Coronavirus Watch: Another stimulus check?
Public health experts and infectious disease scientists are sounding the alarm on a new directive from President Donald Trump's administration that requires hospitals reporting COVID-19 data to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send the information directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, a cabinet-level agency.
The new data collection system will be "faster," said Michael Caputo, HHS assistant secretary for public affairs. The CDC, he said, has a one-week lag in reporting hospital data.
But in an interview with Paste BN, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher called the sidelining of the CDC "very scary."
It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's the most significant news of the day, as of 1 p.m. ET:
- Another stimulus check? Congressional leaders are hoping to have another coronavirus aid package ready by the end of the month, another tranche of funds to pile on to the stunning $3 trillion already passed to counter the pandemic and its sweeping impacts on the country.
- A candidate vaccine developed by the federal government and Moderna Inc. appears to be safe and to trigger an immune response, according to data released from an early-phase trial.
- The first confirmed case of a mother transmitting the coronavirus to her unborn baby has been reported in France, according to a case study.
- Today's numbers: The U.S. has more than 3.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 135,000 deaths have been confirmed, according to John Hopkins University data. Worldwide, there are more than 13.3 million confirmed cases, and more than 580,000 people have died. See the numbers in your area here, and check out where cases are rising here.
Not everyone wants to wear a mask. Several videos have shown confrontations, often violent, over face masks. Here's the psychology behind why some people resist them, according to experts.
Which states are hotbeds for online anti-mask sentiment? Arizona takes the cake, according to a new study. See the map below, and read more here.
Do you have questions about the coronavirus? You can submit them through this form, and we'll answer them.
Marsha from Ohio asks: Who does the mask protect? If it does not protect the wearer, why do I need to wear one?
A new report out of a hair salon in Springfield, Missouri, shows wearing a face mask isn't just altruistic – it also helps keep the person wearing it from getting COVID-19. And some infectious disease experts increasingly think wearing a mask could mean a person is more likely to get a milder or even asymptomatic form of the disease if they are infected.
"Wearing (a face mask) means you're exposed to less virus. Less is coming in from other people, and you're inhaling less. It's a win-win," said Dr. John Brooks, a medical epidemiologist and the CDC's chief medical officer for the agency’s COVID-19 response.
If the American public were to embrace masking now, the pandemic could be brought to heel in less than two months, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday.
As always, thank you for subscribing! We appreciate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information. Know someone who could benefit from these daily updates? Forward them this email so they can sign up here.
– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck