Monthly Archives: September 2021

Stay Safe Reopening Plan

As we welcome customers and staff back to city buildings, we have created a Stay Safe Reopening Plan to guide our efforts. Read reopening plan hereVersion OptionsCovid-19 (Coronavirus) InformationHeadlineStay Safe Reopening PlanStay Safe Reopening PlanStay Safe Reopening PlanStay Safe Reopening PlanStay Safe Reopening PlanStay Safe Reopening PlanStay Safe Reopening PlanStay Safe Reopening Plan.

This 5-stage plan provides a general framework and guidelines for all city services and departments, in accordance with guidance provided by the State of Washington. This plan is the basis for how the City will continue to:

Provide services and programs, and continue field operations Conduct public events and meetings Manage the timeline for reopening facilities Implement staffing schedules Apply CDC recommendations and maintain sanitation and janitorial services

Reopened July 1, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday - Friday

City Hall Redmond Community Center at Marymoor Village Public Safety Building Fire Stations

Due to recent increases in COVID-19 cases, face coverings are now required inside city facilities regardless of vaccination status.

Redmond Pool is reopened

Reopening later this year Bytes Caf for senior programming Old Firehouse Teen Center

The City will continue to follow Washington States guidelines for the suspension of the in-person requirement for the Open Public Meetings Act until the suspension is lifted (anticipated June 30) after which time:

Council meetings have resumed in Council Chambers as of Tuesday, July 6, 2021 and are running hybrid, in-person and virtual. The City follows Washington State guidelines for open public meetings. Watch Council Meetings View Council meeting dates, agendas and materials

Parks and Recreation have outlined the "Play Safe, Stay Safe" plan to reopen park amenities, facilities and activities.

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COVID-19 Resources & City Reopening Plan | Redmond, WA

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) From the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to the destructive waters of Superstorm Sandy, to real estate scams in Queens, Debbie Cohen for eight years covered the stories big and small in her hometown of New York City.

Cohen decided it was time for a career change.

She moved to Virginia Beach in 2017 and enrolled in graduate school at Regent University. In the School of Government, she earned two masters degrees: one has an emphasis in health care policy, the other in national security affairs and cyber security.

Hampton Roads is a long way from living in the Big Apple, but Cohen enjoyed the family atmosphere at Regent University, swimming off the Oceanfront, kayaking at First Landing State Park, and long walks along the Atlantic Ocean.

The pandemic slowed down her efforts to find a job in her new field, but she did secure some temporary positions that allowed her to work from home.

Earlier this year, she considered getting the potentially life-saving coronavirus vaccine but decided against it because of her history of allergies. Another complication: she was struck by a car while walking in a parking lot along Indian River Road.

Three weeks ago, Cohen, a friend, and his wife contracted the coronavirus. Cohen and the wife survived but the man was killed by COVID-19.

Cohen spent two weeks at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital where she was treated with the drug Remdesivir. Last week, she was transferred to Consulate Health Norfolk, where she is seen by a doctor three times a week and is visited by a nurse four to five times a week. She said she has COVID-pneumonia, which has left her too weak to even walk. She remains on oxygen, steroids, and antibiotics.

10 On Your Side first introduced Cohen to the public last week when she cried out for help when, in sweltering temperatures, the air conditioning system failed in part of the Consulate Health Care building at 3900 Llewellyn Avenue in Norfolk. Technicians and city officials responded and the problem was corrected, according to the city.

Last week, Cohen said she felt as if COVID-19 is killing her. This week, that fear persists.

This COVID is real, it really takes you down, said Cohen in a recorded Zoom interview.

In the interview, Cohen fluffed up her long blonde locks and proceeded to explain how it feels to suffer from pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs.

I still feel like I cant breathe Im dying from COVID I know everybody is praying for me churches, friends family, and school. It cuts off your breathing and you try to catch your breath and take a breath, but its impossible, she said.

She has advice for the vaccine-hesitant: Dont do what I did.

Im going to take the vaccine and Im advising everyone this is not a hoax. Help our children help your grandchildren, implored Cohen.

She is also frustrated with how the pandemic has been politicized and the proliferation of conspiracy theories.

I want to tell everybody this is not a government conspiracy. The vaccine does not have chips in it or fetal tissue, said Cohen. It doesnt matter if you are a liberal, a Libertarian, Republican, or a Democrat, it [the virus] doesnt discriminate.

Cohen is waiting for more details on her prognosis for the lung disorder. Until then, she is leaning on loved ones, including a Regent University professor, who have offered prayers.

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Former journalist recovering from COVID-19 in Norfolk: It is not a hoax - WAVY.com

All around the world, there seem to be signs that immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, doesn't last very long after you're vaccinated.

Israel is now having one of the world's worst COVID-19 surges about five months after vaccinating a majority of its population. And in the U.S., health officials are recommending a booster shot eight months after the original vaccine course.

So, how long does immunity last after two doses of the vaccine? Six months or so? And at that point, how much protection is left over?

It all depends on which type of immunity you're talking about, says immunologist Ali Ellebedy at Washington University in St. Louis. Six months after your vaccine, your body may be more ready to fight off the coronavirus than you might think.

"If you were vaccinated six months ago, your immune system has been training for six months you are better ready to fight a COVID-19 infection," says Ellebedy.

A series of new studies, including two led by Ellebedy, suggests that mRNA vaccines like those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna trigger the immune system to establish long-term protection against severe COVID-19 protection that likely will last several years or even longer, Ellebedy says.

To understand what he's talking about, let's say you received the second Moderna or Pfizer vaccine six months ago. Right away, your immune system got to work and began making antibodies.

These antibodies are a bit like archers outside the moat of a castle. They set up in the lining of your nose and throat, ready to shoot down (aka neutralize) any SARS-CoV-2 particles that try to enter the moat (aka your nasal tissue).

These antibodies can prevent an infection, says bioimmunologist Deepta Bhattacharya at the University of Arizona. They stop the virus from entering cells and setting up shop. They are the body's front-line defense.

But right after vaccination, this initial round of antibodies has a few problems. The antibodies are a bit wimpy. They're not that well trained at killing SARS-CoV-2, and they're not very durable, Bhattacharya says.

About a month after the second mRNA shot, the number of antibodies in the blood reaches its peak level and then starts to decline. The antibodies themselves degrade and the cells that make them die, a study published in the journal Nature reported in June.

This happens with every vaccine, whether it's for COVID-19, the flu or measles, Bhattacharya says. "In every single immune response, there is a sharp rise in antibodies, a period of sharp decline, and then it starts to settle into a more stable nadir."

The media has largely focused on this decline of antibodies as the cause of "waning immunity." And it's true, Bhattacharya says, that this decline in antibodies, combined with the high potency of the delta variant, which began dominating many countries this year, is likely increasing the rate of infection in fully vaccinated people.

"If you get a big dose of delta, as the variant often gives, the virus can slip past the initial wall of antibodies," he says. "So I think we may be seeing some signs of that. But the [level of breakthrough infections] is probably not as dramatic as I think it's being made out to be."

Why? Because the media has largely overlooked several key facts about the antibodies present eight months after the vaccine. For starters, they're more powerful than the original ones triggered by the vaccine, Bhattacharya says.

While the first round of archers (antibodies) was out guarding the moat of your castle (respiratory tract), the immune system wasn't just sitting around idly, hoping those soldiers would be enough. Instead, it was busy training better archers and a whole bunch of foot soldiers too.

After your second shot, the immune system sets up a training center in the lymph nodes to teach special cells how to make more powerful antibodies, the Nature paper from June reported.

"The quality of the antibody improves over time. It takes far fewer of those new antibodies to protect you," Bhattacharya says. "So I think that worrying about antibody decline is not something that's productive," he adds.

At the same time, the cells that make these souped-up antibodies become souped up themselves, he adds. In the training center, they learn how to make a huge amount of the highly powerful antibodies.

"These cells are remarkable," Bhattacharya says. "They're estimated to spit out something like 10,000 antibody molecules per second." So you don't need many of these cells to protect you against a future infection.

"We've done some back-of-the-envelope calculations to figure out how many of these cells are needed to protect a mouse from a lethal infection. It's three," Bhattacharya says. "Of course, we're bigger than mice. But you get the sense that it doesn't take many to offer good protection."

On top of that, these cells learn something remarkable in the training center: how to persist. "They're essentially given the gift of eternity," says immunologist Ellebedy.

He and his colleagues have found that by about six months after vaccination, these antibody-producing cells go into the bone marrow, where they can live for decades, perhaps even a lifetime, studies have found, and continue to produce antibodies the entire time. In one 2008 study, researchers identified antibodies that could neutralize the 1918 flu in the blood of people who were exposed to the virus 90 years earlier.

"We looked in the bone marrow and have seen these cells in people previously infected with SARS-CoV-2," Ellebedy says. "Now we are finishing research that shows these cells appear in the bone marrow after vaccination as well."

Called long-lived plasma cells, these cells will likely pump out antibodies into the blood for decades, Ellebedy says, giving people some sustained, long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2. (There is a caveat: If the virus changes too much, these antibodies won't be as effective.)

"The antibodies are maintained at very low levels, but they're the first line of defense against an infection," Ellebedy says. "If you're taken by surprise by SARS-CoV-2, these antibodies will slow down the replication of the virus" until reinforcements come along.

And reinforcements will likely come!

On top of training up better archers (antibodies) and factories to create them (plasma cells), the immune system has also been training up the equivalent of foot soldiers, several studies have found. These foot soldiers are called memory B cells and memory T cells, and they largely serve as a surveillance system, looking for other cells infected with SARS-CoV-2.

"They're patrolling all over," Ellebedy says, checking to see if a cell has SARS-CoV-2 hiding in it. "It's almost like going through the neighborhood, house by house, and just making sure it's clean."

These foot soldiers can't prevent an infection from initially occurring, but they can quickly stop one once it occurs, says immunologist Jennifer Gommerman at the University of Toronto. "Because of the vaccine-generated 'memory' of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, you get a very brisk cellular immune response."

OK. So now we've got all the information to understand what's going on with the COVID-19 vaccine and immune durability.

About six months after the shots, the antibodies in the blood have fallen as expected. They're also a bit less effective against the delta variant. "Together, that means there are more symptomatic infections as we go further out from the vaccination rollout," Gommerman says.

But in vaccinated people, these infections will most likely be mild or moderate because the immune system isn't starting from scratch. In fact, it's the opposite. It has been training cells and antibodies for months.

"You still have all this immunity inside of your body that will then say, 'OK, we've had a breach, and it's time to bring in the cellular immunity and respond to this threat,' " Gommerman says. "And because of vaccination, you have cells that can do that really quickly."

And so, overall, you'll be less sick than if you weren't vaccinated and be much less likely to end up in the hospital, she says.

"That's really what the vaccines were designed to do to teach the immune system to deal with this invader if an infection does occur," Gommerman says. "And the vaccines do that remarkably well."

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How Long Does Immunity To COVID-19 Last? : Goats and Soda - NPR

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) The growth of COVID-19 was higher this August than last year in terms of infecting more South Dakota residents and putting them in the hospital.

South Dakota gained about 162 new active cases of COVID-19 a day during August.

The state department of health reported 657 active cases on Aug. 4 and 5,035 active cases on Aug 31. Specifically for the 24-day period between Aug. 4 and Aug. 31, the state gained about 168 cases per day.

Daily hospitalizations grew by 5 1/2 times as much from 39 daily active hospitalizations on Aug. 4 to 216 on Aug. 31.

Despite the availability of vaccinations and experiencing a surge in COVID-19 in the fall of 2020, South Dakota seems poised to do it all over again for the fall of 2021.

The numbers have increased faster this past August than in August of 2020. The 2021 peak could be sooner than the November peak of 2020.

The state had 13,509 total cases on Aug. 31, 2020. There were 167 deaths, 2,730 active cases, 76 active cases in the hospital. The total number of people in the hospital had reached 1,082 while recoveries were at 10,612. The deaths increased by 31 from 136 on Aug. 4 to 167 on Aug. 31.

The state had 216 active cases in the hospital on Aug. 31, 2021. Deaths increased by 19 in August 2021 from 2,050 on Aug. 4 to 2,069 on Aug. 31.

Total hospitalizations increased by 183 in August of 2020. Total hospitalizations increased by 311 in August of 2021.

The total cases increased by about 6,600 from Aug. 4, 2021, to Aug. 31.

The state had 2,730 active cases on Aug. 31, 2020. There were 2,800 more the next year for a total of 5,035 active cases on Aug. 31, 2021.

There were more than 13,000 active cases each day of November of 2020 with many days hovering around 16,000.

In 76 days, from Aug. 31 to Nov. 15, 2020, grew by 16,630 active daily cases to 19,360 on Nov. 15, 2020.

COVID-19 could spread quicker this year compared to last year, according to health experts. The Delta variant is more easily transmitted than the 2020 strain, many individuals older than 12 and under 40 are still unvaccinated, and schools are open without mask mandates or even strongly encouraging masking.

Sixty-percent of the states 12 and older population, who are eligible for vaccination, have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. About 56% are fully vaccinated.

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Is August the start of another peak COVID-19 season? - KELOLAND.com

If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are at high risk for developing severe COVID-19, you may be eligible for monoclonal antibody treatment, which might prevent you from becoming sicker.

Antibodies are part of our natural defense against viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. But they take time for the body to make. Antibodies designed to attack COVID-19 have been developed, and in several studies have been shown to reduce the risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 and hospitalization when given early to people who test positive for COVID-19. This therapy is given as an infusion through an IV at one of the UNC Health infusion centers.

The criteria for patients to be considered for Monoclonal Antibody infusion therapy are:

Monoclonal antibody therapy needs to be given as soon as possible after symptoms start to workideally within 4 days and no longer than seven days.

To find out if you are at high risk and eligible for COVID 19 Monoclonal Antibody infusion therapy, please call the UNC COVID Help Line at 888-850-2684, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., 7 days a week.

Providers outside of UNC Health can also call the Help Line for information about whether patients meet detailed criteria and can be referred to a UNC Health clinic for monoclonal antibody treatment. UNC Health providers should check the intranet resources for treatment criteria and referral information.

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Monoclonal antibody infusion therapy for COVID-19 | UNC-Chapel Hill - UNC Chapell Hill

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San Antonio Zoo to vaccinate its animals against COVID-19 very soon - KXAN.com

As the coronavirus continues to surge across the United States, hospitals are again filling up with ill COVID-19 patients. And the vast majority of those patients are unvaccinated, as two new charts help make exceedingly clear.

One of those charts shows that from January 24 to July 24, vaccinated individuals were hospitalized with COVID-19 at a much lower cumulative rate than unvaccinated individuals. And the difference in rates between the two groups has only grown over time. By late July, a total of about 26 adults per 100,000 vaccinated people had been hospitalized for COVID-19. Thats compared with about 431 hospitalized people for every 100,000 unvaccinated individuals a rate roughly 17 times as high as for those who were vaccinated. The datacome from 13 states, including California, Georgia and Utah.

That trend held when the researchers charted hospitalization rates on a weekly basis too. From January to July, weekly hospitalization rates among unvaccinated people were six to 31 times as high as those in vaccinated people, the researchers report August 29 at medRxiv.org.

The accumulation of hospitalizations in each group over time, which that first chart shows, illustrates the risk of developing severe COVID-19 overall. And its message is clear: If youre vaccinated during this pandemic, your risk of hospitalization is much, much lower than if youre not vaccinated. The weekly rate, on the other hand, is a bit like the speedometer on a car providing a glimpse of whats happening week by week as the coronavirus spreads. Its message is also clear: The risk of a vaccinated person becoming hospitalized remains low at any given time, while the risk for unvaccinated people can fluctuate, probably as a result of community transmission.

The findings, along with other recent research out of Los Angeles County, remind us that if you are not yet vaccinated, you are among those highest at risk, Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said August 24 in a White House news briefing. Please do not underestimate the risk of serious consequences of this virus.

As of August 26, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized for COVID-19 in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services a level not seen since January amid the winter surge.

A separate study, described August 24 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, that focused on Los Angeles County also showed that while COVID-19 vaccines dont always stop infections, the shots still prevent people from landing in the hospital. Thats even with the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, which has raised concerns among public health officials because some vaccinated people who get infected can transmit the coronavirus to others (SN: 7/30/21).

On July 25, when the delta variant was prevalent in the county, unvaccinated people were nearly 30 times as likely to be hospitalized as vaccinated people, the researchers found. Only one vaccinated person for every 100,000 people was hospitalized for COVID-19. Among unvaccinated people, there were around 29 hospitalizations per 100,000 individuals. In that same study, unvaccinated people were five times as likely to be infected as vaccinated people.

While the vaccines dont protect against infection as well as they do against severe disease, the shots are keeping people off ventilators and from dying, Kathryn Edwards, an infectious disease pediatrician at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, said August 26 in a news briefing sponsored by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. We cannot lose the forest for the trees.

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These charts show that COVID-19 vaccines are doing their job - Science News Magazine

zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images

A new report released by the Social Security Administration on Tuesday reveals new estimates of just how much the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the program's already ailing trust funds.

The results show the funds from which the program pays benefits have been "significantly affected" by both the pandemic and the ensuing recession of 2020.

Now, the fund that pays retirement and survivor benefits known as the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will be able to pay full benefits as scheduled only until 2033. That is one year earlier than last year's projections.

At that time, the program will only be able to pay 76% of those scheduled benefits.

The Disability Insurance Trust Fund, meanwhile, will be able to pay benefits until 2057 eight years sooner than last year's estimates. At that time, Social Security will be able to pay 91% of those benefits.

Combined, both trust funds are estimated to be able to pay full benefits as scheduled until 2034, one year earlier than last year's projections, at which point 78% of benefits will be payable.

Notably, last year's projections did not take the effects of Covid-19 into account.

Though the depletion dates have been bumped up sooner, benefits will still be paid once those dates are reached.

In addition, though the cost-of-living adjustment for next year was projected to be 3.1%, that increase will likely be closer to 6% due to recent increases in the Consumer Price Index, senior administration officials said. That is in line with recent estimates.

That would be the highest increase in decades, due to recent price increases in areas like cars and energy. The COLA for this year was 1.3%.

While this report is the first to show the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on Social Security, the full effect of persistent inflation likely will not be known until next year's report, said Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

A sustained inflation rate of more than 2% could have a meaningful impact on the program's finances, he said.

Here's a look at more retirement news.

The Aug. 31 release date of the annual Social Security trustees report is also the latest in at least 25 years, Akabas noted. Typically, the report comes out in April, though it has been released later than that in the past.

"It's concerning from that standpoint of wanting to make sure we're keeping a close eye on the program's finances," Akabas said.

While the report's results point to the need to fix the program either through increased taxes, benefit cuts or a combination of both it is unlikely to spur lawmakers to act immediately, Akabas said.

That's because the estimates for the program are not as dire as projected in the immediate aftermath of the onset of Covid-19 last year. Prior to the economic recovery, the Bipartisan Policy Center had projected the trust fund used to pay retirement benefits could run out as soon as 2029 to 2033.

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Social Securitys funds have been significantly affected by Covid-19. Heres how that could impact your benefits - CNBC

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Nine soldiers with the South Dakota National Guard are helping Monument Health with COVID-19 testing in the western part of the state.

The soldiers were activated to Belle Fourche, Custer, Rapid City, Spearfish and Sturgis.

The soldiers are activated under FEMA Title 32, so their efforts will be federally funded.

In a statement, Governor Kristi Noem says she spoke with all three South Dakota hospital systems to ask what they needed as cases start to rise again.

Monument shared a need for help with testing efforts.

Testing efforts help us to identify and isolate cases to slow the spread of the virus, Noem said in the email.

The members began their work Tuesday morning.

Testing volume in August was 115 percent higher than it was in July, according to Emily Leech, Director of the Monument Health Laboratory Services.

The health care system says that in the last seven days, 2,856 COVID-19 PCR tests were completed and 844 were positive for a positivity rate of 29.6 percent.

Leech says assistance from the National Guard will allow Monument Health to test more patients and fully utilize testing equipment.

The latest update from the state health department said the Rapid City hospital was at 100 percent capacity.

A month ago, the Monument Health system had fewer than 10 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. As of Monday, Aug. 30, the number had increased to 110.

Dan Daly with Monument Health says as of Tuesday, the health care system has 108 COVID-19 patients. He says that is more than the 104 patients treated when COVID-19 peaked in November 2020 in South Dakota.

A Monument spokesman tells us they are not turning anyone away. He says if someone needs a bed, they will find one.

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South Dakota National Guard activated to help with COVID-19 testing efforts - KELOLAND.com