Category Archives: Covid-19

IA2030 has seven strategic priorities: integration of immunization with primary care, country commitment to immunization fulfilling people-centered demand for vaccines, ensuring high and equitable coverage, vaccinating throughout the life course and integrated with essential services, management of outbreaks and emergencies, sustainable supplies of vaccines, and research and innovation. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign was well aligned with all seven of IA2030s strategic priorities. The priorities that can impart the most momentum to the program and support the global IA2030 vision are ones that increase the number of vaccines in the routine program (Strategic Priority 2, Commitment and Demand) and broaden the age groups recommended for routine vaccination (Strategic Priority 4, Life Course & Integration). Another strategic priority with long-term benefit for China and the world is Strategic Priority 7, Research & Innovation. The COVID-19 campaign relied heavily on research and innovation, as exemplified by rapid and successful development of new and innovative COVID-19 vaccines, new vaccine delivery techniques, and new vaccination strategies in a fully digitalized immunization program that harnessed big data and artificial intelligence for monitoring and analyzing vaccine safety, effectiveness, and coverage.

IA2030 talks about breadth of protection, meaning implementing and sustaining high coverage with all WHO-recommended vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign conclusively proved that Chinas immunization program can rapidly develop and introduce a new vaccine and achieve high vaccine coverage. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign was an astonishing eight times the size of the annual routine immunization program. This momentum and experience can be used to facilitate introduction of the vaccines that are recommended by WHO for all national programs but are not currently in Chinas program. Recent [8, 9] and earlier [10] analyses of Chinas national immunization program have recognized the disparity between the vaccines recommended by WHO and the vaccines included in Chinas program and have recommended strategies to introduce new vaccines. A legislatively supported mechanism, the National Immunization Advisory Committee (NIAC), now exists that can recommend to government non-program vaccines that should be moved into the program based on evidence of preventable burden of disease and vaccine effectiveness, safety, cost effectiveness, and supply security [11]. Just as NIAC supported COVID-19 vaccination strategy, it can support evidence-based introduction of other vaccines. Moving human papillomavirus (HPV), pneumococcal conjugate (PCV), influenza, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), varicella, and rotavirus vaccines into the national program would bring equitable and high coverage of these vaccines to well over 100 million young children and adolescents, preventing suffering from these infectious diseases while saving society money. Using domestically developed and produced vaccines will strengthen Chinas vaccine industry and foster innovative development of new vaccines for use in China and for WHO prequalification and global use. For example, combining Chinas Sabin-strain inactivated poliovirus vaccines into diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis-, Hib-, and hepatitis B-containing combination vaccines could make space in the domestic routine immunization schedule for other vaccines while maintaining high polio vaccine coverage well into the future, for as long as is needed in China and elsewhere [12].

A thrust of IA2030 is life course vaccination. With its target population of everyone over the age of 3years, Chinas COVID-19 vaccination campaign exemplified life-course vaccination. COVID-19 vaccination was vigorously promoted to the elderly [13], people with comorbidities, health care workers and other working age adults, and school-age children. These are the same target populations for seasonal influenza vaccine. China CDC has recommended influenza vaccination of these populations for years [14], however uptake has been low except in several leading cities that have embraced influenza vaccination of these key target populations. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign proved that these populations can be reached to achieve high and equitable coverage. The COVID-19 vaccination experience can be used to make progress on influenza vaccination of these important target populations.

The maximum age for eligibility of National Immunization Program vaccines was recently raised from 14 to 18years of age. This age range expansion can provide adolescents the opportunity to catch up on any program vaccinations they missed and to receive HPV vaccine once it is included in the program. But why stop at 18years of age? The IA2030 vision is for the entire life course, as was the COVID-19 campaign. Program eligibility across all ages would enable immunization clinics, community health centers, and primary care providers to bring "everyone, everywhere, at all ages the full benefits of vaccines. For adults, this could include not only influenza vaccine, but also pneumococcal and zoster vaccines in a comprehensive program integrated with primary care. Innovative financing of adult vaccines, as was done for COVID-19 vaccines with the Medical Insurance Fund, could support universal immunization program eligibility that would lead to equitable and high coverage for allin good alignment with IA2030.

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New research helps explain why young children have lower rates of severe COVID-19 than adults. A study of infants and young children found those who acquired SARS-CoV-2 had a strong, sustained antibody response to the virus and high levels of inflammatory proteins in the nose but not in the blood. This immune response contrasts with that typically seen in adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, the research appears in the journal Cell.

The investigation involved 81 full-term infants and young children whose mothers enrolled in a NIAID-supported cohort study at Cincinnati Childrens during their third trimester of pregnancy. The study team trained mothers to collect weekly nasal swabs from their infants starting when the babies were 2 weeks old. The team also drew blood from the babies regularly, starting at age 6 weeks, as well as when the children became infected with SARS-CoV-2 and during subsequent weeks and months.

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These samples enabled the scientists to study the childrens immune responses before, during and after they were exposed to the virus for the first time. Fifty-four of the children became infected and had mild COVID-19, while 27 who tested negative through the study period served as matched controls. At the time of infection, the children were 1 month to nearly 4 years old, and half were 9 months or younger. The study also included weekly nasal swabs from 19 mothers with COVID-19 and 19 healthy mothers as controls, as well as blood samples from 89 adults with COVID-19 and 13 healthy controls.

The researchers examined many aspects of the babies and adults immune responses to the virus through an approach calledsystems immunology. The study revealed that young childrens antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 differs from that of adults. Typically, adults produce antibodies to the virus at levels that spike for a few weeks, then decline. In contrast, the infants and young children in the study produced protective antibodies at levels that spiked and remained high for up to the full 300-day observation period.

The scientists also found that the blood of adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection typically had high levels of proteins called inflammatory cytokines, which are associated with severe COVID-19 and death, while the blood of babies and children did not. However, the childrens noses had high levels of inflammatory cytokines and a potent antiviral cytokine.

According to the researchers, these findings suggest that cytokines snuffed out SARS-CoV-2 infection right at the site where the virus entered the childrens bodies, potentially explaining the mildness of their COVID-19 disease. The findings also suggest it may be possible to devisevaccine adjuvantsthat mimic the immune responses observed in young children by stimulating persistently high antibody levels without causing dangerous excess inflammation in the blood.

Children aged 6 months to 4 years who got COVID-19 vaccines before September 12, 2023, should get one or two doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine, depending on which vaccine and how many doses they previously received. Children aged 6 months to 4 years who have not been vaccinated should get two or three doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine, depending on which vaccine they receive.

Reference:Wimmers F, Burrell AR, Feng Y, et al. Multi-omics analysis of mucosal and systemic immunity to SARS-CoV-2 after birth. Cell. 2023;186(21):4632-4651.e23. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.044

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Study Uncovers Why Young Children Suffer Less Severe COVID-19 - Technology Networks

WASHINGTON Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) has joined forces with all Majority Members to shed light on coercive and potentially harmful COVID-19 policies that are reemerging at the University of Maryland. Under the Universitys new directive, Maryland students who test positive for COVID-19 are to be immediately removed from their dorms and forced into isolation, either at a nearby hotel or by boarding a flight home presumably at their own expense. Considering the University of Maryland received hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 aid, this new directive raises questions about how the University utilized its federal relief funds and how it plans to enforce this highly destructive directive.

Maryland seems to be reinstituting the same negative policies it implemented during the beginning of the pandemic at the expense of its students. We know more now, according to public reports, Maryland is removing students who test positive for COVID-19 from their dorms without providing temporary housing accommodations and sending them to their permanent homeslikely with their older, more at-risk, parents.In other cases, studentsas mandated by the Directiveare required to isolate at a nearby hotel. Presumably, its the students parentsnot your universitythat are footing the bill, which begs the question of how Maryland spent the federal Coronavirus dollars it received, wrote Chairman Wenstrup.

The Select Subcommittees investigation previously revealed that prolonged school closures and hybrid learning programs contributed to a mental health crisis, historic learning loss, and decreased physical health among Americas youth. Reinstituting policies that will have a similar effect on students is not only counterproductive, but also proves nonsensical when considering available science and data.

Read the Select Subcommittees full letter to University of Maryland President Darryll Pines here.

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Wenstrup, Select Subcommittee Majority Members Investigate ... - House Committee on Oversight and Reform |

When Connecticut saw a jump in COVID-19 cases in September, Abby M. Warren, a partner at law firm Robinson+Cole, started to get a trickle of calls from employers interested in policy recommendations for staff who get exposed to the virus.

Warren, an employment lawyer, is expecting those inquiries to increase in the coming weeks and months, as colder, drier weather and holiday gatherings bring on the traditional respiratory virus season and a rise in COVID infections.

With state and federal emergency COVID-19 declarations in the rearview mirror they were lifted in the spring Warren and other experts say not only are mask and vaccination mandates out, but so are workplace policies seen as intruding on personal liberties, such as mandatory temperature checks and repeated questioning about potential exposure.

As a replacement, employment lawyers and many companies are recommending policies that require common-sense precautions, like telling workers to avoid the workplace when ill.

Now is an especially good time of year for employers to update their illness policies and remind employees of expectations, Warren said.

Even if there is not a policy, employers should be sending out a message about cold and flu season and their expectations, Warren said. Or else, someone gets a cold, and they dont know. Or, they assume its just a cold and they come in.

Under the pandemic emergency declarations, employers could more easily perform temperature checks and regularly ask COVID-19 exposure screening questions, Warren said.

And now we are back to the standard where it has to be supported by business necessity because that is a medical exam and medical exams are regulated under the Americans with Disabilities Act and a few other laws, Warren said.

Susan Huntington, chair of law firm Day Pitneys healthcare practice and a certified physicians assistant, said her clients, largely healthcare providers, are no longer requiring follow-up COVID-19 booster shots.

Thats a significant change compared to January 2022, when Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order that required employees of all long-term care facilities and state hospitals in Connecticut to receive COVID-19 boosters. The Connecticut Hospital Association at that time also implemented a similar mandatory booster shot requirement for all hospital and health system employees.

Now, Huntingtons clients are predominantly concerned about how to react when an employee tests positive, or exhibits COVID-19 symptoms.

Huntington said her policy recommendations are based on the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC recommends people who test positive for COVID-19 isolate at home for at least five days and then wear a high-quality mask when in public for an additional five days. Huntington also recommends employers require masks for staff with respiratory ailment symptoms, even if they test negative for COVID.

Employers still have an obligation to provide a safe work environment under (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) rules, Huntington said. And you wouldnt think you would have to tell someone not to come into the office if theyre coughing, sneezing or have stomach-bug symptoms. But people do.

New Britain-based manufacturer Stanley Black & Decker, which has 50,000 employees worldwide, launched an internal campaign this summer aimed at encouraging employees to take more direct control over COVID precautions through common-sense actions.

Stanleys Our People, Our Health campaign used posters and other communication to urge employees to stay home when sick and take other measures recommended by the CDC to keep colleagues safe.

There could be incentives to come to work sick, and we didnt want to have them, said Dr. Mitch McClure, Stanleys chief medical officer.

The idea is also to step away from mandates and intrusive questions about COVID testing, travel and other topics that arent as justifiable now as they were before the end of the emergency declaration, McClure said.

Now, the onus is really on you to self-identify because we dont want to be inappropriate, McClure said. We dont want to be asking people about their personal health information because thats not our place once the (emergency) authorization has ended.

Drew Andrews, managing partner and CEO of Hartford-based accounting and consulting firm Whittlesey, said he sees little need to update COVID policies because most of his roughly 150 employees continue to opt to work remotely.

I havent had to deal with it because I have to go looking hard to find people, Andrews joked. Its like social distancing is here because I dont have anyone here. There is no reason to add extra layers of compliance to people and give them a hard time.

Andrews said he has, however, continued policies implemented during the pandemic, including a requirement for sick workers to remain at home. That is made easier by another recent company mandate that all staff take their laptop computers home every day.

Andrews said there have been several recent COVID cases among his staff, but all have reported milder symptoms. The virus doesnt seem to raise much alarm anymore among Andrews colleagues and the companies they serve.

I think its almost becoming like the seasonal flu or cold and I see that across the board and in companies, Andrews said.

During an Oct. 5 visit to the Fair Haven Community Health Care Clinic in New Haven, Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani and Mandy K. Cohen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acknowledged reduced risks of the COVID-19 virus but stressed a continuing urgency for vaccination and other protections.

PHOTO | SHAHRZAD RASEKH/CT MIRROR

Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Mandy Cohen and Rep. Rosa DeLauro visited Fair Haven Community Health Care and answered questions from the press about COVID-19 risks and vaccinations.

Healthcare authorities say they expect COVID hospitalizations to be on par with last years fall and winter season, enough to strain healthcare providers.

The latest COVID vaccine is free to all Americans, either through private health insurance or coverage from the federal government.

Cohen noted that 97% of the population has some degree of immunity, either through vaccination or prior infection. But that protection wanes over time, she said.

Cohen said a late-summer rise in COVID cases has abated, but she anticipates a seasonal increase.

We know as we get into the fall and winter, where we are doing activities where this virus likes to spread, we fully expect to see this virus continue to circulate, continue to go up, just like weve seen this last winter and fall, Cohen said.

Juthani acknowledged there have been some initial vaccine shortages as private providers take over distribution from government agencies. She expressed guarded optimism the vaccine will be reliably available throughout Connecticut by mid-October.

Juthani said employers should require ill staff to remain at home. They can also guard against COVID spread with state-of-the-art ventilation systems. Beyond that, Juthani said the current situation doesnt call for prior measures like universal masking, spacing desks six feet apart or staggering employee attendance.

I dont think the original precautions that we had are necessary at this stage of this virus and where we are, Juthani said.

Yale University epidemiologist and professor Dr. Sten H. Vermund said between those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered from past infection, there is only a tiny subset of the population susceptible to significant risk of serious health consequences from COVID-19.

He said strict employer health mandates would likely be ignored.

Instead, companies can reduce infection risk with upgraded ventilation systems that include better filtration. Employers should also strongly encourage and facilitate vaccinations, offering time off for appointments or arranging workplace vaccination clinics, Vermund said.

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With COVID-19 emergency orders lifted, employers seek guidance ... - Hartford Business Journal

This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review boards of eight hospitals (Kobe University Hospital, St. Luke's International Hospital, Nishinomiya Watanabe Hospital, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, Kobe City Nishi-Kobe Medical Center, Hyogo Prefectural Kakogawa Medical Center, Kita Harima Medical Center, and Hyogo Prefectural Awaji Medical Center); the requirement for acquiring informed consent was waived by the institutional review boards of these eight hospitals owing to the retrospective nature of the study. This study complied with the Declaration of Helsinki and Ethical Guidelines for Medical and Health Research Involving Human Subjects in Japan (https://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/06-Seisakujouhou-10600000-Daijinkanboukouseikagakuka/0000080278.pdf).

The CXR datasets used for developing and evaluating our DL model contain CXRs for the following three categories: normal CXR (NORMAL), non-COVID-19 pneumonia CXR (PNEUMONIA), and COVID-19 pneumonia CXR (COVID). Our DL model was developed using two public (COVIDx and COVIDBIMCV) and one private (COVIDprivate) datasets. One public dataset (COVIDx) was built to accelerate the development of highly accurate and practical deep learning model for detecting COVID-19 cases (https://github.com/lindawangg/COVID-Net/blob/master/docs/COVIDx.md)15. The other public dataset (COVIDBIMCV) was constructed from two public datasets: the PadChest dataset (https://github.com/auriml/Rx-thorax-automatic-captioning)16 and BIMCV-COVID19+dataset (https://github.com/BIMCV-CSUSP/BIMCV-COVID-19)17. COVIDprivate was based on the dataset collected from six hospitals previously, and the two public datasets (COVIDx and COVIDBIMCV) were the same as those in previous studies18,19. The details of these datasets are described in the Supplementary material. Compared with the previous study, CXRs were added for COVIDprivate in the current study. The additional CXRs included 37, 7, and 31 cases of NORMAL, PNEUMONIA, and COVID, respectively. COVIDprivate contained 530 CXRs (176 NORMAL, 146 PNEUMONIA, and 208 COVID).

In addition to COVIDprivate, CXRs were collected from two other medical institutions. In total, 168 CXRs (80 NORMAL, 37 PNEUMONIA, and 51 COVID) collected from one medical institution (Hospital A) were used for the internal validation of the DL model (as a part of validation set) and for radiologists reading practice conducted before the observer study. Moreover, as unseen test set, 180 CXR cases (60 NORMAL, 60 PNEUMONIA, and 60 COVID) collected from another medical institution (Hospital B) were used for the external validation of the DL model and observer study of radiologists.

In the Hospital B, COVID was limited to those diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia using RT-PCR, and CXR was obtained after symptom onset. The time of COVID-19 diagnosis was between January 24, 2020, and May 5, 2020. PNEUMONIA was defined as patients clinically diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia that improved with appropriate treatment. Patients who showed no pneumonia on CT or had lung metastasis of malignancy and acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia were excluded from PNEUMONIA. NORMAL was defined as the absence of abnormalities in the lung, mediastinum, thoracic cavity, or chest wall on CXR and CT. NORMAL and PNEUMONIA were limited to cases before the summer of 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic). The details of the unseen test set collected from the Hospital B are described in the Supplementary material. The inclusion criteria of CXRs in the COVIDprivate and the Hospital A were the same as the previous study19.

Table 1 lists the details of each CXR dataset. The 180 cases (as the unseen test set) used for the external validation and reading sessions were adults aged 20years or older. In the 180 cases, NORMAL included 39 men and 21 women aged 58.127.9years. PNEUMONIA included 43 men and 17 women aged 76.220.8years. The COVID group included 46 men and 14 women aged 53.438.6years.

Our EfficientNet-based DL model was constructed in the same manner as described in previous papers18,19. Figure1 shows a schematic of the construction of the DL model. There are two major differences in the DL model construction between the present study and previous studies; one is that the 168 CXRs collected from Hospital A were used for internal validation as a part of the validation set, and the other is that the 180 CXRs collected from Hospital B were used for external validation as the unseen test set. The DL model development set included two public datasets, COVIDprivate, and 168 CXRs collected from Hospital A. Five different random divisions of the training and validation sets were created from the development set. In the division, 300, 300, and 90 images were randomly selected as the validation set from COVIDx, COVIDBIMCV, and COVIDprivate, respectively. The remaining images of COVIDx, COVIDBIMCV, and COVIDprivate were used as the train set. In addition, all the 168 CXRs collected from Hospital A were used for the validation set. Model training and internal validation of diagnostic performance were performed for the training set and validation set, respectively. The training of our DL model is also described in the Supplementary material.

Schematic illustration of dataset splitting and model training for our DL model. Abbreviation: DL, deep learning; COVIDx, public dataset used for COVID-Net; COVIDBIMCV, public dataset obtained from the PadChest and BIMCV-COVID19+datasets; COVIDprivate, private dataset collected from six hospitals; Hospital A, dataset collected for internal validation and radiologists practice before the observer study; Hospital B, dataset collected for external validation.

The inference results of the DL model were calculated using an ensemble of five trained models. For the 180 CXRs of the external validation, an average of the probabilities obtained from the five trained models was calculated as the inference results of the DL model to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the DL model and to provide supporting information for radiologists during the observer study.

The DL model calculated the probability of NORMAL, PNEUMONIA, or COVID for each CXR, with a total of 100%. We also created images using Grad-CAM and Grad-CAM++as explainable artificial intelligence, which visualized the reasoning for the diagnosis of the DL model20,21. Grad-CAM and Grad-CAM++images were used for the observer study. Minmax normalization with a linear transformation was performed on the original Grad-CAM and Grad-CAM++images.

Eight radiologists (with 520years of experience in diagnostic radiology) performed the observer study at two medical facilities. For the 180 CXRs collected from Hospital B, each radiologist performed two reading sessions over a period of more than 1month. One reading session was performed with reference to CXRs only, and the other was performed with reference to both CXRs and the results of the DL model. The order of the two sessions was randomly selected to reduce bias. The eight radiologists scored the probabilities of NORMAL, PNEUMONIA, and COVID on a 100% scale. In the reading session with the DL model, the radiologists referred to the probabilities of NORMAL, PNEUMONIA, and COVID calculated using the DL model. If there was any uncertainty regarding the probabilities of the DL model, the results of Grad-CAM and Grad-CAM++were available. Images of the 168 CXRs collected from Hospital A were also processed with Grad-CAM and Grad-CAM++, and the diagnosis of the DL model and images of Grad-CAM and Grad-CAM++of the 168 CXRs were presented to the radiologists for practice sessions before each reading session. Eight radiologists were taught how to interpret the Grad-CAM and Grad-CAM++images before the observer study. There was no time limit for reading and practice sessions. Prior to the reading sessions, only the approximate frequencies of the three categories were presented to the radiologists and no other clinical information was provided. Our novelties in this study were to investigate whether radiologists changed their diagnosis by referring to our DL model of CXR and whether the diagnostic performance of radiologists was significantly improved.

After the observer study, one senior radiologist visually evaluated the 180 Grad-CAM++images in the test set. The visual evaluation of the Grad-CAM++images was performed on the images that were accurately diagnosed by the DL. The radiologist visually examined the CXR and Grad-CAM++images and determined whether the Grad-CAM++images were typical or understandable. The typical Grad-CAM++images were described in Supplementary material. If abnormal findings on CXR images were highlighted on Grad-CAM++images, the cases were considered understandable by the radiologist. In addition, for COVID, the radiologist counted the number of Grad-CAM++images with highlighted regions outside the lung area.

We evaluated the diagnostic performance of the DL model alone and compared the results between reading sessions with and without the DL model. The evaluation metrics were accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) in the receiver operating characteristics. Because three-category classification was performed, these metrics were calculated class-wise (one-vs-rest), except for accuracy. For the AUC, multi-reader multi-case statistical analysis was used to statistically analyze the results of the eight radiologists. MRMCaov was used for the statistical analyses22. Although MRMCaov is a statistical method designed for binary classification of two categories, this study was designed to diagnose three categories: NORMAL, PNEUMONIA, and COVID. Therefore, the three-category classification was divided into three binary classifications (one-vs-rest): (1) NORMAL versus PNEUMONIA or COVID, (2) PNEUMONIA versus NORMAL or COVID, and (3) COVID versus NORMAL or PNEUMONIA. We then compared the class-wise AUC of the eight radiologists between reading sessions with and without the DL model. The difference in the AUC was statistically tested using MRMCaov. Because it was necessary to integrate the results from the eight radiologists, the class-wise MRMCaov was used in the present study. To control the family-wise error rate, Bonferroni correction was used; a p value less than 0.01666 was considered statistically significant. R (version 4.1.2) was used for the statistical analysis.

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Computer-aided diagnosis of chest X-ray for COVID-19 diagnosis in ... - Nature.com

In the general population, it has been documented that so-called hybrid immunity, from both natural infection with COVID-19 plus COVID-19 vaccination, confers more durable immunity. This is of particular interest in vulnerable populations that are ineligible for vaccination, notably newborns and infants less than 6 months old.

Data presented at IDWeek 2023, taking place October 11-14, in Boston, Massachusetts, demonstrated that natural infection alone in pregnant mothers does not confer durable immunity in their infants, suggesting that maternal vaccination may provide better protection to these infants in the months prior to their own vaccine eligibility.1

The study, presented by Sylvia M. LaCourse, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington, included 107 pregnant participants (mean age, 32 years) who had experienced COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. The status of anti-Spike (anti-S) IgG antibodies and neutralizing antibodies was evaluated through blood sample draws at various timepoints, including during pregnancy, at time of delivery or birth, at less than 3 months postpartum, and 3 to 6 months postpartum. Among the participants, 27% were asymptomatic, 71% had mild to moderate COVID-19 severity, and 2% experienced severe symptoms. Collectively, 2 participants were hospitalized and 7 received treatment related to COVID-19 infection. At time of delivery or birth, 35% of participants remained unvaccinated, 27% were vaccinated, and 35% had received a booster, with 3% having partial vaccination. Overall, 65% of participants had hybrid immunity (vaccination plus infection) at time of delivery or birth.

Blood tests revealed that unvaccinated mothers and their infants were less likely to have anti-S IgG+ antibodies (87% maternal, 86% infant cord blood) at birth versus those who were vaccinated (100% maternal and infant cord blood; all P .01). Results were similar for neutralizing antibodies (unvaccinated maternal: 86%, cord: 75% vs vaccinated maternal: 100% for all; all P .01). At less 3 to 6 months of age, the percent of infants delivered to unvaccinated months with anti-S IgG+ antibodies and neutralizing antibodies dropped to 50% and 14%, respectively, compared with infants delivered to mothers with hybrid immunity, who remained at 100% across both measures (all P <.01). Overall, infants born to unvaccinated mothers with anti-S IgG+ antibodies or neutralizing antibodies displayed lower median antibody levels at birth and through their first 6 months of life compared with infants born to vaccinated mothers.

Notably, those who were vaccinated during pregnancy appeared to have more efficient transplacental transfer of anti-S IgG+ antibodies and neutralizing antibodies versus natural infection alone (anti-S IgG+ antibodies: 97% vs 73%, P <.01; neutralizing antibodies: 86% vs 54%, P = .02), again suggesting that hybrid immunity may confer a greater level of protection to infants.

These findings are in line with conclusions from similar studies, including the MOMI-VAX study2 published in Vaccine earlier this year, which further demonstrated the advantage of a booster dose on antibody levels in both mothers and their cord blood. What's yet to be seen is more clear guidance on timing of vaccination/boosters that may confer the greatest amount of protection to mothers and their newborns.

Click here for more coverage of IDWeek 2023.

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Maternal COVID-19 Vaccination, Infection Boosts Infant Antibody ... - Contagionlive.com

NEWARK, N.J. Two men and one woman of Middlesex County, New Jersey, have pleaded guilty on separate charges related to their roles in fraudulently obtaining over $2.1 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Arlen G. Encarnacion, 37, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner in Trenton federal court to a two-count information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. On Aug. 8, 2023, Jacquelyn Pena, 37, and Kent Encarnacion, 30, both of Perth Amboy, also separately pleaded guilty before Judge Castner to informations charging each of them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

Enormous amounts of financial relief went to those Americans who were struggling with this unprecedented pandemic, but, sadly, a number of people saw this difficult time as an opportunity to enrich themselves illicitly. Our office is focused on combating all types of fraud, especially when it involves exploiting the suffering of others.

The CARES Act was created to assist to American citizens and businesses that were impacted financially by the COVID-19 Pandemic, Christopher A. Nielsen, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Philadelphia Division, said. However, as alleged, Arlen Encarnacion, and his co-conspirators, manipulated this critical lifeline through a complex scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $2 million dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.Postal inspectors will continue to work with the U.S. Attorneys Office, and our law enforcement partners, to identify and hold accountable, those individuals who steal pandemic relief to fulfill their own greed.

IRS Criminal Investigations and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate criminal exploitation of this national emergency for personal gain, Tammy Tomlins, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. Todays plea sends a clear message that we remain vigilant and will vigorously pursue those who attempt to enrich themselves through fraudulent means.

According to the documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. The CARES Act also authorized the Small Business Administration to provide EIDLs of up to $2 million to eligible small businesses that were experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To obtain a PPP or EIDL loan, a qualifying small business was required to apply and provide information on its operations, including the number of employees and expenses. In addition, businesses generally had to provide supporting documentation.

Arlen Encarnacion submitted 11 fraudulent PPP loan applications and three fraudulent EIDL applications on behalf of purported businesses. Kent Encarnacion helped submit one of the fraudulent PPP applications, and Pena helped submit three of the other fraudulent PPP applications. Each application contained false representations, including bogus federal tax return documentation and fabricated information about the number of employees and wages paid. Based on these alleged misrepresentations, lenders, Federal Home Loan Bank members, and the Small Business Administration collectively provided the purported businesses with approximately $2.1 million in federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for distressed small businesses. Arlen Encarnacion received the bulk of the fraudulent proceeds, and together with Kent Encarnacion and Pena, they misappropriated all of the funds.

Each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and each count of money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Both the wire fraud and money laundering counts carry a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. Sentencing for Arlen Encarnacion is scheduled for Feb. 13, 2024. Sentencing for Kent Encarnacion is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2023, and for Pena, Dec. 13, 2023.

U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger credited postal inspectors of U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division; special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins; special agents of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney; special agents of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Sharon MacDermott; special agents of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert Manchak; special agents of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian Tucker; special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca in New York; and special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Kurtz; with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas. He also thanked the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office and the Perth Amboy Police Department for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark C. Orlowski of the U.S. Attorneys Offices Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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Three Middlesex County Individuals Admit COVID-19 Fraud ... - Department of Justice

MIAMI The U.S. Attorneys Office, together with federal and local law enforcement partners, announced today federal criminal charges as part of the Department of Justices ongoing initiative to prosecute fraud in connection with COVID-19 pandemic relief programs that offered assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as other crimes relating to the pandemic.

The charges were brought in 17 separate cases filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Collectively, the charges allege that 17 defendants participated in independent schemes to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and participating lenders by fraudulently applying for loans and other relief through the PPP and EIDL program. These programs were designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering from the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, the defendants allegedly received $495,171 in assistance unlawfully and used the proceeds to unjustly enrich themselves.

During todays initial hearings, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt in Fort Lauderdale, prosecutors advised the Court that, during the period of the alleged schemes, each of the charged defendants was employed by the Broward Sheriffs Office (BSO). According to court documents, the U.S. Attorneys Office, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of Inspector General for the Board of the Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-OIG), and BSO, has been conducting a criminal investigation to determine whether any BSO employee violated federal law in connection with obtaining or attempting to obtain any form of relief authorized under the CARES Act, such as loans through the PPP and EIDL program.

Todays announcement is a reminder that the South Florida Strike Force remains fully committed to its mission - to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud, stated U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. The U.S. Attorneys Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to uncover the fraud schemes and hold anyone involved accountable regardless of an individuals role in the community. No matter the amount, we will not allow limited federal tax dollars, which were intended to provide a lifeline to small businesses as they struggled to stay afloat during the economically devastating pandemic lockdown, to be swindled by those who were employed in a position of trust and cast aside their duty to uphold and abide by the law. Our work is not done. This investigation is ongoing.

This investigation sends a message to individuals who knowingly and illicitly capitalized on the COVID-19 national emergency to enrich themselves through the CARES Act at the expense of struggling businesses and their employees, said Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. While these programs have ended, our commitment to seeking out those who defrauded them has not.

Todays announcement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding accountable those who exploit and defraud financial institutions and the governments pandemic response for personal gain, no matter who they are, said Brian Tucker, Special Agent in Charge, Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I want to commend and thank our agents, the Broward Sheriffs Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorneys Office for their efforts and their dedication to the pursuit of justice.

Department prosecutors around the country, including the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Forces, will pursue these SBA pandemic fraud cases for the full 10 years of the extended statute of limitations, said Department of Justice Director of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Michael C. Galdo. Our partners are closely examining the pandemic data to identify fraud, including fraud by those holding a position of public trust. I would remind anyone who committed fraud, that in order to receive the full benefit from the Departments policy on self-disclosure, you must disclose before law enforcement knocks on your door.

Todays announcement regarding federal charges against more than a dozen Broward Sheriffs Office employees is the culmination of a BSO-initiated Office of Inspector General investigation. The investigation began in November 2021, after the BSO Office of Inspector General became aware of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud as an emerging trend within public service agencies. Shortly thereafter, the BSO Public Corruption Unit received a tip from a BSO employee that several employees may have committed PPP fraud.After being notified that BSO personnel may have participated in fraudulent schemes to defraud the federal government, I ordered an agency-wide investigation of all 5,600 employees from top to bottom.BSO Public Corruption Unit detectives determined more than 100 employees had submitted applications for the PPP loans. Only the employees who did not obtain the loans legally were subject to criminal investigation. To ensure a thorough and objective investigation was conducted, BSO sought out and partnered with the U.S. Attorneys Office, the Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. For five years, Ive maintained an organization committed to transparency and accountability.I will continue to expect integrity and commitment to excellence from every BSO employee, Sheriff Gregory Tony said.

The following cases were announced today:

U.S. v. Stephanie Diane Smith, Case No. 23-mj-6477-PMH

On Oct. 11, Stephanie Diane Smith, 53, of Florida, was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud.

According to the complaint affidavit, Smith applied for and received two PPP loans on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor doing business as Children 1st Basketball Training and Agape Smith Vending, respectively, based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form submitted with her applications. The complaint further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Smith sought forgiveness of the PPP loans she received. According to the complaint, Smith has been employed by BSO since approximately 1996 and held the title of Deputy Sheriff in BSOs Department of Law Enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Katrina Brown, Case No. 23-cr-60169-Altman

On Sept. 14, Katrina Brown, 46, of Florida, was charged by indictment with three counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Brown applied for and received two PPP loans on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor, based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her applications. In addition, Brown submitted an application to the SBA for an EIDL that contained materially false information, including, among other things, the borrowers gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and number of employees.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Alexandra Acosta, Case No. 23-cr-60170-Scola

On Sept. 14, Alexandra Acosta, 37, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Acosta applied for and received a PPP loan on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor, based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. LaKeitha Victoria Lawhorn, Case No. 23-cr-60171-Bloom

On Sept. 14, LaKeitha Victoria Lawhorn, 41, of Florida, was charged by indictment with three counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Lawhorn applied for and received three PPP loans on behalf of herself and her company, Home Empire Enterprises, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrowers average monthly payroll and annual gross receipts, as well as falsified IRS tax forms submitted with her applications. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Lawhorn sought forgiveness of the fraudulent PPP loans she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Jewell Farrell Johnson, Case No. 23-cr-60172-Martinez

On Sept. 14, Jewell Farrell Johnson, 46, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Johnson applied for and received two PPP loans, one on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor and one on behalf of LRJ Enterprises of South Florida, based upon materially false information about the borrowers average monthly payroll, as well as falsified IRS tax forms submitted with her applications. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Johnson sought forgiveness of the fraudulent PPP loans she received. Additionally, Johnson allegedly applied for a loan through the EIDL program for her company, G.I.G Productions LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrowers annual gross revenue in 2019.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Carolyn Denise Wade, Case No. 23-cr-60173-Williams

On Sept. 14, Carolyn Denise Wade, 48, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Wade applied for and received a PPP loan on behalf of herself as a sole proprietor based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her application. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Wade sought forgiveness of the PPP loan she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Rorie Brown, Case No. 23-cr-60174-Williams

On Sept. 14, Rorie Brown, 42, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Brown applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor, based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2020, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application. In addition, Brown submitted an application to the SBA for an EIDL that contained materially false information, including, among other things, the borrowers gross revenues, cost of goods sold, and number of employees.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Alexis Monique Greene, Case No. 23-cr-60182-Dimitrouleas

On Sept. 28, Alexis Monique Greene, 47, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Greene applied for and received two PPP loans based upon materially false information about the borrowers gross income and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her applications. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Greene sought forgiveness of the PPP loans she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Ritchie Noah Dubuisson, Case No. 23-cr-60183-Martinez

On Sept. 28, Ritchie Noah Dubuisson, 25, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Dubuisson applied for and received a PPP loan based upon materially false information about the borrowers gross income and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Dubuisson sought forgiveness of the PPP loan he received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Keshondra Tameisha Davis, Case No. 23-cr-60184-Altman

On Sept. 28, Keshondra Tameisha Davis, 37, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Davis applied for and received a PPP loan based upon materially false information about the borrowers gross income for the year 2019 and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with her application. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Davis sought forgiveness of the PPP loans she received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Klco is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Allen Dorvil, Case No. 23-cr-60185-Moore

On Sept. 28, Allen Dorvil, 33, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Dorvil applied for and received a PPP loan based upon materially false information about the borrowers gross income and purpose for the loan, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, Dorvil sought forgiveness of the PPP loan he received.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Jean Pierre-Toussant, Case No. 23-cr-60189-Moore

On Oct. 5, Jean Pierre-Toussant, 35, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Pierre-Toussant applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as a sole proprietor based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Kleo is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Ancy Morancy, Case No. 23-cr-60191-Bloom

On Oct. 5, Ancy Morancy, 33, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Morancy applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor of Moore Services Investment Group, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Marcus Errol Powell, Case No. 23-cr-60192-Gayles

On Oct. 5, Marcus Errol Powell, 37, of Florida, was charged by indictment with one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Powell applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor of Bonvivant Industries, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2020, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jorge Delgado is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Derrick J. Nesbitt, Case No. 23-cr-60193-Huck

On Oct. 5, Derrick J. Nesbitt, 46, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Nesbitt applied for and received two PPP loans on behalf of himself as the sole proprietor of Designer Life, LLC, based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. Keith Dunkley, Case No. 23-cr-60197-Smith

On Oct. 6, Keith Dunkley, 46, of Florida, was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the information, Dunkley conspired to cause the submission of false and fraudulent applications and received funds for one PPP loan and one EIDL on behalf of himself as a sole proprietor and for Global Group Alliances, LLC, which applications included materially false information about, among other things, the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. v. George Anthony III, Case No. 23-cr-80168-Cannon

On Sept. 14, George Anthony III, 50, of Florida, was charged by indictment with two counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Anthony applied for and received one PPP loan on behalf of himself as a sole proprietor based upon materially false information about the borrowers total gross business income for the year 2019, as well as a falsified IRS tax form submitted with his application. In addition, Anthony unsuccessfully applied for a second PPP loan using the same false information.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri, FBI, Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Brian Tucker, Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and Sheriff Gregory Tony of the Broward Sheriffs Office (BSO) made the announcement.

FBI Miami, FRB-OIG, and BSO investigated these cases.

The maximum sentence for a wire fraud conviction is 20 years in prison. The maximum sentence for a conspiracy to commit wire fraud conviction, as charged, is 5 years in prison. A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

An indictment, information, and complaint contain mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the departments response to the pandemic, please visithttps://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Floridas U.S. Attorneys Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.Additional information regarding the Strike Force may be found at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-covid-19-fr.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form athttps://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.govunder the case numbers referenced above.

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Seventeen Broward Sheriff's Office Employees Charged with COVID ... - Department of Justice

Mecklenburg County Public Health is offering the new COVID-19 vaccine boosters and flu shots at select clinic locations. No appointment is necessary.Residents can walk into select Public Health clinics beginning Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023.

The updated COVID-19 booster is available at no cost to those who are uninsured or underinsured via the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Bridge Access Program. Residents with private insurance are encouraged to go to their primary care provider or local retail pharmacies, like CVS or Walgreens, to avoid any potential cost sharing.

"We are excited our shipments of the new COVID-19 boosters finally arrived and look forward to serving residents starting today, said Glenda Dancy, Mecklenburg County Public Health assistant director of Clinical Services.

Locations:

Northwest Public Health Clinic 2845 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC 28216

Southeast Public Health Clinic 249 Billingsley Road, Charlotte, NC 28211

Hours:

Monday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Wednesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The end of the Public Health Emergency made this falls rollout a bit more layered. But the timing is perfect as we are experiencing cooler weather, and many activities are moving indoors. I urge residents to make sure you and your family are protected with the COVID-19 booster as well as the flu vaccine. When each of us takes responsibility, the most vulnerable among us will be safer, said Dr. Raynard Washington, director of Mecklenburg County Public Health.

As evidenced by wastewater testing sites, Mecklenburg County is seeing high levels of transmission of the COVID-19 virus in our community. Treatments available for COVID-19 and flu can reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Everyday actions of covering coughs, frequent hand washing, wearing masks, and staying home if you are sick can help reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.

The CDC recommends the COVID-19 booster and the flu vaccine for all persons six months of age and older.

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New COVID-19 Booster and Flu Shot Available at Select Public ... - Mecklenburg County (.gov)

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribunes daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

A sweeping ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employees of private Texas businesses passed the Texas Senate early Friday, although medical facilities would be allowed to enact other policies to help lower the risks to vulnerable patients.

Senate Bill 7, by Galveston Republican Sen. Mayes Middleton, would subject private employers to state fines and other actions if they fire or punish employees or contractors who refuse the shot.

The bill offers no exceptions for doctors offices, clinics or other health facilities, but senators did agree to allow those entities to require unvaccinated employees to wear personal protective gear such as face masks or take other reasonable measures to manage the spread.

The legislation passed on a 19-12 party line vote just after midnight and is heading to the House, where similar efforts stalled out earlier this year. It now awaits referral to a House committee.

The vote comes after years of Republican attempts to reign in COVID-related restrictions like mask mandates and vaccine requirements. Supporters said the bill is critical to support individual rights to make their own health care decisions without negative consequences to their livelihoods.

No one should be forced to make that awful decision between making a living for their family and their health or individual vaccine preference, Middleton told senators during a bill hearing earlier this week.

Opponents argued that the coronavirus is still dangerous to many people, that it can lead to long COVID even in those who experience mild symptoms, and that the ban takes away the ability of health care professionals to institute vaccine policies that lower the risk of viral spread for their patients. It also, some critics say, infringes on the rights of business owners to make their own policy decisions.

Including health care facilities and doctors offices in the ban triggered objections by two members of the Senate Health and Human Services committee who have had kidney transplants Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, and Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston.

It also drew skepticism by the Republican chair of the committee, Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, who on Thursday supported allowing health care facilities to enact other policies for employees who choose not to be vaccinated.

I think that we've been able to put the words in place that give us a good sound policy, that going forward if a health care worker does not want to be vaccinated, that the hospital or the health care facility can help mitigate that with mask and gloves and different things, but it has to be reasonable, Kolkhorst said during the floor debate.

Experts in the medical and scientific community say the COVID-19 vaccine does not prevent the spread entirely, but it can reduce transmission and significantly diminish symptoms and severity of the illness.

Bill purists fought against allowing health care providers to circumvent, even slightly, the ban proposed by Middletons legislation and wanted to see it passed as originally written.

Both Middleton and state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, have openly said they dont trust the vaccines safety and efficacy. Hall said earlier this week that he believes the pandemic and vaccine response was a test by the government to find out how people will react when the state forces them to mask up, lock down, and take a vaccine then subsequently controls their lives.

In late 2021, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning the mandates, but it led to confusion over who was covered by the order and how enforceable it was. That order expired in June, triggering a legislative attempt to codify it during the regular session earlier this year. After that attempt failed, Abbott added the issue to the agenda for this years third special legislative session.

A new state law banning governmental entities from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine went into effect last month.

Kolkhorst said earlier this week that the debate comes down to a mistrust of science stemming from a lack of what she and some others believe is reliable data on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Legislation she and Middleton carried during the regular session earlier this year included exemptions for all private employers that allow employees to opt out for medical or conscience reasons.

It also would have exempted health care facilities from the ban on vaccine mandates as long as they didnt force employees to take it if their doctors determined they were medically not a good candidate.

In both cases, the business or facility also would have been required to have procedures for unvaccinated staff to protect other employees from exposure.

That bill passed the Senate but died near the end of the regular session in May without a hearing in a House committee. A similar effort died in 2021 after business groups rallied against it.

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Ban on COVID vaccine mandates by private businesses, including ... - The Texas Tribune