Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: updated COVID boosters, free test program ends & more
In the United States, over 94.6 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic as of Friday, Sept. 2, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Additionally, more than 1 million people in the U.S. have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 603 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including about 3 million in the past week, and over 6.4 million people have died.
Almost 224 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated as of Sept. 2 — 67.4% of the population — and over 108 million of those have gotten their first booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Most people in the country, about 67%, live in a location where COVID-19 community levels are considered medium and high, the agency says as of Sept. 2. Masks are advised in high-level regions.
About 32% of Americans reside where COVID-19 levels are considered low, according to the CDC.
The omicron BA.5 subvariant dominated U.S. cases for the week ending Aug. 27 and made up 88% of COVID-19 cases, agency data estimates show.
Here’s what happened between Aug. 28 and Sept. 2.
New COVID booster shots? What to know about Pfizer, Moderna’s modified vaccine doses
New, modified versions of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s existing COVID-19 vaccines received a green light from the Food and Drug Administration to be used as booster shots on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
The “updated boosters” are formulated to target two omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — that have been spreading in the U.S. this summer, according to an agency news release. These virus strains are predicted to stick around in the fall and winter.
The doses are now FDA-authorized for emergency use.
“The FDA has been planning for the possibility that the composition of the COVID-19 vaccines would need to be modified to address circulating variants,” Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.
“We sought input from our outside experts on the inclusion of an omicron component in COVID-19 boosters to provide better protection against COVID-19,” Marks added.
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New COVID booster shots? What to know about Pfizer, Moderna’s modified vaccine doses
You can still order free at-home COVID tests — but not for long. Here’s what to know
There’s still time to order a set of free at-home COVID-19 tests in the mail before the government suspends the opportunity.
Each home has until Friday, Sept. 2, to place an order for a third round of free rapid antigen at-home testing kits, according to the federal government’s website.
A total of eight tests will arrive in two packages with every order.
But why is the government’s free test program ending? The Biden administration says the U.S. stockpile is running out.
For more information, keep reading here:
You can still order free at-home COVID tests — but not for long. Here’s what to know
Penn State expands COVID isolation space as cases see ‘anticipated’ rise early in semester
With the expected rise in COVID cases at the start of the semester, Penn State has been forced to at least temporarily expand its isolation space to accommodate more on-campus students who have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The move is not entirely a surprise, as university officials said a month ago that contingency plans were in place if more students needed to isolate. Penn State spokesperson Wyatt DuBois acknowledged Thursday morning that University Park’s 46 on-campus isolation rooms were full — with 28 additional off-campus spaces in use as of Wednesday afternoon.
DuBois did not specify where the off-campus spaces were located — outside of explaining they were “in a single local hotel” — but said that location is being phased out in favor of the Nittany Lion Inn, especially with the availability of hotel rooms tightening ahead of the football team’s home opener Sept. 10.
The article continues below:
Penn State expands COVID isolation space as cases see ‘anticipated’ rise early in semester
White House tweets about Buchanan’s PPP loans after he criticized Biden student loan plan
Congressman Vern Buchanan recently became a target of the White House’s social media feed after he criticized President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.
Buchanan — a frontrunner to lead the House Ways & Means Committee if Republicans take the majority in November — criticized the Biden administration for forgiving up to $20,000 in federal student loans per borrower. In response, the White House Twitter account called attention to Buchanan’s own forgiven loans.
According to the Department of the Treasury, Buchanan applied for more than $2 million in Paycheck Protection Program funds as part of 2020’s $2.2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package. Buchanan is the fourth-wealthiest member of Congress, MoneyWise reports.
White House tweets about Buchanan’s PPP loans after he criticized Biden student loan plan
Fort Worth schools have millions of federal COVID relief dollars left to spend
The infusion of millions of dollars of federal relief money has left Fort Worth-area school districts with a pair of challenges: how to get the money out the door before deadlines to spend it arrive, and how to sustain successful programs after that deadline passes and the money is gone.
Districts nationwide received that money to help with the challenges of reopening schools safely and helping students recover the academic ground they lost during school closures. But spending the money has proven more of a challenge than expected for some districts: Supply chain issues have hampered their ability to purchase educational materials, and workforce shortages have left them struggling to find candidates for new positions funded by federal dollars.
School districts in Tarrant County have more than half a billion dollars in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief money left to spend, according to figures from the Texas Education Agency. Meanwhile, deadlines to spend that money are approaching.
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Fort Worth schools have millions of federal COVID relief dollars left to spend
Reporters Josh Moyer, Ryan Callihan and Silas Allen also contributed to this report.
