The top executives of Emergent BioSolutions, which ruined millions of Johnson & Johnson doses of coronavirus vaccine in their Baltimore plant in March, will testify to a House subcommittee Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A 13-page report released in April by the Food and Drug Administration found that the\u00a0plant in Baltimore was too small, poorly designed, and dirty. Unsealed bags of medical waste were observed, along with\u00a0peeling\u00a0paint and damaged floors and walls\u00a0that could inhibit proper cleaning, the inspectors said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Employees were not properly trained and failed to properly handle ingredients, the report says.<\/p>\n
Members of Congress are asking for an explanation from the company, which was awarded a $628 million contract last year to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines but has not yet\u00a0produced a single usable dose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile,\u00a060% of adult Americans have had at least one vaccine dose and new cases and hospitalizations are steadily falling. The seven-day average of new cases has dropped to numbers not seen since March 2020, essentially\u00a0the start of the pandemic, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n
Also in the news:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u25ba\u00a0A group of House GOP lawmakers refused to wear face masks on the floor during votes on Tuesday in defiance of leadership’s rules regarding COVID-19 protocols.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u25baCoronavirus vaccination rates across the nation are lower in rural counties than in urban ones in both genders and in\u00a0all age groups, according to a federal report issued Tuesday.\u00a0The analysis, released by the CDC, looked at vaccination rates through April 10. It found\u00a0rural counties had a rate of about 39% compared with\u00a046% in urban counties.<\/p>\n \u25baAl Rimal health clinic in central Gaza City, which housed Gaza\u2019s only coronavirus test laboratory, was damaged by Israeli airstrikes Monday,\u00a0where doctors had administered thousands of tests and vaccines a day, reported The New York Times.<\/p>\n \u25baThe Las Vegas Strip and surroundings will fully reopen to vaccinated diners, dancers, shoppers, and club-goers beginning June 1.<\/p>\n \u25baSign-ups started for Ohio’s vaccine lottery Tuesday. Here’s how to win $1 million or a college scholarship.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc8\u00a0Today’s numbers:\u00a0<\/strong>The U.S. has more than 32.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 587,000\u00a0deaths,\u00a0according to\u00a0Johns Hopkins University data.\u00a0The global totals: More than 163.96\u00a0million cases and 3.39 million deaths. More than 346.6 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and 275.5 million have been administered,\u00a0according to\u00a0the CDC. Nearly 124.4 million Americans have been fully vaccinated\u00a0\u2014 37.5% of the population.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcd8\u00a0What we’re reading:\u00a0<\/strong>She\u00a0survived COVID after being on a ventilator, but her nightmare was far from over. Read more here.<\/strong><\/p>\n Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more?\u00a0Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter\u00a0for updates to your inbox and\u00a0join our Facebook group.<\/em><\/p>\n Hours after the Austin area’s top health official lifted mask mandates on businesses for fully vaccinated customers under certain conditions,\u00a0Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is using the threat of fines to squeeze local leaders who continue to impose mask rules.<\/p>\n Many Austin and Travis County business owners\u00a0on Tuesday learned they no longer need to require masks for fully vaccinated people indoors if fewer than 500 individuals\u00a0are inside at once, according to a revised mask mandate set in place\u00a0Tuesday by Mark Escott, the exiting Austin-Travis County health authority.<\/p>\n Partially vaccinated and nonvaccinated residents under the new health authority rules are still required to wear masks and remain at least 3 feet from others while outside and inside in public, according to Escott’s revised mask mandate.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Austin Public Health officials said those plans might change\u00a0in response to Abbott’s executive order that, starting late Friday, local governments or officials in Texas \u2014\u00a0including counties, cities, school districts, and public health authorities\u00a0\u2014 could no longer require the use of masks.<\/p>\n Abbott planned to enforce his new order with a fine of up to $1,000 for government entities or officials who continue to require\u00a0mask-wearing.<\/p>\n Exempt from Abbott’s orders are\u00a0state-supported living centers, government-owned or operated hospitals, Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities, Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities\u00a0and county and municipal jails.<\/p>\n –\u00a0Heather Osbourne, Austin American-Statesman<\/em><\/p>\n India\u2019s total virus cases since the pandemic began swept past 25 million on Tuesday as the country registered more than 260,000 new cases and a record 4,329 fatalities in the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n The numbers continue a trend of falling cases after infections dipped below 300,000 for the first time in weeks on Monday. Active cases in the country also decreased by more than 165,000 on Tuesday \u2014 the biggest dip in weeks.<\/p>\n But deaths have continued to rise and hospitals are still swamped by patients.<\/p>\n The nation of nearly 1.4 billion has reported more than 400,000 daily new cases several times over the course of the month, shattering global records. It has been slammed by a surge in cases since February, partially driven by a dangerous variant now found in 49\u00a0countries, including the U.S.<\/p>\n White House coronavirus response senior adviser Andy Slavitt on Tuesday urged young Americans to get vaccinated, saying his own son is battling long-haul symptoms of the infection.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s young and fit, and in the prime of his life. But six months later, he stills suffers from tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), shortness of breath and ongoing and frequent flu-like symptoms,” Slavitt said at a White House briefing. “His hands are cold to the touch.”<\/p>\n Slavitt said it is not clear how long the symptoms will last. He said that “many, many” young people are more seriously ill than his son, and that more than one-third of hospitalized COVID patients are under 50.<\/p>\n “My message to young people is simple. ‘Get vaccinated,'” Slavitt said. “It’s the most important thing you can do right now.”<\/p>\nAustin-area businesses can drop mask rules for fully vaccinated customers in certain cases<\/h2>\n
India reports record number of deaths<\/h2>\n
White House COVID adviser’s son suffering ‘long-haul’ symptoms<\/h2>\n