Month: January 2021

Steven Brandenburg told investigators he intentionally tried to ruin the vaccine, according to a probable cause statement. MADISON, Wis — A Wisconsin pharmacist convinced the world was “crashing down” told police he tried to ruin hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine because he believed the shots would mutate people’s DNA, according to court documents released Monday. Police in Grafton, about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, arrested Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist Steven Brandenburg last week following an investigation into the 57 spoiled vials of the Moderna vaccine, which officials say contained enough doses to inoculate more than 500 people. Charges are pending. ...

It needs to be worded in a way in which those queried would not likely take offense. My wife and I have tried to come up with the perfect question, but don't believe we yet have the right words. Even more ticklish — how do we ask for proof of a vaccination? We're hoping that you can provide that guidance. Locked Down: First of all, medical questions should be shared with your doctor (I am not one). You should focus on getting your own vaccinations. Don’t ruminate on what others are doing. A very helpful article published by AARP (aarp.org) explains the effect of immunization this way, quoting Thomas Moody, principal investigator at the Duke University Human Vaccine Institute: “ … a vaccine makes a person resistant to an infection from the virus and the illness it causes — cov...

SAN JOSE — About the only sign of holiday cheer on Christmas morning in the emergency department at Kaiser Permanente San Jose was a string of garland tacked up at the doctors’ station. So when a staff member came bounding down the hall the morning of Dec. 25 dressed in an inflatable Christmas tree costume, the moment of levity was a welcome respite. “She was just spreading joy,” said a nurse who worked that morning. Instead, her battery-operated, air-powered costume may have spread the coronavirus throughout the ER. In the days since, 44 staff members have become infected, and on Sunday night Kaiser announced that one of the employees working Christmas Day has died, a tragedy that is making worldwide headlines. It wasn’t clear Monday whether any visitors or patients to the unit wer...

At Monday’s press conference, the state said it is working on clarifying guidelines so that providers know what to do in the event there are more COVID-19 vaccine doses than people available.The vaccines don’t arrive at a state facility, rather the distribution is directly to local providers—like hospitals and county health departments. Some counties are reporting instances of having extra doses. “When they open up a set of vials and they might have a dozen or two dozen doses left to give out — to make sure it’s clear who they can give them to — and really, to encourage the continued drumbeat of getting people vaccinated,” California Public Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said. The state has loose guidelines on what a provider should do in the event they have a surplus of doses. But ...

The COVID-19 numbers in Los Angeles County are dire, and hospital beds remain at worryingly low capacity, pushing Hollywood to delay when most L.A.-based television shows go back into production. At this stage, most major studios — including CBS TV Studios, Warner Bros. TV, Universal TV, and as of Monday, Netflix — are looking to return to set in mid-January. But while the positive case rates across the county are grimmer than ever, nearing or exceeding 10,000 new COVID-19 cases daily, the current tenor of conversation around town appears to be less focused on a total shutdown akin to that of the spring of 2020, and more centered on cautiously assessing the situation on a day-to-day basis. “The cupboards are bare and there is too much money at stake,” said one TV producer...