California coronavirus updates: Air travelers into the US won’t have to test for COVID-19 starting Sunday

10:28 a.m.: Air travelers into the US won’t have to test for COVID-19 starting Sunday

The Biden administration plans to drop the requirement for air travelers coming to the United States to test adverse for COVID-19 earlier than departure, starting on Sunday, as reported by NPR.

According to an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the requirement is not wanted and can raise on Sunday, June 12 at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Since December, travelers have had to current a adverse COVID-19 test outcomes taken not more than a day earlier than departure or proof of restoration from the virus inside the final 90 days.

However, the CDC mentioned it’ll reassess the resolution in 90 days and will reinstate it if a brand new variant of concern developed.

9:39 a.m.: FDA hearings to decide the fates of vaccinations for kids

Next week brings a marathon of hearings as the U.S. decides whether or not to open COVID-19 vaccinations to youngsters youthful than 5, as reported by the Associated Press.

On Wednesday, each Moderna and Pfizer will argue their case. Each firm goals to supply a distinct dose and variety of pictures.

If the Food and Drug Administration authorizes one or each forms of pictures, there’ll nonetheless be one other query — ought to younger kids get vaccinated or simply these at excessive threat?

Kids beneath 5 are the solely group not but eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S.

If all the steps fall into place, the pictures needs to be obtainable later this month.

9:25 a.m.: Small businesses are facing a ‘summer of uncertainty’

Small companies that rely on outside crowds and free-spending vacationers aren’t positive what to count on this summer season.

Consumers probably have loads of pent-up demand after greater than two years of the pandemic. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. Travel Association predicts journey spending will probably be barely above pre-pandemic ranges.

But customers are additionally dealing with some important monetary headwinds. Inflation is making day-to-day residing dearer, which might depart much less cash for discretionary spending.

Gas costs are up greater than 60% from a 12 months in the past and resort rooms and airfare are pricier as effectively, placing strain on journey budgets.

COVID-19 nonetheless stays a looming presence.

9:53 a.m.: New Novavax COVID-19 vaccine may be an option for those with religious concerns

A COVID-19 vaccine that would quickly win federal authorization could supply a booster for the U.S. navy: a chance to get pictures into a few of the hundreds of service members who have refused the different coronavirus vaccines for spiritual causes.

Already, at the least 175 lively obligation and reserve service members have obtained the Novavax vaccine, according to the Associated Press.

Some have traveled abroad at their very own expense to get it.

The Novavax vaccine meets the Defense Department’s necessities as a result of it has the World Health Organization’s emergency use approval and is utilized in Europe and different areas.

Military officers say many troops who refuse the pictures cite sure COVID-19 vaccines’ distant connections to fetal tissue.

Lab-grown cell traces descended from fetuses from many years in the past had been utilized in some early-stage testing of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and to develop viruses used to manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The vaccines don’t include fetal cells.

Novavax says that “no human fetal-derived cell lines or tissue” had been utilized in the improvement, manufacture or manufacturing of its vaccine.

9:33 a.m.: WHO says COVID-19 origins are still unclear

Experts drafted by the World Health Organization to assist examine the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, additional analysis is required to decide how COVID-19 first started.

As reported by the Associated Press, the WHO say they want a extra detailed evaluation of the risk it was a laboratory accident. That request makes a pointy reversal of the U.N. well being company’s preliminary evaluation of the pandemic’s origins.

The WHO concluded final 12 months that it was “extremely unlikely” that COVID-19 would possibly have spilled into people from a lab.

In a report launched Thursday, WHO’s skilled group mentioned “key pieces of data” are nonetheless lacking to assist scientists perceive how the pandemic started.

9:22 a.m.: Virus testing pop-ups are the new normal in China as a part of its ‘zero-COVID’ strategy

Thousands of coronavirus testing websites have popped up on sidewalks throughout Beijing and different Chinese cities in the newest improvement in the nation’s “zero-COVID” technique, in accordance to the Associated Press.

Regular testing of residents is changing into the new regular as the Chinese Communist Party sticks steadfastly to the “zero-COVID” strategy that’s more and more at odds with the remainder of the world.

The transfer follows a latest outbreak in Shanghai that unfold so extensively that authorities locked down the complete metropolis for two months to finish it.

Authorities have determined that early detection is required in the event that they’re going to management omicron outbreaks with out excessive measures that trigger main financial disruption.

9:43 a.m.: FDA to approve more traditional vaccine, Novavax, as fouth COVID-19 shot option

A extra conventional type of COVID-19 vaccine is a step nearer to changing into the fourth choice for U.S. adults.

According to the Associated Press, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted Tuesday to advocate authorization of pictures made by Novavax.

It’s a protein vaccine, a extra standard know-how than the dominant Pfizer and Moderna pictures and the lesser-used Johnson & Johnson choice.

If the FDA finally agrees, the Novavax pictures could possibly be an choice for adults who haven’t but gotten vaccinated.

The firm ultimately hopes to supply its pictures as a booster, like they’re utilized in another international locations.

9:34 a.m.: Moderna says updated COVID-19 vaccine offers even better protection against omicron

Moderna says its experimental COVID-19 vaccine that mixes its authentic shot with safety towards the omicron variant seems to work, in accordance to the Associated Press.

COVID-19 vaccine makers are finding out up to date boosters that is likely to be provided in the fall.

Moderna says its mixture booster candidate elevated omicron-fighting antibodies extra than simply one other dose of the authentic.

Today’s vaccines nonetheless supply sturdy safety towards COVID-19 hospitalization and demise, however safety towards milder infections wanes, particularly as the virus continues to mutate. Health authorities are contemplating whether or not to order a change in the vaccine recipe.

Moderna introduced its preliminary research outcomes on Wednesday.

9:15 a.m.: New Hampshire vaccine protesters who shut down meeting won’t face charges

New Hampshire’s lawyer normal says he won’t convey prison fees towards protesters who disrupted an govt council assembly in September earlier than it started and compelled its postponement.

As reported by the Associated Press, indignant opponents of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate moved round the room at St. Anselm College on Sept. 29.

They shouted “shut it down” earlier than the assembly might get underway. Attorney General John Formella mentioned Tuesday that the state wouldn’t have been in a position to show any potential prison fees past an inexpensive doubt.

The postponement delayed a council vote on $27 million in federal assist to increase New Hampshire’s vaccination efforts.

9:44 a.m.: An FAQ for some of your questions about COVID-19 reinfection

Here’s a state of affairs — let’s say you bought sick with COVID-19 again in January, so that you figured you had been executed with the virus for some time.

But you then started feeling a scratchy throat, a runny nostril and extra, so that you took an at-home test simply in case. You’ve simply examined optimistic for COVID-19 once more.

You could also be questioning, how might this occur? Is it attainable to get COVID once more only a few months or weeks after recovering from a case?

NPR asked four specialists to answer some frequently asked questions about reinfection.

Two issues they discovered: Newer omicron variants are extra transmissible and make reinfection extra probably than earlier in the pandemic, however vaccination may also assist forestall reinfection.

9:31 a.m.: Special Olympics drops COVID-19 vaccination requirement after threatened with fines

The Special Olympics has dropped a coronavirus vaccine mandate for its video games in Orlando after Florida moved to high quality the group $27.5 million for violating a state legislation towards such necessities.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis just lately introduced the group had eliminated the requirement for its competitors in the state, which is scheduled to run from June 5 to June 12.

The Florida well being division notified the Special Olympics in a letter Thursday that the group can be fined $27.5 million for 5,500 violations of state legislation for requiring proof of coronavirus vaccination for attendees or members.

9:12 a.m.: Beijing restaurants and shops reopen as COVID-19 cases fall

Diners are returning to eating places in most of Beijing for the first time in additional than a month as authorities additional ease pandemic-related restrictions.

According to the Associated Press, the transfer comes after a small COVID-19 outbreak in the capital was largely eradicated beneath China’s strict “zero-COVID” strategy.

Museums, cinemas and gymnasiums are allowed to function at up to 75% of capability and supply drivers can as soon as once more convey packages to a buyer’s door.

The Community Party stays wedded to a “zero-COVID” technique that exacts an financial value and retains individuals of their houses, at the same time as many different international locations take a extra relaxed strategy.

1:04 p.m. Sacramento County continues to ‘strongly recommend’ but not require masking

Sacramento County well being officers proceed to advise all individuals to put on masks in indoor public locations as COVID-19 circumstances and hospitalizations enhance in the area, however is not going to be requiring it.

“We continue to follow state guidance and strongly recommend masking,” Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye mentioned Monday. “Businesses can choose to make masking mandatory, especially if they have a lot of interaction with the general public or if they are seeing an increase in cases among employees or if they have an outbreak.”

Last week the county was positioned in the highest COVID-19 threat stage by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as circumstances and hospitalizations continued to enhance. In what’s generally known as the “high” neighborhood stage, the CDC recommends that every one individuals put on masks in indoor public areas.

As of Friday, 167 sufferers had been in hospitals in the county with COVID-19, together with 21 in the ICU. Kasirye mentioned that whereas hospitalizations are excessive, they’re far under the peaks earlier this 12 months.

The county noticed lots of its highest numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 sufferers in the first months of 2022, together with 657 sufferers on January 25, the county’s all-time highest quantity since the begin of the pandemic. Since the begin of the pandemic, there have been 297,787 confirmed COVID-19 circumstances and three,052 deaths in Sacramento County.

Kasirye mentioned she’s hopeful that these figures could quickly plateau however that summer season journey and different gatherings imply residents ought to nonetheless watch out.

“There are some early indications that there may be a slowdown, but it’s too early to tell,” she mentioned. 

“Of course, our hope is that we are getting to the peak of this recent surge and that we will start seeing a decline. But …  with [an] increase in travel, there is that increased risk of exposure, so people do need to be careful. People do need to continue wearing masks.”

10:05 a.m.: Sacramento City schools mask mandate starts today

The Sacramento City Unified School District is reinstating an indoor masking mandate, in accordance to the Associated Press.

The district urged that college students resume carrying masks on Friday as a mushy begin to the renewed masking requirement that takes impact at present.

The transfer comes amid a rising tide of COVID-19 circumstances in California. The college district introduced the transfer Thursday when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved Sacramento County into the “high” stage of neighborhood transmission.

Alameda County became the first county in the state to reinstate indoor masking necessities, and final month UCLA and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo had been amongst faculties returning to masking necessities.

9:50 a.m.: First shots for children under 5 may be here as soon as June 21

The Biden administration says kids beneath 5 could give you the chance to get their first COVID-19 vaccination doses as quickly as June 21 if federal regulators authorize pictures for the age group as anticipated.

As reported by the Associated Press, White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning for the final remaining ineligible age group to get the pictures.

He says the Food and Drug Administration’s exterior panel of advisers will meet on June 14-15 to consider the Pfizer and Moderna pictures for youthful youngsters.

Shipments to medical doctors’ places of work and pediatric care amenities would start quickly after FDA authorization, with the first pictures attainable the following week.

9:39 a.m.: US Interior Secretary tests positive for COVID-19

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has examined optimistic for COVID-19 and has gentle signs, in accordance to the Associated Press.

The Interior Department says Haaland is isolating in Nevada, the place she took half in a roundtable dialogue final Tuesday about clear power manufacturing on public lands.

The company says Haaland started experiencing signs of the coronavirus on Wednesday and examined optimistic.

She has canceled additional journey round the U.S. West and is working remotely. The Interior Department says the 61-year-old Haaland is assured she’ll get well shortly as she’s absolutely vaccinated and has obtained two booster pictures.

8:59 a.m.: Indoor masking returns to several California school districts

School districts throughout California are reinstating indoor masks insurance policies as COVID-19 hospitalizations steadily enhance in the nation’s most populous state.

Daily new hospital admissions of sufferers with COVID have exceeded final’s summer season peak, in accordance to the Associated Press.

The Sacramento City Unified School District would require masks indoors starting Monday for all college students and employees.

This change comes solely 45 days since the district initially dropped its indoor masks requirement on April 18, regardless of being one in every of the final California districts to accomplish that. California dropped its state college masks mandate for Ok-12 college students on March 12.

SCUSD isn’t the solely district reinstating masking guidelines. Alameda County Unified School District is reinstating its masks guidelines starting Friday at midnight. It’s the first in the county to convey masking guidelines again.

Alameda County can also be reinstating a county-wide indoor masks coverage.

Statewide hospitalizations topped 2,500 after falling under 1,000 at the lowest level in April.

8:35 a.m.: First shots for children under 5 may be rolling out by the end of June

The Biden administration says kids beneath 5 could give you the chance to get their first COVID-19 vaccination doses as quickly as June 21 if federal regulators authorize pictures for the age group as anticipated.

According to the Associated Press, White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning Thursday for the final remaining ineligible age group to get pictures.

He mentioned the Food and Drug Administration’s exterior panel of advisers will meet on June 14-15 to consider the Pfizer and Moderna pictures for youthful youngsters.

Shipments to medical doctors’ places of work and pediatric care amenities would start quickly after FDA authorization, with the first pictures attainable the following week.

4:16 p.m.: Sacramento moved in CDC’s highest COVID-19 level with 12 other California counties

Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties had been positioned in the highest COVID-19 neighborhood stage by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Thursday as circumstances and hospitalizations proceed to rise in the area.

Overall, 13 California counties moved into the CDC’s “high” neighborhood stage. The measurement tracks the affect of COVID-19 on a neighborhood, and relies on a mix of case charges, hospitalization charges and the share of hospital beds utilized by COVID-19 sufferers.

Over the previous week, Sacramento County recorded 283 new COVID-19 circumstances and 12.1 COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 individuals. The restrict to keep in the CDC’s low tier is 200 circumstances and 10 hospitalizations.

The different California counties in the excessive tier are Del Norte, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.

At the excessive neighborhood stage, the CDC recommends all individuals put on masks indoors in public locations, keep up to date on vaccinations (together with booster pictures in case you are eligible), and get examined in the event that they have signs

The Sacramento City Unified School District has mentioned it’ll return to common masking if the county moved to the excessive neighborhood stage. Sacramento County well being officilas have not but responed to questions on if they are going to change any COVID-19 insurance policies.

9:42 a.m.: Some local governments turning down $73 million in federal pandemic relief funds

Local governments throughout the U.S. have turned down a possible complete of $73 million in federal pandemic reduction funds.

An Associated Press analyst discovered that 1,468 smaller cities, cities, villages and counties successfully mentioned “no” to their share of the American Rescue Plan.

Some native officers instructed the AP that they had no want for the cash. Others mentioned they did not need the trouble of coping with the federal authorities.

In a number of circumstances, some expressed political opposition to the reduction package deal enacted final 12 months by the Democratic-led Congress and President Joe Biden.

The rejected cash quantities to a small share of the $350 billion of presidency assist.

9:34 a.m.: Latest COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax, hopes to win out vaccine holdouts

Americans could quickly get a brand new COVID-19 vaccine choice — a extra conventional type of shot generally known as a protein vaccine.

According to the Associated Press, the Food and Drug Administration is evaluating the vaccine made by Novavax. It’s late in the pandemic for a brand new selection, however with hundreds of thousands nonetheless unvaccinated or needing boosters, the Maryland-based firm is hoping to discover a area of interest.

The vaccine is made very in a different way from the extensively used Pfizer and Moderna pictures. Novavax’s COVID-19 pictures are licensed in quite a few different international locations, however U.S. clearance is a key hurdle.

9:10 a.m.: Brace yourself for sticker shock if you’re traveling this summer

If you haven’t booked your summer season trip plans, you’re already too late to snag the greatest offers, in accordance to journey consultants.

Airfares are up, resort charges are up, and airways are bracing for a giant summer season, as reported by the Associated Press.

High costs should not the solely factor travelers want to fear about.

Airlines have hundreds fewer staff than they did earlier than the pandemic, which suggests they may wrestle to deal with the anticipated crowds. During Memorial Day weekend, United Airlines canceled 2% or 2,800 flights from that Thursday to Monday.

Delta canceled 800 flights and mentioned it confronted a number of points, with rising COVID-19 circumstances amongst employees being one in every of them.

Despite all of this, customers appear to be burnt out from pandemic fatigue and appear to be taking all of it in stride. Airlines say bookings are working at document ranges, and spending on U.S. flights is working forward of 2019 ranges.

9:48 a.m.: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has reinstated indoor masking

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has reinstated indoor masking due to rising numbers of COVID-19 circumstances, as reported by the Associated Press.

The selections taking impact on Tuesday cowl all campus amenities and applies to all college students, staff and guests no matter vaccination standing.

A college assertion says the numbers should not on the order of what was seen throughout the worst of the winter omicron surge, however they’re nonetheless regarding from a well being and security standpoint.

The mandate had beforehand been lifted in February.

9:23 a.m.: Political gridlock could delay COVID-19 funds until fall or later

The Biden administration foresees pointless deaths if lawmakers don’t approve billions of {dollars} extra to brace for the pandemic’s subsequent wave, but the push to present the cash is in limbo in Congress.

It’s the newest sufferer of election-year gridlock that’s already stalled or killed a bunch of Democratic priorities, in accordance to the Associated Press.

President Joe Biden’s request for funds for vaccines, testing and coverings has run into opposition from Republicans.

The GOP has additionally difficult the election-year struggle by fusing it with the politically precarious challenge of immigration. If the challenge isn’t resolved quickly, the subsequent greatest probability of dealing with it might not come till the fall.

9:14 a.m.: WHO greenlights China’s CanSino vaccine for emergency use

The World Health Organization has granted an emergency use authorization for the coronavirus vaccine made by China’s CanSino Biologics.

According to the Associated Press, it’s the eleventh coronavirus vaccine to obtain WHO’s greenlight.

In an announcement on Thursday, the U.N. well being company mentioned the single-dose vaccine was discovered to be about 92% efficient towards extreme COVID-19 and 64% efficient in stopping individuals from getting signs.

WHO’s skilled vaccine group recommends the CanSino vaccine for everybody 18 and over.

Last 12 months, China’s prime infectious illness official acknowledged that the nation’s vaccines provided low safety towards COVID-19 and that mixing them with booster doses of messenger RNA vaccines is likely to be wanted.