Month: February 2021

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 142 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and two new deathsThe 142 additional cases bring the total number since the beginning of the pandemic to 43,736.The number of Mainers with COVID-19 who have died is now 660. The two new deaths were in Oxford County.MAINE CORONAVIRUS DATA: Deaths: 660 Total cases: 43,736 Confirmed cases: 34,634 Probable cases: 9,102 Cumulative positivity rate: 2.91% Currently hospitalized: 67 Patients in intensive care: 25 Patients on ventilators: 7Get more detailed COVID-19 data from the Maine CDCCOVID-19 symptomsPer the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the symptoms you should watch out for: Fever or chills C...

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's Department of Health has set an exit date for when parts of the state can remove mandated face coverings. LINKS: Here's how to register for a COVID-19 vaccination in Utah In an interview with FOX 13, UDOH executive director Rich Saunders said that eight weeks after Utah hits 1.6 million primary doses of the COVID-19 vaccine allocated, counties in the low transmission index can lift mask mandates. Right now, Utah is at about 444,000 primary doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. "There’s an epidemiological endpoint which is no new cases for 28 straight days and then there’s got to be more of a practical end vision that we’ll get to a lot sooner, where we can make some serious adjustments," he said. The latest public health order issued by Saunders late Monday reflects the c...

Good news, glasses wearers: Your spectacles may offer you some extra protection from the novel coronavirus, according to the findings of a new study.  In a report published earlier this month on the pre-print site medRxiv, researchers said that those who wear glasses at least eight hours during the day are less likely to contract the novel disease because they touch their eyes less frequently than those who do not wear glasses.  In a report published earlier this month on the pre-print site medRxiv, researchers said that those who wear glasses at least eight hours during the day are less likely to contract the novel disease because they touch their eyes less frequently than those who do not wear glasses. (iStock) COVID-19 mainly spreads when a sick person coughs, sneez...

Pfizer and BioNTech's two-dose COVID-19 vaccine provides strong protection against infection with just one shot, and probably stops people spreading the virus, according to the results of a large-scale, real-world study published Monday.  "One dose reduces the risk of catching infection by more than 70%, rising to 85% after the second dose," Public Health England (PHE) said in a press release Monday. "This suggests the vaccine may also help to interrupt virus transmission, as you cannot spread the virus if you do not have infection." The study authors said that "significant protection from infection" kicked in from 10 days after the shot, and plateaued...

WORKING TO GET MORE PEOPLE VACCINATED - TWO IOWANS ARE VOLUNTEERING THEIR FREE TIME TO HELP THOSE MOST VULNERABLE. KCCI'S LAUREN JOHNSON HAS THE STORY THAT'S NEW AT 9. (áááPKGááá) < BROOKE JOHNSON, CREATOR OF RESOURCE WEBSITE "BY HAVING ONLY ONLINE APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE, IT WAS BECOMING VERY CHALLENGING FOR MY GRAND PARENTS AND FOR OTHER PEOPLE'S ELDERLY FAMILY MEMBERS TO FIND A VACCINE."> ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE DAY HER GRANDPARENTS COULD GET VACCINATED, BROOKE JOHNSON TOOK MATTERS INTO HER OWN HANDS. <BROOKE JOHNSON, CREATOR OF RESOURCE WEBSITE "SO WHAT I PUT TOGETHER IS A LITTLE INFORMAL LANDING PAGE THAT JUST HAS QUICK LINKS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH OF THE PHARMACIES I'VE WORKED THROUGH SECURING APPOINTMENTS FOR PEOPLE."> AND HER...

A captain in the US Capitol Police force who responded to the 6 January Capitol riot offered a harrowing first-hand account on Tuesday of her experience battling white supremacists and other pro-Trump elements. Captain Carneysha Mendoza told senators at the first official hearing on the security breach that rioters nearly broke her arm amid the chaos. She and her fellow officers were gassed. Many were struck with blunt objects and beaten to the ground. “I received chemical burns to my face that still have not healed to this day,” Ms Mendoza said. The USCP captain, a veteran of the US Army, repeatedly referred to the riot as a “battle.” “We could have had 10-times the amount of people working with us, and I still believe the battle would have been just as devastating,” she said, a test...