Coronavirus

ATLANTA VOICE — “At the time, my plan was to say I’d been immunized; it wasn’t some sort of ruse,” Rodgers said.”I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for your body, not to have to acquiesce to some woke-culture-crazed group of individuals who say you have to do something,” although he did note that he has followed the protocols for unvaccinated players to a T. Rodgers’ reaction to the fallout has been more akin to the Trumpian tactic of refusing to take responsibility for past wrongs and instead attacking one’s critics. Rodgers should — and must — be better than that, both for his teammates and for his legion of fans who admire him and even see him as a role model.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — White House officials have determined that there’s enough of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for all 28 million children in America who are between the age of 5 and 11. Pfizer officials said they placed orders for the doses last month, and they’ve already begun the process of preparing and packing the vaccines.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The healthcare system has long been inequitable – low-income individuals, people of color, and those without means, time, or money to travel to a physical facility, face significant challenges in getting the care they need. This situation worsened as the world shut down last year.

THE SACRAMENTO OBSERVER — California’s school vaccination mandate will take effect for students enrolled in grades 7 through 12 one semester after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the vaccine for children 12 and older. The mandate will also apply to children under 12 after a vaccine is approved for that age group.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the former General’s family wrote on Facebook. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” the family wrote. They reported that Powell had been fully vaccinated.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the former General’s family wrote on Facebook.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The report noted that hospitalization rates for Black and Latinx patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 are approximately three times higher than those of similar White patients. “It is therefore unsurprising that of the 216,635 COVID-19–related deaths in the United States to date for which we have race and ethnicity data available, 29.3% have been Black (34,374) or Latinx (29,063), which correlate with US population norms,” the authors continued.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Sen. Warnock and Congressman McEachin said more than 11 percent of American households are without computers. They noted that millions of Americans migrated to virtual learning and teleworking since the outbreak of the pandemic. Still, many households struggled to connect because of a lack of or an insufficient number of connected devices. 

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Accelerated investments in nutrition, food systems, and health systems must be a pillar of both the immediate and longer-term phases of the COVID-19 response. Recent impact modeling data predicts that without immediate action, there will be an additional 283,000 malnutrition-related deaths in children under 5 over the next three years, and 13.6 million more children under 5 will be wasted (underweight for their height) over the same period. As a result, we stand to lose a decade or more of progress on nutrition.

HOWARD UNIVERSITY NEWS SERVICE — H&R Block conducted a study that revealed more than half of Black-owned businesses experienced at least 50% decrease in revenue during the pandemic compared to 37% of White business owners.