Tag: COVID19

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Surging Demand for Over-the-counter (OTC) at-home SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Tests

at home SARS CoV 2 antigen tests

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, surging demand for over-the-counter (OTC) at-home SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests, as well as point-of-care rapid tests—driven by requirements for unvaccinated employees to undergo weekly testing and parents’ need to test schoolchildren—is squeezing the US supply and driving up costs. In a move aimed at scaling up availability of at-home rapid tests, the US White House this week announced it will purchase an additional US$1 billion worth of the tests in order to quadruple the number of tests available in the US by December. The move follows a previous US$2 billion investment announced in September meant to supply rapid tests to community health centers, food banks, and schools. Expanding access to testing is part of US President Joe Biden’s 6-pronged COVID-19 action plan announced September 9. Lack of access to testing in the US could be contributing to the virus’s spread, as government-subsidized rapid testing is widely available in several other countries—including Britain, France, and Germany—making it easier for people to determine whether they are infected after a known exposure or when experiencing symptoms.

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I Quit : The “Great Resignation” Shows No Sign of Ending Any Time Soon

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, the September jobs report came in well below expectation with payrolls only  increasing by only 194,000 . Currently close to three-quarters of workers are actively thinking about quitting their job, according to a survey by job search site Joblist. The job site just released its third quarter report about the state of the US labor market, surveying over 26,000 respondents about things like how tough they feel the job market is, whether they have already quit, and their reasons behind quitting their jobs. One survey in particular included asking about 3,000 respondents if they’re actively thinking about leaving their job.

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Democrats Are Still Far More Panic Stricken Than Republicans Over COVID

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, a full 18 months after the COVID crisis began, a big chunk of Americans still dramatically overestimate the risks of COVID. In a new Gallup poll, more than one third said the risk of being hospitalized if you’re not vaccinated is at least 50%. The actual number is between one and five percent!

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Florida COVID Wave Recedes As Fast As It Rose

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0the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Tallahassee Fl. with no lockdowns, mask mandates, school closures, or business limitations, the Florida COVID  wave has crested and fallen dramatically in recent weeks.

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Merck says its New COVID Antiviral Pill Reduces the Risk of Hospitalization

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

KENILWORTH NJ, Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics today announced that molnupiravir (MK-4482, EIDD-2801), an investigational oral antiviral medicine, significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization or death at a planned interim analysis of the Phase 3 MOVe-OUT trial in at risk, non-hospitalized adult patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19. At the interim analysis, molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by approximately 50%; 7.3% of patients who received molnupiravir were either hospitalized or died through Day 29 following randomization (28/385), compared with 14.1% of placebo-treated patients (53/377); p=0.0012. Through Day 29, no deaths were reported in patients who received molnupiravir, as compared to 8 deaths in patients who received placebo. At the recommendation of an independent Data Monitoring Committee and in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recruitment into the study is being stopped early due to these positive results. Merck plans to submit an application for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the U.S. FDA as soon as possible based on these findings and plans to submit marketing applications to other regulatory bodies worldwide.

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Jack Ciattarelli Wins Big

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, the Tuesday night debate was a big fail for Governor Murphy . GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli looked prepared  and focused  while the governor stuck to his well worn failed silly bromides . The governor seemed a bit rattled ,looking for an anti Trump sound bite double down on the usual failed promises on how the state is helping minorities and working families . Governor Murphy  also failed to take ownership of his disastrous COVID policy . New Jersey’s COVID Response was among the Very Worst in the country.

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State Senator Corrado Calls Toddler Mask Mandate “Harmful and Unnecessary” in Letter to Murphy

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, State Senator Kristin Corrado (R-40) expressed concern with Executive Order No. 264 in a letter to Governor Phil Murphy today.

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Show or shut up – Village of Ridgewood Council Flatly Refuses to Allow “Remote Meeting Access”

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photo by Boyd Loving

by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog

Ridgewood NJ, By a 3-1 vote during Wednesday night’s Village Council Work Session, Council members rebuffed calls (no pun intended) for allowing public comments to be made remotely during their open public meetings.

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Valley Hospital has treated more than 500 COVID-19 patients with monoclonal antibody infusion

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Valley is proud to recognize the clinical team that has treated more than 500 COVID-19 patients with monoclonal antibody infusion, which is administered to reduce progression of the virus and prevent hospitalizations.

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A Federal Judge in New York State Has Blocked a Statewide Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
New York NY, a federal judge in New York state blocked a statewide vaccine mandate for healthcare workers late Tuesday. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the mandate last month, and it was scheduled to take effect September 27. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue that the absence of a religious exemption violates the US Constitution, the New York State Human Rights Law, and New York City Human Rights Law. The 17 healthcare workers who filed the lawsuit have objected to the vaccine requirement on the grounds that the cell lines of aborted fetuses were used in the vaccine’s development. No major religious denomination has taken an opposing stance to vaccination, and Pope Francis has encouraged vaccination, calling it the “moral choice.” The defendants in the lawsuit have until September 22 to respond, and an additional hearing is scheduled for September 28.

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Ridgewood Mayor’s periodic “COVID Report” being questioned

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by the staff of The Ridgewood Blog

Ridgewood NJ, Heads up readers. There is some question about the COVID case data Mayor Susan Knudsen has been posting periodically on Facebook.  Some residents are suggesting that the data may be erroneous or, God forbid, bogus at worst.

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A Group of US and International Scientists Claim Current Evidence does not support Providing Booster Doses of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines to the General Public

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ,  in an expert review published September 13 online in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet, a group of US and international scientists claim current evidence does not support providing booster doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to the general public. The group—including 2 departing US FDA officials and WHO experts—said that any decision to provide additional vaccine doses should be evidence-based, concluding that despite a small drop in protection against symptomatic disease caused by the Delta variant, authorized vaccine regimens continue to provide high levels of protection against severe disease and hospitalization for all major SARS-CoV-2 variants. The authors acknowledged that some additional doses might be needed immediately for certain elderly and immunocompromised populations, but they encouraged prioritizing primary immunizations over booster shots for the general public.

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England Drops Plans for Vaccine Passports

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, England has abandoned its previously announced plan to implement a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine passport program by the end of this month that would have required people to show proof of vaccination to enter the country’s nightclubs and certain other crowded venues, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the BBC on September 12. The announcement was made following opposition from some members of Parliament as well as representatives of the hospitality industry, who said such a program would create a burden for businesses and infringe on residents’ rights. Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, Secretary Javid said the government decided against the passports after “properly” looking at the issue and determining other factors could help keep COVID-19 incidence down, including high vaccine uptake, testing, surveillance, and treatments. Some people suggested the passport proposal simply was a ruse to encourage young people to be vaccinated, although Secretary Javid hinted the government could reverse course again if the number of new cases rises. About 66% of the population of England is fully vaccinated. Several days prior to the announcement, British researchers published a paper in EClinicalMedicine casting doubt on whether vaccination passport programs would incentivize more people to get the shots and calling for additional research into the matter.

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Ridgewood Schools : Anyone who is not Vaccinated will be Tested Weekly

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to the Ridgewood School District approximately 60% of faculty, staff, and parents responded to a Voluntary Anonymous Vaccination Survey.

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Research say Not So Fast Writing Off Ivermectin

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Eric Reyes

Ridgewood NJ, There are more than 100 clinical studies including more than 50,000 people from more than 2 dozen countries showing Ivermectin to be extremely safe and effective treating COVID. 63 of these studies were peer reviewed published placebo controlled studies. A meta-analysis of 14 of these peer reviewed published studies looked at high risk patients who were treated with ivermectin as prophylaxis (preventative) and they saw an 86% reduction in the combined end-point of COVID infections, number of hospitalizations, days hospitalized, the need for a ventilator, days on a ventilator, and deaths.

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