(CHICAGO) — Illinois State Police have opened a investigation into the death of a trooper found shot on a Chicago highway Friday.
Gerald Mason, 35, was found in his squad car suffering from a single gunshot wound at 1:42 p.m. on northbound local lanes of Interstate 94 at 43rd street, Illinois State Police announced.
Citizens on the highway, Chicago Police and ISP troopers arrived to the scene.
Mason was transported to the University of Chicago hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. He succumbed to his injuries at 2:16 p.m.
“It is with profound heartache and unfathomable sadness that we inform you of the death of Trooper Gerald Mason. Trooper Mason was one of the many fearless Troopers assigned to ISP District Chicago. We are asking the public to respectfully give consideration to the family of Trooper Mason and the whole ISP family while we continue to grieve and work through this tragedy,” Director Brendan Kelly said in a statement.
Mason was an 11-year veteran of the ISP.
Mason was on duty at the time, ABC local Chicago station WLS reported.
”Many people called Mason ‘The Hulk’. He was a solid, strong man. He even ripped his trooper pants during a foot pursuit because of those big muscles,” Kelly said in a press conference Friday evening.
Kelly highlighted the challenging work troopers face day in and day out.
“The amazing men and women that we all ask to do so much, again and again and again, may seem like superheroes on many days, but they’re not immortal. They’re not indestructible. They are human beings with hearts, minds and souls as fragile as the next person. They have a breaking point,” Kelly said.
His mother Linda Mason was heartbroken to learn of his death.
“That’s my baby. My first born,” she said to WLS. “He always wanted to be a police officer because he always wanted to protect people. He wanted to make the world a better place.”
His body was escorted in a procession from the hospital to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office with Chicago police, ISP and Chicago firefighters paying their respects.
Police have not revealed any additional information about the circumstances of the shooting but said there is no safety threat to the public or police.
(NEW YORK) — She was an animal lover in Kentucky who was a “bright ray of sunshine” to all who knew her. He was a father of two and “young soul” in Florida who could often be found out on the water on his boat. They were excited about the next chapters in their lives — for her, a wedding; for him, his first grandchild.
Samantha Wendell and Shane O’Neal both also resisted getting vaccinated against COVID-19 for months, stemming from feelings of either fear or fearlessness, before deciding to make an appointment to get the shot. But before they could, they contracted COVID-19 and, following weeks of severe illness, died last month after doctors exhausted all options, their families said.
Their two tragic tales were shared publicly on social media and to news outlets by grieving family members trying to make sense of what happened, and maybe prevent others from going through the same loss.
They also represent a population that public health experts are still trying to reach, as millions in the United States remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
‘Misinformation killed my cousin’
Days after returning home from her Nashville bachelorette party in July, Wendell, a surgical technician from Grand Rapids, started to feel sick, her cousin, Maria Vibandor Hayes, told ABC News. Her fiance, Austin Eskew, also fell ill, she said, about a month before the two college sweethearts were set to tie the knot on Aug. 21.
Eskew recovered, but Wendell’s illness progressed to the point where she was having trouble breathing and needed to be hospitalized the second week in August, according to Vibandor Hayes. The next month was a “rollercoaster” of progress and setbacks, her cousin said. Wendell was moved to a hospital in Indiana, where she was put on a BPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure) machine to help with her breathing, but the week of her wedding she was intubated and put on a ventilator, Vibandor Hayes said.
After a few more weeks of ups and downs, Wendell’s condition didn’t improve and doctors told the family they had done everything they possibly could, her cousin said. She died on Sept. 10 from COVID-19 at the age of 29.
“I didn’t think that this would be our story,” Vibandor Hayes said. “Surely, we’re gonna have a wedding to attend before the end of the year, Sam is gonna wake up and she’ll be better and we’re going to celebrate and live life. But that was not what was the case.”
“I just never want another family to experience what our family has gone through, to say goodbye to somebody on the phone,” she said.
It was particularly hard to see what her cousin went through because Vibandor Hayes is a COVID-19 long hauler, after contracting the virus in March 2020. “I remember how I felt, I remember how I thought I could possibly die,” said Vibandor Hayes, who still suffers from brain fog.
The couple had appointments to get vaccinated after Wendell returned from her bachelorette party, but then they both got sick, Vibandor Hayes said. They had previously hesitated due to concerns of infertility, but Wendell’s mother had encouraged them to get vaccinated ahead of their wedding and honeymoon, the cousin said.
Wendell was not alone in her fears of the vaccine — others have hesitated on getting the shot due to unfounded rumors that it might lead to infertility. Medical experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stressed there is no link between the vaccines and fertility.
“Misinformation killed my cousin,” Vibandor Hayes said. “She is a smart young woman, she always has been. I feel like if she was able to look at things from another perspective and that if she had all the information at her hand, that she would have eventually not hesitated for so long.”
Delta variant a turning point
Shane O’Neal was an avid outdoorsman who could often be found fishing, jet skiing or hunting, his daughter, Kylie Dean, told ABC News.
The resident of Maxville, outside Jacksonville, wasn’t too concerned about getting vaccinated against COVID-19 — he mostly kept to himself on his boat when he wasn’t at his construction company, Dean said.
“He knew [COVID-19] was real, and he knew what was going on, but I don’t think he lived his life in fear of it,” Dean said.
The “turning point,” she said, was the delta variant, which has fueled a surge of cases and hospitalizations, particularly in the Jacksonville area.
“He knew people affected by it, that it’s not something that’s going away, it’s actually coming back with a vengeance almost,” Dean said. “So that’s why he was like, you know what, I’m just going to go ahead and do it.”
The week O’Neal planned to get the vaccine, though, he tested positive for COVID-19 in early August, his daughter said. He was hospitalized a week later and eventually put on a ventilator. He was a good candidate for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment, a last resort for COVID-19 patients, though his hospital didn’t have the machine available, Dean said. After she put out a plea for an ECMO bed, doctors were able to find him one. But his condition deteriorated, and he died in the early morning hours of Sept. 3 at the age of 40.
About 20 minutes after he died, Dean gave birth to her baby boy, O’Neal’s first grandchild.
“I literally broke down, hysterically crying,” Dean said of when she got the call that her dad was going to pass soon. “I didn’t want him to die alone.”
The family is still “in shock,” Dean said. Her father was young and had no comorbidities, but his illness progressed rapidly.
Dean, an intensive care unit nurse, hopes to improve access to ECMO therapy and has been speaking out to warn others about the virus and urge them to protect themselves. “It’s a monster and people need to be careful,” she told ABC News Jacksonville affiliate WJXX.
Personal perspective
Wendell’s and O’Neal’s stories are akin to others shared by family members. Other recent reports of people who planned to get vaccinated but died after contracting COVID-19 include a 53-year-old former Texas councilman, a 39-year-old Illinois teacher, a 48-year-old teacher in Florida, and a 20-year-old college student in North Carolina.
Nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are among people who are unvaccinated, as health care workers and in some cases those hospitalized themselves plead for vaccination.
As of Wednesday, some 70 million people who are eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine remain unvaccinated, according to federal data. Over 65% of those ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated nationwide, which is low considering the level of access to free vaccines in the U.S., Rupali Limaye, director of Behavioral and Implementation Science at the International Vaccine Access Center, based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told ABC News.
At this stage, two main forces may get someone who is hesitant vaccinated, Limaye said — one is hearing about someone regretting not getting the vaccine, the other a vaccine mandate.
“If someone they know themselves is dealing with a very severe case, and someone they know dies from it or they’re close to death, I think that tends to change their mind,” Limaye said. “Or the vaccine mandate, because then that’s sort of an economic sanction.”
Hesitancy continues to be fueled by safety concerns and distrust of the vaccine development process, as well as the belief that preventative measures are unnecessary, she said. Public health experts continue to work to dispel misinformation, but hearing personal stories could be impactful.
“If it is someone that you know where you can hear from a friend, ‘This is what happened to my mom,’ I think that puts it into perspective for people a lot versus just public health folks saying you should get it,” Limaye said. “I think it makes it much more real.”
Vibandor Hayes said she has received “hate mail” from strangers after urging people to get vaccinated, but wants to continue to speak out to help prevent another family from experiencing the same heartbreak.
“If this is the gift she has left us, to share with others, then that’s what we’ll do,” Vibandor Hayes said.
The White Stripes‘ 2001 performance at the Detroit Institute of Arts museum is being released as a live album and concert film.
Live at the Detroit Institute of Arts will be available as a two-LP and DVD set as part of the latest installment in the Third Man Records Vault subscription service. The package also includes previously unseen photos from the performance, as well as a a custom gatefold jacket.
For a band known for playing unique venues, this particular White Stripes performance may have taken the cake. The show smashed the museum’s single-day attendance record, and found the overflowing crowd getting up close and personal with the artwork in a way for which the staff was not prepared. As one museum executive said of the show, “That was the best thing we’ve ever done. It was also the worst thing we’ve ever done.”
Luckily, as a press release says, “The only noticeable damage done on that evening was the ringing of eardrums.”
To obtain Live at the Detroit Institute of Arts for yourself, you need to sign up for the Third Man Vault before October 31. You can subscribe now via ThirdManStore.com.
Jeff Kravitz/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS
David Lee Roth has released his recent solo song, “Lo-Rez Sunset,” as a digital single, and also has debuted an animated music video for the quirky, acoustic-driven tune on his YouTube channel.
The surreal video features animated illustrations created by the Van Halen frontman, depicting Diamond Dave apparently stranded on a desolate beach accompanied by a frog-like creature, a horse and other critters.
Dave proceeds to head out to sea with his froggy friend on a rowboat he finds on the beach, but he eventually ends up back where he started. Near the end of the clip, he also happens to find a rocket ship on the beach, but perhaps his adventures are all just a daydream.
“Lo-Rez Sunset” is a jangly, melodic pop tune that initially debuted as one of five songs featured in Dave’s online interactive comic book The Roth Project, which premiered in fall 2020. The track features current Rob Zombie/former DLR Band member John 5 on guitar and bass, as well as drummer Greg Bissonette on drums, keyboardist Brett Tuggle and percussionist Luis Conte.
Meanwhile, after revealing during a backstage interview with Us Weekly at the recent 2021 MTV Video Music Awards that he had plans to play “Las Vegas on New Year’s,” Roth has now confirmed that he’ll be performing five upcoming concerts at the House of Blues Las Vegas, including shows on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and on January 5, 7 and 8.
Roth’s “Rock Vegas” residency will feature “a changing set of 26 instantly recognizable songs, including ‘Jump,’ ‘Panama” and ‘California Girls.'”
Pre-sale tickets and VIP packages for the concerts are available now. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Saturday, October 2, at 10 a.m. PT.
(WASHINGTON) — After two days of Democratic infighting and drama, the fate of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure agenda remained unclear Friday night after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to repeatedly put off a vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill because progressive Democrats had vowed to vote against it — unless there’s a deal on a larger spending package.
The feuding has so jeopardized Biden’s top legislative priorities that he went to Capitol Hill Friday afternoon to meet with House Democrats to make clear he wants both the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion social safety net and climate policy measure to pass.
“It doesn’t matter when. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in six minutes, six days, or six weeks. We’re gonna get it done,” Biden told reporters as he emerged.
Behind closed doors, Biden suggested that a smaller topline social policy bill price tag ranging from $1.9-$2.2 trillion could be the compromise in tense negotiations involving the White House, Democratic progressives, moderates and two key Senate Democrats, according to sources in the room.
Such an investment, together with the $1.2 trillion bipartisan highway bill, would still be a huge investment, he told the caucus, the sources said.
“Even a smaller bill can make historic investments,” they quoted Biden as saying.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill “ain’t going to happen until we reach an agreement on the next piece of legislation,” he added, according to the sources. “Let’s try to figure out what we are for in reconciliation … and then we can move ahead.”
He made clear he campaigned on the proposals in the larger package, they said, but did not suggest or endorse a specific timeline for votes in the House or Senate.
One Democrat inside the room told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott they were “massively disappointed.”
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the lawmaker told her “when the president of the United States comes, it’s to close the deal — not to say hello.” The member added, “Most of us are at a loss for words. There was no plan. No strategy. No timing.”
Earlier Friday, Pelosi and House Democrats held another caucus meeting for more than two-and-a-half hours as they tried to find a path forward on their policy agenda after Democratic leadership and the White House failed to bring progressives and moderates together behind the president’s broader agenda.
Inside that closed-door gathering, which typically has the feel of a pep rally-turned-group therapy session, Pelosi seized the opportunity to take the temperature of her caucus. Centrist members from swing districts pushed for an immediate vote on the Senate-passed infrastructure bill. Progressives insisted that they will block it unless the Senate first approves the massive social policy package – hardening the stance they have taken for several weeks.
“No. We need a vote,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said outside the morning caucus meeting. “We need to be real. Are we going to deliver universal pre-K to this country, or not? Are we going to expand health care to our seniors and improve vision and dental, or not?”
Pelosi told members that Democrats ought to move quickly and that the situation was “perishable,” according to sources familiar with her comments.
“We cannot and I will not ask you to vote for the BIF (Capitol Hill shorthand for bipartisan infrastructure framework) until we have the best possible offering that we can stick with,” Pelosi told Democrats. “And it’s not just me. This is about the president of the United States.”
“So, that’s why it is our intention to bring up the vote today. It is our intention to win the vote today,” she added, according to sources familiar with her comments.
As she arrived at the Capitol Friday morning, ABC News asked Pelosi whether she was trying to get members on board by promising a second reconciliation bill early next year in an effort to appease members now, after vowing again on Thursday that a reconciliation bill would follow the vote on the bipartisan package.
“I don’t know about that but a reconciliation bill is not excluded. It’s not necessarily connected to this,” she said.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer arrived a minute ahead of Pelosi, telling reporters only “we’ll see” when asked whether the House would vote on the measure before the end of the day.
Pelosi had insisted for two mornings that she planned to go ahead with a vote on the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., exiting the morning caucus meeting on Friday, said she’s “seen more progress in the last 48 hours than we’ve seen in a long time on reconciliation.”
She reiterated the progressives’ position that they’ll vote “no” unless there is agreement with the moderate Democratic senators on a larger social spending package to accompany it.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who along with and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. object to the larger bill’s cost, told reporters on Thursday he already conveyed to leadership his topline number is $1.5 trillion — far below progressives $3.5 trillion number.
ABC is giving viewers at taste of 90s hip-hop with the official music video for “Nasty Girl,” an original song from the upcoming drama series, Queens.
Directed by Queens executive producer Tim Story, the new video features series stars Eve, Brandy, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez performing the catchy tune in signature 90s hip-hop style, while looking glamorous on a yacht as they dance around their hunky back-up dancers.
“As artists who came up in the ’90s, “Nasty Girl” is our love letter to the groundbreaking music and hip-hop culture of the era,” said the four women in joint statement. “To still be in the game today and supporting each other along the way is what our show Queens is all about.”
As previously reported, Brandy, Eve, Naturi Naughton, and Nadine Velazquez star in Queens as the original members of a popular 90s rap group who reunite in hopes of recapturing their hip-hop crowns. New music from the series will be released every episode by Def Jam Recordings. Meanwhile, Swizz Beatz will serve as the executive music producer for all of the original music in the series.
(WASHINGTON) — With at-home rapid COVID-19 tests hard to come by and many stores limiting purchases, the White House on Friday acknowledged the current supply crunch, promising to double the number of rapid tests available for sale within the next two months.
“You’re right that the at-home rapid test is under a lot of demand,” White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said, emphasizing that “overall, testing capacity across the country remains robust.”
“The manufacturing is scaling up significantly, doubling across the next couple of months, and we’re just going to keep at it to encourage those manufacturers to increase capacity and to drive down the cost of those tests.”
The White House has touted the effectiveness of its new vaccine mandates and employee testing requirements, and it has committed to shoring up testing by investing billions of dollars.
Yet the U.S. has struggled since the start of the pandemic to meet demand for tests. As he began his tenure, President Joe Biden pledged a World War II-style production push to ramp up supply. But while PCR tests, which rely on labs to process them and take longer to produce results, are now widely available, the at-home rapid tests are hard to find.
Demand for testing generally has soared some 300% to 650% in some areas of the country, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told senators Thursday, making the case that while “sufficient supply” remains, the issue becomes “getting [it] to the right places.”
Senators on both sides of the aisle grilled Becerra on the testing shortage they’re seeing in their states, saying that even though the federal government has supplied billions of dollars for schools and businesses to acquire tests, actually securing them has become a challenge.
“You need to know that right now there is a real crush to be able to get the testing that can get the results back in a timely enough manner to make a difference,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said, adding that schools and businesses have told her “there’s no place to get the testing, or certainly not to get the rapid test.”
Consumers have felt that crush at checkout.
“Due to high demand, deliveries may be delayed,” reads a banner across the CVS at-home testing page. “We appreciate your understanding as our associates work around the clock to support you.”
“We may experience intermittent delays in supply in some locations and are working with the all of our testing partners to meet patient demand,” Walgreens corporate spokesperson Erin Loverher told ABC News.
Following the doubling of testing volume in June to July, with much of the heightened consumption coming from the southern surge states, Walgreens is seeing “incredible demand,” the Loverher said. As such, a cap has been placed on over-the-counter at-home COVID testing products “in an effort to help improve inventory,” while the company continues to “work diligently with our partners to best meet demand.”
CVS spokesperson Matthew Blanchette told ABC News the company has also begun to ration rapid test-kit purchases.
In order to preserve the straining supplies of point-of-care and over-the-counter rapid tests, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked labs in September to use laboratory-based tests over rapid ones whenever possible to “meet the current test demand” despite what it called a “temporary shortage.”
In late September, the Biden administration struck a new $1.2 billion deal for millions more rapid COVID-19 tests from Abbott and Celltrion, part of the $2 billion already announced by the White House to expand testing.
Abbott spokesperson John Koval told ABC News that the company would be ramping up production significantly, and by the end of October it aims to produce “as many or more” rapid tests as at the height of their production — surging capacity up to at least 50 million tests a month.
The company is restarting production at its Illinois plant and rehiring in Maine after laying off several hundred workers when demand was down, Koval said.
“Overall, we’ll continue to pull every lever we can to further expand the manufacturing and the production of these tests in order to make them more widely available and to drive down the cost per test,” Zients said Friday.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
Meek Mill Expensive Pain album cover courtesy Atlantic Records
Meek Mill dropped his long-awaited fifth studio album, Expensive Pain, on Friday, featuring Lil Baby, Kehlani, Lil Uzi Vert, Moneybagg Yo, Young Thug, Lil Durk, A$AP Ferg, Brent Faiyaz, Giggs and Vory.
The Philly MC also announced a star-studded “Expensive Pain: Meek Mill & Friends” album playback concert on October 23 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He’ll perform the new project in its entirety alongside several special guests. Tickets for the show are now on sale on his website.
After celebrating his 39th birthday Monday in Miami at a party hosted by Drake, Lil Wayne released his duo mixtape with Rich The Kid, titled Trust Fund Babies, a ten-track project that also features YG. In the video for the single “Feelin’ Like Tunechi,” they’re pursued by police, and Weezy humorously raps while being interrogated about his performance at a Rolling Loud concert in 2019.
H.E.R. is expanding her music repertoire by collaborating with four-time American Music Award-winning country star Kane Brown. They co-wrote “Blessed and Free,” a song about being grateful for the simple things in life. They sing, “Cause as long as my eyes still see/As long as my heart still beats/As long as I’m alive, I’m free.”
Finally, Grammy nominee Wale reunites with J. Cole on their new track, “Poke It Out,” which samples Q-Tip‘s 1999 hit, “Vivrant Thing.” It’s the first single from Wale’s upcoming seventh album, Folarin 2, which will be released October 22. The duo previously recorded “Bad Girls Club” in 2011, and “My Boy” in 2018.
Today, Neil Young released his latest archival live album, Carnegie Hall 1970, which marks the launch of his new The Neil Young Official Bootleg Series.
The album was recorded on December 4, 1970, at the first concert that Young ever played at the historic New York City venue. The Neil Young Official Bootleg Series — Carnegie Hall 1970 is available now as a two-LP vinyl set and a two-CD collection at The Greedy Hand Store at WarnerRecords.com and as a high-res digital download at NeilYoungArchives.com.
The show was the first of two solo acoustic concerts that Neil played at Carnegie Hall that evening, and featured a 23-song set that, in addition to many selections from his solo career, included renditions of tunes he recorded as a member of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
The concert featured performances of three songs that Neil had not yet officially recorded or released — “Bad Fog of Loneliness,” “Old Man,” and “See the Sky About to Rain.” Other tunes he played at the show included “Down by the River,” “Cinnamon Girl,” “Helpless,” “Southern Man,” “Sugar Mountain,” “After the Gold Rush,” “Cowgirl in the Sand” and “Ohio.”
Coinciding with Carnegie Hall 1970‘s release, Young has posted his performance of the Buffalo Springfield tune “Flying on the Ground Is Wrong” featuring him playing the song on piano on his YouTube channel.
Neil is planning to release five more installments of his new Official Bootleg Series in 2022.
Here’s the full track list of Carnegie Hall 1970:
“Down by the River”
“Cinnamon Girl”
“I Am a Child”
“Expecting to Fly”
“The Loner”
“Wonderin'”
“Helpless”
“Southern Man”
“Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing”
“Sugar Mountain”
“On the Way Home”
“Tell Me Why”
“Only Love Can Break Your Heart”
“Old Man”
“After the Gold Rush”
“Flying on the Ground Is Wrong”
“Cowgirl in the Sand”
“Don’t Let It Bring You Down”
“Birds”
“Bad Fog of Loneliness”
“Ohio”
“See the Sky About to Rain”
“Dance Dance Dance”
(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.
More than 696,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.7 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 65% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 01, 5:20 pm
Deadline for NYC school employees to get vaccinated passes
The deadline for New York City public school employees has passed: At least 90% of public school employees are vaccinated, including 93% of teachers and 98% of principals, according to the Department of Education.
About 500 employees have been granted an exemption, representing .03% of the workforce.
Employees who did not provide proof of vaccination by 5 p.m. on Friday will be moved to Leave Without Pay status. Employees who get vaccinated this weekend and provide proof of vaccination on Monday may report to work as usual.
The DOE said 9,000 vaccinated substitute teachers are on standby.
Oct 01, 5:04 pm
US death toll set to surpass 700,000
The U.S. death toll is set to surpass 700,000, though the latest surge continues to subside.
About 1,500 new deaths are reported each day on average in the U.S. The country’s daily case average has dropped to just under 106,000 cases a day, down by about 33% in the last month, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
However, that number is still significantly higher than it was three months ago.
There have been almost 43.4 million coronavirus cases in the U.S., which means 1 in approximately every 7 Americans has tested positive, and 1 in every 469 Americans has lost their life to the virus.
Some states — like Alaska and West Virginia — are experiencing record-breaking surges, while other states — including Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Texas — have an intensive care unit capacity of about 10% or less.
In other states — Maine, Minnesota and New Hampshire — infection rates continue to rise.
About 97% of counties across the country are reporting “high” or “substantial” community transmission, as the country nears the grim milestone of 700,000 deaths.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Oct 01, 3:02 pm
White House COVID-19 team on rapid testing, vaccine updates
The White House COVID-19 team told ABC News that they are aiming to double the number of rapid tests available at market within the next two months.
“You’re right that the at-home rapid test is under a lot of demand,” said White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients. “The manufacturing is scaling up significantly, doubling across the next couple of months, and we’re just going to keep at it to encourage those manufacturers to increase capacity and to drive down the cost of those tests.”
Zients added: “Overall, we’ll continue to pull every level we can to further expand the manufacturing and the production of these tests in order to make them more widely available, and to drive down the cost per test.” He did not offer further specifics.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy also said that the shots for children ages 5 to 11 are “on the horizon.” Murthy deferred to the FDA and CDC’s “rigorous review process” and independent advisory panels to determine further absolutes.
The White House team urges Americans not to let their guard down even though the latest surge of COVID-19 may be subsiding. White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said that it is not an excuse for unvaccinated Americans to remain unvaccinated.
“I think that the people who are unvaccinated, when they see the curve starting to come down, that is not a reason to remain unvaccinated, because if you want to ensure that we get down to a very low level and that we don’t re-surge again,” Fauci said. “We still gotta get a very large proportion of those 70 million people who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not been vaccinated, we’ve got to get them vaccinated.”
-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik
Oct 01, 2:11 pm
California to require COVID-19 vaccine for all students
California will be the first state to require the COVID-19 vaccine for all eligible students, faculty and staff in public and private schools. Gov. Gavin Newsom says that the COVID-19 vaccine will be one of 11 vaccines required to attend schools in California.
The vaccine will be required at the start of the upcoming school term following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the vaccines. Terms begin in January and July.
The government has only fully approved the COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 and over.
School staff will be required to be vaccinated on the same timeline as grades 7-12, the earliest group to see full FDA approval.
There are exemptions for medical reasons and for personal and religious beliefs.
-ABC News’ Matthew Fuhrman
Oct 01, 12:20 pm
Vaccine acceptance at high amid delta surge: Polls
Polls found that coronavirus vaccine acceptance is at a high — with surveys finding 80% to 82% of people say they have been vaccinated or are likely to get vaccinated. These are the highest percentages [since the vaccine rollout began] ().
The CDC reports that 77% of adults have gotten at least one vaccine dose.
Vaccinations have gone up since August, and a study by [health policy research organization Kaiser Family Foundation] () indicates that gaps by race and ethnicity are almost eliminated — 73% of Hispanics, 71% of white people and 70% of Black people are said to be vaccinated.
However, vaccine gaps persist across party lines — KFF found that 90% of Democrats say they’ve gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 68% of independents and 58% of Republicans.
However, unvaccinated people continue to express doubts concerning the vaccines’ effectiveness and resistance to vaccine mandates in the workplace.
In a poll by [the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index] (), 71% of unvaccinated Americans believe that the vaccine booster shots and breakthrough infections are signs that vaccines are not as effective as they are said to be.
Only about 29% of unvaccinated workers say they would get a shot if their employer mandates it, according to the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Oct 01, 8:35 am
Merck announces virus-fighting breakthrough in pill form
Merck Thursday morning announced the results of an ongoing Phase 3 study of an antiviral pill that may slash the risk of being hospitalized or dying of the virus by 50%.
The study’s results are so compelling that an independent monitoring board recommended, in consultation with the FDA, ending the trial early so the companies can swiftly seek authorization.
Sep 30, 4:33 pm
Daily hospital admissions down 32% in last month
Since the beginning of September, the U.S. has seen a drop of more than 27,000 patients in hospitals across the country, according to federal data. A little less than half of those patients come from Florida.
Daily hospital admissions are down by nearly 15% in the last week and by 32% in the last month, according to federal data.
The country’s daily case average has fallen to 107,000 — a 33% drop in the last month. However, about 97% of counties are still reporting “high” or “substantial” community transmission.
