WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-6ffc64aa1d8d67b074dd8beb67d7cf6f">second straight day</a>, in what appears to be in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.

<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.31.pdf">In a letter noting the positive test</a>, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, said Sunday that the president “continues to feel well” and will keep on working from the executive residence while he isolates.

Biden tested positive on Saturday, requiring him to cancel travel and in-person events as he isolates for at least five days in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

After initially testing positive on July 21, Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">clearing him to leave isolation</a>&nbsp;while wearing a mask indoors.

<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">Research suggests</a>&nbsp;that a minority of those prescribed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;to experience a rebound case of the virus. The fact that a rebound rather than a reinfection possibly occurred is a positive sign for Biden's health once he's clear of the disease.

“The fact that the president has cleared his illness and doesn’t have symptoms is a good sign and makes it less likely he will develop long COVID,” said Dr. Albert Ho, an infectious disease specialist at Yale University's school of public health.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659293907044.png" alt="Biden planned to stop by the Capitol and visit families fighting to pass burn pits legislation on Sunday. COVID got in the way, so he FaceTimed them and sent some pizza-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Biden planned to stop by the Capitol and visit families fighting to pass burn pits legislation on Sunday. COVID got in the way, so he FaceTimed them and sent some pizza-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-6ffc64aa1d8d67b074dd8beb67d7cf6f">second straight day</a>, in what appears to be in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659293701222.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.31.pdf">In a letter noting the positive test</a>, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, said Sunday that the president “continues to feel well” and will keep on working from the executive residence while he isolates.Biden tested positive on Saturday, requiring him to cancel travel and in-person events as he isolates for at least five days in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.After initially testing positive on July 21, Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug Paxlovid. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">clearing him to leave isolation</a>&nbsp;while wearing a mask indoors.<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">Research suggests</a>&nbsp;that a minority of those prescribed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;to experience a rebound case of the virus. The fact that a rebound rather than a reinfection possibly occurred is a positive sign for Biden's health once he's clear of the disease.“The fact that the president has cleared his illness and doesn’t have symptoms is a good sign and makes it less likely he will develop long COVID,” said Dr. Albert Ho, an infectious disease specialist at Yale University's school of public health.

Doctor: Biden tests positive for COVID for 2nd day in a row

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/07/28/stratcom-commander-u-s-adjusting-to-great-power-competition-with-russia-china/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LA VISTA — Americans who view the world through a post-Cold War lens where the United States stands alone as the world’s great power are accepting a new reality: one with more players.

The assertiveness of a rising China and the aggression of a declining Russia complicate U.S.-led efforts to deter bad actors, military and academic panelists said Wednesday.

They addressed remarks to 600 people from 15 countries who gathered in Sarpy County for U.S. Strategic Command’s 2022 Deterrence Symposium on how to prevent and limit global conflicts. Those attending included military members, defense contractors, academics and government officials.&nbsp;

One recurring theme was the idea that the Department of Defense needs to do more to let the American public know that great power competition is back, 30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.

StratCom’s commander, Adm. Charles Richard, acknowledged the challenge of recalibrating U.S. national security thinking toward deterring two powers, along with smaller actors.&nbsp;

“We have never had to before deter two peer nuclear-capable opponents at the same time who have to be deterred differently, and this just works differently,” Richard said. “I do know this: Business as usual is not going to work anymore.”&nbsp;

Many speakers, including Retired Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr of the Heritage Foundation, highlighted the role that investments in nuclear and conventional weapons systems play in deterrence.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and Chinese interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea loomed over the conference, as did the weight of loose Russian talk of using nuclear weapons.

Richard said StratCom, which is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, is “at battle stations,” in part because of Russia’s actions, including “thinly veiled nuclear coercion.” He called those statements “irresponsible” and “unnecessary.”

“What previously in some cases had been thought to be a theoretical or highly improbable event has actually been demonstrated in real life,” Richard said.

Deterrence in a multi-polar world requires coordination, said Melanie Sisson of the Brookings Institution, an academic panelist.&nbsp;

For StratCom, that means making sure U.S. leaders and allies are thinking about the proper “capability, capacity and posture” for deterrence, including the role of nuclear forces.&nbsp;

Richard, in an interview, said adding Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would strengthen NATO’s deterrent capability. The two nations have applied for NATO membership in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I think that makes NATO stronger,” Richard said.&nbsp;

Richard addressed recent reporting about Chinese-bought farmland near U.S. military bases and Chinese telecommunications equipment on some cell phone towers near American missile silos.&nbsp;

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11044615/China-purchased-300-acres-North-Dakota-20-minutes-military-base-causing-security-concerns.html">Observers have questioned</a>&nbsp;a Chinese purchase of 300 acres of farmland near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. Reuters has reported that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-us-probes-chinas-huawei-over-equipment-near-missile-silos-2022-07-21/">Huawei technology was used</a>&nbsp;on cell towers near nuclear missile silos in Nebraska and other states.

Efforts to influence command and control of U.S. nuclear forces are how adversaries act, Richard said, but StratCom and others are working to stay ahead of those efforts.

He credited American intelligence services and others working to protect important military assets from cyberattack for making sure the military understands more about threats they face.

“The nuclear command and control system is not static, and it is operated like a weapons system,” Richard said. “We’re quite good at it, and it changes over time.”

Richard said continued spending on modernizing U.S. nuclear forces is vital, because the weapons underpin and backstop “every other thing we do … to defend the nation.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659266442713.jpeg" alt=" Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, addresses reporters at StratCom’s 2022 Deterrence Symposium in La Vista. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, addresses reporters at StratCom’s 2022 Deterrence Symposium in La Vista. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/07/28/stratcom-commander-u-s-adjusting-to-great-power-competition-with-russia-china/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LA VISTA — Americans who view the world through a post-Cold War lens where the United States stands alone as the world’s great power are accepting a new reality: one with more players.The assertiveness of a rising China and the aggression of a declining Russia complicate U.S.-led efforts to deter bad actors, military and academic panelists said Wednesday.They addressed remarks to 600 people from 15 countries who gathered in Sarpy County for U.S. Strategic Command’s 2022 Deterrence Symposium on how to prevent and limit global conflicts. Those attending included military members, defense contractors, academics and government officials.&nbsp;One recurring theme was the idea that the Department of Defense needs to do more to let the American public know that great power competition is back, 30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.StratCom’s commander, Adm. Charles Richard, acknowledged the challenge of recalibrating U.S. national security thinking toward deterring two powers, along with smaller actors.&nbsp;“We have never had to before deter two peer nuclear-capable opponents at the same time who have to be deterred differently, and this just works differently,” Richard said. “I do know this: Business as usual is not going to work anymore.”&nbsp;Many speakers, including Retired Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr of the Heritage Foundation, highlighted the role that investments in nuclear and conventional weapons systems play in deterrence.<figure>
 <img src="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/8D036499-A639-4A3C-8F6F-AC806C57A2F9-1024x768.jpeg" alt="Attendees of the U.S. Strategic Command’s 2022 Deterrence Symposium listen to Adm. Charles Richard, commander of StratCom, on Wednesday at the La Vista Conference Center. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Attendees of the U.S. Strategic Command’s 2022 Deterrence Symposium listen to Adm. Charles Richard, commander of StratCom, on Wednesday at the La Vista Conference Center. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>The Russian invasion of Ukraine and Chinese interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea loomed over the conference, as did the weight of loose Russian talk of using nuclear weapons.Richard said StratCom, which is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, is “at battle stations,” in part because of Russia’s actions, including “thinly veiled nuclear coercion.” He called those statements “irresponsible” and “unnecessary.”“What previously in some cases had been thought to be a theoretical or highly improbable event has actually been demonstrated in real life,” Richard said.Deterrence in a multi-polar world requires coordination, said Melanie Sisson of the Brookings Institution, an academic panelist.&nbsp;For StratCom, that means making sure U.S. leaders and allies are thinking about the proper “capability, capacity and posture” for deterrence, including the role of nuclear forces.&nbsp;Richard, in an interview, said adding Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would strengthen NATO’s deterrent capability. The two nations have applied for NATO membership in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.“I think that makes NATO stronger,” Richard said.&nbsp;Richard addressed recent reporting about Chinese-bought farmland near U.S. military bases and Chinese telecommunications equipment on some cell phone towers near American missile silos.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11044615/China-purchased-300-acres-North-Dakota-20-minutes-military-base-causing-security-concerns.html">Observers have questioned</a>&nbsp;a Chinese purchase of 300 acres of farmland near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. Reuters has reported that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-us-probes-chinas-huawei-over-equipment-near-missile-silos-2022-07-21/">Huawei technology was used</a>&nbsp;on cell towers near nuclear missile silos in Nebraska and other states.Efforts to influence command and control of U.S. nuclear forces are how adversaries act, Richard said, but StratCom and others are working to stay ahead of those efforts.He credited American intelligence services and others working to protect important military assets from cyberattack for making sure the military understands more about threats they face.“The nuclear command and control system is not static, and it is operated like a weapons system,” Richard said. “We’re quite good at it, and it changes over time.”Richard said continued spending on modernizing U.S. nuclear forces is vital, because the weapons underpin and backstop “every other thing we do … to defend the nation.”

StratCom commander: U.S. adjusting to great power competition with Russia, China

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-canada-religion-986583f86f7dff1589d56ffca79835ec">weeklong Canadian pilgrimage</a>&nbsp;was “a bit of a test” that showed he needs to slow down and one day possibly retire.

Speaking to reporters while traveling home from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old Francis stressed that he hadn’t thought about resigning but said “the door is open” and there was nothing wrong with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-rome-argentina-6a3f9a4aa7d93b43b5788968e6155031">a pope stepping down</a>.

“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said while sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news conference.

Francis said that while he hadn't considered resigning until now, he realizes he has to at least slow down.

“I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside,” he said.

Francis was peppered with questions about the future of his pontificate following the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, sharply limiting his program and ability to mingle with crowds.

He strained his right knee ligaments earlier this year, and continuing laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa that was scheduled for the first week of July.

The Canada trip was difficult, and featured several moments when Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered getting up and down from chairs.

At the end of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic, despite a long day traveling to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-quebec-1edac33a4b04788cf1f5c2cc77078fe1">the edge of the Arctic</a>&nbsp;on Friday to again apologize to Indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in Canada’s church-run residential schools.

Francis ruled out having surgery on his knee, saying it would not necessarily help and noting “there are still traces” from the effects of having undergone more than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine.

“I’ll try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think it’s a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I can’t say,” he said Saturday.

In other comments aboard the papal plane, Francis:

— Agreed that the attempt to eliminate Indigenous culture in Canada through a church-run residential school system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-f0a5b44114856bb52d02b794c95c524c">amounted to a cultural “genocide.”</a>&nbsp;Francis said he didn't use the term during his Canada trip because it didn't come to mind. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined in 2015 that the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes and placement in church-run residential schools to assimilate them into Christian, Canadian constituted a “cultural genocide.”

“It’s true I didn’t use the word because it didn’t come to mind, but I described genocide, no?” Francis said. “I apologized, I asked forgiveness for this work, which was genocide.”

— Suggested he was not opposed to a development of Catholic doctrine on the use of contraception. Church teaching prohibits artificial contraception. Francis noted that a Vatican think tank recently published the acts of a congress where a modification to the church’s absolute “no” was discussed. He stressed that doctrine can develop over time and that it was the job of theologians to pursue such developments, with the pope ultimately deciding.

Francis noted that church teaching on atomic weapons was modified during his pontificate to consider not only the use but the mere possession of atomic weapons as immoral and to consider the death penalty immoral in all cases.

— Confirmed he hoped to travel to Kazakhstan in mid-September for an interfaith conference where he might meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has justified the war in Ukraine. Francis also said he wants to go to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, though no trip has yet been confirmed. He said he hoped to reschedule the trip to South Sudan he canceled because of his knee problems. He said the Congo leg of that trip would probably have to be put off until next year because of the rainy season.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1603292366279.png" alt="Pope Francis image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Pope Francis image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments, saying his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-canada-religion-986583f86f7dff1589d56ffca79835ec">weeklong Canadian pilgrimage</a>&nbsp;was “a bit of a test” that showed he needs to slow down and one day possibly retire.Speaking to reporters while traveling home from northern Nunavut, the 85-year-old Francis stressed that he hadn’t thought about resigning but said “the door is open” and there was nothing wrong with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-rome-argentina-6a3f9a4aa7d93b43b5788968e6155031">a pope stepping down</a>.“It’s not strange. It’s not a catastrophe. You can change the pope,” he said while sitting in an airplane wheelchair during a 45-minute news conference.Francis said that while he hadn't considered resigning until now, he realizes he has to at least slow down.“I think at my age and with these limitations, I have to save (my energy) to be able to serve the church, or on the contrary, think about the possibility of stepping aside,” he said.Francis was peppered with questions about the future of his pontificate following the first trip in which he used a wheelchair, walker and cane to get around, sharply limiting his program and ability to mingle with crowds.He strained his right knee ligaments earlier this year, and continuing laser and magnetic therapy forced him to cancel a trip to Africa that was scheduled for the first week of July.The Canada trip was difficult, and featured several moments when Francis was clearly in pain as he maneuvered getting up and down from chairs.At the end of his six-day tour, he appeared in good spirits and energetic, despite a long day traveling to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-quebec-1edac33a4b04788cf1f5c2cc77078fe1">the edge of the Arctic</a>&nbsp;on Friday to again apologize to Indigenous peoples for the injustices they suffered in Canada’s church-run residential schools.Francis ruled out having surgery on his knee, saying it would not necessarily help and noting “there are still traces” from the effects of having undergone more than six hours of anesthesia in July 2021 to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine.“I’ll try to continue to do the trips and be close to people because I think it’s a way of servicing, being close. But more than this, I can’t say,” he said Saturday.In other comments aboard the papal plane, Francis:— Agreed that the attempt to eliminate Indigenous culture in Canada through a church-run residential school system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-religion-f0a5b44114856bb52d02b794c95c524c">amounted to a cultural “genocide.”</a>&nbsp;Francis said he didn't use the term during his Canada trip because it didn't come to mind. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission determined in 2015 that the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes and placement in church-run residential schools to assimilate them into Christian, Canadian constituted a “cultural genocide.”“It’s true I didn’t use the word because it didn’t come to mind, but I described genocide, no?” Francis said. “I apologized, I asked forgiveness for this work, which was genocide.”— Suggested he was not opposed to a development of Catholic doctrine on the use of contraception. Church teaching prohibits artificial contraception. Francis noted that a Vatican think tank recently published the acts of a congress where a modification to the church’s absolute “no” was discussed. He stressed that doctrine can develop over time and that it was the job of theologians to pursue such developments, with the pope ultimately deciding.Francis noted that church teaching on atomic weapons was modified during his pontificate to consider not only the use but the mere possession of atomic weapons as immoral and to consider the death penalty immoral in all cases.— Confirmed he hoped to travel to Kazakhstan in mid-September for an interfaith conference where he might meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has justified the war in Ukraine. Francis also said he wants to go to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, though no trip has yet been confirmed. He said he hoped to reschedule the trip to South Sudan he canceled because of his knee problems. He said the Congo leg of that trip would probably have to be put off until next year because of the rainy season.___

Pope says he'll slow down or retire: 'You can change a pope'

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again Saturday, slightly more than three days after he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">cleared to exit coronavirus isolation</a>, the White House said, in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.

White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.30.pdf">said in a letter</a>&nbsp;that Biden “has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well.” O'Connor said “there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time.”

In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Biden will reenter isolation for at least five days. He will isolate at the White House until he tests negative. The agency says most rebound cases remain mild and that severe disease during that period has not been reported.

Just as when Biden first tested positive, the White House sought to show he was still working. The president sent out a picture of himself masked and tieless on Twitter, which showed him signing a declaration that added individual assistance for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/floods-storms-kentucky-211cfd992341efe964ca996051916796">flood survivors in Kentucky</a>.

The president followed up by tweeting out a 12-second video of him on a White House balcony with his dog, Commander.

“I'm feeling fine, everything is good,” said Biden, a pair of aviator sunglasses in his hand. “But Commander and I got a little work to do.”

Word of Biden’s positive test came — he had been negative Friday morning — just two hours after the White House announced a presidential visit to Michigan this coming Tuesday to highlight the passage of a bill to promote domestic high-tech manufacturing. Biden had also been scheduled to visit his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday morning, where first lady Jill Biden has been staying while the president was positive. Both trips have been canceled as Biden has returned to isolation.

Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;after he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-karine-jean-pierre-government-and-politics-d9dbee6cc390f648396c46dd504c31c3">first tested positive on July 21</a>. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday. He was then cleared to leave isolation while wearing a mask indoors. His positive tests puts him among the minority of those prescribed the drug to experience a rebound case of the virus.

White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters on Monday that data "suggests that between 5 and 8 percent of people have rebound” after Paxlovid treatment.

“Acknowledging the potential for so-called ‘rebound’ COVID positivity observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid, the President increased his tested cadence, to protect people around him and to assure early detection of any return of viral replication,” O'Connor wrote in his letter.

O'Connor cited negative tests for Biden from Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning, before Saturday morning's positive result by antigen testing. “This in fact represents ‘rebound' positivity," he wrote.

<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">According to the CDC</a>, those with rebound COVID should isolate for at least five days, ending that if a fever has resolved itself for 24 hours without medication and symptoms have improved. The patient “should wear a mask for a total of 10 days after rebound symptoms started. Some people continue to test positive after day 10 but are considerably less likely to shed infectious virus.”

Both the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer point out that 1% to 2% of people in Pfizer’s original study on Paxlovid saw their virus levels rebound after 10 days. The rate was about the same among people taking the drug or dummy pills, “so it is unclear at this point that this is related to drug treatment,” according to the FDA.

While Biden was testing negative, he returned to holding in-person indoor events and meetings with staff at the White House and was wearing a mask, in accordance with CDC guidelines. But the president removed his mask indoors when delivering remarks on Thursday and during a meeting with CEOs on the White House complex.

Asked why Biden appeared to be breaching CDC protocols, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “They were socially distanced. They were far enough apart. So we made it safe for them to be together, to be on that stage.”

Regulators are still studying the prevalence and virulence of rebound cases, but the CDC in May warned doctors that it has been reported to occur within two days to eight days after initially testing negative for the virus.

“Limited information currently available from case reports suggests that persons treated with Paxlovid who experience COVID-19 rebound have had mild illness; there are no reports of severe disease,” the agency said at the time.

When Biden was initially released from isolation on Wednesday, O’Connor said the president would “increase his testing cadence” to catch any potential rebound of the virus.

Paxlovid has been proven to significantly reduce severe disease and death among those most vulnerable to COVID-19. U.S. health officials have encouraged those who test positive to consult their doctors or pharmacists to see if they should be prescribed the treatment, despite the rebound risk.

Biden is fully vaccinated, after getting two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, a first booster shot in September and an additional dose March 30.

While patients who have recovered from earlier variants of COVID-19 have tended to have high levels of immunity to future reinfection for 90 days, Jha said that the BA.5 subvariant that infected Biden has proven to be more “immune-evasive.”

“We have seen lots of people get reinfected within 90 days,” he said, adding that officials don’t yet have data on how long those who have recovered from the BA.5 strain have protection from reinfection.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659205419560.png" alt="Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed President Biden back to work on Wednesday-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed President Biden back to work on Wednesday-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 again Saturday, slightly more than three days after he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-government-and-politics-7842dd2e606bb9f6aeb15d4a8c856c97">cleared to exit coronavirus isolation</a>, the White House said, in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-2e843a971be751e8b8b25575c8bfc60a">rare case</a>&nbsp;of “rebound” following treatment with an anti-viral drug.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659207519836.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Update-7.30.pdf">said in a letter</a>&nbsp;that Biden “has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well.” O'Connor said “there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A quick update. <a href="https://t.co/FgT1sGlZCY">pic.twitter.com/FgT1sGlZCY</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1553479370383171584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Biden will reenter isolation for at least five days. He will isolate at the White House until he tests negative. The agency says most rebound cases remain mild and that severe disease during that period has not been reported.Just as when Biden first tested positive, the White House sought to show he was still working. The president sent out a picture of himself masked and tieless on Twitter, which showed him signing a declaration that added individual assistance for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/floods-storms-kentucky-211cfd992341efe964ca996051916796">flood survivors in Kentucky</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again. This happens with a small minority of folks. I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me. I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1553451657748512768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The president followed up by tweeting out a 12-second video of him on a White House balcony with his dog, Commander.“I'm feeling fine, everything is good,” said Biden, a pair of aviator sunglasses in his hand. “But Commander and I got a little work to do.”Word of Biden’s positive test came — he had been negative Friday morning — just two hours after the White House announced a presidential visit to Michigan this coming Tuesday to highlight the passage of a bill to promote domestic high-tech manufacturing. Biden had also been scheduled to visit his home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Sunday morning, where first lady Jill Biden has been staying while the president was positive. Both trips have been canceled as Biden has returned to isolation.Biden, 79, was treated with the anti-viral drug&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-medication-2a5d69812947d7fa939e87d9feaa27af">Paxlovid</a>&nbsp;after he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-covid-health-karine-jean-pierre-government-and-politics-d9dbee6cc390f648396c46dd504c31c3">first tested positive on July 21</a>. He tested negative for the virus on this past Tuesday and Wednesday. He was then cleared to leave isolation while wearing a mask indoors. His positive tests puts him among the minority of those prescribed the drug to experience a rebound case of the virus.White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told reporters on Monday that data "suggests that between 5 and 8 percent of people have rebound” after Paxlovid treatment.“Acknowledging the potential for so-called ‘rebound’ COVID positivity observed in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid, the President increased his tested cadence, to protect people around him and to assure early detection of any return of viral replication,” O'Connor wrote in his letter.O'Connor cited negative tests for Biden from Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday morning, before Saturday morning's positive result by antigen testing. “This in fact represents ‘rebound' positivity," he wrote.<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2022/pdf/CDC_HAN_467.pdf">According to the CDC</a>, those with rebound COVID should isolate for at least five days, ending that if a fever has resolved itself for 24 hours without medication and symptoms have improved. The patient “should wear a mask for a total of 10 days after rebound symptoms started. Some people continue to test positive after day 10 but are considerably less likely to shed infectious virus.”Both the Food and Drug Administration and Pfizer point out that 1% to 2% of people in Pfizer’s original study on Paxlovid saw their virus levels rebound after 10 days. The rate was about the same among people taking the drug or dummy pills, “so it is unclear at this point that this is related to drug treatment,” according to the FDA.While Biden was testing negative, he returned to holding in-person indoor events and meetings with staff at the White House and was wearing a mask, in accordance with CDC guidelines. But the president removed his mask indoors when delivering remarks on Thursday and during a meeting with CEOs on the White House complex.Asked why Biden appeared to be breaching CDC protocols, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “They were socially distanced. They were far enough apart. So we made it safe for them to be together, to be on that stage.”Regulators are still studying the prevalence and virulence of rebound cases, but the CDC in May warned doctors that it has been reported to occur within two days to eight days after initially testing negative for the virus.“Limited information currently available from case reports suggests that persons treated with Paxlovid who experience COVID-19 rebound have had mild illness; there are no reports of severe disease,” the agency said at the time.When Biden was initially released from isolation on Wednesday, O’Connor said the president would “increase his testing cadence” to catch any potential rebound of the virus.Paxlovid has been proven to significantly reduce severe disease and death among those most vulnerable to COVID-19. U.S. health officials have encouraged those who test positive to consult their doctors or pharmacists to see if they should be prescribed the treatment, despite the rebound risk.Biden is fully vaccinated, after getting two doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine shortly before taking office, a first booster shot in September and an additional dose March 30.While patients who have recovered from earlier variants of COVID-19 have tended to have high levels of immunity to future reinfection for 90 days, Jha said that the BA.5 subvariant that infected Biden has proven to be more “immune-evasive.”“We have seen lots of people get reinfected within 90 days,” he said, adding that officials don’t yet have data on how long those who have recovered from the BA.5 strain have protection from reinfection.

🎥Biden positive for COVID again, returns to isolation

KANSAS CITY (AP) — For as long as anyone can remember, rent increases rarely happened at Ridgeview Homes, a family-owned mobile home park in upstate New York.

That changed in 2018 when corporate owners took over the 65-year-old park located amid farmland and down the road from a fast food joint and grocery store about 30 miles northeast of Buffalo.

Residents, about half of whom are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes, put up with the first two increases. They hoped the latest owner, Cook Properties, would address the bourbon-colored drinking water, sewage bubbling into their bathtubs and the pothole-filled roads.

When that didn't happen and a new lease with a 6% increase was imposed this year, they formed an association. About half the residents launched a rent strike in May, prompting Cook Properties to send out about 30 eviction notices.

“All they care about is raising the rent because they only care about the money,” said Jeremy Ward, 49, who gets by on just over $1,000 a month in disability payments after his legs suffered nerve damage in a car accident.

He was recently fined $10 for using a leaf blower. “I’m disabled," he said. "You guys aren’t doing your job and I get a violation?”

The plight of residents at Ridgeview is playing out nationwide as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-aurora-denver-parked-half-the-american-dream-boulder-de31aa729f514f48b934bf23ebd3f641">institutional investors,</a>&nbsp;led by private equity firms and real estate investment trusts and sometimes funded by pension funds, swoop in to buy mobile home parks. Critics contend mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are fueling the problem by backing a growing number of investor loans.

The purchases are putting residents in a bind, since most mobile homes — despite the name — cannot be moved easily or cheaply. Owners are forced to either accept unaffordable rent increases, spend thousands of dollars to move their home, or abandon it and lose tens of thousands of dollars they invested.

“These industries, including mobile home park manufacturing industry, keep touting these parks, these mobile homes, as affordable housing. But it’s not affordable,” said Benjamin Bellus, an assistant attorney general in Iowa, who said complaints have gone up “100-fold” since out-of-state investors started buying up parks a few years ago.

“You’re putting people in a snare and a trap, where they have no ability to defend themselves," he added.

Driven by some of the strongest returns in real estate, investors have shaken up a once-sleepy sector that's home to more than 22 million mostly low-income Americans in 43,000 communities. Many aggressively promote the parks as ensuring a steady return — by repeatedly raising rent.

There's also a growing industry, featuring how-to books, webinars and even a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/hosted/landing/mhu-hawk/index.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQMeQxW5KzxWraB0LTII_r3CfXtKZC9M25M0df7PhaWKrPRT0MrfcbxoCLb8QAvD_BwE">mobile home university</a>, that offers tips to attract small investors.

“You went from an environment where you had a local owner or manager who took care of things as they needed fixing, to where you had people who were looking at a cost-benefit analysis for how to get the penny squeezed lowest,” Bellus said. “You combine it with an idea that we can just keep raising the rent, and these people can’t leave.”

George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based think tank, said parks containing about a fifth of mobile home lots nationwide have been purchased by institutional investors over the past eight years.

McCarthy singled out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for guaranteeing the loans as part of a what the lending giants bill as expanding affordable housing. Since 2014, the Lincoln Institute estimates Freddie Mac alone provided $9.6 billion in financing for the purchase of more than 950 communities across 44 states.

A spokesman for Freddie Mac countered that it had purchased loans for less than 3% of the mobile home communities nationwide, and about 60% of those were refinances.

Soon after investors started buying up parks in 2015, the complaints of double-digit rent increases followed.

In Iowa, Matt Chapman, a mobile home resident at a park purchased by Utah-based Havenpark Communities, said his rent and fees had almost doubled since 2019. Iowa Legal Aid’s Alex Kornya said another park purchased by Impact Communities saw rent and fees increase 87% between 2017 and 2020.

“Many of the folks living in the park were on fixed incomes, disability, Social Security, and simply were not going to be able to keep pace,” said Kornya, who met with about 300 angry mobile home owners at a mega-church. “It led almost to a political awakening.”

In Minnesota, park purchases by out-of-state buyers grew from 46% in 2015 to 81% in 2021, with rent increases as much as 30%, according to All Parks Alliance For Change, a state association.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, speaking at a Senate hearing this year, recalled tenants complaining of repeated rent increases at a Havenpark development in Great Falls. One resident, Cindy Newman, told The Associated Press her monthly rent and fees went up $117 to nearly $400 over a year and eight months — equal to the increase over the previous 20 years. The company says the increase was $95 over a three-year period.

On top of rent increases, residents complained of being inundated with fees for everything from pets to maintenance and fines for clutter and speeding — all tucked into leases that can run upwards of 50 pages.

Josh Weiss, a Havenpark spokesperson, said the company must charge prevailing market rates when it purchases a park at fair market price. That said, the company has moved since 2020 to limit its rent increases to $50-a-month.

“We understand the anxiety that any rent increase has on residents, especially those on fixed incomes,” Weiss said. “While we try to minimize the impact, the financial realities do not change.”

The mobile home industry argues the communities are the most affordable housing option, noting that average rent increases across parks nationwide were just over 4% in 2021. Spending on improvements was around 11%. Significant investments are needed, they said, to make improvements at older parks and avoid them being sold off.

“You have some people coming into the space that give us all a bad name but those are isolated examples and those practices are not common,” said Lesli Gooch, chief executive officer of the Manufactured Housing Institute, the industry’s trade association.

Both sides said the government could do more to help.

The industry wants Federal Housing Administration financing made available to residents, many of whom rely on high-interest loans to purchase homes that cost on average $81,900. They also want the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow housing vouchers to be used for mobile homes.

Advocates for residents, including&nbsp;<a href="https://mhaction.org/">MHAction</a>, want lawmakers to put a cap on rent or require a reason for an increase or eviction — state legislation that succeeded in Delaware this year but failed in Iowa,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">Colorado</a>&nbsp;and Montana.

They also want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stipulate in loans they back that rents remain affordable. And they support residents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">purchasing their communities,</a>&nbsp;which started in New Hampshire and has reached almost&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rocusa.org/">300 parks</a>&nbsp;in 20 states.

A Freddie Mac spokesperson said it has created a new loan offering that incentivizes tenant protections and last year made those mandatory for all future mobile home community transactions.

At Ridgeview, it's unclear how the rent strike will be resolved.

Cook, which claims to be the largest operator of mobile home parks in New York and has a slogan “Exceptional Opportunities. Exceptional Returns,” declined to comment. The company closed a $26 million private-equity fund in 2021 that purchased 12 parks in New York, but it was unclear if one of them was Ridgeview.

Residents, meanwhile, soldier on. Joyce Bayles, an 85-year-old resident has taken to mowing her own lawn because crews show up only monthly. Gerald Korb, a 78-year-old retiree, said he's still waiting for the company to move an electric pole and transformer he fears could topple onto his home during a storm.

“I bought a place and now they are forcing all this on us,” said Korb, who stopped paying rent in protest. “They are absentee landlords is what they are.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659204493765.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — For as long as anyone can remember, rent increases rarely happened at Ridgeview Homes, a family-owned mobile home park in upstate New York.That changed in 2018 when corporate owners took over the 65-year-old park located amid farmland and down the road from a fast food joint and grocery store about 30 miles northeast of Buffalo.Residents, about half of whom are seniors or disabled people on fixed incomes, put up with the first two increases. They hoped the latest owner, Cook Properties, would address the bourbon-colored drinking water, sewage bubbling into their bathtubs and the pothole-filled roads.When that didn't happen and a new lease with a 6% increase was imposed this year, they formed an association. About half the residents launched a rent strike in May, prompting Cook Properties to send out about 30 eviction notices.“All they care about is raising the rent because they only care about the money,” said Jeremy Ward, 49, who gets by on just over $1,000 a month in disability payments after his legs suffered nerve damage in a car accident.He was recently fined $10 for using a leaf blower. “I’m disabled," he said. "You guys aren’t doing your job and I get a violation?”The plight of residents at Ridgeview is playing out nationwide as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-aurora-denver-parked-half-the-american-dream-boulder-de31aa729f514f48b934bf23ebd3f641">institutional investors,</a>&nbsp;led by private equity firms and real estate investment trusts and sometimes funded by pension funds, swoop in to buy mobile home parks. Critics contend mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are fueling the problem by backing a growing number of investor loans.The purchases are putting residents in a bind, since most mobile homes — despite the name — cannot be moved easily or cheaply. Owners are forced to either accept unaffordable rent increases, spend thousands of dollars to move their home, or abandon it and lose tens of thousands of dollars they invested.“These industries, including mobile home park manufacturing industry, keep touting these parks, these mobile homes, as affordable housing. But it’s not affordable,” said Benjamin Bellus, an assistant attorney general in Iowa, who said complaints have gone up “100-fold” since out-of-state investors started buying up parks a few years ago.“You’re putting people in a snare and a trap, where they have no ability to defend themselves," he added.Driven by some of the strongest returns in real estate, investors have shaken up a once-sleepy sector that's home to more than 22 million mostly low-income Americans in 43,000 communities. Many aggressively promote the parks as ensuring a steady return — by repeatedly raising rent.There's also a growing industry, featuring how-to books, webinars and even a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/hosted/landing/mhu-hawk/index.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQMeQxW5KzxWraB0LTII_r3CfXtKZC9M25M0df7PhaWKrPRT0MrfcbxoCLb8QAvD_BwE">mobile home university</a>, that offers tips to attract small investors.“You went from an environment where you had a local owner or manager who took care of things as they needed fixing, to where you had people who were looking at a cost-benefit analysis for how to get the penny squeezed lowest,” Bellus said. “You combine it with an idea that we can just keep raising the rent, and these people can’t leave.”George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based think tank, said parks containing about a fifth of mobile home lots nationwide have been purchased by institutional investors over the past eight years.McCarthy singled out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for guaranteeing the loans as part of a what the lending giants bill as expanding affordable housing. Since 2014, the Lincoln Institute estimates Freddie Mac alone provided $9.6 billion in financing for the purchase of more than 950 communities across 44 states.A spokesman for Freddie Mac countered that it had purchased loans for less than 3% of the mobile home communities nationwide, and about 60% of those were refinances.Soon after investors started buying up parks in 2015, the complaints of double-digit rent increases followed.In Iowa, Matt Chapman, a mobile home resident at a park purchased by Utah-based Havenpark Communities, said his rent and fees had almost doubled since 2019. Iowa Legal Aid’s Alex Kornya said another park purchased by Impact Communities saw rent and fees increase 87% between 2017 and 2020.“Many of the folks living in the park were on fixed incomes, disability, Social Security, and simply were not going to be able to keep pace,” said Kornya, who met with about 300 angry mobile home owners at a mega-church. “It led almost to a political awakening.”In Minnesota, park purchases by out-of-state buyers grew from 46% in 2015 to 81% in 2021, with rent increases as much as 30%, according to All Parks Alliance For Change, a state association.U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, speaking at a Senate hearing this year, recalled tenants complaining of repeated rent increases at a Havenpark development in Great Falls. One resident, Cindy Newman, told The Associated Press her monthly rent and fees went up $117 to nearly $400 over a year and eight months — equal to the increase over the previous 20 years. The company says the increase was $95 over a three-year period.On top of rent increases, residents complained of being inundated with fees for everything from pets to maintenance and fines for clutter and speeding — all tucked into leases that can run upwards of 50 pages.Josh Weiss, a Havenpark spokesperson, said the company must charge prevailing market rates when it purchases a park at fair market price. That said, the company has moved since 2020 to limit its rent increases to $50-a-month.“We understand the anxiety that any rent increase has on residents, especially those on fixed incomes,” Weiss said. “While we try to minimize the impact, the financial realities do not change.”The mobile home industry argues the communities are the most affordable housing option, noting that average rent increases across parks nationwide were just over 4% in 2021. Spending on improvements was around 11%. Significant investments are needed, they said, to make improvements at older parks and avoid them being sold off.“You have some people coming into the space that give us all a bad name but those are isolated examples and those practices are not common,” said Lesli Gooch, chief executive officer of the Manufactured Housing Institute, the industry’s trade association.Both sides said the government could do more to help.The industry wants Federal Housing Administration financing made available to residents, many of whom rely on high-interest loans to purchase homes that cost on average $81,900. They also want the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow housing vouchers to be used for mobile homes.Advocates for residents, including&nbsp;<a href="https://mhaction.org/">MHAction</a>, want lawmakers to put a cap on rent or require a reason for an increase or eviction — state legislation that succeeded in Delaware this year but failed in Iowa,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">Colorado</a>&nbsp;and Montana.They also want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stipulate in loans they back that rents remain affordable. And they support residents&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-colorado-618b9fb2ba93e13b651d6e51d408a7e2">purchasing their communities,</a>&nbsp;which started in New Hampshire and has reached almost&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rocusa.org/">300 parks</a>&nbsp;in 20 states.A Freddie Mac spokesperson said it has created a new loan offering that incentivizes tenant protections and last year made those mandatory for all future mobile home community transactions.At Ridgeview, it's unclear how the rent strike will be resolved.Cook, which claims to be the largest operator of mobile home parks in New York and has a slogan “Exceptional Opportunities. Exceptional Returns,” declined to comment. The company closed a $26 million private-equity fund in 2021 that purchased 12 parks in New York, but it was unclear if one of them was Ridgeview.Residents, meanwhile, soldier on. Joyce Bayles, an 85-year-old resident has taken to mowing her own lawn because crews show up only monthly. Gerald Korb, a 78-year-old retiree, said he's still waiting for the company to move an electric pole and transformer he fears could topple onto his home during a storm.“I bought a place and now they are forcing all this on us,” said Korb, who stopped paying rent in protest. “They are absentee landlords is what they are.”

Rents spike as big-pocketed investors buy mobile home parks

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators said Friday they are no longer considering authorizing a second COVID-19 booster shot for all adults under 50 this summer, focusing instead on revamped vaccines for the fall that will target the newest viral subvariants.

Pfizer and Moderna expect to have updated versions of their shots available as early as September, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. That would set the stage for a fall booster campaign to strengthen protection against the latest versions of omicron.

The announcement means the U.S. won’t pursue a summer round of boosters using the current vaccines for adults under 50, as some Biden administration officials and outside experts previously suggested. They had argued that another round of shots now could help head off rising cases and hospitalizations caused by the highly transmissible omicron strains.

Currently, all Americans age 5 and over are eligible for a booster shot five months after their initial primary series. Fourth doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shots — a second booster — are recommended for Americans 50 and older and for younger people with serious health issues that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.

The FDA urged eligible adults who haven’t been boosted to get their extra shot now: “You can still benefit from existing booster options and leave time to receive an updated booster in the fall,” the agency said in a statement.

The White House has also emphasized that getting a fourth dose now won’t impact anyone’s ability to get omicron-targeted shots once they’re made available — although how long its been since their last dose will play a role in how soon they’re eligible.

Two&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-united-states-pandemics-72462053f8d60fd548cf34377864100b">omicron subvariants</a>, BA.4 and BA.5, are even more contagious than their predecessors and have pushed new daily cases above 125,000 and hospitalizations to 6,300. Those are the highest levels since February, though deaths have remained low at about 360 per day, thanks to widespread immunity and improved treatments against the virus.

The subvariants are offshoots of the strain responsible for nearly all of the virus spread in the U.S. this year.

All the COVID-19 vaccines given in the U.S. until now have been based on the original version of the virus that began spreading across the country in early 2020.

In June, the FDA told the vaccine makers that any boosters for the fall would have to combine protection against omicron BA.4 and BA.5 and the original coronavirus strain. Both manufacturers have been speeding their production and data gathering to have those so-called bivalent vaccines ready for the fall.

The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have to sign off on revamped shots before their launch.

The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million doses of the Pfizer combination shots once they’re ready, and 66 million of Moderna’s version. But how soon large amounts would become available isn’t clear. The government contracts include options to purchase 300 million doses each, but reaching that total will require more funding from Congress, the Biden administration said.

As for timing, getting a booster too soon after the previous dose means missing out on its full benefit — something policymakers will have to take into consideration when rolling out revamped shots.

The White House has at times been frustrated by the pace of decision-making at the FDA and CDC, most notably last summer, when the regulators took weeks to decide whether to authorize the first booster dose for U.S. adults. Privately, West Wing officials believe the delay cost lives, preventing optimum protection amid the delta and omicron surges, but also fed into doubts about vaccine and booster effectiveness that impacted their uptake.

In recent weeks, some of those frustrations have bubbled up again, as regulators considered whether to recommend a fourth shot for all adults, not just those at highest risk from the virus. Some in the White House believe that the additional dose would have helped somewhat with the rapidly spreading BA.5 subvariant, and also lift the confidence of anyone worried that their protection had waned.

Still, officials across the government have acknowledged the risks of vaccine fatigue among Americans, including tens of millions who still haven’t received their first booster. Government figures show less than half of those eligible for a booster have gotten that third shot.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1617326081667.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators said Friday they are no longer considering authorizing a second COVID-19 booster shot for all adults under 50 this summer, focusing instead on revamped vaccines for the fall that will target the newest viral subvariants.Pfizer and Moderna expect to have updated versions of their shots available as early as September, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. That would set the stage for a fall booster campaign to strengthen protection against the latest versions of omicron.The announcement means the U.S. won’t pursue a summer round of boosters using the current vaccines for adults under 50, as some Biden administration officials and outside experts previously suggested. They had argued that another round of shots now could help head off rising cases and hospitalizations caused by the highly transmissible omicron strains.Currently, all Americans age 5 and over are eligible for a booster shot five months after their initial primary series. Fourth doses of the Pfizer or Moderna shots — a second booster — are recommended for Americans 50 and older and for younger people with serious health issues that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.The FDA urged eligible adults who haven’t been boosted to get their extra shot now: “You can still benefit from existing booster options and leave time to receive an updated booster in the fall,” the agency said in a statement.The White House has also emphasized that getting a fourth dose now won’t impact anyone’s ability to get omicron-targeted shots once they’re made available — although how long its been since their last dose will play a role in how soon they’re eligible.Two&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-united-states-pandemics-72462053f8d60fd548cf34377864100b">omicron subvariants</a>, BA.4 and BA.5, are even more contagious than their predecessors and have pushed new daily cases above 125,000 and hospitalizations to 6,300. Those are the highest levels since February, though deaths have remained low at about 360 per day, thanks to widespread immunity and improved treatments against the virus.The subvariants are offshoots of the strain responsible for nearly all of the virus spread in the U.S. this year.All the COVID-19 vaccines given in the U.S. until now have been based on the original version of the virus that began spreading across the country in early 2020.In June, the FDA told the vaccine makers that any boosters for the fall would have to combine protection against omicron BA.4 and BA.5 and the original coronavirus strain. Both manufacturers have been speeding their production and data gathering to have those so-called bivalent vaccines ready for the fall.The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would have to sign off on revamped shots before their launch.The U.S. has a contract to buy 105 million doses of the Pfizer combination shots once they’re ready, and 66 million of Moderna’s version. But how soon large amounts would become available isn’t clear. The government contracts include options to purchase 300 million doses each, but reaching that total will require more funding from Congress, the Biden administration said.As for timing, getting a booster too soon after the previous dose means missing out on its full benefit — something policymakers will have to take into consideration when rolling out revamped shots.The White House has at times been frustrated by the pace of decision-making at the FDA and CDC, most notably last summer, when the regulators took weeks to decide whether to authorize the first booster dose for U.S. adults. Privately, West Wing officials believe the delay cost lives, preventing optimum protection amid the delta and omicron surges, but also fed into doubts about vaccine and booster effectiveness that impacted their uptake.In recent weeks, some of those frustrations have bubbled up again, as regulators considered whether to recommend a fourth shot for all adults, not just those at highest risk from the virus. Some in the White House believe that the additional dose would have helped somewhat with the rapidly spreading BA.5 subvariant, and also lift the confidence of anyone worried that their protection had waned.Still, officials across the government have acknowledged the risks of vaccine fatigue among Americans, including tens of millions who still haven’t received their first booster. Government figures show less than half of those eligible for a booster have gotten that third shot.

US rules out summer COVID boosters to focus on fall campaign

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Someone beat the odds and won the $1.28 billion Mega Millions jackpot.

According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.megamillions.com/">megamillions.com</a>, there was one winning ticket in the draw Friday night, and it was bought in Illinois.

The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14.

The jackpot was the nation's third-largest lottery prize. It grew so large because no one had matched the game’s six selected numbers since April 15. That’s 29 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner.

The $1.28 billion prize is for winners who choose the annuity option, paid annually over 29 years. Most winners opt for the cash option, which for Friday night’s drawing was an estimated $747.2 million.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is coordinated by state lotteries.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Someone beat the odds and won the $1.28 billion Mega Millions jackpot.According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.megamillions.com/">megamillions.com</a>, there was one winning ticket in the draw Friday night, and it was bought in Illinois.The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14.The jackpot was the nation's third-largest lottery prize. It grew so large because no one had matched the game’s six selected numbers since April 15. That’s 29 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner.The $1.28 billion prize is for winners who choose the annuity option, paid annually over 29 years. Most winners opt for the cash option, which for Friday night’s drawing was an estimated $747.2 million.The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is coordinated by state lotteries.

One winning ticket claims $1.28B Mega Millions jackpot

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Friday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-biden-politics-parkland-florida-school-shooting-congress-cafdbf997fe3186b6f7e8785e71a4a07">to revive a ban on certain semi-automatic guns</a>, the first vote of its kind in years and a direct response to the firearms often used in the crush of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/gun-violence">mass shootings</a>&nbsp;ripping through communities nationwide.

Once banned in the U.S., the high-powered firearms are now&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-manufacturers-ar-15-461e6729bef5ef5f8af0f128fbfc40be">widely blamed as the weapon of choice among young men</a>&nbsp;responsible for many of the most devastating mass shootings. But Congress allowed the restrictions first put in place in 1994 on the manufacture and sales of the weapons to expire a decade later, unable to muster the political support to counter the powerful gun lobby and reinstate the weapons ban.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote toward passage in the Democratic-run House, saying the earlier ban “saved lives.”

President Joe Biden hailed the House vote, saying, “The majority of the American people agree with this common sense action.” He urged the Senate to “move quickly to get this bill to my desk.”

However, it is likely to stall in the 50-50 Senate. The House legislation is shunned by Republicans, who dismissed it as an election-year strategy by Democrats. Almost all Republicans voted against the House bill, which passed 217-213.

The bill comes at a time of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-America-shootings-b980438ded3a80a8c6bb78bd2e0327c1">intensifying concerns about gun violence</a>&nbsp;and shootings — the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, N.Y.; massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas; and the July Fourth shootings of revelers in Highland Park, Ill.

Voters seem to be taking such election-year votes seriously as Congress splits along party lines and lawmakers are forced to go on the record with their views. A recent vote to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-race-and-ethnicity-gay-rights-marriage-social-issues-77ec6e2a60b5990ceaf7c396fee42016">protect same-sex marriages from potential Supreme Court legal challenges</a>&nbsp;won a surprising amount of bipartisan support.

Biden was instrumental in helping secure the first semi-automatic weapons ban as a senator in 1994. The Biden administration said that for 10 years, while the ban was in place, mass shootings declined. “When the ban expired in 2004, mass shootings tripled,” the statement said.

Republicans stood firmly against limits on ownership of the high-powered firearms during an at times emotional debate ahead of voting.

“It’s a gun grab, pure and simple,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa.

Said Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., “An armed America is a safe and free America.”

Democrats argued that the ban on the weapons makes sense, portraying Republicans as extreme and out of step with Americans.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said the weapons ban is not about taking away Americans' Second Amendment rights but ensuring that children also have the right “to not get shot in school.”

Pelosi displayed a poster of a gun company's advertisement for children's weapons, smaller versions that resemble the popular AR-15 rifles and are marketed with cartoon-like characters. “Disgusting," she said.

In one exchange, two Ohio lawmakers squared off. “Your freedom stops where mine begins, and that of my constituents begins,” Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur told Republican Rep. Jim Jordan. “Schools, shopping malls, grocery stores, Independence Day parades shouldn’t be scenes of mass carnage and bloodshed.”

Jordan replied by inviting her to his congressional district to debate him on the Second Amendment, saying he believed most of his constituents “probably agree with me and agree with the United States Constitution.”

The bill would make it unlawful to import, sell or manufacture a long list of semi-automatic weapons. Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said it exempts those already in possession.

Reps. Chris Jacobs of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were the only Republicans to vote for the measure. The Democratic lawmakers voting no were Reps. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Ron Kind of Wisconsin and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas.

For nearly two decades, since the previous ban expired Democrats had been reluctant to revisit the issue and confront the gun lobby. But voter opinions appear to be shifting and Democrats dared to act before the fall election. The outcome will provide information for voters of where the candidates stand on the issue.

Jason Quimet, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement following the vote that “barely a month after” the Supreme Court expanded gun rights “gun control advocates in Congress are spearheading an assault upon the freedoms and civil liberties of law-abiding Americans.”

He said the bill potentially bans more than 24 million firearms “in blatant opposition to the Supreme Court’s rulings” that have established gun ownership as an individual right and expanded on it.

Among the semi-automatic weapons banned are those with a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds. The bill covers some 200-plus types of semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15s.

Democrats had tried to link the weapons ban to a broader package of public safety measures that would have increased federal funding for law enforcement. It's something centrist Democrats in tough re-election campaigns wanted to shield them from political attacks by their Republican opponents they are soft on crime.

Pelosi said the House will revisit the public safety bills in August when lawmakers are expected to return briefly to Washington to handle other remaining legislation, including Biden's priority inflation-fighting package of health care and climate change strategies making its way in the Senate.

Congress passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-mental-gun-violence-government-and-politics-1cf62afca004ec613ad76e8808cbfb50">a modest gun violence prevention package</a>&nbsp;just last month in the aftermath of the tragic shooting of 19 school children and two teachers in Uvalde. That bipartisan bill was the first of its kind after years of failed efforts to confront the gun lobby, including after a similar 2012 mass tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

That law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-signs-gun-violence-bill-c21249287f976c2c164d8753205c2e6d"></a>provides for expanded background checks on young adults buying firearms, allowing authorities to access certain juvenile records. It also closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by denying gun purchases for those convicted of domestic abuse outside of marriages.

The new law also frees up federal funding to the states, including for “red flag” laws that enable authorities to remove guns from those who would harm themselves or others.

But even that modest effort at halting gun violence came at time of grave uncertainty in the U.S. over restrictions on firearms as the more conservative Supreme Court is tackling gun rights and other issues.

Biden signed the measure two days after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-guns-decision-what-to-know-a068d964981b6d1242a5ab124224f77a">Supreme Court’s ruling</a>&nbsp;striking down a New York law that restricted people's ability to carry concealed weapons.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/7/1659139969672.png" alt="Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote toward passage in the Democratic-run House, saying the earlier ban “saved lives.”" />
 <figcaption>Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote toward passage in the Democratic-run House, saying the earlier ban “saved lives.”</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Friday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-biden-politics-parkland-florida-school-shooting-congress-cafdbf997fe3186b6f7e8785e71a4a07">to revive a ban on certain semi-automatic guns</a>, the first vote of its kind in years and a direct response to the firearms often used in the crush of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/gun-violence">mass shootings</a>&nbsp;ripping through communities nationwide.Once banned in the U.S., the high-powered firearms are now&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-manufacturers-ar-15-461e6729bef5ef5f8af0f128fbfc40be">widely blamed as the weapon of choice among young men</a>&nbsp;responsible for many of the most devastating mass shootings. But Congress allowed the restrictions first put in place in 1994 on the manufacture and sales of the weapons to expire a decade later, unable to muster the political support to counter the powerful gun lobby and reinstate the weapons ban.Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the vote toward passage in the Democratic-run House, saying the earlier ban “saved lives.”President Joe Biden hailed the House vote, saying, “The majority of the American people agree with this common sense action.” He urged the Senate to “move quickly to get this bill to my desk.”However, it is likely to stall in the 50-50 Senate. The House legislation is shunned by Republicans, who dismissed it as an election-year strategy by Democrats. Almost all Republicans voted against the House bill, which passed 217-213.The bill comes at a time of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gun-violence-America-shootings-b980438ded3a80a8c6bb78bd2e0327c1">intensifying concerns about gun violence</a>&nbsp;and shootings — the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, N.Y.; massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas; and the July Fourth shootings of revelers in Highland Park, Ill.Voters seem to be taking such election-year votes seriously as Congress splits along party lines and lawmakers are forced to go on the record with their views. A recent vote to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-race-and-ethnicity-gay-rights-marriage-social-issues-77ec6e2a60b5990ceaf7c396fee42016">protect same-sex marriages from potential Supreme Court legal challenges</a>&nbsp;won a surprising amount of bipartisan support.Biden was instrumental in helping secure the first semi-automatic weapons ban as a senator in 1994. The Biden administration said that for 10 years, while the ban was in place, mass shootings declined. “When the ban expired in 2004, mass shootings tripled,” the statement said.Republicans stood firmly against limits on ownership of the high-powered firearms during an at times emotional debate ahead of voting.“It’s a gun grab, pure and simple,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa.Said Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., “An armed America is a safe and free America.”Democrats argued that the ban on the weapons makes sense, portraying Republicans as extreme and out of step with Americans.Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said the weapons ban is not about taking away Americans' Second Amendment rights but ensuring that children also have the right “to not get shot in school.”Pelosi displayed a poster of a gun company's advertisement for children's weapons, smaller versions that resemble the popular AR-15 rifles and are marketed with cartoon-like characters. “Disgusting," she said.In one exchange, two Ohio lawmakers squared off. “Your freedom stops where mine begins, and that of my constituents begins,” Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur told Republican Rep. Jim Jordan. “Schools, shopping malls, grocery stores, Independence Day parades shouldn’t be scenes of mass carnage and bloodshed.”Jordan replied by inviting her to his congressional district to debate him on the Second Amendment, saying he believed most of his constituents “probably agree with me and agree with the United States Constitution.”The bill would make it unlawful to import, sell or manufacture a long list of semi-automatic weapons. Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said it exempts those already in possession.Reps. Chris Jacobs of New York and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania were the only Republicans to vote for the measure. The Democratic lawmakers voting no were Reps. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Ron Kind of Wisconsin and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas.For nearly two decades, since the previous ban expired Democrats had been reluctant to revisit the issue and confront the gun lobby. But voter opinions appear to be shifting and Democrats dared to act before the fall election. The outcome will provide information for voters of where the candidates stand on the issue.Jason Quimet, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement following the vote that “barely a month after” the Supreme Court expanded gun rights “gun control advocates in Congress are spearheading an assault upon the freedoms and civil liberties of law-abiding Americans.”He said the bill potentially bans more than 24 million firearms “in blatant opposition to the Supreme Court’s rulings” that have established gun ownership as an individual right and expanded on it.Among the semi-automatic weapons banned are those with a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds. The bill covers some 200-plus types of semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15s.Democrats had tried to link the weapons ban to a broader package of public safety measures that would have increased federal funding for law enforcement. It's something centrist Democrats in tough re-election campaigns wanted to shield them from political attacks by their Republican opponents they are soft on crime.Pelosi said the House will revisit the public safety bills in August when lawmakers are expected to return briefly to Washington to handle other remaining legislation, including Biden's priority inflation-fighting package of health care and climate change strategies making its way in the Senate.Congress passed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-mental-gun-violence-government-and-politics-1cf62afca004ec613ad76e8808cbfb50">a modest gun violence prevention package</a>&nbsp;just last month in the aftermath of the tragic shooting of 19 school children and two teachers in Uvalde. That bipartisan bill was the first of its kind after years of failed efforts to confront the gun lobby, including after a similar 2012 mass tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.That law&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-signs-gun-violence-bill-c21249287f976c2c164d8753205c2e6d"></a>provides for expanded background checks on young adults buying firearms, allowing authorities to access certain juvenile records. It also closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by denying gun purchases for those convicted of domestic abuse outside of marriages.The new law also frees up federal funding to the states, including for “red flag” laws that enable authorities to remove guns from those who would harm themselves or others.But even that modest effort at halting gun violence came at time of grave uncertainty in the U.S. over restrictions on firearms as the more conservative Supreme Court is tackling gun rights and other issues.Biden signed the measure two days after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-guns-decision-what-to-know-a068d964981b6d1242a5ab124224f77a">Supreme Court’s ruling</a>&nbsp;striking down a New York law that restricted people's ability to carry concealed weapons.

House passes bill banning certain semi-automatic guns

By JENNIFER SHUTT <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/congress-mostly-silent-as-states-struggle-to-contain-monkeypox/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — Two months after 
doctors diagnosed the first case of monkeypox in the United States, 
Congress has yet to hold a hearing, or give any significant attention to
 the painful and debilitating virus that’s spread to more than 4,600 
people.

Public health officials in the Biden administration have held several
 briefings, expanded testing capacity to nationwide commercial 
laboratories, distributed more than 200,000 vaccine doses and begun 
ordering millions more for the national stockpile.

Yet local health leaders are struggling as cases rapidly increase, 
jumping from 3,500 cases on Tuesday to 4,600 nationwide on Thursday. In 
New Orleans, one of the top health care providers for the LGBTQ 
community&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lailluminator.com/2022/07/26/new-orleans-most-prominent-lgbtq-health-clinic-out-of-monkeypox-vaccine/">ran out of vaccine doses&nbsp;</a>this week, the Louisiana Illuminator reported. Florida and Georgia top the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html">list</a>&nbsp;of the states with the most cases.&nbsp;The mayor of San Francisco announced a state of emergency Thursday over the growing number of monkeypox cases, allowing officials to cut through red tape and fight a public health crisis reminiscent of the AIDS epidemic that began devastating the city in the 1980s.

But lawmakers in Congress haven’t given much attention to monkeypox, which is predominantly affecting the LGBTQ community.

No hearings have been held. No press conferences have been dedicated 
solely to monkeypox. Members of the House and Senate have put out just 
15 press releases about the virus.

In the meantime, the number of cases has rapidly increased as public 
health officials have tried to curb the spread and raise public 
awareness.

The World Health Organization is so concerned it classified monkeypox
 a global public health emergency over the weekend and the Biden 
administration is seriously considering declaring it a public health 
emergency within the United States.

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray is one of the few lawmakers 
to raise concerns about the spread of the virus and vaccine 
distribution.

Last week, Murray, who chairs the Senate committee tasked with 
overseeing public health policy as well as a separate panel that funds 
the nation’s public health infrastructure, sent a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/PM%20Mpox%20Letter%20Secy%20Becerra_7.19.2022.pdf">&nbsp;letter</a>&nbsp;to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting a briefing on monkeypox.

“Various reports indicate challenges at the local level, with some 
patients and providers stating they do not have the information and 
resources necessary to understand, test for, or respond to the disease, 
which is now presenting with uncharacteristic features,” Murray wrote.

“Since the disease spreads through close, intimate contact, some 
patients are seeking care at sexual health clinics, which are frequently
 under-resourced despite providing critical services to underserved 
communities, including the LGBTQ+ community,” she added.

Murray wrote that while HHS “has already taken a number of steps to 
respond to the domestic monkeypox outbreak, including activating the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emergency Operations 
Center, releasing updated guidance and training for health care 
providers, mobilizing the Laboratory Response Network and working with 
commercial labs to expand testing capacity, deploying medical 
countermeasures, and releasing a vaccination strategy for close 
contacts,” more action is needed.

Murray, however, hasn’t scheduled a public hearing.

“We haven’t set a time for that yet,” Murray said this week. “We 
don’t have a lot of time before August. We’re pursuing as many ways as 
we can.”

The U.S. Senate is set to leave Washington, D.C., at the end of next 
week for its August recess, though that timeline could be extended for 
work on a reconciliation package. Senators aren’t expected to return to 
the Capitol until after Labor Day.

The U.S. House is scheduled to depart for a six-week break Friday, 
though similarly could be called back to work on an assault weapons ban 
and the reconciliation package.

North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the top Republican on the Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that Murray chairs, said there 
needs to be “a lot” more attention on monkeypox within Congress.

When asked if he’d like the committee to hold a hearing, Burr said, “I’d love to have one.”

Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt —&nbsp; the top Republican on the panel that funds
 HHS, which Murray also chairs — said there isn’t a need for Congress to
 do more at this time.

“If there’s more that the Congress doesn’t know, or that the 
administration should have asked for, that would be the time to look 
into this,” Blunt said. “But I don’t think it’s yet at the point that it
 should generate a lot of investigative activity or even hearings.”

Blunt didn’t give a number of cases or a threshold that monkeypox 
would need to reach before it gets more attention from Congress, saying 
simply that “it has to be a bigger problem than it is right now.”

Blunt added that he met with Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky last week in his office and that 
the two did discuss monkeypox. But he noted that “Congress has not been 
asked to specifically do anything yet.”

“And the spread in our country is very minimal still,” Blunt said. 
“I’m ready for any more input from the administration as to what they’d 
like to see Congress do.”

New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, chair of the House Energy and Commerce
 Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care, said he doesn’t 
think Congress necessarily needs to hold hearings on monkeypox.

“I certainly think we could use more awareness, but there are various
 ways of getting the word out,” Pallone said. “I don’t know if a hearing
 per se is necessary.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee and 
the subcommittee that funds HHS, said she thinks “there’s plenty of 
congressional attention” on the virus.

If the Biden administration needs additional funding to address 
monkeypox, DeLauro, D-Conn., said, they should send that supplemental 
spending request to Congress.

So far, Biden officials have not indicated HHS or any other agencies 
need emergency funding from Congress to address tracking the virus or 
distributing vaccines.

The White House&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/white-house-wants-10b-ukraine-aid-225b-more-covid-help">did ask U.S. lawmakers</a>&nbsp;back
 in March to approve $22.5 billion in emergency funding to address the 
COVID-19 outbreak domestically and abroad. Two bipartisan agreements 
have since been struck but neither made it to the floor for votes.

Local health officials, especially in areas with a significant number of cases, are wrestling with vaccine distribution.

In the District of Columbia, with a population of more 700,000, the 
number of cases has increased so quickly the local health department was
 forced to change its vaccination strategy this week.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1655678482994.png" alt="Monkeypox Photo Credit: NHS England High Consequence Infectious Diseases Network-CDC" />
 <figcaption>Monkeypox Photo Credit: NHS England High Consequence Infectious Diseases Network-CDC</figcaption>
 </figure>By JENNIFER SHUTT <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/congress-mostly-silent-as-states-struggle-to-contain-monkeypox/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — Two months after 
doctors diagnosed the first case of monkeypox in the United States, 
Congress has yet to hold a hearing, or give any significant attention to
 the painful and debilitating virus that’s spread to more than 4,600 
people.Public health officials in the Biden administration have held several
 briefings, expanded testing capacity to nationwide commercial 
laboratories, distributed more than 200,000 vaccine doses and begun 
ordering millions more for the national stockpile.Yet local health leaders are struggling as cases rapidly increase, 
jumping from 3,500 cases on Tuesday to 4,600 nationwide on Thursday. In 
New Orleans, one of the top health care providers for the LGBTQ 
community&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://lailluminator.com/2022/07/26/new-orleans-most-prominent-lgbtq-health-clinic-out-of-monkeypox-vaccine/">ran out of vaccine doses&nbsp;</a>this week, the Louisiana Illuminator reported. Florida and Georgia top the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html">list</a>&nbsp;of the states with the most cases.&nbsp;The mayor of San Francisco announced a state of emergency Thursday over the growing number of monkeypox cases, allowing officials to cut through red tape and fight a public health crisis reminiscent of the AIDS epidemic that began devastating the city in the 1980s.But lawmakers in Congress haven’t given much attention to monkeypox, which is predominantly affecting the LGBTQ community.No hearings have been held. No press conferences have been dedicated 
solely to monkeypox. Members of the House and Senate have put out just 
15 press releases about the virus.In the meantime, the number of cases has rapidly increased as public 
health officials have tried to curb the spread and raise public 
awareness.The World Health Organization is so concerned it classified monkeypox
 a global public health emergency over the weekend and the Biden 
administration is seriously considering declaring it a public health 
emergency within the United States.<h2>Briefing requested</h2>Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray is one of the few lawmakers 
to raise concerns about the spread of the virus and vaccine 
distribution.Last week, Murray, who chairs the Senate committee tasked with 
overseeing public health policy as well as a separate panel that funds 
the nation’s public health infrastructure, sent a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/PM%20Mpox%20Letter%20Secy%20Becerra_7.19.2022.pdf">&nbsp;letter</a>&nbsp;to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra requesting a briefing on monkeypox.“Various reports indicate challenges at the local level, with some 
patients and providers stating they do not have the information and 
resources necessary to understand, test for, or respond to the disease, 
which is now presenting with uncharacteristic features,” Murray wrote.“Since the disease spreads through close, intimate contact, some 
patients are seeking care at sexual health clinics, which are frequently
 under-resourced despite providing critical services to underserved 
communities, including the LGBTQ+ community,” she added.Murray wrote that while HHS “has already taken a number of steps to 
respond to the domestic monkeypox outbreak, including activating the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emergency Operations 
Center, releasing updated guidance and training for health care 
providers, mobilizing the Laboratory Response Network and working with 
commercial labs to expand testing capacity, deploying medical 
countermeasures, and releasing a vaccination strategy for close 
contacts,” more action is needed.Murray, however, hasn’t scheduled a public hearing.“We haven’t set a time for that yet,” Murray said this week. “We 
don’t have a lot of time before August. We’re pursuing as many ways as 
we can.”The U.S. Senate is set to leave Washington, D.C., at the end of next 
week for its August recess, though that timeline could be extended for 
work on a reconciliation package. Senators aren’t expected to return to 
the Capitol until after Labor Day.The U.S. House is scheduled to depart for a six-week break Friday, 
though similarly could be called back to work on an assault weapons ban 
and the reconciliation package.<h2>More attention?</h2>North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the top Republican on the Health, 
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that Murray chairs, said there 
needs to be “a lot” more attention on monkeypox within Congress.When asked if he’d like the committee to hold a hearing, Burr said, “I’d love to have one.”Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt —&nbsp; the top Republican on the panel that funds
 HHS, which Murray also chairs — said there isn’t a need for Congress to
 do more at this time.“If there’s more that the Congress doesn’t know, or that the 
administration should have asked for, that would be the time to look 
into this,” Blunt said. “But I don’t think it’s yet at the point that it
 should generate a lot of investigative activity or even hearings.”Blunt didn’t give a number of cases or a threshold that monkeypox 
would need to reach before it gets more attention from Congress, saying 
simply that “it has to be a bigger problem than it is right now.”Blunt added that he met with Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky last week in his office and that 
the two did discuss monkeypox. But he noted that “Congress has not been 
asked to specifically do anything yet.”“And the spread in our country is very minimal still,” Blunt said. 
“I’m ready for any more input from the administration as to what they’d 
like to see Congress do.”New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, chair of the House Energy and Commerce
 Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care, said he doesn’t 
think Congress necessarily needs to hold hearings on monkeypox.“I certainly think we could use more awareness, but there are various
 ways of getting the word out,” Pallone said. “I don’t know if a hearing
 per se is necessary.”Rep. Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee and 
the subcommittee that funds HHS, said she thinks “there’s plenty of 
congressional attention” on the virus.If the Biden administration needs additional funding to address 
monkeypox, DeLauro, D-Conn., said, they should send that supplemental 
spending request to Congress.So far, Biden officials have not indicated HHS or any other agencies 
need emergency funding from Congress to address tracking the virus or 
distributing vaccines.The White House&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/white-house-wants-10b-ukraine-aid-225b-more-covid-help">did ask U.S. lawmakers</a>&nbsp;back
 in March to approve $22.5 billion in emergency funding to address the 
COVID-19 outbreak domestically and abroad. Two bipartisan agreements 
have since been struck but neither made it to the floor for votes.<h2>Problems for local officials</h2>Local health officials, especially in areas with a significant number of cases, are wrestling with vaccine distribution.In the District of Columbia, with a population of more 700,000, the 
number of cases has increased so quickly the local health department was
 forced to change its vaccination strategy this week.“Given the rapid increase in cases, and the very limited supply of 
vaccines, DC Health has decided that the most urgent priority is 
providing the first doses of vaccine to high-risk residents,” reads a<a target="_blank" href="https://dchealth.dc.gov/release/dc-health-announces-latest-distribution-monkeypox-vaccine">&nbsp;statement</a>&nbsp;from the department.“This single dose strategy is consistent with the monkeypox vaccine 
distribution strategies used in the UK and Canada, as well as New York 
City,” it continued.The District has the highest per capita case count of any state in 
the country, though D.C. isn’t a state and its residents don’t have full
 voting representation in Congress.In New Orleans, the clinic that ran out of doses does not know when 
it might be able to resume vaccinations. “At this point, we don’t even 
know who the other clinics are that have it,” Joe Hui, the clinic’s 
spokesman, told the Louisiana Illuminator on Tuesday.Monkeypox was first detected in a Massachusetts man in mid-May before
 spreading to nearly every state in the country. Case counts totaled 
4,639 as of Thursday, but numbers climb drastically every day.New York, California and Illinois are among those states reporting 
the most cases. Alaska, Montana, Vermont and Wyoming so far haven’t 
announced any cases, according to the CDC.No Americans have died so far from the virus that can include chills,
 exhaustion, fever, headache, muscle aches and swollen lymph nodes. 
Monkeypox often also comes with a rash that can look like pimples or 
blisters,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html">according to the CDC</a>.The virus is spread through direct physical contact with someone who 
has the rash or lesions on their body as well as through respiratory 
droplets during prolonged, close contact, or contact with items like 
bedding or towels that someone with the rash has used.The current outbreak of monkeypox in the United States, Europe and 
other countries that don’t traditionally experience the virus, is 
predominantly occurring in gay or bisexual people, or men who have sex 
with men, according to public health officials.<h2>Other public health issues</h2>While Congress hasn’t yet given much attention to monkeypox, U.S. 
lawmakers regularly hold hearings on public health issues, before they 
reach a certain threshold.The first U.S. Senate briefing on COVID-19<a target="_blank" href="https://rollcall.com/2020/01/24/us-ready-for-potential-coronavirus-outbreak-cdc-assures-lawmakers/">&nbsp;took place on</a>&nbsp;Jan, 24, 2020 for about two dozen lawmakers.At the time, there were two cases within the United States and the CDC was saying the threat to the public was low.But the closed-door briefing included several high-ranking officials,
 including the CDC director, the Health and Human Services assistant 
secretary for preparedness and response and National Institute of 
Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.The case count in China at the time was about 800 infections and at least 26 deaths.At the moment, there are nearly 21,000 monkeypox cases in 77 different countries,<a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/world-map.html">&nbsp;according to</a>&nbsp;the CDC.The United States topped the list of the most cases as of Thursday, followed by Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and France.