Daily Archives: May 9, 2021

With nearly 252 million doses given, some people, who have no intention of getting a COVID-19 shot, may think that flashing a fake vaccine record will be enough to allow them access where proof is required.

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But the FBI continues to warn people, dont think that a faked vaccination card isnt a crime. It really is and if discovered you could be held responsible.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the FBI are reminding people not to print their own documents and dont fill out the empty space on a real card.

Not only could you unknowingly spread the virus, you actually could be prosecuted since the cards have an official government seal and could be punishable under Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 1017 and any other laws that could apply.

If you know of someone using a fake vaccination record, youre being asked to report the person to the appropriate government agency or by calling Health and Human Services at 1-800-HHS Tips or by logging on to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

For more on how to protect yourself from vaccination scams, click here.

More coronavirus pandemic coverage:

>> Coronavirus vaccines: CDC separates myths from facts

>> Coronavirus: Should we be wearing two masks when we go out in public?

>> Coronavirus: How long between exposure to the virus and the start of symptoms?

>> What are your chances of coming into contact with someone who has COVID-19? This tool will tell you

>> Wash your masks: How to clean a cloth face covering

>> Fact check: Will masks lower the oxygen level, raise the carbon dioxide in your blood?

>> How to not let coronavirus pandemic fatigue set in, battle back if it does

Continued here:

FBI warns against faking your COVID-19 vaccination card - WHIO Radio

Covid-19 vaccination record cards can easily be forged, and US law enforcers are keenly aware.

For weeks, the FBI has warned the public against making, selling or encouraging printouts of fake versions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's white record card.

And more than 40 state attorneys general last month warned social media and online shopping platforms to crack down on sales of blank or fraudulently completed cards.

So, what's prompting the warnings?

The Biden administration says the federal government won't require Americans to carry proof of vaccination. Florida has even passed a law prohibiting businesses from requiring proof.

But elsewhere, businesses, venues and events are increasingly offering special access or treats to those who can show this evidence, if not flat-out requiring proof for service.

Many initiatives are underway to create tamper-resistant printed or digital vaccine passports, like one used in New York. Such passports involve checking user-entered data against state or other immunization registries with the user's permission, meaning a user would have pre-verified evidence to show a business.

But at this moment in much of the country, the CDC card might be the only record a business can expect to see on the spot.

As for the inducements: A few sports teams are letting fans with vaccination records sit in vaccinated-only sections, where social distancing is not enforced. Krispy Kreme and White Castle and others are offering freebies.

Airlines are considering vaccine verifications for international travel, as are cruise ships for their voyages. The European Union has said it will eventually let Americans in for nonessential travel again if they are vaccinated.

And some employers are requiring vaccination after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said they could if they allow religious and medical exemptions. Some colleges also are requiring inoculation for access to campus.

Not everyone wants to get vaccinated. Combine that with a desire to keep up with rising documentation requirements as society opens up, you begin to see the temptations to fake them.

About 26% of US adults queried in a CNN survey last month said they would not try to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

A different poll, from the Kaiser Family Foundation in April, found 13% of adult respondents saying they definitely wouldn't get a Covid-19 vaccine, and a further 6% saying they would get it only if required.

Crimes associated with making or using fake vaccination record cards include wrongfully using government seals, the FBI said in its warning.

That's because fake cards often use the CDC and Health and Human Services seals seen on the real ones. That's punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine.

In Northern California, a bar owner was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of selling fake Covid-19 vaccination cards.

He was charged with felonies including forgery of a government seal and identity theft of Pfizer, CVS and the CDC, a district attorney's office said.

For employees required to get vaccinated to work, those that are unvaccinated might stand to lose their jobs.

But in other situations -- such as an unvaccinated worker being caught using fake documentation to voluntarily reenter the workplace instead of working from home, or an unvaccinated college student caught using a fake to be on campus -- it stands to reason that lying could jeopardize a person's status as an employee or student.

An unvaccinated person using a fake vaccination card to access a business, venue or workplace set aside for vaccinated people presents at least some risk to both groups, said Dr. Michael Mina, assistant professor of epidemiology and immunology at the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health.

-- Risk to vaccinated people: In general, risk to vaccinated people would be low in many venues. There are a few key caveats.

First, some places requiring vaccination may be relaxed on social distancing. So, a vaccine card faker who is infected could have an up-close chance to pass on the virus. Covid-19 vaccines are very effective and the chances of a vaccinated person becoming sick are low, but the vaccines are not 100% effective in preventing infection.

Second, risks could rise for vaccinated elderly people as time advances, because generally, the immune systems of the elderly tend to be worse at retaining protective immunity, Mina said.

No one is yet sure how long Covid-19 immunity will last across age groups. But Mina said the following scenario could be dangerous: An unvaccinated person using a fake vaccination record to access or work at a nursing home. "Even if everyone else in that place is vaccinated, there may be vulnerable people where immunity has waned or they never took to (the vaccine) well," Mina said.

-- Risk to the unvaccinated person: If all other attendees were vaccinated, the chances of one unvaccinated faker picking up the disease would be low.

But again, vaccination is no guarantee that the inoculated person can't carry small amounts of the virus. And we're talking again about a venue where people might not be socially distancing.

"We have seen plenty of papers now ... that suggest that even as a vaccinated person, you can still have the virus grow in you" to a small degree, and not enough to make the person sick, Mina said.

"If I was not vaccinated, I would not want to be next to someone who is vaccinated and positive," Mina said.

For both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, risks increase if more than one faker shows up.

"If there are too many people doing that, there are no safe places anymore," Mina said.

More than 20 initiatives -- including those driven by tech companies, health care providers and other businesses -- are working on vaccine passport systems, said Mary Beth Kurilo, senior director of health informatics for the American Immunization Registry System.

"I think a lot of these initiatives are just getting off the ground and still in development, and I think we're all learning in real-time about them as they come online," she said.

One group, the Vaccination Credential Initiative -- which includes IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle, Mayo Clinic and the Commons Project, a non-profit with a vaccine passport app working with some airlines -- is playing a role in developing US standards for digital health passes, including its approach to data privacy. Members of the non-profit will be required to not collect or store user data.

True CDC Covid-19 vaccination record cards still matter now -- they're the one consistent record showing someone has had a vaccine, Kurilo said.

And because not everyone has cell phones, those cards -- or other offline methods, such as ensuring that printed, pre-verified vaccination passports are available -- will matter in the future, to ensure equity, she said.

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Officials are urging people not to forge Covid-19 vaccine cards. Here's why it matters - WTVA

May 9, 2021 - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service celebrates Mother's Day.

Black bear and cubs atAlligator River National Wildlife Refugein North Carolina.(Photo: Garry Tucker/USFWS)

As in humans, motherhood is a primal force in most animals. This week we present mothers* with their offspring at national wildlife refuges.[*We are quite certain, but not 100 percent certain, all adults shown here are female.]

Female white-tailed deer, called does, help protect fawns from such predators as bobcats, mountain lions and coyotes. Fawns have white spots that enable them to blend in with the forest.More about white-tailed deerfrom National Geographic.

Female Hawaiian monk seals nurse their pups for five or six weeks. Seal milk is very rich, allowing pups to gain weight rapidly. The mother loses a lot of weight while nursing.More about Hawaiian monk sealsfrom Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

Female Kodiak brown bears, called sows, usually have two cubs in their first litter and up to four cubs in subsequent litters. Typically, cubs remain with their mothers until they are two or three years old. In spring, mothers usually move their cubs from the den to areas where they can feed on carrion or roots and other vegetation. In summer, mothers take their cubs to fish in salmon streams.More about Kodiak brown bears.

For the first few weeks of its life, a condor chick is helpless. Luckily for the chick, it has two parents to take turns feeding it. Condor chicks depend on the parents for more than 12 months. Condors are slow to reproduce because females lay only one egg per nesting attempt, because they dont nest every year, and because young take six to eight years to reach maturity. Slow reproduction is one reason this endangered species recovery has been slow.More about California condorsfrom the San Diego Zoo.

Female Florida panthers have up to three kittens per litter. The kittens are blind and have spotted coats and blue eyes. In about two to three weeks, their eyes open and they begin to walk. The kittens stay in or near the den for about two months until they are weaned. Then they start eating meat. The spots on their coats begin to fade after four to six months. They leave their mother when they are about a year and a half old. Once they leave their mother, they establish their own territory.More about Florida panthersfrom NatureWorks.

Female groundhogs have precious little time with their young. Adult females give birth to two to six babies called kits or cubs. Blind and hairless at birth, the kits mature in about three months. At that point, typically, they leave their mother to dig their own homes.More about groundhogsfrom Live Science.

Wood ducks start life abruptly. When ducklings hatch, they are alert and have a full coat of down. A day after hatching, ducklingsjump out of the nest, sometimes from heights of more than 50 feet. Then they typically join an adult bird on the water. Often, they are raised by a female other than their mother.More about wood ducks.

After a nine-month pregnancy, female bison give birth to one calf away from the herd in a sheltered area. Mothers protect calves from danger without the help of males. The calves are orange-red in color and sometimes are called red dogs. After a few months, their hair starts to change to dark brown. Spring is a good time to see bison calves at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.More about bisonfrom the Department of the Interior.

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, is at least 66 years old. She has raised at least eight chicks since 2006 and as many as 40 in her lifetime. More aboutWisdomandLaysan albatross.

Lynx kittens stay with their mother for the first year while they learn to hunt.More about Canada lynxfrom Defenders of Wildlife.Source: USFWSNote: Original article; May 2017

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US Fish and Wildlife Service Celebrates Mother's Day with Mothers of the Wild - Sierra Sun Times

Houses in Merseyside are being sold within 24 hours of hitting the market, as estate agents record some of their busiest months yet.

Over the last year those working in the property industry have noticed a housing sale boom, due to a number of factors.

For reasons such as the stamp duty break, average property prices being higher and people taking advantage of the lockdown, houses across the Liverpool city region aren't staying on sale for long.

Some estate agents across Merseyside have seen such an increase in interest that houses they have listed are selling within a matter of hours.

For every one house put up for sale an agent said there are '10 buyers fighting' for a chance to buy it.

Rightmove backed this up with their recent data that proved now is the fastest-selling market that Rightmove has measured since their records began.

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Tim Bannister, Rightmoves Director of property data said that almost one in four (23%) properties that had a sale agreed in March had been on the market for less than a week, which is also the highest rate that they've ever recorded.

Tim said: "The stars have aligned for this spring price surge, with buyers new space requirements being part of the constellation alongside cheap mortgages, stamp duty holiday extensions in England and Wales, government support for 95% mortgages and a shortage of suitable property to buy."

Liverpool estate agent Adam Sutton said that in his ten years of working in property he has "never seen the housing market in such high demand".

He told the ECHO: In all my ten years of doing this job I have never seen the housing market in such high demand, currently its completely a sellers market with houses selling before they even reach the open market.

We are breaking sales records on a monthly basis, its first time buyers that are really cleaning up at the minute with solicitors working at capacity its slowed down the process even more so sellers are trying to avoid buyers already in a chain so first time buyers are being a preferred choice across the UK.

A number of homes listed with Adam Sutton have sold within 24 hours of reaching the market.

One of which was sold for 250,000 on Blucher Street, in Waterloo.

The beautiful four-bedroom Victorian mid-terrace house is just a short walk to the train station and the bustling South Road.

In the area are plenty of shops, bars, and restaurants and also the marina and beach on Crosby Coastal park.

Highlights of the Blucher Street home include a modern open plan kitchen/diner, a good sized private garden with decking and refurbishments throughout.

Another home that flew off the market with Adam Sutton was a four bedroom semi-detached house on Sealand Avenue, in Formby.

Recently extended and decorated throughout, the property boasts a number of wow factors that helped to secure a speedy sale.

The house is newly rendered and has a paved double driveway and garage out front.

In the back garden there's an area big enough for a children's play area and a patio perfect for al fresco dining and entertaining.

Inside is just as impressive, with modern luxuries including a skylight in the dining area and a fully integrated kitchen with a central island.

Adam said: "These houses have all sold within 24 hours of them hitting the market. Going back even 18 months ago we wouldnt have achieved the prices or the speed of securing the sale.

"I think when the first lockdown hit I was really worried thinking nobody is going to want to move and have people coming into other people's homes while a pandemic is going on but its been the complete opposite which as a business owner has been a positive for us especially as we only launched just before the first lockdown."

He added: "The market is bound to level off and I know I have said this before but if moving is on your agenda there is no time like the present, the amount of buyers looking now since before the pandemic has risen by 113%.

"While the amount of houses being listed now is down 40% so as you can imagine in these situations anybody who does wish to sell it's very likely you will have up to 10 people fighting to buy.

"Which as a seller is fantastic but my heart does go out to the buyers that keep missing out. I need to come up with a new phrase. I keep finding myself repeating what will be will be to disappointed buyers."

Similarly in Wirral, Hannah Naughalty, sales and lettings negotiator at Wirral-based agents Karl Tatler, and branch manager Alexandra Kemp said they have found themselves "busier than ever" in the last year.

They said: The market has continued to grow this year and we still find ourselves to be busier than ever.

We have found that the volume of sales have increased as the area becomes more sought after and due to there being a high demand and not enough supply, the house prices are rising and they are selling very quickly.

Of course the stamp duty being extended up to 250,000 until the end of September and the reintroduction of 95% mortgages has had a huge impact and more first time buyers are looking now than ever before which is wonderful.

We expect this buoyant market to continue and are very excited about what the future brings.

A three-bedroom semi-detached house, on Taunton Road, Wallasey, was actually sold prior to internet advertising, Karl Tatler agents said.

Priced at 260,000, the corner plot property is described as being 'immaculately presented throughout.

Key features of the property include two spacious reception rooms, a garage and off-road parking and a kitchen and dining room that opens out into the garden.

The house is also within walking distance of nearby schools, handy transport links and all that Wallasey Village has to offer.

Another Karl Tatler listing, Cromer Drive, also had a sale agreed in 24 hours of the property being advertised.

The three-bedroom terrace house was listed for 155,000.

It benefits from large rooms throughout the property and has plenty of potential for modernising.

The master bedroom spans the width of the property and also boasts a bay window, allowing for plenty of light.

Outside the back of the property is a yard which is mostly patio area, for ease of maintenance.

However someone with a green thumb could create a lush garden.

Wallasey was named as a price hot spot last week, with asking prices almost 24,000 more expensive than a year ago, a jump of 15.6% according to data collected by Rightmove.

Throughout March and April, one in three properties in the town sold within a week of being marketed on Rightmove.

Though Karl Tatler Wirral estate agents say some of the properties theyve listed have been snapped up in 24 hours - or less.

Alexandra Kemp, branch manager at Karl Tatler Wallasey said: The exciting news that Wallasey is the UKs property hotspot came as no surprise as it is certainly the place to buy at the moment.

Wallasey/ New Brighton is a very up and coming area, there has been a lot of regeneration on New Brighton front and more specifically Victoria Road which has caused a knock on effect on the house prices.

Another Karl Tatler property that had an agreed sale the day it was listed was an impressive five-bedroom end of terrace house on Dalmorton Road, New Brighton.

Conveniently located close to the promenade, Vale Park and the beach, the home was priced at 290,000 upon listing.

Its so close to the waterfront that it benefits from stunning sea views from the bedroom windows.

Typical of period property, the house has charming, spacious rooms with turret bayed windows and traditional fireplaces.

Built over three floors, the home has highlighting including an open plan kitchen and diner, a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and a large modern family bathroom.

Receive the latest property news, interior design and renovation inspirationby signing up here to ECHO House and Home

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Houses buyers are 'fighting over' that are flying off the market in less than 24 hours - Liverpool Echo

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Brightline West, a high-speed rail project that would connect Las Vegas to Southern California is set to break ground later this year. Image courtesy of Brightline.

Brightline West, an affiliate of Brightline, the countrys only privately owned passenger railroad, is planning a 170-mile high-speed rail line, which would connect Las Vegas to the Apple Valley community in San Bernardino County. Set to travel at a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour, trains on Brightline West are expected to make the trip in half the time compared to driving. Trains would depart every 45 minutes with each offering a capacity between 600 and 1,200 passengers.

While Brightline West originally expected to begin construction by the end of 2020, the project faced significant setbacks due to the pandemic. One such being a lack of interest in private equity bonds allocated for the project by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the states of Nevada and California to pay for the construction. A letter by Brightline to the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority obtained by USA Today attributes election uncertainty, the lack of approval of a COVID-19 vaccine, and a lack of liquidity in the market for the setback. Subsequently, Fortress Investment Group, Brightlines parent company, halted the $8 billion project last year when it couldnt complete financing.

Now, according to an announcement by Brightline West President, Sarah Watterson, the company is preparing a revised financial plan that could see the project break ground in the second quarter of 2021 due to improved market conditions. However, a definitive date has yet to be released.

This news also arrives after President Joe Bidens proposed $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, which would provide $80 billion to Amtrak to cover its repairs, modernize existing rails, and create new connections between cities. Following this, Amtrak unveiled plans for an expanded national rail system, which includes two new passenger lines connecting Los Angeles with Phoenix and Las Vegas.

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Las Vegas to Southern California high-speed rail project is back on track - Archinect

Actor Nikita Dutta is on the road to recovery after testing positive for Covid-19, but that doesnt take away the fear of getting infected again while working. And hence, she opines that actors should have been given preference for vaccination after frontline workers, though shes glad that the drive has started for all above 18.

Dutta contracted the virus last month while shooting for her dance film, Rocket Gang, in Mumbai alongside Aditya Seal, and the path to getting healthy hasnt been a smooth one.

After my co-star tested positive, we stalled the shoot, and I got myself tested. My report came negative twice, and then positive. I know I got it from the shoot only because everybody around tested positive, she reveals.

The actor confesses that shes in a much better position now, unlike before. Unfortunately, before I tested positive, I was in a more grave situation because I had a fever and wasnt able to stand up. By the time I tested positive, I had already started to get better, Dutta shares.

For the actor, getting sick was more frustrating because it happened right when her film, The Big Bull, was ready for digital release.

Initially, it was to be a big theatrical release in October last year, and then the pandemic happened, so we planned to release it on OTT. I was really hoping to have a screening, get together with the team, friends and family and watch the film, she says.

Instead, she watched it at her home while quarantining alone. But amid all the change in plans and realities, shes trying to stay positive and hopeful.

However, as the fear of the virus still lingers around, Dutta admits its scary to remove a mask to shoot a scene, but is quick to add that theres no alternative to that. Unless they start writing scenes where actors are wearing masks, she quips.

And thats where vaccination would come in, and shield them, feels Dutta, ruing that actors werent given preference before.

Unfortunately, the entertainment industry isnt given that much preference. As actors, whore facing the camera every day, we should have been given a preference after the essential and frontline workers. Now, the good part is that the vaccine will slowly be available to everybody. But I think the faster the procedures, the better for everyone, she asserts.

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Nikita Dutta on vaccination drive for all above 18: The faster the procedures, the better for everyone - Hindustan Times