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COVID hospitalizations and deaths surge in Los Angeles County

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the recent COVID-19 wave begins to ebb on the East Coast and in the Midwest, Los Angeles County is still being battered by the virus.

The county reported 102 new COVID deaths Thursday, the highest number recorded in a single day since March 10, 2021, and more than double the 45 fatalities reported one week ago.

The majority of deaths occurred in people aged 50 and older, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

More than 90% of the deaths reported Thursday were among residents who contracted the virus after Christmas Eve, indicating a high likelihood they were infected with the omicron variant, the department said.

Dr. Jeffrey Smith, executive vice president of hospital operations and chief operating officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said the rise in the total number of deaths is not because omicron is more deadly than previous variants.

“We’re still seeing a mortality rate of about 1.4%. It’s just the sheer number of people who are infected is extremely high so 1.4% of a very, very large number gives you a higher number of absolute deaths,” he told ABC News.

COVID hospitalizations are also on the rise, with 4,814 recorded Thursday, a figure not seen since Feb. 2, 2021. Of those patients, nearly one-third are in intensive care units, an increase from the week before.

Smith said Cedars-Sinai currently has about 220 COVID-19 patients, making up 25% of total patients.

“That had dropped as low as probably 5% to 10% prior to this most recent peak,” he told ABC News.

Smith added that, of the people in the ICU, almost all of them are unvaccinated or have not yet been fully vaccinated, meaning two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The surge has caused many hospitals in Los Angeles to face staffing shortages, either because there are not enough health care workers to take care of patients or because so many workers have gotten sick and need to stay home.

“It’s a dual crisis because staff have been furloughed or told to stay home because of positive tests, and then you have people who are unvaccinated, who have succumbed to infection and need hospitalization,” Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, told ABC News.

He continued, “And then you have this third piece of people coming in for a stroke or heart attack or something and then they test positive. But, because of the staffing crisis, the hospital is unable to see as many people as it typically would.”

According to LA Public Health, about 50% of patients statewide were admitted for non-COVID reasons and only found out they were infected while undergoing routine testing.

County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer noted during a virtual media briefing Thursday that whether originally admitted due to the virus or not, the high number of COVID patients puts a strain on hospital staff and resources.

“It limits where people can be housed, what room they can be in, it limits some staffing, it changes the kind of medical and doctor interventions because people still have to practice infection control for an airborne pathogen,” Klausner explained.

Meanwhile, the seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases sits at 33,000.

While the daily test-positivity rate declined from more than 20% in late December to 18.5% Thursday, it still means about 1 in 6 people in LA County are testing positive for COVID-19.

The figure is also eightfold higher than the positivity rate of 2% that was being recorded a little over one month ago.

Klausner said until LA County and California come out of this wave, people with COVID symptoms should get tested and, if they do test positive, seek early treatment.

“We actually just did a survey of 10,000 people who tested positive and 25% of people stopped treatment and, of the treatments they stopped, the overwhelming majority were getting vitamins,” he said. “That’s really disappointing when we have known, proven interventions that can reduce people’s risk of going to the hospital.”

Smith also stressed the importance of testing — but urged people not to visit already overcrowded emergency rooms — as well boosting and mask-wearing.

He said he’s been encouraged by declining COVID-19 rates in places such as New York City and hopes Los Angeles isn’t far behind.

“We’ve seen rates declining in some parts of the country and we’re hoping that our experience will be similar to what was seen in South Africa or the U.K., where the rates dropped almost as quickly as they rose,” Smith said.

Brian Laundrie claims responsibility for killing Gabby Petito in notebook: FBI

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The FBI on Friday released new details in the investigation of Gabby Petito’s death, saying that that Brian Laundrie wrote in a notebook that he killed her.

The FBI’s Denver office had sent out a timeline of the investigation, saying that before discovering Laundrie’s remains in a Florida wetland in October, agents had discovered a backpack, a gun and a notebook that all belonged to him.

“A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death,” the FBI said in a statement.

The agency said Petito’s family met with agents as the case into the 22-year-old’s disappearance and death soon will be closed.

“All logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case,” Michael Schneider, FBI Denver Division special agent in charge, said in a statement. “The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”

Steven Bertolino, an attorney representing the Laundrie family, released a statement Friday expressing condolences for both families.

“We can only hope that with today’s closure of the case each family can begin to heal and move forward and find peace in and with the memories of their children,” he said in a statement.

Petito went on a road trip with Laundrie, her boyfriend, through Colorado and Utah from July to August.

Utah Police said officers responded to a 911 call in August where the caller claimed he saw Laundrie slap Petito, and police stopped the couple for questioning on the side of the road. They were allowed to continue their trip because of “insufficient evidence” of any wrongdoing, police said.

Petito went missing around Aug. 27 and Laundrie returned home to Florida on Sept. 1, investigators said.

Two weeks later, he was named a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance, but Laundrie was reported missing Sept. 17.

On Sept. 19, search crews discovered a body in Bridger-Teton National Park in Wyoming later revealed to be Petito’s. An autopsy determined she died from strangulation.

Search crews combed the Florida wetlands where Laundrie was last seen, and on Oct. 20 found his remains in Carlton Reserve, near North Port.

‘Critical missing’ 11-year-old boy found safe, police say

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(DALLAS) — Dallas police said an 11-year-old boy who was missing for two nights and last seen wearing only shorts and socks during frigid temperatures has been found safe.

Traveon Michael Allen Griffin left his home in southwest Dallas early Thursday, around midnight, according to police.

“He may be confused and in need of assistance,” police said.

Police upgraded the missing person’s case Thursday to “critical” due to the “victim’s clothing attire and current below-freezing temperatures.”

Friday afternoon, police said in an update on social media that Traveon had been “located and he is safe.” No further details were provided.

Since he was reported missing, police had been going door-to-door looking for Traveon, and were focused on a playground and pond near the child’s home. The department had also been utilizing its mounted and canine units, drones and a helicopter. Police said volunteers were joining the search efforts

Police said in an earlier update Friday morning that they had found no new leads, though noted there was no evidence of foul play.

Officers additionally planned to visit friends’ homes and hospitals to search for Traveon, police told ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA-TV Friday.

“We will not leave any stone unturned,” Dallas Police spokesperson Sgt. Warren Mitchell told WFAA-TV Thursday. “We will check every creek, every residence in this area, every alley, every backyard, until we can find him.

Mitchell had suspected the child might be trying to hide.

“But eventually, hopefully, we’ll be able to find him,” he said.

Intel investing $20 billion to bring chip manufacturing to Ohio amid global shortage

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Intel investing billion to bring chip manufacturing to Ohio amid global shortage

(NEW YORK) — Amid a global chip shortage that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Intel announced Friday that it will invest more than $20 billion in two new chip factories in Ohio.

The new investment will significantly expand U.S. manufacturing capabilities for semiconductors, a vital building block needed for computers, smartphones, autos, and much more. Much of the global tech industry currently relies on chip manufacturing out of Asia.

“Today’s investment marks another significant way Intel is leading the effort to restore U.S. semiconductor manufacturing leadership,” Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a statement Friday.

The project will make Ohio home to Intel’s first new manufacturing site location in 40 years.

The California-based tech giant said the project represents the largest single private-sector investment in Ohio history, and is expected to create 3,000 Intel jobs and 7,000 construction jobs over the course of the build. The mega-site will span some 1,000 acres in Licking County, a suburb of Columbus, with construction expected to begin in late 2022 and chip production expected to begin in 2025.

“Intel’s actions will help build a more resilient supply chain and ensure reliable access to advanced semiconductors for years to come,” Gelsinger added. “Intel is bringing leading capability and capacity back to the United States to strengthen the global semiconductor industry. These factories will create a new epicenter for advanced chipmaking in the U.S. that will bolster Intel’s domestic lab-to-fab pipeline and strengthen Ohio’s leadership in research and high tech.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement the announcement is “monumental news for the state of Ohio.”

“Intel’s new facilities will be transformative for our state, creating thousands of good-paying jobs in Ohio manufacturing strategically vital semiconductors, often called ‘chips,'” DeWine said. “Advanced manufacturing, research and development, and talent are part of Ohio’s DNA, and we are proud that chips — which power the future — will be made in Ohio, by Ohioans.”

In addition to the initial investment of some $20 billion, Intel pledged an additional $100 million to help “build a pipeline of talent and bolster research programs in the region,” according to a company statement.

Intel also said the new factories have the goal to be powered by 100% renewable electricity and place environmental concerns at the fore throughout the building process.

The news of Intel’s massive investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing comes on the heels of Samsung announcing late last year that it plans to build a $17 billion semiconductor factory in the U.S. just outside of Austin, Texas.

Biden, Putin might meet to resolve standoff over Ukraine, Blinken says

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin might meet in an effort to resolve the standoff over Ukraine and the threat of a Russian invasion.

“If it proves useful and productive for the two presidents to meet, to talk, to engage, to try to carry things forward, I think we’re fully prepared to do that,” Blinken said in Geneva, Switzerland, after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

There were no breakthroughs in their meeting, he said, but the two sides have agreed to return to their capitals and hold consultations before meeting again — keeping the door to diplomacy open after weeks of heightened tensions over Russia’s massive troop buildup near Ukraine’s border.

Later, speaking with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America — asked whether it would take a summit to resolve the situation — Blinken confirmed the U.S. was open to that idea.

“That’s certainly something we’re prepared to do. Right now, the plan is to take stock of where we are next week after we share some ideas with Russia,” Blinken told ABC News.

Those ideas will be a written response to Russia’s two draft treaties, released publicly in December, where Moscow demanded that the U.S. and NATO bar Ukraine from joining the Western military alliance and pull troops back from Eastern European member states.

Those two demands are “nonstarters,” U.S. officials have said, but after repeated Russian requests for a written response, Blinken confirmed Friday that the U.S. will provide one before he and Lavrov meet again.

“There are certain issues and fundamental principles that the United States and our partners and allies are committed to defend. That includes those that would impede the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people to write their own future. There is no trade space there – none,” Blinken told reporters.

That disagreement has left three previous rounds of talks last week to end inconclusively — between the U.S. and Russia, NATO and Russia, and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. But Russia has dismissed more talks with European countries, instead seeking direct engagement with the U.S. — and to create a rift between the U.S. and its NATO allies.

Blinken said after Friday’s high-stakes meeting that he would return to Washington to consult Biden, members of Congress, and allies and partners.

“Based on our discussion, I believe we can carry forward this work of developing understanding agreements together that ensure our mutual security, but that’s contingent on Russia stopping its aggression toward Ukraine,” he said.

But that’s unlikely to happen any time soon. Russia now has some 100,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, including in Crimea, the peninsula it annexed in 2014, and Belarus, Ukraine’s neighbor to the north where strongman Alexander Lukashenko has increasingly relied on Russian support to prop him up.

Lavrov did not commit to pull those troops back, but said again that Russia is not going to attack Ukraine. He urged Blinken to focus on Russia’s security proposals rather than the heightened tensions over Ukraine, he said at his own press conference afterwards.

“I haven’t heard any point today that would justify the American position on what is happening on the Russian-Ukrainian border. Only concerns, concerns, concerns,” Lavrov told reporters, calling the State Department’s stated concerns about Russian actions “blatant lies.”

Despite that brusque tone, Blinken said the two sides left the meetings with a “better understanding” of each other’s positions – calling it “not a negotiation, but a candid exchange of concerns and ideas.”

Whether that means Russia is engaging in good faith, or whether Putin still continue to destabilize Ukraine and even launch an attack, remains unresolved.

“It’s ultimately going to be President Putin who decides what Russia will do,” Blinken told Good Morning America.

Massive explosion in Ghana mining region leaves dozens dead or injured

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — More than a dozen people were killed and many more were injured by a massive explosion that rocked southwestern Ghana on Thursday, authorities said.

A vehicle transporting mining explosives between the gold mines of Tarkwa and Chirano in Ghana’s Western Region collided with a motorcycle in the small town of Apiate on Thursday afternoon. The truck caught fire from the collision and exploded about 15 minutes later, as residents were gathered around the scene of the crash, according to a spokesperson for the Ghana Police Service.

Police officers, firefighters, soldiers and medics rushed to the scene to rescue victims. At least 179 people were affected by the “huge” explosion, including at least 13 who died and 45 who were referred to specialist hospitals, the police spokesperson said while cautioning that the numbers could change.

Initial reports estimated the death toll to be higher because some of the wounded were in such bad condition that they were thought to be dead, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Samuel Kwesi Ofori, who is the director-general of the Ghana Police Service’s Public Affairs Directorate.

As of Friday afternoon, 36 victims remain hospitalized and 96 have been discharged, Ofori said.

The powerful blast leveled surrounding buildings, set homes ablaze, knocked out power and left a vast crater in the ground. It took firefighters hours to extinguish the flames, according to a spokesperson for the Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service.

About 384 people have been displaced in the area due to the incident, which remains under investigation, according to Ofori.

Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia traveled on Friday to the site in Apiate, near the mining city of Bogoso, some 180 miles west of Ghana’s capital.

“This is a sad day,” Bawumia said.

After visiting some of the hospitalized victims, the vice president thanked nurses and doctors for doing “a fantastic job in saving lives.”

“The early intervention yesterday has helped a lot,” he told reporters outside a hospital. “We want to assure all of those patients and their families, the government is willing to be responsible fully for all their medical bills.”

Two years after COVID first hit the US, hundreds of thousands of Americans are still falling ill

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — At the beginning of 2020, as the nation celebrated the start of a new year, many Americans were still unaware of the “mysterious pneumonia” that had sickened dozens of workers at a live animal market in Wuhan, China.

The illness, later identified as the “novel coronavirus”, began spreading rapidly across the globe. Several studies have suggested that the virus had already been spreading in the United States, potentially as early as December 2019.

However, it was not until mid-January of 2020, when the virus would officially be recognized as present on U.S. soil.

Two years ago, on Jan. 21, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first domestic case of coronavirus. The positive patient was a 35-year-old man from Washington state, who had recently returned from Wuhan, China.

Now, two years later, the U.S. has confirmed more than 69 million COVID-19 cases, and 859,000 deaths, the highest in the total for any country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And the nation, despite the wide availability of highly effective vaccines and novel treatments, is experiencing its most significant surge on record due to the highly transmissible omicron variant and tens of millions of eligible Americans remaining unvaccinated.

“These last two years have brought transformational advancements spanning vaccines, treatments and testing. Though these tools are having a clear impact on reducing poor outcomes, we are still seeing one of the worst surges to date,” said John Brownstein, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.

‘Low’ risk morphs into pandemic

Just days before the first case was confirmed two years ago, the CDC had implemented public health entry screening at several major airports including San Francisco International Airport, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

At the time, the CDC reported that while the virus was originally thought to be spreading from animal-to-person, there were “growing indications” that “limited person-to-person spread” was taking place.

“This is certainly not a moment for panic or high anxiety. It is a moment for vigilance,” Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said during a news conference that same day. “The risk is low to residents in Washington.”

Less than a week after the first domestic case was confirmed, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which is a division of the CDC, stressed that the “virus is not spreading in the community… For that reason, we continue to believe that the immediate health risk from the new virus to the general public is low at this time.”

In late February, Messonnier said she ultimately expected to see community spread in the U.S. At the time, health officials noted that the virus may not be able to be contained at the border and that Americans should prepare for a “significant disruption” in their lives.

In the months to come, Life Care Center of Kirkland, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Seattle suburbs, would become the first epicenter of the virus’ deadly journey across the country. The epicenter quickly then became New York City, which experienced hundreds of deaths a day at the peak of April 2020.

It would be another seven weeks until the World Health Organization would declare the global coronavirus a pandemic, subsequently forcing borders to close, and Americans to retreat to their homes for what some thought would be just a few weeks of “social distancing” and “stay-at-home” orders.

In the first months of pandemic, through April 2020, more than 1 million Americans were sickened and 65,000 died, when the virus was still largely mysterious, treatments and supplies were scarce and hospitals were overwhelmed in large urban areas like New York. Subsequent waves of the virus each had their own characteristics from the deadly winter surge of 2020 to 2021 and the delta variant surge, which upended the optimism that the pandemic would finally come to an end after mass vaccination.

In fact, in the last year alone, more than 450,000 Americans have been lost to the virus.

17 million cases in a month

Two years into the pandemic, federal data shows that hundreds of thousands of Americans are still testing positive for the virus every day, and more than 1,600 others are dying from COVID-19.

In the last month alone, there have been more than 17.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 44,700 reported virus-related deaths. In addition, more than a year into the U.S. domestic vaccine rollout, 62 million eligible Americans who are over the age of 5, about 20% of that group, remain completely unvaccinated.

“After 24 months and unprecedented medical innovation, the last month has brought millions of cases and tens of thousands of deaths. While many might declare victory on the pandemic, we are clearly very far from where want we want to be right now, especially with billions of people yet to be vaccinated,” Brownstein said, referring to the continued global crisis.

The U.S. is still averaging more than 750,000 new cases a day, about three times the surge from last winter in 2021. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that the latest omicron case surge may be beginning to recede in the parts of the country that were first struck by the variant.

Although preliminary global studies indicate that the omicron variant may cause less severe illness than prior variants, health officials say that the sheer numbers of infections caused by the new variant could still overwhelm the health care system.

Glimmers of hope

In New York, daily cases have dropped by 33% in the last week, and in New Jersey, new cases are down by 43.7%. In Massachusetts, wastewater samples indicate the state’s omicron surge is falling rapidly.

In the Southeast, daily cases in Florida are falling too — down by 30% in the last week, though the state is still averaging more than 45,000 new cases a day.

However, health officials caution that overall, the latest COVID-19 surge across much of the country has yet to peak, and hospitals could still be faced with difficult weeks ahead.

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that the omicron surge has not yet peaked nationally.

“This is a very difficult time during this surge. We are seeing high case numbers and hospitalization rates… we’re also seeing strain in many of our hospitals around the country,” Murthy said. “The next few weeks will be tough.”

More than 160,000 virus-positive Americans are currently hospitalized across the country, a pandemic high. It was just over two weeks ago that we hit 100,000 COVID-19 positive Americans hospitalized.

Half the country – 25 states and Puerto Rico – has seen their COVID-19 related hospital admission rates jump by at least 10% in the last week, and nationwide, an average of more than 21,000 virus-positive Americans are seeking care every day.

And nationally, 99% of U.S. counties are still reporting high transmission. Out of the 3,220 U.S. counties, just 16 counties are not reporting high transmission.

Earlier this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House, said at the Davos Agenda, a virtual event held by the World Economic Forum, that it is an “open question” as to whether the omicron variant will lead the globe into a new phase of the pandemic.

“It’s not going to be that you’re going to eliminate this disease completely. We’re not going to do that. But hopefully it will be at such a low level that it doesn’t disrupt our normal, social, economic and other interactions with each other,” Fauci said. “To me, that’s what the new normal is. I hope the new normal also includes a real strong corporate memory of what pandemics can do.”

COVID-19 live updates: Breakthrough cases grew fourfold during omicron

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 860,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 63.2% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Jan 21, 9:09 am
Non-citizens entering US via land border, ferry terminals must be fully vaccinated

Beginning Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security is requiring non-U.S. citizens entering the U.S. via land or ferry to be fully vaccinated.

This rule, outlined in October, applies to people arriving from Mexico’s and Canada’s borders.

This requirement does not apply to U.S. citizens traveling over the border.

-ABC News’ Luke Barr

Jan 20, 10:44 pm
Breakthrough cases grew fourfold during omicron emergence: CDC

Despite waning immunity over time, vaccines still dramatically reduced the risk of severe illness caused by COVID-19 through at least the end of the delta wave, according to data updated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday evening.

In November, unvaccinated adults had a four times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19, and a 15 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, compared to vaccinated individuals, according to federal data pulled from 28 states and jurisdictions.

Additionally, unvaccinated adults had a 13 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and a 68 times greater risk of dying from it as compared to fully vaccinated individuals with a booster.

The emergence of omicron does appear to have increased the occurrence of breakthrough cases. Between late November and late-December, the rate of infections among the fully vaccinated increased more than fourfold. Even so, unvaccinated Americans remained twice as likely to test positive for the virus.

Similarly, the rate of infections among the fully vaccinated and boosted Americans testing positive increased by nearly tenfold. However, unvaccinated Americans remained 3.8 times as likely to test positive for the virus.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 20, 4:54 pm
Wastewater data finds omicron may have been in US as early as Nov. 21

A new CDC study finds that the omicron variant was likely in the U.S. more than a week before the first case was detected.

The first official case was detected on Dec. 1 in California. But a review of the national wastewater surveillance system indicates that the variant could have been present as early as Nov. 21, according to samples collected in New York City.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman

Jan 20, 4:37 pm
Hospitalizations at record high, cases dropping in some areas

More than 160,000 COVID-19-positive Americans are currently in hospitals — a pandemic high and double the number from about three weeks ago, according to federal data.

It’s still not clear how many were admitted with COVID-19 and how many tested positive for the virus after they were admitted for other reasons.

The U.S. is reporting an average of 760,000 new cases per day, according to federal data.

Although case levels remain high, there’s growing evidence to suggest the omicron surge is receding in the parts of the country first struck by the variant.

In New York, daily cases have dropped by 33% in the last week, while in New Jersey new cases are down by 43.7%.

Wisconsin now leads the nation in new cases per capita, followed by Rhode Island, Utah and South Carolina.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 20, 3:12 pm
San Francisco appears to pass peak of omicron surge: Officials

In San Francisco, COVID-19 cases are “dropping rapidly” following record highs that appeared to peak on Jan. 9, officials announced.

While “cases are still extremely high,” they “have plateaued and are starting to go down,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the Department of Public Health.

“We’re looking at data from other places … the consistent data seem to show that cases go up very fast, they started to come down very fast. So we’re on that downward trend now,” Colfax said.

Instagram testing feature that lets creators charge subscription fees

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A small handful of Instagram content creators can now directly charge followers a monthly subscription fee for exclusive content and benefits in the latest shakeup to impact the ever-evolving digital creator economy.

Instagram’s parent company Meta announced the news in a company blog post, saying it is part of an effort to help enable creators to make a living through its platforms. Meta-owned Facebook launched a similar subscriptions service in 2020 and is now rolling the service out as a test on Instagram after positive feedback from Facebook content creators.

Meta previously said it would not collect any fees from creators on Facebook Subscription purchases until 2023 at the earliest, and said this will also apply to Instagram Subscriptions.

“With Instagram Subscriptions, creators can develop deeper connections with their most engaged followers and grow their recurring monthly income by giving subscribers access to exclusive content and benefits, all within the same platform where they interact with them already,” Meta stated.

The test of subscriptions on Instagram rolled out Wednesday with a small handful of creators, who can set a monthly price of their choice, unlock a “subscribe” button on their profile and offer new benefits to these subscribers including exclusive Instagram Lives and Stories. Content creators will also see a subscriber badge next to comments and messages from their subscribers to more easily identify them.

“Creators do what they do to make a living, and it’s important that that is predictable,” Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said in a video posted to Twitter. “And subscriptions are one of the best ways to have a predictable income, a way that is not attached to how much reach you get on any given post, which is inevitably going to go up and down over time.”

The announcement comes as fellow social media giant Twitter recently announced a similar subscription business model for users, and as Meta and more social media platforms have invested heavily in content creators for their platforms.

Meta alone said last July that it plans to invest more than $1 billion in programs “that give creators new ways to earn money for the content they create on Facebook and Instagram.”

The major investments also come, however, as lawmakers and regulators have renewed scrutiny on the power and reach of U.S. tech giants in recent months — and particularly their impact on the mental health of young people. Just last month, Mosseri was called to testify before lawmakers for the first time specifically about the platform’s impact on young users.

Despite the high-profile attention out of Washington, D.C., policymakers have struggled to agree on any concrete law or regulatory changes to crack down on Big Tech.

Peanut allergy treatment effective on toddlers, study finds

January 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A peanut allergy treatment often used on children 4 years old and up in the U.S. appears to be safe for toddlers too, a new study has found.

Around 2% of children in the country suffer from the allergy, some to a debilitating degree, which is why the discovery is “extremely exciting,” said Dr. David Stukus, professor of clinical pediatrics and director of the Food Allergy Treatment Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

In the study, conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases across multiple hospitals, researchers added powder containing peanuts to the daily diets of children, and found that over time, a large majority of them became desensitized to peanuts.

A smaller group of children even achieved full remission, meaning they were no longer allergic to peanuts at all.

While almost all the children studied had reactions to the peanut products, most were mild to moderate in severity, experts said.

The study also found that the younger the patients were when they started the treatment, the better they were able to tolerate peanuts, and the more likely they were to achieve full remission.

This means the treatment may be more effective if started while children’s immune systems are still developing.

“This suggests that if we do start treatment younger, there is a potential to help some children become non-allergic,” said Dr. Lisa Wheatley, section chief at the NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation.

Pediatric immunology experts interviewed by ABC News said they believe the study marks an important step in allergy research; still, they said more studies are needed to better understand young children’s immune systems and how they change.

The experts said children with a history of severe allergic reactions were excluded from the study, and warned that adding peanut products to the diets of children with known peanut allergies can cause serious reactions and should only be done under the guidance of a physician.

They added that while the study’s findings are promising, there is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan for children with peanut allergies, and parents must weigh the risks, benefits and expectations before letting their kids receive a treatment of any kind.

Aubrie Ford is an emergency medicine resident at Northwell Health, in New York, and a contributor to the ABC News Med Unit.

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