Editor’s note: This is a live account of COVID-19 updates from Friday, July 8, as the day unfolded. It is no longer being updated. Click here to see all the most recent news about the pandemic, and click here to find additional resources.
A Pew Research Center survey released Thursday shared findings that the American public’s trust in elected leaders and public health leaders plummeted as the pandemic entered its third year.
Health officials are warning of a fresh wave of infections in the U.S. driven by the most contagious COVID-19 variant. Even people who have recently recovered from the virus are susceptible to becoming ill with the BA.5 omicron subvariant, officials said.
Meanwhile, Europe is facing a new wave of COVID-19 cases, most of which have been traced to the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants, according to health officials.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see the rest of our coronavirus coverage and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington.
Hispanic Californians used to have a longer life expectancy than whites. COVID-19 changed that.
The COVID-19 pandemic reduced life expectancy of Californians by about three years, with the decline being most pronounced among Hispanics, according to a new study based on state public health records.
Researchers from UCLA and Northwestern University analyzed 1.9 million deaths from 2015 to 2021 to carry out the study, which was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The most transmissible variant of the coronavirus is threatening a fresh wave of infections in the United States, even among those who have recovered from the virus fairly recently.
The subvariant of omicron known as BA.5 is now dominant, according to federal estimates released Tuesday, and together with BA.4, another subvariant, it is fueling an outbreak of cases and hospitalizations.
Although the popularity of home testing means reported cases are a significant undercount of the true infection rate, the share of tests that come back positive is shooting upward and is now higher than during most other waves of the pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk from COVID-19 is increasing in much of the country.
“I think there’s an underappreciation of what it’s going to do to the country, and it already is exerting its effect,” said Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, who has written about the subvariant.
Beijing appears to retract vaccine mandate after pushback
The Chinese capital Beijing appears to have backed off a plan to launch a vaccine mandate for entry into certain public spaces after pushback from residents.
While not explicitly saying it had dropped the plan, a city official was quoted in state media late Thursday saying that people could enter venues with a negative virus test result and a temperature check, as has been the norm. They also said vaccinations would continue on the principle of “informed, voluntary consent.”
An unidentified official in the pandemic control office said residents of the city could enter any sort of public venue with a negative PCR test done in the last 72 hours and a temperature check, according to a short question and answer post from the official Beijing Daily, the main paper of the city government, published late Thursday night.
The city announced Wednesday that starting next week, people had to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they can enter some public spaces including gyms, museums and libraries. It drew intense discussion as city residents worried how the sudden policy announcement would disrupt their lives.
A COVID-19 vaccine developed by UW Medicine researchers has been approved in Korea, becoming the first COVID therapeutic technology from the Seattle health care system to be greenlit for patient use.
UW Medicine scientists who worked on the technology behind the vaccine say their version is a “second-generation” COVID immunization that’s protein-based — different from the mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna. As a result, the vaccine, trademarked as SKYCovione, is effective in low doses, simple to manufacture and stable without deep freezing, said Neil King and David Veesler, both UW Medicine biochemistry professors and vaccine co-developers.
“We had already been working together before the pandemic, but when the pandemic hit, it was just this immediate, ‘Let’s do this’ joining of the forces between our two groups, which was really fun and highly productive,” King said.
The vaccine, which was approved for patient use by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last week, is now getting authorization in the U.K. and other countries, according to a UW Medicine statement. If the vaccine is approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, it will become available through COVAX, an international effort to distribute vaccines equitably around the world.
Beijing appears to retract vaccine mandate after pushback
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Chinese capital Beijing appears to have backed off a plan to launch a vaccine mandate for entry into certain public spaces after pushback from residents.
While not explicitly saying it had dropped the plan, a city official was quoted in state media late Thursday saying that people could enter venues with a negative virus test result and a temperature check, as has been the norm. They also said vaccinations would continue on the principle of “informed, voluntary consent.”
An unidentified official in the pandemic control office said residents of the city could enter any sort of public venue with a negative PCR test done in the last 72 hours and a temperature check, according to a short question and answer post from the official Beijing Daily, the main paper of the city government, published late Thursday night.
‘Brazen cash grab.’ Kentucky man sentenced over $1.3 million in fraudulent COVID loans
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A central Kentucky businessman who submitted false information to receive $1.3 million in coronavirus relief loans and used some of it for gambling debts has been sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison.
Randall “Rocky” Blankenship Jr. also must pay a $30,000 fine, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV.
U.S. District Judge Karen C. Caldwell sentenced Blankenship on Thursday. He had pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud.
UK Labour leaders cleared over ‘beergate’ meal with team
LONDON (AP) — Police in England said Friday they won’t fine the two top leaders of the U.K.’s opposition Labour Party over a curry-and-beer meal with colleagues last year while Britain was under coronavirus restrictions.
The local police force in the city of Durham said that following an investigation, it “will not be issuing any fixed penalty notices in respect of the gathering and no further action will be taken.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner both said they would resign if they were fined over the incident, dubbed “beergate” by the media.
Philippine leader tests positive for coronavirus, isolates
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — New Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. tested positive for the coronavirus Friday following an antigen test and will go into isolation for about a week, officials said.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Marcos Jr., 64, has a slight fever but “is otherwise OK.” However, he will not be able to attend an event at the U.S. Embassy, and would join by video a meeting with governors and mayors regarding coronavirus booster shots.
People who came into contact with the president, including his son, tested negative for the virus and others were being notified that he has been infected, Angeles said.
