The latest COVID-19 news in Boston, Mass., New England, and beyond
How patchy COVID data hampered the pandemic response — 9:04 a.m.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control reported more than half a million new positive cases of COVID, a daily figure that serves as a crucial barometer for a nation muddling its way through the Omicron wave.
But the actual number of new infections, which may well be higher, is a mystery — just like the overall number of people who have been infected so far.
Two years after COVID began spreading in this country, the United States is operating with patchy and incomplete data about the virus, a problem experts say has hampered the response to one variant after another and leaves the country just as vulnerable to the next one.
Virus infections for Olympic athletes, coaches rising faster — 5:57 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Athletes and team officials are testing positive for COVID-19 at much higher rates than other people arriving in China for the Beijing Olympics, organizers said Tuesday.
Figures released by local organizers showed 16 of 379 athletes and officials who arrived Monday tested positive for COVID-19. They have been taken into isolation hotels to limit the spread of the infection and could miss their events.
The positive test rate of 4.2% for athletes and officials compared to 0.66% for Olympic “stakeholders,” a group which includes workers and media. Only seven of 1,059 people in that category arriving at Beijing were positive in similar tests Monday.
The rates were confirmed in PCR and other follow-up tests for tens of thousands of people at the Beijing Olympics who will live, work and train in closed-off communities separated from the general public. The Chinese government is pursuing a zero-tolerance public health strategy.
On Monday, the rate of infection from tests of those already inside the Olympic bubbles was 100 times higher for athletes and officials compared to workers. Five of 3,103 tests from the athletes-officials group were positive compared to only one of more than 60,000 daily tests from “stakeholders.”
A total of 200 positive tests for COVID-19 have now been recorded at the Olympics since Jan. 23. Of those 200, 67 were athletes and officials. “Stakeholders” accounted for the other 133.
Denmark ends most COVID-19 restrictions — 4:10 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Denmark on Tuesday became one of the first European Union countries to scrap most pandemic restrictions as the Scandinavian country no longer considers the COVID-19 outbreak “a socially critical disease.”
The reason for that is that while the omicron variant is surging in Denmark, it’s not placing a heavy burden on the health system and the country has a high vaccination rate, officials have said.
Denmark has in recent weeks seen more than 50,000 daily cases on average while the number of people in hospital intensive care units has dropped.
The most visible restriction disappearing is the wearing of face masks, which are no longer mandatory on public transportation, shops and for standing clients in restaurant indoor areas. Authorities only recommend mask use in hospitals, health care facilities and nursing homes.
Another restriction that no longer is required is the digital pass used to enter nightclubs, cafes, party buses and to be seated indoors in restaurants.
“I dare not say that it is a final goodbye to restrictions. We do not know what will happen to the fall. Whether there will be a new variant,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish radio.
Health authorities urged Danes to get tested regularly to keep an epidemic surveillance and if needed, “react quickly if necessary,” as Health Minister Minister Magnus Heunicke said last week.
The Danish government has warned that Denmark could see a rise in infections in the coming weeks and said that a fourth vaccination shot might be necessary.
The restrictions were originally introduced in July but were removed about 10 weeks later after a successful vaccination drive. They were reintroduced when infections soared.
Pandemic response generates thousands of tons of COVID waste — 3:55 a.m.
By Bloomberg News
The response to the pandemic has produced tens of thousands of tons of extra medical waste, challenging disposal systems and threatening human health and the environment, according to a World Health Organization report.
To get a sense of the scope of the problem, the WHO examined the fate of 87,000 metric tons of personal protective equipment, such as rubber gloves and masks, that were shipped around the world through a United Nations emergency initiative between March 2020 and November 2021. Most of that equipment ended up as waste, the UN agency said.
The initiative also shipped 140 million testing kits, generating 2,600 tons of non-infectious waste that was mostly plastic, and 731,000 liters of chemical waste. The billions of vaccine doses that have been administered globally have produced 144,000 tons of additional waste in the form of syringes, needles, and safety boxes, the WHO said.
The overall issue is likely to be much worse, because the WHO estimates don’t take products into account that were procured outside its emergency initiative, nor littering by the public of disposable masks.
About a third of healthcare facilities aren’t equipped to deal with existing waste loads, the WHO said. Overwhelmed waste systems, especially in lower-income nations, mean that health-care workers face the risk of needle injuries and burns, as well as exposure to pathogenic microorganisms, the WHO said. People residing near poorly managed landfills and waste disposal sites are at risk of contaminated air and poor water quality.
With new Omicron variant you’re more likely to catch COVID again — 1:35 a.m.
By Bloomberg News
New studies are emerging that suggest the latest version of the highly-infectious omicron variant is transmitting even faster than the original, and mild cases of the first may not offer much protection against future infections.
The findings cast doubt on hopes that the wave of Omicron that’s sweeping the world may help hasten the end of the pandemic. Calls for governments to treat COVID-19 as endemic like influenza are rising globally as people grow tired of pandemic restrictions, vaccines become more accessible and deaths remain relatively low.
All-out effort to keep Biden COVID-free; no ‘normal’ yet — 12:33 a.m.
By The Associated Press
When President Joe Biden met with U.S. governors at the White House on Monday, he was the only one given a glass of water — lest anyone else remove their mask to take a drink.
The president was seated more than 10 feet from everyone, including Vice President Kamala Harris and members of his Cabinet.
A White House staffer who was wearing a surgical mask when Biden entered the room was quickly handed an N95 version.
Fever? Sore throat? They just check ‘no.’ — 12:27 a.m.
By The New York Times
Every morning, Ashley, a mother of two on Long Island in New York, has to navigate an ethical minefield: Her children’s schools send out a health questionnaire for COVID-19.
The “daily attestation,” as it is known, asks people to volunteer information about their health: “Fever of 100 or above?” “Sore Throat?” “In the past 14 days, have you knowingly been in close contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19?”
Answer in the negative, and entry is granted. Answer in a way that suggests you or a family member may be sick, and you’re banned. And herein lies the problem: The forms are on the honor system.
Pfizer expected to ask FDA to authorize vaccine for children under 5 — 10:28 p.m.
By The New York Times
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected as soon as Tuesday to ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a coronavirus vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years old as a two-dose regimen while they continue to research how well three doses work.
Federal regulators are eager to review the data in hopes of authorizing shots for young children on an emergency basis as early as the end of February, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions. If Pfizer waited for data on a three-dose regimen, the data would not be submitted until late March and the vaccine might not be authorized for that age group until late spring, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.
Coronavirus sidelines dockworkers, adding to supply backlog — 8:58 p.m.
By The New York Times
More longshoremen on the West Coast contracted the coronavirus in the past month than in all of last year, putting additional pressure on backed-up ports struggling to keep up with the flow of imports, according to the Pacific Maritime Association.
At least 1,850 longshoremen had the coronavirus in January, surpassing the 1,624 cases recorded in all of 2021, the maritime group said.
“It’s a heavy impact,” said James McKenna, president of the group, which negotiates labor agreements for 70 companies at 29 West Coast ports.
The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which account for around 40% of U.S. imports, were particularly hard hit. The cases there accounted for about 80% of the 1,850 infections reported as of Thursday, McKenna said Friday.
The startling high number comes as 90 container ships off the San Pedro Bay coast, a record number, were waiting to come into port in Los Angeles and Long Beach, as of Friday. The dockworker absences are helping exacerbate a monthslong bottleneck. “Before the pandemic, you wouldn’t have any ships waiting; they’d come in and come out,” McKenna said.
Other cities balk at following Boston’s proof-of-vaccination mandate — 6:27 p.m.
By Anissa Gardizy, Globe Staff
When Mayor Michelle Wu announced in December that she would put in place a proof-of-vaccination mandate for Boston restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues, officials from several other Massachusetts cities stood with her in a show of support.
“I’m so grateful to have regional mayors and municipal health officials here, city councilors, state representatives,” Wu said during a City Hall event, “because fighting this pandemic will require shared action and partnership.”
But her call for unity has produced mixed results.
Could the new subvariant, BA. 2., slow our exit from the Omicron surge? — 5:40 p.m.
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
While the Omicron surge appears to be waning in some regions of the United States, some experts are cautioning that progress against the coronavirus could be hindered by the arrival of a highly contagious new Omicron subvariant, BA.2.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former director of the US Food and Drug Administration, said Sunday that pandemic numbers were “coming down, and coming down quite sharply in parts of the Northeast, Florida, the mid-Atlantic,” but said “you might see, as this new strain starts to pick up, you might see that we start to slow down in that decline.”
Gottlieb said on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation” that “the decline will happen nonetheless” and he didn’t expect “a huge wave of infection.”
Mass. reports 12,127 coronavirus cases; 83 deaths reported on Friday — 5:30 p.m.
By Globe Staff
In its first COVID-19 data report since Friday, Massachusetts on Monday reported 12,127 new confirmed coronavirus cases and said 36,849 vaccinations, including booster shots, had been administered. The Department of Public Health also said 83 new confirmed deaths were reported on Friday.
The state also reported that 2,202 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19. The seven-day percent positivity was 7.43 percent.
Mandate to vaccinate New Orleans schoolchildren kicking in — 4:05 p.m.
By The Associated Press
As school systems across the US struggle to keep classrooms open amid the pandemic, New Orleans is set to become the nation’s first major district to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for children 5 and up, though state regulations will allow parents to opt out easily.
Ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, many schools in the city have been holding vaccination events, including one at KIPP Believe school.
One by one, dozens of children presented their signed permission slips, pushed up the sleeves of their pale yellow school uniform shirts and — often wincing, but rarely with tears — received a shot. Then they got candy.
New poll finds 70 percent of respondents say it’s time to accept COVID is here to stay and ‘get on with our lives’ — 3:19 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Nearly two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large majority of Americans surveyed in a new poll said they agree that it’s time to accept that the virus “is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives” — though the results reflected a sharp partisan divide.
Seventy percent of people surveyed in the University of Monmouth poll released Monday said it’s time to accept the virus is part of life, though Republicans and Democrats differed starkly in their response. Eighty-nine percent of respondents who identified as Republicans agreed with the statement, while 47 percent of those who identified as Democrats agreed.
COVID-stricken Trudeau slams truckers’ protest behavior — 3:09 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
Justin Trudeau denounced abusive behavior and racist imagery at a protest against vaccine mandates that saw lines of big-rig trucks blockade the downtown core of Canada’s capital.
The Liberal prime minister, speaking Monday from an Ottawa-area cottage where he is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, also used weekend antics by members of the protest convoy to criticize his Conservative political opponents.
“Over the past few days, Canadians were shocked and — frankly — disgusted by the behavior displayed by some people protesting in our nation’s capital,” Trudeau said at a virtual news conference.
UK plans to scrap mandatory COVID vaccines for health workers — 2:30 p.m.
By Bloomberg News
Mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19 for frontline National Health Service and social care workers in England are set to be scrapped, the UK government announced, after warnings the measure would fuel chronic staff shortages.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament on Monday a two-week consultation would be launched on reversing the controversial policy, after the “intrinsically less severe” Omicron variant eclipsed the predecessor delta strain, changing the balance of risks.
“While vaccination remains our very best line of defense against COVID-19, I believe it is no longer proportionate to require vaccination as condition of deployment through statute,” Javid told lawmakers.
Europe’s economy shows resilience to a surge in coronavirus infections — 1:09 p.m.
By The New York Times
The eurozone’s economy proved its ability to withstand the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and persistent supply chain disruptions late last year, despite a split in the region that saw faster growth in France, Spain and Italy than in Europe’s traditional economic engine, Germany.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, grew 0.3 percent in the final quarter of 2021 compared with the previous three-month period, Eurostat, Europe’s statistics agency, reported Monday. That is a slower pace than in previous quarters of 2021, but proof that the continent’s economy was learning to handle the pandemic.
“The fact that GDP still continued to grow is a sign of strength for the economy,” Bert Colijn, an economist with ING, said in a research note.
Moderna announces full US approval for its COVID-19 vaccine — 12:30 p.m.
By The Associated Press
Moderna announced Monday that US health regulators granted full approval to its COVID-19 vaccine, a shot that’s been given to tens of millions of Americans since its emergency authorization over a year ago.
The action by the Food and Drug Administration means the agency has completed the same rigorous, time-consuming review of Moderna’s shot as dozens of other long-established vaccines.
The decision was bolstered by real-world evidence from the more than 200 million doses administered in the US since the FDA cleared the shot in December 2020. The FDA granted full approval of Pfizer’s vaccine last August.
New England lags behind as employees flee COVID-facing jobs — 11:43 a.m.
By The Washington Post
The network of hospitals, prestigious universities and prep schools that has propelled New England’s regional economic growth for decades is dragging the recovery in its labor market and fueling historically high unemployment.
After decades sustaining a jobless rate below that of the country as a whole, New England now stands above the US average. Its rate was 5 percent in November, the most recent month for which historical comparisons can be made, against 4.2 percent for the national figure.
Roughly a third of the decline in payrolls in Massachusetts — the region’s economic engine — and Rhode Island is accounted for by slumps in the health and education services industries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the US as a whole, that ratio is just 20 percent.
Canadian prime minister tests positive for COVID-19 — 11:03 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he has tested positive for COVID-19, but is “feeling fine″ and will continue working remotely. The announcement came in a tweet in which he urged everyone to “please get vaccinated and get boosted.″
Trudeau said on Thursday that he was going into isolation for five days after finding out the previous evening he had been in contact with someone who tested positive. He told The Canadian Press on Friday that person was one of his three children. Trudeau previously isolated at home in the early months of the pandemic after his wife tested positive.
Canada has one of the world’s highest rates of vaccination against the coronavirus — shots which are primarily designed to keep those who become infected from falling seriously ill. The announcement followed a weekend of protests in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, against vaccine mandates, masks and lockdowns. Some demonstrators travelled in truck convoys and parked on the streets around Parliament Hill, blocking traffic.
Spotify shares advance after addressing controversy over Joe Rogan — 10:16 a.m.
By Bloomberg News
Spotify Technology climbed after the streaming service said it would would add a content advisory to podcasts that address COVID-19, seeking to quash an uproar over Joe Rogan’s program. Facing mounting pressure from users and musicians over the accuracy of virus information being spread by the platform’s most popular podcaster, Spotify published its existing rules governing content. Rogan, meanwhile, pledged that he would present more balanced, better-researched programming on the coronavirus.
The shares rose 5.8 percent at 9:41 a.m. Monday in New York. That chipped away at the 12 percent decline that Spotify registered last week, wiping out almost $4 billion from the company’s market value. Rock icon Neil Young had pulled his music from the service to protest Rogan, who has hosted several outspoken skeptics of COVID-19 vaccines. Joni Mitchell followed Young’s lead as did other musicians.
Spotify created rules governing acceptable content on its service years ago and built a hub with coronavirus information early in the pandemic, but hadn’t made them public until Sunday. Rogan thanked his listeners and Spotify and apologized for the controversy. “If I’ve p—-ed you off, I’m sorry,” he said in an Instagram video over the weekend. He said he would “try harder to get people with differing opinions on right afterward” and “do my best to make sure I have researched these topics.”
Potential scammers imitate free COVID test websites — 10:09 a.m.
By Bloomberg News
As a new government website went live in January to offer free COVID-19 test kits, a rash of new domain names were registered. Some had remarkably similar URLs, or were nearly the same but slightly misspelled.
Cybersecurity experts said the goal was likely the same for all of them: bogus domain names that can be used for phishing attacks and other scams.
Suspected fraudsters have registered more than 600 suspicious domain registrations since Jan. 15, around the time Biden administration announced details about a program in which the US Postal Service would deliver COVID-19 tests to Americans’ homes, email security firm Proofpoint Inc. told Bloomberg News. The look-alike URLs are often meant to trick COVID-weary Americans into thinking they are signing up for a free nasal swab, when in fact they might be handing personal data over to a cybercrime syndicate, cybersecurity experts said.
UK ‘partygate’ report criticizes ‘failures of leadership’ — 9:54 a.m.
By Bloomberg News
A major report into allegations of rule-breaking gatherings in Downing Street has found “failures of leadership and judgment” at the top of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government.
“At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time,” senior civil servant Sue Gray said in her long-awaited report, released on Monday. While a parallel police investigation means Gray was asked to exclude her conclusions on the most damaging allegations against Johnson and his team, the release of her report still represents a moment of political peril for the prime minister. He’s due to speak in the House of Commons later on Monday to address the findings and will later also talk to Tory MPs.
Johnson is trying to draw a line under the steady drip-drip of allegations, dubbed “Partygate” by the UK media. They’ve undermined his leadership in recent months, leading some lawmakers within his own ruling Conservatives to talk openly about toppling the prime minister and causing his party to plunge in the polls. Gray since December has been investigating reports of more than a dozen apparently rule-breaking events at Johnson’s office and in other government departments in 2020 and 2021, at a time when gatherings were banned as part of restrictions to tackle COVID-19. She was preparing to release her report last week before London’s Metropolitan Police said they were opening their own investigation into the most serious allegations. The police on Friday issued a statement saying they’d asked Gray to only make “minimal reference” to the events they’re investigating.
Joe Rogan responds to Spotify protest, COVID advisories — 9:13 a.m.
By The Associated Press
Following protests of Spotify kicked off by Neil Young over the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, the music streaming service said that it will add content advisories before podcasts discussing the virus.
In a post Sunday, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek laid out more transparent platform rules given the backlash stirred by Young, who on Wednesday had his music removed from Spotify after the tech giant declined to get rid of episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which has been criticized for spreading virus misinformation.
