What Happened, What You Missed: January 17-21
White House to Start Sending Out 400 Million N95 Masks Next Week The Biden administration will begin distributing 400 million N95 masks from the National Strategic Stockpile to pharmacies and other locations starting next week. The administration expects the program to be fully operational by early February and has plans for sending out high-quality masks […]
What Happened, What You Missed: January 3-7
CDC Shortens Pfizer Booster Shot Waiting Period to 5 Months The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Tuesday that people who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster shot after five months, rather than six. The same day, the CDC authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as a booster in children ages 12 […]
Why Aren’t Rapid COVID-19 Tests More Readily Available in the US?
“Should we just send one to every American?” That’s what White House Press Secretary said on December 7 when asked during a press briefing why more Americans don’t have access to rapid antigen tests. Psaki’s response – which many deemed sarcastic – sparked a wave of backlash from members of the medical community who think that’s exactly what the […]
Will the Definition of “Fully Vaccinated” Change?
Right now, “fully vaccinated” means two shots of an mRNA vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But that could change. In a recent interview, NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said the definition of fully vaccinated could change from two to three mRNA doses as mounting evidence shows waning efficacy of a two-dose regimen […]
What Happened, What You Missed: November 29-December 3
Biden Outlines Plan to Combat COVID-19 through Winter On December 2, President Joe Biden announced a new strategy aimed at preventing a winter surge of COVID-19 as concerns loom over the newly discovered Omicron variant. Key components of the plan include requiring travelers entering the US by air to test negative for COVID-19, launching a public education […]
How Christmas Trees Became a Tradition in the White House
First Lady Jill Biden kicked off the holiday season in Washington when she accepted the White House’s official Christmas tree on November 22c– an 18.5-foor Fraser fir hailing from Jefferson, North Carolina. Christmas trees have a long tradition in the White House that, like many presidential traditions, have no clear point of origin and speak to the […]
What’s the Biden Administration Doing about Opioids?
Drug overdose deaths in the US reached a record high of 93,331 in 2020, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Synthetic opioids including fentanyl played a major role, contributing to 60% of all overdose deaths. While the opioid epidemic isn’t exactly new, the pandemic has certainly exacerbated the epidemic, causing an uptick […]
What Happened, What You Missed: November 1-5
COVID-19 Vaccinations for Children Ages 5-11 Commence Children ages 5-11 started receiving Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine this week after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky gave the go-ahead on Tuesday night. Walensky’s authorization followed a recommendation by a CDC advisory committee earlier that day as well as authorization from the Food and Drug Administration […]
The Federal Government’s Spookiest Sites
Washington, DC is a historic city, and one of the ways that history manifests itself is though tales of ghosts and other unexplained phenomena. With Halloween just around a corner, what better time to check in on all the federally owned buildings and well-known landmarks in the District of Columbia that have their own spooky […]
What’s Going on with Booster Shots?
There’s been a lot of discussion about COVID-19 booster shots lately – so much so, that it’s hard to keep track of who can get booster shots and what kind of booster shots are available. Here, we provide a lay of the land on booster shots. Why are booster shots necessary? Booster shots provide an extra […]