Category: Health Education

CDC Recommends US Schools Continue to Use Masks

Schools in the United States should continue to use masks for the 2020–2021 academic year as all students will not be fully vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Saturday. The CDC in its latest guidance said all kindergarten through grade 12 schools “should implement and layer prevention strategies and…


University of California System Will No Longer Consider SAT and ACT Scores for Admissions

The nine campuses of the University of California system will no longer consider standardized testing scores as part of the admission process beginning in the fall of 2021. The change is the result of a legal settlement (pdf) of a lawsuit brought by groups that claimed that the traditional SAT and ACT tests are racist….


Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections Rare, Usually Result in Asymptomatic or Mild Disease: Walensky

People who are fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 rarely contract the illness and when they do, it’s typically a no or low-symptom case, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. “For those breakthrough infections that can you know rarely occur, for the most part they are resulting in asymptomatic…


CCP Virus Deaths Hit 10-month Low in the United States

CCP virus fatalities in the United States have dropped to an average of around 625 per day, lows not seen since last summer’s trough that was followed by a deadly resurge that peaked in January with an average of some 3,740 daily deaths. White House senior advisor for the COVID-19 response, Andy Slavitt, told a…


CDC Director ‘Enthusiastic’ About Updating Guidance After Criticism of Slow Lifting of Mask Restrictions

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in interviews Wednesday that she looks forward to updating the agency’s guidance on COVID-19-related public health measures following criticism that the CDC was moving too slowly to recommend further easing of masking requirements for vaccinated people in outdoor settings. The CDC…


South Carolina Governor Allows Mask Opt-Out in Schools, Bans Vaccine Passports

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Tuesday issued an executive order to prevent local governments and school districts from mandating the wearing of masks to curb the transmission of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus. Parents may now opt their children out of wearing masks in public schools, the governor’s executive order (pdf)…


CDC Panel Endorses Pfizer Vaccine for Adolescents as Young as 12

A federal advisory panel approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine on younger adolescents aged 12 to 15 years old on May 12. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which offers assistance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), voted unanimously 14-0 in favor of the vaccine, saying that after evaluating trial…


Biden Touts 1 Million People Signing Up for Health Coverage During Special Obamacare Enrollment Window

President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that 1 million people have signed up for health coverage after his administration launched a special sign-up window under Obamacare provisions. Biden signed an executive order in January that expanded access to the Affordable Care Act, including creating the special enrollment period for HealthCare.gov, a federal marketplace that makes it…


Biden Touts 1 Million Enrollments for Health Coverage During Special Obamacare Window

President Joe Biden announced on May 11 that 1 million people have signed up for health coverage after his administration launched a special sign-up window under Obamacare provisions. Biden signed an executive order in January that expanded access to the Affordable Care Act, including creating a special enrollment period for HealthCare.gov, a federal marketplace for private…


Fatal Drug Overdoses Surged in 2020

Fatal drug overdoses spiked to record highs last year in states across the United States, with pandemic-driven isolation and loss of routine the likely factor behind the surge in deaths. State-level fatal drug overdose data covering the 12-month period ending in September 2020, the closest proxy available for last year as a whole, shows drug…