?
During Passover, observant Jews don't eat leavened bread but choose to eat matzoh. During seder dinners, children search for the afikomen, a piece of matzoh, which if found, can be exchanged for money or prizes.
The Washington Post // Getty Images
Clue #25
- Clue: In southern Asia, this "Festival of Lights" is celebrated by Jains, Sikhs, and Hindus alike.
- Category: INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES
- Value: $2000
- Date episode aired: March 6, 2018
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #25: What is Diwali?
The lights of Diwali symbolize a triumph over evil and darkness. Temple visits and large family meals are staples of Diwali, while streets and shops are decorated with oil lamps called diyas. Many families clean their homes in anticipation of a visit from Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
- Clue: Time magazine published a 2009 article about why it's uncouth to wear white after this holiday.
- Category: FAUX PAS
- Value: $200
- Date episode aired: Jan. 4, 2018
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #5: What is Super Bowl Sunday?
Long considered an "unofficial holiday," Super Bowl Sunday has become a day for huge parties, as crowds gather to watch the NFL crown its champion. Some have called for the day after the Super Bowl to become an official holiday (large amounts of alcohol consumed may be part of the reasoning). Day off or not, over 100 million Americans are bound to discuss the big game on the Monday following the Super Bowl.
- Clue: The 1929 massacre of seven of Bugs Moran's guys: this day.
- Category: CRIME TIME
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: Nov. 27, 2017
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #6: What is Valentine's Day?
Members of a gang helmed by Al Capone are suspected of having carried out the execution of Moran's North Side Gang members, in what became known as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre." World Wrestling Entertainment once held an event with the same name, but Valentine's Day is generally associated with love, chocolates, and cheesy cards.
Pixabay
Clue #8
- Clue: You've gotta "love" the Christmas Eve scene in this movie where Andrew Lincoln declares his love to Keira Knightley.
- Clue: A holiday in Puerto Rico commemorating the visit of the Magi isn't Three Magi Day but Three this Day.
- Category: ANNUAL EVENTS
- Value: $2000
- Date episode aired: April 28, 2017
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #9: What is Kings?
Three Kings Day celebrates when the three wise men visited baby Jesus on the Feast of the Epiphany. The holiday is widely followed in Latin America, where kids place their shoes outside to receive gifts.
Franco Origlia // Getty Images
Clue #10
- Clue: In 1999, New Hampshire was the last state to make this January event a paid state holiday.
- Category: HOLIDAYS
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: May 6, 2016
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #10: What is Martin Luther King Day?
Celebrated on the third Monday of January, MLK Day honors one of the civil rights movement's most important leaders. In 1968, legislation was introduced to honor King's birthday of Jan. 15 as a federal holiday, and support grew throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington D.C. is a popular site on MLK Day.
- Clue: Tree City USA is a designation presented to qualifying cities from a foundation devoted to this holiday.
- Category: EVERY YEAR
- Value: $2000
- Date episode aired: July 22, 2014
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #11: What is Arbor Day?
Arbor Day's roots begin in Nebraska, back in 1872. Now, Australia, Bulgaria, South Korea, and South Africa are among the dozens of countries that celebrate Arbor Day, albeit on different dates.
Roman_studio // Shutterstock
Clue #12
- Clue: Thanksgiving is followed by Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and this weekday named for a certain way to shop.
- Category: HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: Oct. 14, 2020
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #12: What is Cyber Monday?
CNET says that Cyber Monday began in 2005, as more consumers began gravitating to online shopping. Because of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, many retailers are advertising the kind of deals you'd find on Black Friday and Cyber Monday throughout November.
Dean Drobot // Shutterstock
Clue #13
- Clue: In "Groundhog Day," Bill Murray has this job; that's why he comes to see the groundhog.
"Groundhog Day" was released in theaters in 1993, but the first American Groundhog Day holiday was in 1887. The holiday has European origins but is most popular for events in Pennsylvania. Legend claims that if a groundhog sees its shadow on Feb. 2, six more weeks of winter ensue.
Columbia Pictures
Clue #14
- Clue: This religious observance is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.
- Category: ABOUT TIME
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: Jan. 29, 2015
Amanda Edwards // Getty Images
Answer #14: What is Easter?
In religious circles, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, but the holiday has evolved into a kid-centric celebration in many areas. The Easter bunny has Pagan ancestry, while egg decorating was a pastime of Ancient Greeks and Persians.
Pixabay
Clue #15
- Clue: "Put on your yarmulke. It's time for Chanukah" is a line from his "Chanukah Song."
Vacations might have been delayed during the spring and summer due to stay-at-home orders and concern over the coronavirus pandemic. But some people are making plans to travel later this year for a change of scenery and to take advantage of deals in high-demand locales, according to research conducted by the vacation rental online marketplace Vrbo.
Working remotely and home schooling grant people flexible schedules to get away in the late summer and fall, sometimes staying away longer than usual, according to Vrbo.
The travel trend has a name: Flexcation.
"This summer, we've seen countless families switch to road trips and rent private vacation homes instead of taking traditional vacations," said Vrbo president Jeff Hurst in a news release.
He said families that travel outside of peak seasons can try new experiences, "like seeing the mountain leaves change, catching the first snow of the season or visiting the beach when it isn't as hot."
Here are unique Oregon getaways listed on Vrbo, but Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Vacasa and other online travel platforms can be searched for the perfect place to escape.
Forrest Lodge-Luxury on 3 Acres-Hot TubVrbo
Forrest Lodge in Mount Hood: The 4,200-square-foot, A-frame house, set among old-growth trees on three acres of land with groomed trails, has large windows to frame the scenic views. There is a hand-built, stone chimney fireplace, two lofts, a gourmet kitchen plus a hot tub and sauna.
Details:
• Accommodates 12 guests
• Four bedrooms
• Three bathrooms
• Around $425 a night on average, depending on travel dates
Cozy, oceanfront, dog-friendly yurt with private hot tubVrbo
Cozy, dog-friendly yurt near Tillamook: The 525-square-foot yurt on the edge of the water in Bay City offers an opportunity for glamping (glamorous camping) on the Oregon coast. Sleep underneath the clear dome ceiling and enjoy 180-degree views from other vantage points.
Picnic at the outside table, relax near the fire pit or bring a fishing boat.
In the surrounding area, recreation opportunities include an 18-hole golf course, the Tillamook Creamery, Tillamook Air Museum, Cape Meares Loop with its historic lighthouse, the famous Octopus Tree as well as the sandy beaches and hiking.
Details:
• Accommodates four guests
• One bedroom
• One bathroom
• Around $131 a night on average, depending on travel dates
China Mountain House | a Premier Vacation HomeVrbo
China Mountain House in Port Orford: The property is on a secluded bluff with opportunities to explore the surrounding coastline, raft or fish in rivers and golf at one of the world-renowned courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, 30 minutes to the north.
The house has 12-foot-high ceilings and glass walls facing the ocean plus a home theater system with a 14-foot by 10-foot movie screen and extensive film library.
Special offer: Receive a free night with a week long stay.
Details:
• Accommodates four guests
• Two bedrooms
• 1.5 bathrooms
• Around $375 a night on average, depending on travel dates
Unique Oceanfront Octagon 3BR w/ Private Hot Tub, Fire Pit & Beach AccessVrbo
Oceanfront octagon home in Waldport: The eight-sided house has vaulted wood ceilings, hardwood floors and a stone fireplace. There are expansive views of the rugged Oregon coastline from inside the house or from the patio, which is equipped with a private hot tub and fire pit.
Stairs lead directly to the sand where you can enjoy 60 feet of prime beach frontage and spend the day whale watching, crabbing or kayaking. The area also has a scenic golf course, antique shops and seafood restaurants.
Details:
• Accommodates seven guests
• Three bedrooms
• 1.5 bathrooms
• Around $240 a night on average, depending on travel dates
Ocean Views, Quiet, Unique Artistry, Beach Access, Hot TubVrbo
Ocean views and artistry home near Cannon Beach: The Mermaid House in Arch Cape, about 70 miles west of Portland, has upper and lower viewing decks and grants easy access to the beach along a nature trail.
Writers have stayed here for weeks to focus on their craft, and families and artists have come to the Mermaid to refresh, relax and reflect, according to the owners.
When the tide is out, wander north around sandstone outcroppings to Hug Point and Arcadia Beach or all the way to Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach. Wander south around the Cape and you will find the arches for which Arch Cape is named and tide pools.
Fine dining and shopping are minutes away in Cannon Beach to the north and Manzanita to the south.
Details:
• Accommodates six guests
• Two bedrooms
• Two bathrooms
• Around $175 a night on average, depending on travel dates
Rustic Ranch - Fish. Relax. Hike. Hunt. Reunions. Dog Friendly.Vrbo
Rustic Ranch to fish, relax, hike or hunt in Huntington: The original Ranch House is set in a historic cattle ranch owned by a family since the 1940s. The acreage, along the Burnt River and near the Snake River, has no city lights, granting clear views of stars.
Details:
• Accommodates 10 guests
• Three bedrooms
• Three bathrooms
• Around $205 a night on average, depending on travel dates
Unique Floating Home that is Quiet, Romantic and Fun in Portland.Vrbo
Unique floating home in Portland: The recently remodeled Flamingo House is a cozy, fun and peaceful escape from the ordinary but close to downtown Portland, say the owners.
Bring your own kayak or paddle board — or rent one — and explore the Columbia River while seeing ospreys, ducks and geese.
Details:
• Accommodates four guests
• One bedroom
• One bathroom
• Around $175 a night on average, depending on travel dates
Stunning lighthouse replica home with ocean views, steps from the beach in Newport.Vrbo
Stunning lighthouse-replica home near Newport: The Lighthouse at Starfish Cove has the same floor plan and exterior as the old Yaquina Bay lighthouse, but with a chic interior and modern comforts.
The beach is in the backyard and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is directly to the south, making it easy to explore the great outdoors.
Details:
• Accommodates six guests
• Three bedrooms
• 1.5 bathrooms
• Around $268 a night on average, depending on travel dates
MidCentury Modern in the Redwoods in Eureka:Airbnb
Work from someone else's Oregon home: Book an office getaway: Are you craving a change of working-from-home scenery? Consider this: People are booking a larger place or one in an interesting location where they can spread out, use the desks and WiFi, and when work is done, they can leisurely explore a new neighborhood.
It's also a good way to try out a city if you're thinking about relocating.
For this getaway gallery, we searched for unique listings in Oregon, or right over the border in California, that are perfect for remote work.
GRONK - Ford E350 4x4 SportsmobileOutdoorsy
Rent an Oregon RV: Escape to nature with a roomy RV, sleek Airstream or colorful camper van: Oregon is loaded with picturesque, pothole-free country roads that lead to waterfalls and other scenic spots. If you feel like traveling, but not in a plane or staying at hotels, you might want to rent a self-contained, roomy RV, sleek Airstream or colorful camper van for a weekend or longer.
Outdoorsy, an online rental marketplace, connects recreational vehicle owners with people who'd like to use them.
Class As, vintage Airstreams and kitschy camper vans are outfitted with bedding, kitchenware and camp equipment. Some owners add 120v outlets and USB ports for charging phones and laptops, and goodies, like Brew Dr. Kombucha, Field Trip Jerky and Grizzlies Granola.
The Pine Grove School house in Manzanita: The completely remodeled Pine Grove School house in Manzanita can be rented as a vacation stay. There are nine bedrooms, five bathrooms.Amy Graves
The one-acre property, 12 blocks from the beach, is owned by a longtime Portland family that has been visiting Manzanita and Oswald West State Park since the 1970s.
The landscaped grounds of the Manzanita Schoolhouse have a lake view and plenty of lawn to space out safely and play croquet, badminton, bocce ball. Toss a softball or fly kites. Or just sit in the gazebo or around the fire pit. You can also barbecue under the stars on the three grills.
The best of Oregon's oddball vacation getaways: Treehouses, RVs, yachts: You might not be able to take a vacation now, but you can dream of one and even make plans. To inspire you, we're selected a list of the best of Oregon's oddball vacation getaways, from treehouses and a fire lookout tower to sleek Airstreams and colorful camper vans.
Lookout tower near the Umpqua National Forest: The elevated home, modeled after fire lookout towers built by the U.S. Forest Service in the early 1900s, rises three stories from a meadow on 160 acres of private land surrounded by the Umpqua National Forest.Airbnb
10 tempting, crazy Oregon getaways when you're ready to get out there: Oregon has an amazing collection of eclectic places to stay, from the coast to the Wallowa Mountains, tiny Tiller to populated Portland, a beach cottage to a cabin. And then there are some weird rentals in alluring locations.
The landmark Salishan Resort on 250 forested acres in Gleneden Beach, has upscale guest rooms with views plus activities. from golf to tennis, spa and indoor pool and even an aerial adventure course.Salishan Resort
Are you ready to relax and only hear the sounds of ocean waves, rustling leaves or birds?
Lakefront, dog-friendly home with private dock and deck:Vacasa/Airbnb
Get away to an Oregon vacation home with a dock: Make a splash with the whole family: A dock is one of those wonderful, in-between spaces that links one surface, land, to another, water. There's really no need for a boat. You can enjoy the wooden platform just because it lets you look out and it sways a bit, as if you're dancing without any effort.
In this getaway guide, we look at docks connected to an Oregon vacation home large enough to invite the whole family, when you're ready to travel again.
Tomahawk Island houseboat: Linger on the deck while docked at the marina on Hayden Island and take in the Columbia River or use the two kayaks and set out on an adventure.Airbnb
The GetMyBoat app lets you search for boat rentals, fishing charters or other water experiences in a desired location by price, type of experience and number of guests.
In this week's vacation getaway roundup, we look at cabins of all kinds, from a classic A-frame in a forest to a modern dwelling in the desert.
Rustic or luxury? Cozy or expansive? It's up to you to decide: Are you dreaming of a romantic escape or group reunion?
A solar-powered cabin on 20 acres of private woodlands 10 miles from Milo McIver State Park near Estacada and 16 miles away from the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Washington.Sweat Relief/Hipcamp
If you truly want an experience that's unlike the place you lay your head, check out Oregon's wacky, funky, adorable lodging, from a Swiss Family Robinson luxury tree resort to an off-the-grid yurt.
How about sleeping in a teepee on a yak ranch in Bend?
In this home stay gallery, we check out 10 oddball abodes that you can check into.
Are you ready to escape to a scenic spot near mineral hot springs?Hipcamp
Relax in a pool bubbling with geothermal energy, but play it safe by staying hydrated, cooling down and avoiding alcohol and drugs.
In this getaway gallery, we look at places to soak in nature here and beyond state boundaries. The vacation stays may be a long scenic drive away from a hidden hot springs, but that's part of the adventure.
2019 Lightweight Aero teardrop trailer sleeps two ($65 a night, based in Sherwood) through OutdoorsyOutdoorsy
In this week's getaway roundup, we look at 10 vacation rentals, near and far, designed to elevate your point of view.
These modern dwellings in mostly remote forests are perfect perches for birdwatchers and nature lovers, but they're not always easy to reach. They're rustic and may offer waterfront views but not indoor running water.
Since then, Madipalli, who heads Airbnb's accessibility team, has refined the homestay rental company's search filters to help people with disabilities and their families find places that can be easily enjoyed without steps or stairs, and other accommodations.
"No two people with a disability are the same, so we offer 27 accessibility filters for a spectrum of needs, and we're working on more," says Madipalli.
While the neighbors have settled in for the long haul, with year-long contracts and a key to a mailbox, short-timers are using lockboxes or concierge desks to check in for day or two.
The fee for a furnished apartment, which can be $80 to more than $1,000 a night, includes a fully equipped kitchen, washer and dryer, and housekeeping services.
Online travel agencies comply with permits, pay lodging taxes and in some buildings, contact customers disturbing the peace.
A study released Wednesday found that Bend has 1,658 Airbnb listings per 50,000 people, which vaults the city on the Deschutes River to the fourth most saturated vacation rental market among more than 750 U.S. cities, according to IPX1031, an investment property exchange service.
The reasons? Travelers like to be around nature and big events, says the lodging company. Green-thinking Eugene has both hiking trails and the University of Oregon's constant activities.
In addition to hotels and B&B, Cannon Beach visitors can check into a cottage or condo, wrapped in classic cedar shingles and equipped with a kitchenette and patio, that's operated by hospitality professionals as well as homeowners with space to spare.
Airbnb's research found visitors book their Cannon Beach getaway at least two months before their trip. Nightly rentals are restricted and people devoted to special events like the crowd-pleasing Sandcastle Contest and hilarious corgi run race to reserve a place.
Blue Moon House & Cottage ~ Just 5 Blocks from OSF
Here are 10 luxury home rentals that cost more for one day than most people's monthly housing expenses. Still, there's something appealing about looking at perfect scenery from a secluded perch surrounded by nature and deluxe perks (yes, a butler).
In time for holiday giving – or making plans for a wedding or family reunion – we spotlight off-the-charts, Neiman Marcus fantasy gift level of getaways to rent, in Oregon and once-in-a-lifetime, fabulous destinations.
The Eagles Nest is a tepee with two queen beds and a private soaking tub, available at Crystal Crane Hot Springs near Burns in southeast Oregon.Crystal Crane Hot Springs
If you're too relaxed to leave a cedar tub bubbling with mineral water from natural hot springs ($15 an hour) or the soothing, 101-degree pool ($10 for four hours), stay overnight inside a rustic room or tepee, or set up a tent or park your RV at one of the campsites.
Perhaps you'd like to explore beyond the remote resort? The slow winter season in southeast Oregon's high desert will allow time to learn about the area's fascinating prehistoric history and other places to soak.
Vacation getaways: Yachts, yurts and other unusual Oregon home rentals: To celebrate a seriously special occasion, you can charter the Disco Volante, a 45-foot yacht with three levels of luxury. We're talking swim platforms and sun pads, and a ban on red wine and orange Cheetos to protect the pricey teak and tan finishes.
10 glamorous historic mansions and homes for rent: Are you curious about what luxury looked like a century ago and how it feels today? In this week's home stay getaway gallery, we peek into 10 historic mansions and homes that you can rent for a day or longer.
On March 12, the day after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, Sery Kim, a lawyer in Coppell, Texas, noticed that the number of American Airlines AAdvantage miles needed to book a May flight to Barbados she had been eyeing dropped from 130,000 to 30,000 — a decrease of nearly 77 percent.
Thus set off a four-day hunt for future trips. In addition to Barbados, Ms. Kim purchased six round-trip Southwest Airlines tickets, starting later in March, to Washington, D.C., where she keeps an apartment for work. She paid $99 apiece for flights that normally cost upward of $183, with dates extending into September. She spent $93 on a late-April flight to Miami that usually costs around $330. Then she booked a safari vacation in July for about $900 round trip to Cape Town — about half what she paid for a South Africa flight in 2016.
Ms. Kim, 41, was indulging in what might be called flight arbitrage. Inexpensive airfare deals abound currently; couple those with newly relaxed airline change and cancellation policies and some travelers are seeing little-to-no risk in pointing, clicking and purchasing. They are betting that things will have improved enough to travel, and if they haven't, they can roll their money forward into an even later trip.
"There's an arbitrage opportunity that has never really existed in modern air travel," said Scott Keyes, founder of Scott's Cheap Flights, an online alert service with more than two million members. "Not only are fares super low, but to be able to cancel if you decide not to take the trip is rare. And there are absolutely people taking advantage of it — not in a pejorative sense, but literally by booking flights for when hopefully, fingers crossed, things are safer."
To proceed cautiously amid travel advisories and border closures, Scott's Cheap Flights is only promoting deals from July onward, and only for airlines waiving change and cancellation fees.
After her April tour through Japan was canceled, with all of her payments successfully recouped, Karen Burrows, a 56-year-old health care worker, used Scott's Cheap Flights to purchase a $282 round-trip flight from New York City to Athens, Greece, departing in September.
"It's a comfort — a consolation prize — and a way to look forward to something else after the disappointment of Japan," said Ms. Burrows, who lives in Feura Bush, N.Y. "I'll probably wait until August, and if it's not looking like things are going to be healthy, I'll make changes with the airline. I wouldn't make any nonrefundable accommodations at this point, either."
September prices for Athens flights from New York City often cost upward of $1,000. But Ms. Burrows has another reference point: Two years ago, she paid $446 for a flight to Athens from Newark, N.J. — another Scott's Cheap Flights find.
"The comparison of real prices today versus reference prices that consumers have in their memories — ones they may even be unaware that they hold — is leading to this kind of purchase behavior," said Priya Raghubir, a New York University Stern School of Business professor who studies consumer psychology and spending.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Rina Baraz Nehdar, the editor in chief of the website L.A. Family Travel, had been watching round-trip flights from Los Angeles to Rome; August fares hovered around $900 apiece. In early March, she found $400 flights on Ovago, an online travel agency.
"Our trip isn't scheduled until August so I pray we still get to go, and if so, I'm stoked about our great bargain. Since we can only travel during the time school is out, we typically have to pay premium prices. This was a nice relief for us," said Ms. Baraz Nehdar, 45.
Cheap summer flights like the ones Ms. Baraz Nehdar found are expressly attributable to the coronavirus, said Mr. Keyes, of Scott's Cheap Flights. Even though air travel has become generally less expensive in the last 40 years, summer has remained a much-sought-after — and therefore pricey — time to fly.
And with airlines poised to burn through $61 billion of their cash reserves during the second quarter of this year, according to a recent analysis by the International Air Transport Association, having customers on the books — even if they eventually cancel — is a strategic move.
"Selling cheaper tickets for future travel is a good way for airlines to generate sales activity and also start restoring consumer confidence for future travel, which gets shaken badly in events like this," said Khalid Usman, senior vice president at Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm.
Although inexpensive airfare affects yield — the average fare per passenger per mile — it also helps drum up demand. According to new data from Hopper, a travel-booking app that analyzes and predicts flight prices, round-trip domestic airfare is down about 41 percent from last year and 44 percent from 2018.
Hayley Berg, Hopper's economist, has seen demand shift to the latter half of the year; demand for international travel doesn't pick up again until August. Skyscanner, a travel-deals website and app, saw a slight uptick in flight bookings in the last week of March (compared to earlier in the month) for departures in August, September and October.
But hopeful travelers looking to take advantage of what is effectively a buyers' market should still know what they're getting into.
"While governments around the world are planning to provide support to airlines financially, some element of financial risk for travelers remains, such as airlines canceling flights or, in the worst case scenario, airlines going out of business," Mr. Usman said.
According to a policy that was reiterated by the Department of Transportation in early April, passengers are entitled to cash refunds if their flight is canceled (or substantially changed) for reasons relating to the coronavirus. Facing travel advisories and decreased demand, many airlines have already significantly reduced their service.
But passengers who voluntarily cancel may have little choice but to accept a voucher, which might not cover the cost of a more expensive ticket down the line and often expires 12 months after the original booking date.
That's why some experienced travelers, like Nelson Yuan, a Hong Kong–based investment strategist who flew around 300,000 miles last year for business, haven't gone beyond window-shopping.
"Cash is fungible. At this point, many airlines are effectively not giving refunds despite their stated policies; they're short on cash so they're pushing credits," said Mr. Yuan, 37. "In that case you're basically giving them a short-term loan."
Ms. Kim was forced to cancel her Miami trip (without penalty) because the hotel she had hoped to book is closed. But despite the widespread stay-at-home orders and quarantine-on-arrival advisories, including in Barbados and South Africa, she remains undeterred about her other plans.
"Unless the airlines cancel the flights, I'm planning on going," she said.
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