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Nurse who lost her baby after contracting COVID-19 urges pregnant women to get vaccinated

August 26, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ST. LOUIS) — A Missouri mom whose newborn son passed away after she gave birth to him while battling COVID-19 is speaking out in order to urge pregnant women to get vaccinated.

Vanessa Alfermann, a registered nurse from Franklin County, says she was 22 weeks pregnant with her second child when she contracted COVID-19 in November, before the first COVID-19 vaccine received emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“My husband had symptoms and he tested positive and the next day I also tested positive,” Alfermann, 33, told Good Morning America. “I never had shortness of breath but was just really tired.”

Alfermann said she had more symptoms of COVID-19, like a loss of taste and smell and headaches, but never experienced the more serious complications she sees COVID-infected patients suffer from at the hospital, Missouri Baptist Sullivan, where she works.

Around 10 days after she first tested positive for COVID-19 though, Alfermann began experiencing back pain and cramps and went to see her OBGYN.

“The baby was fine [in an ultrasound] but my white blood cells were really high and they said I had an infection from COVID and gave me an antibiotic and some muscle relaxers to go home with,” she recalled. “The next morning at about 1:30 I got up and realized I was in labor.”

Because her husband was still isolating due to his own COVID-19 diagnosis, Alfermann’s mother-in-law drove her to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, where she would quickly give birth to her son, whom she named Axel.

“Within a half hour from me getting there and getting up to the [labor and delivery] floor, Axel was born,” said Alfermann. “I didn’t even get to hold him. The NICU people held him and he took his breath with them and then he passed away.”

Alfermann said doctors told her she suffered a placental abruption, a pregnancy complication that happens when the placenta separates from the uterus. In her case, the abruption was caused by blood clots in the placenta due to COVID-19.

“It was mind-blowing because don’t think you’re going to get a blood clot on your placenta. [You think] you’re going to be put on a ventilator because you can’t breathe,” Alfermann said, referring to respiratory problems that were the most well-known COVID-19 complication at the time. “I went through all of these emotions but I also thought if this is what’s coming, what COVID does, it just scared me.”

Placental abruption can be a deadly complication for the mother. Alfermann said she is thankful she survived and is able to still be here for her family, including her husband, son and stepdaughter.

As she continues to walk through the grief of losing a child, Alfermann said she is sharing her story to help encourage pregnant people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“There’s so much misinformation out there that’s killing people and it’s frustrating,” she said. “I speak out about this for Axel’s legacy … because there shouldn’t be another Vanessa or Axel.”

Alfermann, who was vaccinated against COVID-19 in December, said she thinks about how her life may be different if the vaccine had been available during her pregnancy.

Describing the moment she received her first vaccine shot in December, Alfermann said, “I was so happy because I was protecting everybody else but I went upstairs to our bathroom and just cried because I thought ‘what if.’ What if five or six weeks earlier I could have gotten the shot? I could still be waiting to have my baby boy.”

“It’s very bittersweet,” she said.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strengthened its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, stating that all women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future should get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Still, 3 out of 4 four pregnant women in the U.S. have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to new data from the CDC.

The low vaccination rate among pregnant women combined with the more infectious delta variant spreading in the U.S. has led to an increase in hospitalizations among pregnant women, including in the St. Louis-based healthcare system where Alfermann works.

“We’re getting pretty desperate,” said Dr. Jeannie Kelly, a Washington University obstetrician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, part of the BJC HealthCare system. “We have had to say no to transfers because we are completely full and that in my eyes is just unacceptable for American medicine in 2021 and it’s infuriating that we’re here at this point.”

“I think all of us who are taking care of pregnant patients at this point are really worried, are really concerned and are really scared,” she said. “It’s a really hard situation for a pregnant person who is in the ICU with a baby who is also sick because mom is so sick.”

Dr. Laura Vricella, a maternal fetal medicine physician at Mercy Hospital, where Alfermann was treated, said the hospital is also seeing record number of COVID-positive pregnant patients.

“In the past month we have seen the largest amount of pregnant people being hospitalized with COVID, and be critically ill with COVID, than we did at any time last year, said Vricella. “We have eight [pregnant people with COVID-19] in the hospital now, five are critically ill and virtually all are unvaccinated.”

Vricella, who was not involved in Alfermann’s care, said doctors and researchers are learning more and more now, as the pandemic continues, about the negative effects COVID may have on pregnant people.

“What we’re seeing right now is that COVID-19 seems to be much more dangerous for pregnant people than what we were seeing in the spring,” she said. “This is why the three national bodies [the CDC, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM)] are now recommending the vaccine in pregnancy regardless of timing.”

COVID-19 is especially dangerous in pregnant people because their immune systems are already less active in order to support their growing fetus and their hearts and kidneys are already working harder during pregnancy to support the fetus, according to Vricella.

Pregnant people must also keep their oxygen levels higher in general to support their fetus, which can be a herculean task to do when COVID-19 is in the body, according to Vricella.

And in addition to pregnant people with COVID-19 being more likely to deliver prematurely, Vricella said her hospital is also seeing more COVID-positive pregnant patients deliver stillbirths, even with mild COVID cases.

“COVID-19 begins as a respiratory illness but can affect the entire body and also seems to increase the risk of thrombosis or blood clots,” she said. “We suspect that this decreased oxygen to the fetus may be responsible for the stillbirths that we are seeing, though we need further research.”

Just as doctors are learning more about the complications of COVID-19 in pregnant women, they are also seeing more data about the safety of the vaccines, according to Vricella.

“The risks of COVID are much, much greater than the theoretical risks of the vaccine,” she said. “The overwhelming evidence indicates that the vaccine is safe.”

When the CDC strengthened its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy this month, it did so citing new evidence of safety with the vaccines, a point that Kelly also stressed.

“I tell my patients that at this point, the [COVID-19] vaccine is one of the most studied medications, or interventions, during pregnancy,” said Kelly, noting that over 140,000 pregnant people have been vaccinated and doctors now have nearly nine months of data pointing to the vaccine’s success. “During pregnancy, we’re pretty excited when we see a study come out with a couple thousand women enrolled in it, and now we’re talking so many more numbers than we typically see for any other type of research in pregnancy.”

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines also use mRNA technology, which doesn’t enter the nucleus of the cells and doesn’t alter human DNA. The two COVID-19 vaccines are the first mRNA vaccines, which are theoretically safe during pregnancy, because they do not contain a live virus.

“It’s never too late and it’s never too early,” Vricella said of when pregnant women should get vaccinated. “I think the fall could be a really terrifying time for pregnant people if we don’t increase their vaccination rates quickly.”

Upcoming heat wave could hinder firefighting efforts in scorched West

August 26, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Dozens of wildfires blazing through the Western U.S. are continuing to shroud surrounding areas in smoke and haze.

At least 92 large wildfires are continuing to burn in the West, mostly in California, Oregon and Washington. Evacuation orders are in effect for 17 of the active fires.

The Caldor Fire in Grizzly Flats, California, about 100 miles east of Sacramento, continues to spread, having burned through 126,566 acres by Wednesday evening and remains just 12% contained.

Smoke from the wildfires is continuing to bring poor air quality to much of the West, especially across the Northwest and northern Rockies. Seven states, from California to Colorado, are under air quality alerts on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Nevada recorded its worst air quality in history due to the wildfires. The air quality is so bad in some areas that it prompted school closures.

Scorching temperatures could possibly fuel the flames. Twenty-two states in the U.S. — from California to New York — are under heat alerts Wednesday.

Excessive heat warnings are in effect for the Southwest, where temperatures will top 110 degrees in some regions. And heat is expected to spread north to Central and Northern California through the end of the week — with temperatures expected to surpass 100 degrees in Sacramento, making it difficult for firefighters to contain the blazes.

Red flag warnings have also been issued for Colorado and Wyoming, where strong, erratic and gusty winds, along with low humidity, could present dangerous fire conditions.

Former NFL star, Heisman winner Herschel Walker launches GOP Senate bid in Georgia

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

(ATLANTA) — After months of speculation, fueled in part by public urging from former President Donald Trump, former NFL star and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker has officially launched his campaign for Georgia’s 2022 Senate race against Sen. Raphael Warnock.

“Our country is at a crossroads, and I can’t sit on the sidelines anymore. America is the greatest country in the world, but too many politicians in Washington are afraid to say that. … I have lived the American Dream, but I am concerned it is slipping away for many people,” Walker said in a statement Wednesday, pledging to “stand up for conservative values” if elected to the U.S. Senate.

Walker’s entry into the race marks a new phase in the Republican primary for what is set to be one of the most competitive races of the midterms and a top pick-up opportunity for Republicans. As the first electoral test since the state flipped for President Joe Biden in November and gave Democrats the slimmest of Senate majorities in January by electing Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Republicans are eager to show that Georgia is not a blue state.

In response to Walker filing his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Georgia released a statement calling Walker’s entrance “the nightmare scenario” for the GOP.

“Walker’s entrance into Georgia’s chaotic GOP Senate primary is the nightmare scenario that Republicans have spent the entire cycle trying to avoid. By the end of this long, divisive, and expensive intra-party fight, it’ll be clear that none of these candidates are focused on the issues that matter most to Georgians,” state party spokesperson Dan Gottlieb said in a statement.

While three other candidates have already launched bids, the race has been at somewhat of a standstill while Walker mulled a run.

None of the candidates on the GOP side has the national name recognition or profile that Walker brings with him, but one competitor — Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black — has already been elected to statewide office, a position he’s been elected to three times. He also has the endorsement of former Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.

Black has worked to solidify himself as the front-runner before Walker entered the race. He took on Walker before he announced his campaign, contrasting himself with the longtime Texas resident by touting his lifelong Georgian credentials.

“Welcome back to Georgia. Welcome to the U.S. Senate race. You know, I’ve been a big fan of yours since we were in college together before you moved away,” Black quipped in a video response to Walker filing his candidacy on Tuesday. Black was a student at University of Georgia when Walker was a freshman.

In addition to Black, also in the race to take on Warnock are Kelvin King, an Air Force veteran and owner of a metro-Atlanta construction firm, and Latham Saddler, a former Navy SEAL and National Security Council director of intelligence programs in the Trump administration.

Like King and Saddler, Walker has never been elected to office, but he enters the race as a front-runner — a status that could be solidified quickly with an endorsement from his longtime friend, the former president.

While he’d been living in Texas for decades before exploring a run in Georgia, and only re-registered to vote in the state last week, 59-year-old Walker grew up in the Peach State and played for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs won the national title his freshman year and Walker came up just shy of winning the coveted college football trophy that year, placing third for the Heisman, but going on to win it his junior year.

Walker’s allegiance to Trump was evident throughout the 2020 campaign, while he acted as a surrogate for the former president. He appeared by video at the Republican National Convention in August to commend Trump’s character and dispute allegations he is racist. Last September, he participated in a radio ad touting Trump’s record of “fighting to improve the lives of Black Americans.”

But winning the primary is one thing; winning the general election is another — and having Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” — should he officially get it, as expected — could be a liability come November 2022, when the candidate will need to appeal to more than just base voters to come out on top.

Should he win the primary, he’ll also be up against a fundraising powerhouse. Coming in behind Ossoff and now-Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, Warnock raised the third-most money of any Senate candidate in the 2020 cycle. As of the end of June, the most recent campaign finance filing candidates have had to submit, the Georgia senator had over $10.5 million in the bank and received over $6 million in contributions in the second three-month period of 2021. He’s also the top fundraiser so far for the 2022 cycle, according to the FEC.

While senators serve six-year terms, Warnock, the first Black senator elected to represent Georgia, is facing voters again after just two years because he won a special election to finish out retired Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term. But in the twin January runoffs, Warnock bested Biden’s November margin over Trump by nearly eight-fold and earned about 19,000 more votes than Ossoff did against former GOP Sen. David Perdue.

Gov. Kathy Hochul removes Cuomo administration staffers implicated in sexual harassment report

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ALBANY, N.Y.) — Newly sworn-in New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’s cleaned house and removed individuals who allegedly contributed to a culture that allowed for sexual harassment under her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo officially left office this week after a report by the New York Attorney General’s Office released earlier this month alleged he sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo has repeatedly denied claims of sexual harassment and said he was resigning to prevent the distraction of an impeachment trial, though he was certain he would win.

The staffers implicated in the report “are no longer part of this administration,” she said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday morning.

The day after he announced he’d resign, she vowed to fire anyone connected to the report who contributed to the culture of sexual harassment.

“It’s over. None of this is going to be accepted. I’ve surrounded myself with talented, young women and I want them to be the role models to others,” she said. “It’s a culture where they’re going to be OK. You don’t have to look over your shoulder. You don’t have to worry about harassment.”

Several Cuomo aides and staffers implicated in the report, including former secretary Melissa DeRosa and former Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell, had already left state government. DeRosa, considered one of Cuomo’s top confidantes, stepped down just days before the governor announced his resignation. Lacewell left her position on Tuesday, the same day as Cuomo.

A number of state legislators had demanded that officials close to Cuomo and his scandals be removed as Albany moved forward under new leadership.

New York Republican Sen. Robert Ortt demanded a “clean slate,” adding in a statement earlier this month, “I am calling for the immediate resignation of state agency officials with direct ties to the soon-to-be former Governor and the many scandals that have plagued state government.”

When asked how the culture will change now that she’s at the helm, Hochul told MSNBC, “Anyone who crosses the line will be addressed by me.”

She said she’ll require in-person sexual harassment and ethics training for all state government employees.

Basil Smikle, a political strategist and lecturer at Columbia’s School of International Public Affairs, told ABC News her decision to remove those staffers “sends a message to voters that the era of Andrew Cuomo is over.”

“It was a clear intent on her part. She talked a lot about accountability and transparency. The act itself is a follow through,” he said.

However, it may be a bigger challenge to change the culture in Albany as a whole.

“It would be wrong to assume that these early moves will erase all of the toxicity. She has to undertake a more thorough and sweeping investigation of state agencies, state contracts, even relationships with legislators and center her administrative policies on diversity and on women to really be able to affect the substantial change in the long run,” he added.

Hochul also said Wednesday she’s looking into staffers involved in the controversial handling of nursing home data during the pandemic.

“I need to continue working to identify principles involved in those decisions,” she told “Morning Joe.”

She noted she’s asked for a 45-day period to assemble her team.

“There’s just a lot of things that weren’t happening and I’m going to make them happen,” she said. “Transparency will be a hallmark of my administration.”

Blinken says ‘no deadline’ to get out Americans, Afghans, but many will be left behind by evacuation flights

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — After President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of all U.S. troops by Aug. 31, the U.S. will continue to help U.S. citizens and residents and Afghans who worked with Americans or are otherwise at risk from the Taliban get out of the country, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

But it’s unclear how that will be possible after the U.S. cedes control of the airport to the Taliban and ends evacuation flights — and it will mean leaving thousands of Afghans that the administration had previously said they would help behind.

Biden and Blinken have each said that the U.S. is “on track to complete our mission” before that Aug. 31 deadline, without specifying what the administration considers the scope of that mission — including how many Afghans they will evacuate.

In contrast, Blinken detailed how many Americans the U.S. has evacuated — some 4,500 to date — and how many the administration believes are left behind — 500 with whom the State Department has made contact with and up to 1,000 more who registered with the embassy.

“Let me be crystal clear about this — there is no deadline on our work to help any remaining American citizens who decide they want to leave to do so, along with the many Afghans who have stood by us over these many years and want to leave and have been unable to do so. That effort will continue every day past Aug. 31st,” Blinken told reporters Wednesday.

But starting on Sept. 1, that effort will rely on the Taliban, whose spokesperson said Tuesday they will not let Afghans leave the country.

In contrast, Blinken said, “The Taliban have made public and private commitments to provide and permit safe passage for Americans, for third-country nationals and Afghans at risk going forward past Aug. 31st” and to keep Kabul’s international airport running.

He added the U.S., backed by international allies, will hold them to it, without specifying how beyond using “every diplomatic, economic, political and assistance tool at my disposal (and) working closely with allies and partners who feel very much the same way.”

The U.S. is in discussions already with the international community on how to keep the airport open, according to American officials, including countries like Qatar and Turkey that have closer ties to the Taliban.

Blinken didn’t detail what levers the U.S. could use to hold the Taliban to its promises, but he did say that if it let “people who want to leave Afghanistan” leave, upheld basic rights and prevented its territory from becoming a launching pad for terror attacks, “that’s a government we can work with.”

Pressed on whether the administration was abandoning Afghan allies, including interpreters or translators who weren’t far enough along in the special immigrant visa process, a senior State Department official told ABC News, “We have always said that we are committed to bringing out Americans who wish to be repatriated. We are going to do as much as we can for as many people as we can beyond that.”

But while the administration never specified how many Afghans that applied to, it has said repeatedly it would help those who served the U.S. military and diplomatic missions over the last 20 years.

“Our message to those women and men is clear — there is a home for you in the United States if you so choose, and we will stand with you just as you stood with us,” Biden said on July 8, before the Taliban surprised the administration with the speed with which it took over Afghanistan.

The senior State Department official said that “commitment we have to individuals who may be at risk” has to be weighed against “the safety and security of our diplomats, of our service members, of others who are involved in this operation.” Biden, Blinken and other officials have said the threat from the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan remains high, putting U.S. military and diplomatic personnel in danger.

“We’re operating in a hostile environment in a city and country now controlled by the Taliban, with the very real possibility of an ISIS-K attack. We’re taking every precaution, but this is very high-risk,” Blinken said Wednesday.

While the U.S. has been unclear about which Afghan interpreters will be evacuated, Blinken was more explicit about pledging to help those who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Several staffers have been blocked by Taliban fighters from approaching the Kabul airport and getting their seats on evacuation flights.

“Along with American citizens, nothing is more important to me as secretary of state than to do right by the people who have been working side-by-side with American diplomats in our embassy,” Blinken said. “We are relentlessly focused on getting the locally-employed staff out of Afghanistan and out of harm’s way, and let me leave it at that for now.”

The Taliban inherited a vast American-made arsenal after retaking Afghanistan

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Taliban wrested control of more than just territory from Afghan forces as it tore through Afghanistan this month. By the time the militant group toppled Kabul on Aug. 14, images had emerged showing its fighters holding American-made rifles and posing next to Blackhawk helicopters.

Pentagon officials have told ABC News they don’t have a clear idea of just how much U.S.-made equipment is now in the hands of the Taliban, but government reports give clues to what the group could now have in its arsenal.

Since 2005, the U.S. has spent a total of about $80 billion on Afghan troops and police through the congressional Afghanistan Security Forces Fund, the main source of such money. More than $18 billion went specifically to “equipment and transportation,” according to a July report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR.

The rest of the money went toward sustainment, training, operations and infrastructure.

The weapons given to Afghan forces between 2004-2016 included more than 25,000 grenade launchers, nearly 65,000 machine guns and about 360,000 rifles, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The firearms consisted of U.S. service rifles like the M16 and M4 as well as some Russian-designed AK-47s and Dragunov sniper rifles.

Thousands of indirect-fire weapons such as mortars and 122mm howitzers were also given to the Afghans.

“We don’t have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defense materials has gone, but certainly a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters last week.

In addition to conventional weapons, the U.S. gave the Afghans a large fleet of air and ground vehicles.

ABC News Senior Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell, who was in Kabul as the Taliban took over the city, reported seeing Taliban militants driving Humvees. This is perhaps not surprising when considering the defeated Afghan security forces were given some 22,000 Humvees during the course of the war, according to the GAO report.

Add to that 42,000 Ford Ranger pick-up trucks and about 1,000 MRAPs, the large, heavy vehicles used to protect troops against roadside bombs.

For air operations, the U.S. provided the Afghan air force with 40 scout/attack MD-530 “little bird” helicopters, more than 30 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and 23 A-29 Super Tucano propeller attack planes.

Not all of these were left for the Taliban. In a rare public appearance last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “I have received reports of a number of aircraft that were flown into Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.”

Videos have shown Taliban fighters posing by some of these aircraft, but a new Taliban air force is not likely to emerge, according to former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and ABC News contributor Steve Ganyard.

“The U.S. airplanes, they won’t be able to maintain — they’ll likely sell them for cash,” he said. “It’s the ground equipment they’ll use.”

Keeping advanced aircraft in flying condition takes serious maintenance ability and mechanical expertise — something the Afghan air force itself struggled with, even with American assistance.

While much U.S.-made materiel is now under Taliban control, it’s possible the military will try to remove some of it from the equation sometime after the expected Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline, according to Ganyard.

“The U.S. will have the option of bombing the storage areas and destroying equipment once the airlift of American citizens is complete,” he said.

Jan. 6 committee seeks Trump administration records as investigation ramps up

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack on Wednesday sent records requests to eight government agencies, seeking records from the Trump White House and administration related to the Capitol Hill riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

The letters, the first investigative steps taken by the panel since its July hearing, suggest the panel is ramping up its far-reaching inquiry that aims to examine efforts in and around the Trump administration to challenge and overturn the election results before, during and after the Jan. 6 attack.

It could also spark a lengthy legal battle with the former president and his attorneys, who have criticized the inquiry and vowed to challenge efforts to obtain testimony and records.

The panel sent requests to the National Archives — which maintains and preserves Trump White House records — the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and Interior, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and several intelligence community agencies.

Its 12-page letter to the National Archives also requested records pertaining to more than 30 White House aides, lawyers, Trump family members and outside advisers, along with West Wing communications, records and visitors logs on and around the day of the Capitol riot.

The requests to the Justice Department and Pentagon are focused on records related to the “potential invocation of the Insurrection Act” and martial law – both proposed by several Trump allies outside the administration aiming to challenge the election results.

The panel is also seeking communications between the Justice Department and the former president’s campaign legal team “dealing with the validity of the 2020 election of challenges to the election’s outcome.”

“We will look at all records at some point,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters on Monday, adding that the committee has a list of “several hundred people” investigators hope to contact as part of their investigation.

The panel requested from the Department of Homeland Security records related to intelligence gathered on threats prior to the Capitol attack, including those against Vice President Mike Pence, as well as Secret Service records regarding the protection of Pence and his family.

The panel is also poised to issue records preservation requests to telecommunications and social media companies, ahead of any potential subpoenas, for the phone, text, email and social media records of individuals of interest to the investigation – including, potentially members of Congress.

The committee, whose nine members meet in person or over Zoom roughly twice a week, could hold its next hearing in September when Congress reconvenes.

Oregon National Guard deployed to aid hospitals overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Maj. W. Chris Clyne/Oregon National Guard Public Affairs via U.S. National Guard

(SALEM, Ore.) — Hundreds of National Guard members are on the ground in Oregon to help with a COVID-19 surge that’s overwhelming hospitals across the state.

Oregon has 1,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, according to state data, the highest ever in the pandemic. Gov. Kate Brown called the news a “terrifying milestone.”

The state seen cases skyrocket over the past six weeks, with nearly 3,000 reported Tuesday, according to the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 dashboard. The state has 45 available adult ICU beds out of 667, roughly 7%, as of Tuesday.

The Oregon National Guard members — 500 initially were deployed on Aug. 20 — said they’re helping with nonclinical work and COVID-19 testing in 20 hospitals.

The state also has requested doctors, nurses, paramedics and respiratory therapists from out of state. At least 24 FEMA-deployed emergency medical technicians also have been sent out to assist at six Oregon hospitals, Brown said earlier this week.

Three Asante network hospitals in Jackson and Josephine counties in southern Oregon are reeling from a critical surge in COVID-19 cases. In those two counties, just four of 56 staffed adult ICU beds were available, according to the latest Oregon Health Authority data.

The Asante hospital network told ABC News that 80 National Guard members arrived on Aug. 19 and have been assigned to nonclinical support functions, including manning the COVID-19 hotline and assisting with drive-thru testing.

The hospital network reported 181 COVID-19 inpatients on Wednesday, a new record, and at least 9 in 10 hadn’t been vaccinated.

“All three of our hospitals are over capacity. Our ICUs are full. We’re putting two patients in ICU rooms at our Grants Pass hospital. These rooms are built to only house one patient,” Asante spokesperson Lauren Van Sickle told ABC News.

The hospital said capacity has not gone below 90% in the past six months and more than 400 surgeries have been canceled to deal with the surge, Van Sickle said.

In Jackson County, COVID-19 hospitalizations surged sevenfold from the beginning of July to the beginning of August.

Our hospital is actually in a really dire state right now,” Jackie DeSilva, the emergency preparedness manager with Asante, told ABC Portland, Oregon, affiliate KATU. “We are overflowing with patients.”

“We are actually extending our ICU beds into non-conventional areas that would not normally be considered ICU units so we can care for the patients,” she added.

State health officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said in a statement Tuesday that current hospitalizations “far exceed” pre-vaccination surges last fall and winter, and a majority of those in hospitals aren’t vaccinated. So far 71.4% of those 18 and older are fully vaccinated in Oregon, according to state data.

“This is putting an unprecedented strain on our local hospitals. Already, we have seen some hospitals suspend much-needed medical procedures because of the overflowing capacity. This affects every Oregonian family and it is not sustainable,” he said.

Brown has been buckling down on public safety measures to cope with the surge in cases announcing a mask mandate for public outdoor settings on Tuesday, regardless of vaccination status, starting Friday. She also announced last week that health care workers and K-12 educators, staff and volunteers must be fully vaccinated.

NYC Times Square Ferris wheel debuts for limited time

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A limited-time Ferris wheel is opening in New York City’s Times Square Wednesday offering tourists and residents a new view of the city.

The 110-foot-tall ride is in operation from Aug. 25 to Sept. 12.

Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris called it “an incredible new way to enjoy Times Square from a completely new vantage point as we navigate these times and reflect on all we have been through this past year.”

Six people can ride in each gondola.

The Ferris wheel runs from noon to midnight seven days a week. General admission tickets are $20.

COVID-19 live updates: Baby dies in Louisiana marking state’s 1st pediatric death in 6 months

August 25, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 630,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 60.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

Aug 25, 4:25 pm
Gov. Abbott issues executive order maintaining ban on vaccine mandates

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Wednesday maintaining a ban on vaccine mandates.

I issued an Executive Order maintaining the prohibition of vaccine mandates.

Additionally, I’ve added the issue of vaccine mandates to the Special Session agenda.#txlege involvement is important to avoid a patchwork of vaccine mandates across Texas.https://t.co/mZQJEkUJqJ pic.twitter.com/C7BtyN7bRx

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 25, 2021

Abbott also said he added the vaccine mandate issue to Texas’ Special Session agenda.

Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has since tested negative.

Aug 25, 2:35 pm
Pfizer asks FDA for full booster dose approval

Pfizer on Wednesday asked the Food and Drug Administration for full approval for a booster dose. The company said its Phase 3 data showed that people who received a third dose between five to eight months after the second shot had antibody levels three times higher than levels seen after the second dose.

Because the Pfizer shots were approved by the FDA on Monday, Pfizer is now asking the agency to consider a “supplemental” application for boosters for people ages 16 and over. This is a “rolling submission,” with Pfizer intending to complete the submission by the end of the week.

The Biden administration said its goal is to have boosters available beginning Sept. 20, with the recommendation of getting one eight months after the second shot of Pfizer or Moderna.

-ABC News’ Sony Salzman

Aug 25, 1:35 pm
Baby dies in Louisiana marking state’s 1st pediatric death in 6 months

A baby under the age of 1 died in connection to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in Louisiana, the state’s Department of Health said Wednesday.

This marked Louisiana’s first pediatric COVID-19 death in six months, the department said. The baby was one of 110 people in Louisiana to die of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

Eleven children in Louisiana have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, the department said.

Aug 25, 1:07 pm
Hospitalizations at highest point in 7 months

There are now over 100,000 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals, the most in seven months, according to federal data.

The rate of hospital admissions per capita among Americans 29 and younger is at the highest point of the pandemic, according to federal data.

Compared with July 4, six times as many children are being admitted to hospitals, and daily deaths are up 281% over the last six weeks to 775, according to federal data.

Eight states have ICUs over 90% full: Alabama (100%), Arkansas (89.58%), Florida (93.52%), Georgia (92.74%), Kentucky (89.33%), Mississippi (92.93%), Oklahoma (88.93%) and Texas (93.12%).

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 25, 10:56 am
Pentagon announces mandatory Pfizer vaccinations

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced mandatory Pfizer vaccinations, calling it “necessary to protect the safety of our service members and force.”

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was granted full approval by the FDA on Monday.

Aug 25, 10:37 am
Delta Air Lines raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees

Delta is raising health insurance premiums for unvaccinated employees by $200 a month to cover COVID-19 costs like potential hospitalization, which the airline says has cost it $40,000 per person on average.

In recent weeks, all Delta employees hospitalized with COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated, Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a memo to employees.

Currently 75% of Delta employees are vaccinated, according to the airline.

The health insurance premium begins Nov. 1.

Unvaccinated employees will also have to wear masks indoors and be required to take a weekly COVID test beginning Sept. 12.

Aug 25, 10:00 am
Moderna finalizes submission to FDA for full approval

Moderna has finalized submission of its application to the Food and Drug Administration for full approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced Monday.

It’s not yet clear how long the FDA will take to review Moderna’s application.

Pfizer completed its vaccine application in May and was granted full approval on Monday.

Aug 25, 7:00 am
J&J says its vaccine booster shot raises antibody levels 9-fold

In the midst of a delta variant surge, a new study finds that giving a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot six months after primary vaccination results in a nine-fold increase of a crucial antibody response, according to a company press release.

Meanwhile, a prior study found that people vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine still had a durable immune response at least eight months later, even without a booster.

Collectively, the findings could help inform the U.S. government’s recommendations about booster shots for the 14 million people who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Boosting after six months “appears to be safe, and boosts immune responses substantially,” Dr. Dan Barouch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told ABC News.

Aug 25, 3:53 am
COVID-19 cases rise among athletes at Tokyo Paralympics

Several Paralympic athletes have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tokyo in recent days.

According to daily figures released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, at least eight positive cases have been confirmed among unnamed Paralympic athletes so far, with two new cases reported on Wednesday following the opening ceremony.

The 2020 Summer Paralympics officially opened in the Japanese capital on Tuesday, after a yearlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like the 2020 Olympics, which ended on Aug. 8, this year’s Paralympics is taking place under a state of emergency as Japan struggles with a growing COVID-19 crisis.

Aug 24, 9:01 pm
Another Florida school district issues mask mandate

Leaders of the Orange County public school system voted Tuesday to require a mask mandate for all students and staff.

The rule goes into effect on Aug. 30 and will last for at least two months. There will be exemptions for medical reasons.

School board members cited the growing COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations in the area as the reason for their decision.

Aug 24, 5:54 pm
NYC School chancellor discusses teacher vaccine mandate

New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter spoke with ABC News about the vaccine mandate for public school staff that goes into effect Sept. 27.

Porter said she was confident that teachers and other staff members would comply to ensure that classrooms are safe for everyone.

“This is the additional extra layer of protection that we didn’t have a year ago,” she said.

Porter said she has been in discussions with the United Federation of Teachers over what the penalties will be if a teacher doesn’t comply, and she was told that “many of their members are already vaccinated.”

The chancellor said those who still have concerns should know that the Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the Pfizer vaccine and it has shown to prevent severe illness.

Aug 24, 5:38 pm
Kentucky reports record hospitalizations, ICU patients

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted a dire update on the state’s COVID-19 cases.

The state health department reported that 2,014 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, 589 of whom are in intensive care units and 338 are on ventilators. Beshear said these are record numbers.

“Folks, this is dangerous. Please, get vaccinated and mask up indoors,” the governor tweeted.

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