Economics

What the data say about border closures and COVID spread

Wed, 2020-12-23 17:46 — mike kraft

What the data say about border closures and COVID spread Models estimate that travel restrictions worked early in the pandemic, but became less effective throughout the year. Smriti Mallapaty nature

As countries in Europe rush to close their borders to the United Kingdom to prevent transmission of a new — and potentially more transmissible — variant of SARS-CoV-2, research has estimated the effect of international travel restrictions on COVID-19 spread earlier in the pandemic.

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Pharmacies’ starring role in vaccine push could result in unequal access

Wed, 2020-12-23 09:39 — mike kraft

Pharmacies’ starring role in vaccine push could create unequal access Public health experts say a broader mix of vaccination sites is needed to reach as many people as possible. POLITICO

The Trump administration has made pharmacies a centerpiece of the country’s historic coronavirus vaccination campaign — a decision that could bypass low-income and minority populations hardest hit by the pandemic.

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$900B COVID relief bill passed by Congress, sent to Trump

Tue, 2020-12-22 09:46 — mike kraft

$900B COVID relief bill passed by Congress, sent to Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation... AP NEWS

Summary of what is in the bill --the Hill

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OPINION: The Magic Number for Reducing Infections and Keeping Businesses Open

Thu, 2020-12-17 11:32 — mike kraft

Opinion | The Magic Number for Reducing Infections and Keeping Businesses Open Data from early in the pandemic reveals there’s a “sweet spot.” nytimes

NY Times op-ed by Yarna Serkez

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States Try to Rescue Small Businesses as U.S. Aid Is Snarled

Thu, 2020-12-10 20:33 — mike kraft

With the economic recovery faltering and federal aid stalled in Washington, state governments are stepping in to try to help small businesses survive the pandemic winter.

The Colorado legislature held a special session last week to pass an economic aid package. Ohio is offering a new round of grants to restaurants, bars and other businesses affected by the pandemic. And in California, a new fund will use state money to backstop what could ultimately be hundreds of millions of dollars in private loans. Other states, led by both Republicans and Democrats, have announced or are considering similar measures.

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From romance scams to phantom PPE, banks battle coronavirus crimewave

Thu, 2020-12-10 20:01 — mike kraft

From romance scams to phantom PPE, banks battle coronavirus crimewave Fraud risk analyst Rajendran Raj was used to the odd out-of-hours alert from authorities, but a call one Saturday in March heralded a new era, of tackling criminals seeking to cash in on coronavirus. Sinead Cruise, Lawrence White U.S.

LONDON (Reuters) - Fraud risk analyst Rajendran Raj was used to the odd out-of-hours alert from authorities, but a call one Saturday in March heralded a new era, of tackling criminals seeking to cash in on coronavirus.

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Trump EPA finalizes rollback making it harder to enact new public health rules

Wed, 2020-12-09 18:37 — mike kraft

Trump EPA finalizes rollback making it harder to enact new public health rules The Trump administration is finalizing a rule Wednesday making it harder to enact public health protections, by changing the way the Environmental Protection Agency calculates the costs and benefits of new limits on air pollution. Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis Washington Post

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As U.S. companies push to get workers vaccinated, states disagree on who's essential

Wed, 2020-12-09 12:02 — mike kraft

As U.S. companies push to get workers vaccinated, states disagree on who's essential Companies and industry groups lobbying to get their U.S. workers to the front of the line for COVID vaccination are running into a patchwork of state plans and confusion over who is essential, and who is not. Tina Bellon, Richa Naidu U.S.

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COVID-19 Data Release Shows Where Hospitals Around The Country Are Filling Up

Tue, 2020-12-08 18:46 — mike kraft

New data released by the Department of Health and Human Services on Monday gives the most detailed picture to date of how COVID-19 is stressing individual hospitals in the United States.

The information provides nationwide data on hospital capacity and bed use at a hospital-by-hospital level. This is the first time the federal agency has released the COVID-19 hospital data it collects at the facility level. Previously, HHS released data aggregated at the state level only.

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As pandemic lifelines expire, Americans in housing free fall

Tue, 2020-12-08 09:52 — mike kraft

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Clarence Hamer doesn’t expect to hang on to his house much longer.

His downstairs tenant owes him nearly $50,000 in back rent on the four-bedroom duplex he owns in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Without those rental payments, Hamer has been unable to pay the thousands he owes in heat, hot water and property taxes. In September, after exhausting his life savings, he stopped paying the mortgage, too.

“I don’t have any corporate backing or any other type of insurance,” said Hamer, a 46-year-old landlord who works for the city of New York. “All I have is my home, and it seems apparent that I’m going to lose it.”

America’s mom-and-pop landlords, along with their tenants, have been dangling by a thread for nine months. Now, with Congress still deadlocked over the contours of a second pandemic stimulus package, they are entering a new housing abyss, a perilous period of pandemic limbo as the last of the safety nets are set to expire.

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