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Added on the 05/10/2020 15:40:54 - Copyright : Wochit
The second round of stimulus checks from the US government are going out this week. Business Insider reports the checks will pay up to $600 each, or $1,200 per married couple, plus additional funds for children. According to Congress's bill authorizing the payments, most of the direct cash payments will be sent to qualifying Americans by January 15. To track your payment, visit the 'Get My Payment' section of the IRS website at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment Direct deposits and paper checks are arriving this week.
The vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus COVID-19 is rolling along--but very, very slowly. While the FDA has approved two vaccines for distribution, experts say it will be many months before all Americans who want a vaccine can receive one. An NBC News analysis says that at the current pace, it'll take nearly a decade to vaccinate enough Americans to bring the pandemic under control. And according to Business Insider, Brown University's Dr. Ashish K. Jha knows why. He says it's because the Trump administration has bucked the responsibility of vaccine distribution to already overwhelmed state health departments.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed who should be next in line to receive the recently released vaccine against COVID-19. The CDC said Sunday that frontline essential workers and people 75 and older should be next in line for coronavirus vaccines. Business Insider reports the US should have enough shots to complete the first two phases of vaccinations by sometime in February of 2021. Healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities have already started receiving their shots. The third round should go to those ages 65 to 74, those ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions, and any remaining unvaccinated essential worker.
First lady Melania Trump wanted to spread some seasonal cheer to sick children on Tuesday when she visited the Children's National Hospital. CNN reports she continued her annual tradition of visiting them, despite the coronavirus pandemic and record cases in Washington, DC. However, Mrs. Trump also broke the hospital's stated mask policy when she removed her mask to read a holiday book to children. While she arrived in the hospital's main atrium wearing a mask, she removed it when she took her seat in front of a tree. She did practice social distancing. However, the hospital's policy specifically requires all visitors to wear a mask.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that in November Pfizer offered the Trump Administration more COVID-19 vaccines. Gottlieb says the Trump administration rejected the offer. The NY Times reports that Pres. Trump rejected 100 million doses of Pfizer's recently approved COVID-19 vaccine over the summer. According to Business Insider the COVID-19 vaccine deployment campaign started Monday, December 14th.