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Study : New Jersey is the 3rd Least Safe State During COVID-19

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, with around 23% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of April 14, and vaccination being an essential component for full reopening of the economy, WalletHub today released its report on the Safest States During COVID-19, along with accompanying videos and audio files.

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CDC is recommending a “pause” in the administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

New Brunswick NJ, the CDC is recommending a “pause” in the administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating clots in six women that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots were observed in the sinuses of the brain along with reduced platelet counts — making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially “dangerous.”

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White House Says there will not be a Federally Mandated Vaccine Certificates or Passports

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Discourse continues over the potential implementation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination mandates for various institutions and workplaces before their return to normal operating procedures. Several universities have implemented policies requiring students to be fully vaccinated if they wish to attend in-person classes this fall. The rationale behind these decisions comes from data suggesting college campuses might be a significant contributor to local SARS-CoV-2 transmission due to factors such as congregant living and travel from various geographic regions. Of the at least 8 universities including Rutgers University  who have announced this plan, all will allow for religious and medical exemptions. The CDC has offered guidance for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination policies in the workplace, but there are no discussions of a national vaccine mandate.

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CDC encourages vaccinated individuals to continue taking public health precautions to prevent infection and transmission

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, on April 2, a team of researchers led by the US CDC COVID-19 Response Team published interim estimates of a prospective cohort study describing the effectiveness of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines among healthcare and other frontline workers. The report, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), describes data collected from December 14, 2020 to March 13, 2021, through the HEROES-RECOVER network of 8 US sites. Overall, 3,950 frontline workers (i.e., those who routinely are within 3 feet of other individuals as part of their occupation) with no prior laboratory documentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection were included in the analysis. Participants were actively monitored for COVID-19 symptoms and self-collected weekly nasal swabs which were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Justice Department Warns About Fake Post-Vaccine Survey Scams

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC, The Department of Justice has received reports that fraudsters are creating fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine surveys for consumers to fill out with the promise of a prize or cash at the conclusion of the survey. In reality, the surveys are used to steal money from consumers and unlawfully capture consumers’ personal information.

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Researchers : Low Risk of Human to Bat Transmission SARS-CoV-2

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, now to answer the one COVID questions we have all really been wondering about but were just to afraid to ask . According to the U.S. Geological Survey the risk  of human-to-bat transmission of coronavirus is very low.

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Texas Ended Lockdown Restrictions, Sees COVID Cases Drop to All Time Low

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC, When Texas Governor Greg Abbott ended lockdown restrictions on businesses earlier this month it was with a certain swagger. “I just announced Texas is OPEN 100%” he announced. “EVERYTHING.”

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African Americans Far Safer from COVID in Red States

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(photo NJ Gov. Phil Murphy)

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, lots of talk by the media of racial disparity when dealing with COVID, but here are some findings that should seriously disturb every African American family . While it is true and troubling that minorities have been more adversely affected (in terms of death rates and infection rates) by COVID than whites, the story that hasn’t been told is that Democratic governors have done a much worse job keeping blacks safe and healthy than red state governors.

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New Jersey Expands Eligibility for COVID-19 Vaccination Program

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Expansion Includes Individuals Ages 55-64, Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Higher Education Workers, and Other Frontline Essential Workers and High-Risk Groups

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ,  Governor Murphy today announced the expansion of eligibility for more frontline essential workers and high-risk groups in New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccination program. Eligible groups include individuals ages 55-64, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, higher education educators and staff, and communications and utility infrastructure workers among others.

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March 25th Marked the One Year Anniversary of Governor Cuomo’s Fateful Nursing Home Order

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Albany NY, news broke last night in the Albany Times-Union that while panicked and sick New Yorkers were desperately trying to get scarce COVID tests last March, Cuomo had secretly arranged for his friends and family to skip the line and get tested — in some cases repeatedly — in the comfort of their own homes. It reminds us of the John Lennon line: “How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people?”

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The Media Has Scared Americans to Death Over COVID

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, one thing we all know is there’s been an unrelenting torrent of bad news about the coronavirus. It’s a pandemic responsible for half a million deaths, so you’d expect a lot of negative news.

But a new study by Dartmouth College finds that a stunning 87% of COVID-19 coverage in national U.S. media outlets last year was negative.

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US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Questions AstraZeneca COVID vaccine’s Efficacy Estimate

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, according to Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, AstraZeneca announced preliminary results from a Phase 3 clinical trial for its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The trial included more than 32,000 participants in Chile, Peru, and the US, including 21,583 who received at least one dose of the vaccine. The press release reports an overall efficacy of 79% against any COVID-19 disease among all age groups and 80% efficacy for adults aged 65 years and older. Additionally, the press release describes 100% efficacy against severe disease and hospitalization. AstraZeneca explicitly noted that an independent review of the safety data “found no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterized by thrombosis” associated with the vaccine. Previous analysis of data from trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK estimated the overall efficacy to be 60%.

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AstraZeneca US Phase III trial 79% vaccine efficacy at preventing symptomatic COVID-19

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The AstraZeneca US Phase III trial of AZD1222 demonstrated statistically significant vaccine efficacy of 79% at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% efficacy at preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.

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COVID-19 Pandemic : Magnitude of the Economic Disruption Unparalleled

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to the US Census Bureau  the COVID-19 pandemic caused a record job losses and transformed the nation’s employment landscape but recently released historical data tables put the magnitude of the economic disruption in clear context.

To get some prospective in 2017, for example, roughly 30 million adults experienced either an end of employment or a reduction in work hours, including both involuntary and voluntary job terminations. But only about 3.8 million collected Unemployment Insurance (UI), which is contingent on involuntary job termination, according to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

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