Covid-19

CNN's Randi Kaye on Thursday conducted an interview with Florida-based chiropractor Dan Busch, who has made national news for giving out mask mandate exemption forms to any family that requests them — a development that has led Sarasota public schools to limit who can give out exemptions only to medical professionals like doctors and nurse practitioners.

"Why were you signing these forms?" asked Kaye. "Why were you exempting children?"

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is fighting subpoenas for depositions from Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees in the lawsuit with school boards over mask mandates. The challenge, in this case, is that the Health Department overstepped its authority when it issued an emergency rule banning masks in schools.

According to the Miami Herald, Florida Department of Health lawyers are trying to block the deposition from the doctor, who has been mum on the mask issue as COVID-19 ravages the state.

Donald Trump, Jr. is falsely claiming President Joe Biden is responsible for the impending deaths of Americans sick with COVID-19 after the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services bought an additional 1.4 million doses of Regeneron's monoclonal antibody treatments. After discovering that 70% of all monoclonal antibody treatment doses were being ordered by just seven states, HHS announced it is taking over distribution of the life-saving drug.

Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana – states that have some of the highest per-capita cases of COVID-19 and some of the lowest vaccination rates, have been limiting the supply of monoclonal antibody treatments to the rest of the nation, CNN reports.

Idaho, the US state with the lowest Covid vaccination rate in the country, announced Thursday it was rationing medical care and would turn patients away from ventilators if they aren't likely to recover.

The northwestern state's health department said it had enacted the measure because of "the massive increase of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization" which had "exhausted" existing resources.

An unvaccinated man from Lake Stevens, Washington, has died from COVID-19 and now his family is sharing his story in the hope it will inspire people to get vaccinated, KING-5 reports.

Patrick Lane's daughter Katie said her dad planned to get vaccinated, but was likely hesitant thanks to the right-wing media he consumed.

Lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder, better known as the beach Grim Reaper, was one of those who sued Gov. Ron DeSantis during the 2020 season for relaxing the lockdown to ensure tourism. When DeSantis refused to close beaches, Uhlfelder dressed up as the Reaper and went walking through sands as a reminder to folks that they were endangering lives.

Uhlfelder took DeSantis to court which was dismissed, but the three-judge panel on the First District Court of Appeal took things a step further seeking to punish the lawyer for the lawsuit. Earlier this week, the Orlando Sentinel accused the court of playing favorites, citing a slew of cases against city ordinances by state Rep. Anthony Sabatini.

An official from Florida's Hillsborough County Republican Party — which has been busy mobilizing members to protest coronavirus restrictions such as school mask mandates — has died from COVID-19.

Now, the GOP official's friends and colleagues are spreading wild conspiracy theories about the "engineered virus," and alleging he was "illegally intubated" at a local hospital, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times.

President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that dozens of people in his inner circle at the Kremlin had tested positive for coronavirus, which has affected over seven million people in the badly-hit country.

Earlier this week, the 68-year-old Putin said he was self-isolating after announcing an outbreak among members of his entourage.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's landslide victory in the California recall may offer Democrats a roadmap going into the 2022 midterm elections.

Democrats have a favorable Senate map in 2022, but there are fears Republicans could regain control of the House of Representatives due to redistricting gerrymandering and voter suppression laws passed in multiple states.

All leaders and diplomats attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week will have to provide proof of vaccination, the city government said Wednesday, sparking anger from Russia.

Delegates must be vaccinated to enter the debate hall, the mayor's office told the assembly president in a letter dated September 9, but Moscow queried whether New York had the authority to enforce the mandate.

Nicki Minaj continued to make wild claims on social media, even using the hashtag #BallGate, a reference to her belief that the COVID-19 vaccines lead to getting swollen testicles.

It started Monday when Minaj pushed misinformation about vaccines.