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Los Angeles County to require vaccine proof for indoor bars; most Americans believe worst is yet to come, poll says: COVID-19 updates

More than a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, most Americans believe the coronavirus remains a major threat to public health and the U.S. economy, according to a Pew Research Center report released Wednesday.

Despite widespread vaccination efforts, 54% of U.S. adults say the worst of the outbreak is still to come. The report, based on a survey of 10,348 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 23-29, 2021, found 73% of those ages 18 and older say they’ve received at least one dose of a vaccine for COVID-19.

About a quarter of adults say they have not received a vaccine. Some of the lowest vaccination rates are seen among those with no health insurance and white evangelical Protestants (57% each) as well as among Republicans and Republican leaners (60%).

Black adults are now about as likely as white adults to say they’ve received a vaccine (70% and 72%, respectively). Earlier in the outbreak, African Americans were less likely to say they planned to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Also in the news:

►Figures on COVID-19 deaths in Florida's counties quietly rematerialized this week on a federal website tracking the pandemic, more than three months after state officials stopped publicly reporting the information. The new data appeared one week after a USA TODAY Network-Florida report on the lack of accessible county death data.

►Maine Senate President Troy Jackson and Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli have tested positive, despite being vaccinated. Jackson said he had no symptoms; Vitelli said hers were mild.

►Donald Kauerauf, Missouri’s new health czar, said it was crucial to retool the state's vaccine message with a goal of getting 80% of the state’s residents jabbed. About 52.8% have gotten at least one dose, state data shows.

►A Minnesota judge has rejected a request by concerned parents to force a statewide mask mandate in all schools. Ramsey County District Judge Thomas Gilligan said the court was “gravely concerned” about the virus but said the court lacked the legal authority to order Gov. Tim Walz to issue the directive.

►"Saturday Night Live" alum Jim Breuer says on his Facebook page that he won't perform at venues requiring proof of vaccination. Breuer says he wouldn't attend two scheduled standup shows "due to the segregation of them forcing people to show up with vaccinations, to prove you're vaccinated."

📈Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 41.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 665,800 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 226.1 million cases and 4.65 million deaths. Nearly 179 million Americans — 54% of the population — have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

📘What we're reading: A week ago, President Joe Biden signed a measure requiring employees of businesses with 100 or more workers be either vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing if they aren't working from home. It's been called a vaccine mandate but experts say it can just as easily be thought of as a testing mandate.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY's Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

Los Angeles County to require vaccine proof for indoor bars, breweries

Public health officials in Los Angeles County will begin requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for patrons and workers at indoor bars, wineries, breweries and nightclubs next month.

The new initiative in the nation’s most populous county begins Oct. 7, with proof of at least one vaccine dose required. By Nov. 4, proof of full vaccination will be mandatory, according to the county’s Department of Public Health. Health officials strongly recommend the same precautions for indoor restaurants but have not chosen to mandate proof of vaccination for them.

The new restrictions come ahead of the holiday season, which brought a massive surge to Los Angeles last year. More than 25,000 people have died of the virus countywide and the toll continues to climb amid the more-contagious delta variant.

"This is a reasonable path forward that will position us to be better able to break the cycle of surges," Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, told the Board of Supervisors during a Wednesday meeting.

FDA shares first analysis of Pfizer booster shot application

Two days before a CDC advisory committee is expected to meet to discuss the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 booster shots, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shared its first analysis of Pfizer's application for booster shot authorization.

Officials reviewed the company's data on more than 300 adults who received a booster dose six months after initial vaccination and found they had an increased immune response. At the same time, officials said the "data indicate that currently US-licensed or authorized COVID-19 vaccines still afford protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death in the United States."

The report comes after an expert review by international scientists found vaccines remain highly effective against severe disease, including from the delta variant and other main variants. The review, published Monday, questioned the value and ethics of providing third "booster" shots to healthy Americans while many countries are unable to secure sufficient vaccine for first and second jabs.

Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke with MSNBC on Tuesday and argued booster shots are a crucial part of the effort to halt the coronavirus surge because immunity is waning across all age groups. He said the government is working to provide vaccine for the U.S. and the world and reprised his call for all Americans to get jabbed, even if young and healthy.

US makes COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for new immigrants

Beginning Oct. 1, immigrants to the U.S. must be vaccinated against COVID-19, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Tuesday.

The agency said it "may grant blanket waivers" if the vaccine is not age-appropriate, not suggested due to a medical condition, not routinely available or limited in supply.

The Immigration and Nationality Act already requires a handful of vaccinations for immigration purposes – such as for polio and mumps, measles and rubella – and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires several more.

US to spend $470M to learn more about long COVID-19

The U.S. government will spend $470 million to learn more about long COVID-19, its causes and potential treatments.

The National Institutes of Health announced the plans Wednesday with a grant awarded to New York University and a goal of enrolling up to 40,000 adults and children nationwide. The effort, dubbed RECOVER, will involve researchers at more than 30 U.S. institutions.

"This is being taken with the greatest seriousness… at a scale that has not really been attempted with something like this," Dr. Francis Collins, NIH director, said at a briefing Wednesday. It is estimated 10% to 30% of people infected with COVID-19 may develop persistent, new or recurring symptoms that can last months or perhaps years, Collins said.

Nearly 3M Americans sign up during Affordable Care Act special enrollment

Some 2.8 million Americans signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act during a special enrollment period that President Joe Biden enacted to help people find coverage during the coronavirus pandemic.

Just days after taking office, Biden signed an executive order to reopen insurance enrollment on HealthCare.gov, giving a new coverage opportunity to Americans who lost their jobs and employer-based insurance during the pandemic. The initial special enrollment period ran from Feb. 15 through May 15, but Biden later extended it through Aug. 15.

The new enrollments mean 2.8 million families “will have more security, more breathing room, and more money in their pocket if an illness or accident hits home,” Biden said. Altogether, 12.2 million Americans are actively enrolled in coverage under the Affordable Care Act – an all-time high, Biden said.

– Michael Collins

More than 5K Chicago students in COVID-19 quarantine

By the end of the second week of school in the nation’s third-largest school district, Chicago Public Schools had directed more than 5,600 students and nearly 100 staff members to quarantine, according to district data provided by the Chicago Teachers Union.

Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools data posted online suggests nearly 3,000 students were close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the first day of classes Aug. 30. A district spokesperson did not respond to USA TODAY inquiries about the discrepancy.

The district has more than 340,000 students.

– Grace Hauck

Survey: August COVID hospital bills of $3.7B were double June, July combined

A surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations among people who have not been vaccinated is adding billions of dollars in preventable costs to the nation’s health-care system, a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) analysis found.

In August, the new analysis estimates that the preventable costs of treating unvaccinated patients in hospitals total $3.7 billion, almost twice the estimates for June and July combined. The total preventable costs for those three months now stand at an estimated $5.7 billion.

Clinics specialize in post-infection COVID issues

Clinics are opening across the nation specifically to treat patients with post-infection COVID-19 illness.

Just like the virus, these new clinics are far from uniform. Some focus on one or a handful of symptoms, such as smell and taste, headaches or heart problems. Others seek to address a range of complaints. Some formed specifically to treat long-haul COVID-19. Doctors find themselves engaging in trial and error to figure out what works.

Dr. Zijian Chen, an endocrinologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at New York's Mount Sinai, said he’s concerned that clinics will treat those who show up at their doors rather than all those who need help.

"We don’t want to preferentially treat those who seek help," he said. "We want to reach out to those who may not even know the help is out there." Read more here.

Stephanie Innes and Shari Rudavsky

Contributing: The Associated Press

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