1 in 5 prisoners in the US has had COVID-19, 1,700 have died. Get today’s latest virus updates.
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1 in 5 prisoners in the US has had COVID-19, 1,700 have died
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — One in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times as high as the general population. In some states, more than half of prisoners have been infected, according to data collected by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project.
As the pandemic enters its 10th month — and as the first Americans begin to receive a long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine — at least 275,000 prisoners have been infected, more than 1,700 have died and the spread of the virus behind bars shows no sign of slowing. New cases in prisons this week reached their highest level since testing began in the spring, far outstripping previous peaks in April and August. Read more:
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Shutdown deadline looms over COVID-19 relief talks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bearing down on a midnight shutdown deadline, top negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package are committed to sealing an agreement Friday as they resolve remaining differences in hopes of passing the legislation this weekend.
The pressure is on. Government funding lapses at midnight Friday and a partial, low-impact shutdown would ensue if Congress fails to pass a stopgap spending bill before then. That’s not guaranteed, said Senate GOP Whip John Thune, who said some Republicans might block the stopgap measure to keep the pressure on if the talks haven’t borne fruit. Read more:
Here’s an update on all developments. Scroll or swipe further for in-depth coverage.
- Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says shipments of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine will begin this weekend if the FDA grants emergency use authorization as expected on Friday.
- Vice President Mike Pence was vaccinated for COVID-19 on Friday in a live-television event aimed at reassuring Americans the vaccine is safe. He celebrated the shot as “a medical miracle” that could eventually contain the raging coronavirus pandemic.
- The Food and Drug Administration says it is “rapidly” working toward issuing an emergency use authorization for the Moderna vaccine — the second Covid-19 vaccine for the US market — after the FDA’s vaccine advisers voted Thursday to recommend it.
- Several states say they have been told to expect far fewer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in its second week of distribution, prompting worries about potential delays in shots for health care workers and long-term care residents.
- Tens of millions of people are expected to travel to family gatherings or winter vacations over Christmas, despite pleas by public health experts who fear the result could be another surge in COVID-19 cases.
- The top leaders of the U.S. House and Senate will be receiving the coronavirus vaccine this week, and Congress’ attending physician has informed members that they are all eligible for the shots under “government continuity” guidelines.
- U.S. health officials are seeing an astonishing lack of demand for COVID-19 medicines that may help keep infected people out of the hospital, drugs they rushed out to states over the past few weeks as deaths set new records.
- As French President Emmanuel Macron rides out the coronavirus in a presidential retreat at Versailles, critics on Friday called out slip-ups in his virus-prevention behavior, from a close-quarters handshake to repeated big-group meals over the past week.
For more summaries and full reports, please select from the articles below. Scroll further for the latest numbers tracking the spread.
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