News Of Western Pennsylvania And The World
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh medics had a busy day during the Steelers game on Sunday.
Three people were taken to the hospital during the game.
Medics say they were requested for 12 other calls at the stadium.
Source: Pittsburgh medics respond to 15 calls at Acrisure Stadium during Steelers game, 3 hospitalized
“The site of the biopsy has healed nicely and the President will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive healthcare,” he said.
Source: Doctor removed cancerous lesion from Biden’s chest during last physical
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was taken to the hospital Wednesday after a U.S. Senate event.
Fetterman communications director Joe Calvello said the results of an MRI and other tests eliminated the possibility of a second stroke.
“He is being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure – so far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored,” Calvello said in a statement provided to CNN.
Calvello did not indicate when Fetterman might be able to leave George Washington University Hospital.
Shortly before last year’s election, which Fetterman won by defeating celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, Fetterman’s doctor released the results of an exam amid concerns that Fetterman’s health problems might prevent him from assuming his duties if elected.
Source: PA Sen. John Fetterman: Latest Medical Update
Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle during Monday night’s game, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal matchup against the Bengals that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Here’s what we know:
The Bills said Hamlin, 24, suffered cardiac arrest.
“His heartbeat was restored on the field,” the team said in a statement early Tuesday. He was transferred to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for “further testing and treatment.”
‘Please pray for our brother:’ NFL players rally around Damar Hamlin after shocking injuryDamar Hamlin’s condition is far more important than footballBills safety Damar Hamlin suffers cardiac arrest, in critical condition after on-field collapse
The Bills said Hamlin is sedated and in critical condition.
Hamlin was hurt while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins on a seemingly routine play that didn’t appear unusually violent.
Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/03/sports/what-happened-damar-hamlin/
Another pharmaceutical company is recalling a blood pressure medication that could increase the risk of cancer if taken in large amounts. On Wednesday, Lupin Pharmaceuticals recalled four lots of Quinapril Tablets because the medication has too much of the nitrosamine impurity N-Nitroso-Quinapril, the FDA announced.
The medication in question is marked as: ▪ Quinapril Tablets USP, 20mg | lot No. G102929 | expiration date of April 2023
Source: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/recalls/article270400547.html
Scientists predict China will see the largest COVID surge of the pandemic this winter, with hundreds of millions of people infected. But some experts say that it could have been even worse.
Source: COVID spreading faster than ever in China. 800 million could be infected this winter
Aurobindo Pharma USA is recalling two lots of quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide tablets due a potential cancer risk.
Source: Blood pressure medicine recall: Some pills pose potential cancer risk, FDA announces
The nature of the child’s death, as well as an identity, have not been released. A neighbor who says she knew the mother and baby says the baby was a boy.
“She came up and was crying,” Stephanie Tazel said. “I was hugging her and she told me that her baby stopped breathing.”
The Beaver County District Attorney says his office is investigating the death.
Beaver County 911 confirmed the coroner and police officers were on the scene. Detectives were called to the scene shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“We saw an ambulance go by,” recounted Anna Mabin, who lives nearby. “Then we heard the girl screaming. I just wanted to hug her.”
The Beaver County coroner has yet to release any information about the child’s death
Source: Beaver Co. DA investigating 10-month-old child’s death
On Wednesday, Katie Couric revealed that she had breast cancer.
In an essay on her website, she wrote about the “heart-stopping, suspended animation feeling” she had upon receiving her diagnosis in June; she also noted that she had dense breasts — a common classification that can increase the risk of developing the disease.
About half of women who are 40 years old or older have dense breast tissue, said Dr. Laura Esserman, director of the Breast Care Center at the University of California, San Francisco. Here’s what to know about what breast density means and how dense breasts can influence cancer risk.
Density isn’t related to breast size or firmness, said Dr. Sarah Friedewald, chief of breast imaging at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. It is a measure of how much fibrous and glandular tissue is in your breasts compared with the amount of fatty tissue, as viewed on a mammogram. These tissues include the glands that create milk, the tubes that ferry milk to the nipples and the fibrous tissue that binds them together.
Every mammogram report includes an assessment of a woman’s breast density, which falls into one of four categories: almost entirely fatty; some areas of scattered density; evenly dense; or extremely dense. Dense breasts is an umbrella term that refers to the latter two categories.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/well/live/dense-breasts.html
PITTSBURGH —
An American Airlines flight from Phoenix, Arizona to New York City was diverted to Pittsburgh International Airport early Tuesday morning.
The plane was diverted due to a possible medical situation onboard.
Pittsburgh International Airport officials said the plane landed shortly before 5 a.m.Allegheny County 911 dispatchers said police and paramedics had been called to the airport.
The condition of the person who experienced the medical problem has not been released.
Source: Plane diverted to Pittsburgh due to possible medical situation onboard
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea imposed a nationwide lockdown Thursday to control its first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak after holding for more than two years to a widely doubted claim of a perfect record keeping out the virus that has spread to nearly every place in the world.
The outbreak forced leader Kim Jong Un to wear a mask in public, likely for the first time since the start of the pandemic, but the scale of transmissions inside North Korea wasn’t immediately known. A failure to slow infections could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated. Some experts say North Korea, by its rare admission of an outbreak, may be seeking outside aid.
However, hours after North Korea confirmed the outbreak, South Korea’s military said it detected the North had fired three suspected ballistic missiles toward the sea. It was its 16th round of missile launches this year, in brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept North Korea as a nuclear power and negotiate sanctions relief and other concessions from a position of strength.
Source: North Korea confirms 1st COVID outbreak, Kim orders lockdown
A New Jersey manufacturer is recalling more than 120,000 pounds of ground beef products over concerns that it could contain E. coli.
Regulators discovered during routine testing that certain products from Swedesboro, N.J.-based Lakeside Refrigerated Services may be contaminated with E. coli O103, a harder-to-identify strain of the bacteria.
There have been no confirmed reports of illnesses or adverse reactions related to consumption of the food, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a news release.
But the agency is urging people who may have purchased the items, which were shipped to stores nationwide, not to consume them and either throw them away or return them to the store where they were bought.
The product codes and labels of the affected products are available on the FSIS website.
The recalled products have the establishment number “EST. 46841” and were produced from Feb. 1 through April 8.
Source: 120,000 pounds of ground beef recalled over possible E. coli concerns : NPR
A certified nurse anesthetist who worked at Excela Health Westmoreland was arrested by agents from the state Attorney General’s office on accusations of stealing powerful painkillers from locked cabinets in the Greensburg hospital’s operating rooms, according to court papers.
Todd A. Hrtyanski, 59, of Unity, who worked at the hospital as a nurse anesthetist, was arrested Friday after a months-long investigation by the hospital and state narcotics agents, according to court documents filed by agents of state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office.
Agent Erin P. Kabler reported that hospital officials notified the attorney general’s office late last year that Hrtyanski was observed entering locked OR cabinets “to which he was not assigned” between Oct. 14 and Nov. 15.
Kabler reported that after learning of the questionable activities involving the secure cabinets where narcotics were stored, a pharmaceutical audit revealed that amounts of fentanyl and hydromorphine were found missing during the period.
During an interview with hospital officials, Kabler said that Hrtyanski admitted taking the painkillers for personal use.
In Jan. 14 interview between Hrtyanski, his attorney Lee Westbrook of Mt. Lebanon, and Kabler, Hrtyanski again admitted taking the painkillers for his own back pain “that was uncontrolled with his own prescription medications,” according to court documents.
The timing of a Pennsylvania baby’s entry into the world Tuesday is hard, ahem, 2 believe.
ALTOONA, PA — Vaughn Walker apparently couldn’t resist the opportunity. The infant wasn’t scheduled to arrive until next month, but he entered the world on Tuesday, February 22. At 2:22 a.m. In delivery room two at UPMC Altoona. That’s about two hours east of Pittsburgh.
“He was due on March 3,” said his mother, Kristanna Walker. “He decided to come early.”
A nurse in the delivery room told Kristanna and her husband, Matthew, that they had a palindrome baby.
Vaughn will join four sisters at home.
Vaughn isn’t able to play the Pennsylvania Lottery daily number just yet. But when he grows older, given his arrival he certainly should consider doing so.
Source: 2 Incredible: PA Baby Born On 2/22 at 2:22 – In Delivery Room 2 | Pittsburgh, PA Patch
(CNN)The federal government has quietly launched its website to sign up for free Covid-19 tests, allowing people to order a maximum of four tests shipped directly to their household.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Tuesday that the government website to order free Covid-19 tests is up and running as part of a “beta phase” ahead of the government website’s formal rollout Wednesday morning.“COVIDtests.gov is in the beta phase right now, which is a standard part of the process typically as it’s being kind of tested in the early stages of being rolled out,” Psaki told reporters at the White House. “It will officially launch tomorrow morning.”Have you tried to get a free home test from the federal site? Did it work smoothly or was there an issue? Tell us about it here.
Source: Free Covid tests: Website for ordering at-home tests is up and running – CNNPolitics
The Biden administration is planning to distribute hundreds of millions of free, high-quality masks through pharmacies and community health centers, a White House official said Wednesday.
The 400 million newly available masks will be non-surgical N95s that are sourced from the government’s Strategic National Stockpile, as part of an effort to ensure Americans can access the more-protective masks during a record surge of Covid-19 cases.
The initiative — which POLITICO first reported Tuesday evening — comes in response to growing pressure on the administration to encourage Americans to abandon cloth masks in favor of more protective versions, amid evidence that the cloth coverings do not work as well against the more transmissible Omicron variant.
Public health experts and former Biden transition advisers had also lobbied the White House in recent weeks to give out masks, arguing that cheap and genuine N95s are still difficult for people to find.
The administration plans to make the masks available at tens of thousands of pharmacies and health centers by early February, the White House official said, which people will then be able to pick up for free.
The supply will not include child-sized masks, though two people with knowledge of the matter said the government is working to procure them.
Source: Biden plans giveaway of 400M masks as Omicron surges – POLITICO
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The omicron variant has now been identified in Allegheny County.
As of Thursday, there are two known cases in the county. Both cases were detected in adult men, with one sample collected on Dec. 7 and the other sample collected on Dec. 13.
READ MORE:Pittsburgh Weather: Christmas Eve Rain Chances
Those samples were confirmed to be from the variant on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23.
Local doctors expect cases to rise significantly in the area.
“Knowing that it was already in the community in the middle of December and how fast it spreads and how contagious it is, we can pretty much assure that, knowing that it’s dominant already in the rest of America, it’s probably the dominant case that we’re seeing here,” said Brian Lamb, an internal medicine doctor at Allegheny Health Network.
On Wednesday, Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen said it was “only a matter of days” before the variant would be detected, especially since the health department found evidence of the variant in the county’s wastewater.
The confirmed cases come as the omicron variant has become the most dominant in the US, and cases from the variant have overtaken the Delta variant.
Source: Allegheny County Reports First Omicron Variant Cases
A Philadelphia man has tested positive for the omicron variant of coronavirus, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health said Friday.
Source: Omicron variant reported in Philadelphia; first known case in Pa.
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt left Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions due to an injury.
Source: T.J. Watt injured in Steelers-Lions game
The National Institutes of Health has stunningly admitted to funding gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at China’s Wuhan lab — despite Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly insisting to Congress that no such thing happened.
In a letter to Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Wednesday, a top NIH official blamed EcoHealth Alliance — the New York City-based nonprofit that has funneled US funds to the Wuhan lab — for not being transparent about the work it was doing.
NIH’s principal deputy director, Lawrence A. Tabak, wrote in the letter that EcoHealth’s “limited experiment” tested whether “spike proteins from naturally occurring bat coronaviruses circulating in China were capable of binding to the human ACE2 receptor in a mouse model.”
Source: NIH admits US funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan
The Pittsburgh Steelers have several injuries on defense as well, including T.J. Watt, Joe Haden, Devin Bush and Alex Highsmith.
Source: Ben Roethlisberger listed with pec injury heading into Week 3 vs. Bengals
Critics have bashed the Biden administration for its latest mistake as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced several Afghan evacuees tested positive for a deadly disease inside the U.S. On Friday, Psaki confirmed an outbreak of measles cases among Afghan escapees has temporarily halted new flights from bringing more people into the U.S.
Critics have continued to slam the Biden administration for seemingly failing at every point in their botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Despite a measles vaccine being required for entry, Psaki said the cases still happened.
“Let me give you the information we have at this point, or I have I should say. Operation ‘Allies Welcome’ flights into the United States have been temporarily paused,” she announced. “…These individuals are being quarantined in accordance with public health guidelines and the CDC has begun full contact tracing. All arriving Afghans are currently required to be vaccinated for measles as a condition of entry into the United States.”
Meanwhile, Americans were still reportedly stranded in Afghanistan as the Biden administration called the Taliban “business-like and professional.”
Source: Biden slammed for measles outbreak among Afghan evacuees in U.S. | One America News Network
The president’s executive orders apply to employees of the executive branch and federal government contractors.
Biden issued two executive orders on Thursday requiring vaccination against COVID for federal workers and contractors who work for the federal government. He also asked the Department of Labor to issue an emergency order requiring businesses with more than 100 employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested on a weekly basis.
However, Biden’s order on federal workers applies to employees of the executive branch. The House of Representatives and the Senate belong to the separate legislative branch, and the courts to the judicial branch of the federal government.
Source: Members of Congress and Their Staff Are Exempt From Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
(KHN)In Northern California, the pastor of a megachurch hands out religious exemption forms to the faithful. A New Mexico state senator will “help you articulate a religious exemption” by pointing to the decades-old use of aborted fetal cells in the development of some vaccines. And a Texas-based evangelist offers exemption letters to anyone — for a suggested “donation” starting at $25.
With workplace vaccine mandates in the offing, opponents are turning to a tried-and-true recourse for avoiding a covid-19 shot: the claim that vaccination interferes with religious beliefs.No major denomination opposes vaccination. Even the Christian Science Church, whose adherents rely largely on prayer rather than medicine, does not impose an official policy. It counsels “respect for public health authorities and conscientious obedience to the laws of the land, including those requiring vaccination.”
DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. —
Protests continued at multiple school districts in Westmoreland County Wednesday as dozens of students and parents voiced their frustrations over the state’s mask mandate in schools.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 spoke with the Derry Area School District about how the district is handling frustrated families.
“I understand that frustration,” Derry Area Assistant Superintendent Greg Ferencak said. “We started off with a masks optional, but highly recommended and now we have to switch and there’s some confusion.”
Ferencak said the district’s original health and safety plan called for a change in policy in the event of a state or federal mandate. A small group of students and parents protested the decision to mandate masks in Derry each of the last two days.
“We are trying to let the voices of the students be heard and trying to be reasonable with them,” Ferencak said.
Ferencak said a failure to comply with the mandate could come with consequences for the district, including a loss of funding.
“We could be held liable for not following them through various complaints, willful neglect of duty, you name it,” Ferencak said.
Source: Protests continue in Westmoreland County over state’s mask mandate in schools
(CNN)President Joe Biden on Thursday imposed stringent new vaccine rules on federal workers, large employers and health care staff in a sweeping attempt to contain the latest surge of Covid-19.
The new requirements could apply to as many as 100 million Americans — close to two-thirds of the American workforce — and amount to Biden’s strongest push yet to require vaccines for much of the country.“We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us,” Biden said, his tone hardening toward Americans who still refuse to receive a vaccine despite ample evidence of their safety and full approval of one — the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine — from the US Food and Drug Administration.He said vaccinated America was growing “frustrated” with the 80 million people who have not received shots and are fueling the spread of the virus. And he acknowledged the new steps would not provide a quick fix.“While America is in much better shape than it was seven months ago when I took office, I need to tell you a second fact: We’re in a tough stretch and it could last for awhile,” Biden said in an early evening speech from the White House.At the center of Biden’s new plan is directing the Labor Department to require all businesses with 100 or more employees ensure their workers are either vaccinated or tested once a week, an expansive step the President took after consultation with administration health officials and lawyers. Companies could face thousands of dollars in fines per employee if they don’t comply.Biden also signed an executive order requiring all government employees be vaccinated against Covid-19, with no option of being regularly tested to opt out. The President signed an accompanying order directing the same standard be applied to employees of contractors who do business with the federal government.He also said 300,000 educators in federal Head Start programs must be vaccinated and called on governors to require vaccinations for schoolteachers and staff.And Biden announced he would require the 17 million health care workers at facilities receiving funds from Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated, expanding the mandate to hospitals, home care facilities and dialysis centers around the country.“We have the tools to combat the virus if we come together to use those tools,” Biden said at the outset of what was billed as a major speech to tackle the latest phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.The new rules amount to the most dramatic steps to date to get more Americans vaccinated. Once cautious of vaccine mandates, the Biden administration is now wholly embracing them as vaccine hesitancy persists among certain groups.Administration officials acknowledged the requirement for large employers could be challenged in court. But they said their hope was to provide cover of federal rules to businesses who want to require vaccines for employees.The new rules come as the Delta variant tears through communities across the country, causing upticks in hospitalizations and deaths particularly in areas where vaccination rates remain low.
Source: Biden announces new vaccine mandates that could cover 100 million Americans – CNNPolitics
Jacinda Ardern announced that all New Zealand will be in the toughest, level-four lockdown for at least three days.
New Zealand was ordered into a strict nationwide lockdown Tuesday — after just one COVID-19 case was detected.
It was the first locally transmitted infection in the community in six months.
“The best thing we can do to get out of this as quickly as we can is to go hard,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a televised national address.
“We have seen what can happen elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance,” she insisted.
Ardern announced that all New Zealand will be in the toughest, level-four lockdown for at least three days from Wednesday, with schools, offices and businesses closed and only essential services operational.
The biggest city, Auckland — where the unidentified 58-year-old man tested positive — would have a longer, seven-day lockdown, as would Coromandel, a coastal town where the infected person spent time.
Source: New Zealand in lockdown over first COVID infection in 6 months
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden left Friday from Delaware for a weekend at Camp David, as the president’s planned withdrawal from Afghanistan is becoming a crisis.
- President Biden and first lady Jill Biden left Friday afternoon from Delaware for a long weekend at Camp David
- Biden left and is set to stay until Wednesday while his planned withdrawal from Afghanistan turns into a crisis
- Taliban fighters are closing in on Kabul, while 3,000 American troops are expected to arrive this weekend
- They have been sent in to help evacuate some US personnel from the Kabul embassy as situation deteriorates
- The White House said the president had been briefed about ‘the ongoing efforts to safely drawdown the civilian footprint in Afghanistan’
- A memo sent to embassy staff told them to prepare to destroy sensitive documents and computers
- The first lady was spotted with a walking boot and crutch, marking the first time she’s been seen publicly since she injured her foot on a Hawaii beach
- On Friday the insurgents claimed Kandahar, the country’s second biggest city, Herat, close to the Iranian border, and Ghazni, on the road south from Kabul
The tweet Tuesday night stated a well established medical fact – one backed by the CDC – that not everyone should be injected with vaccines.
Reporter Greg Piper tweeted “Vaccines are not safe for everyone.”
The post also linked to a report by the higher education news website the College Fix detailing Brigham Young University’s refusal to grant an exception to its vaccine mandate for a student with a potentially complicating medical condition.
Piper’s appended remark is backed up by CDC guidance, which stipulates that “some people should not get certain vaccines or should wait before getting them.”
Piper pointed out to Just the News that “every mandate has a medical exemption.”
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/should-not-vacc.html
A government watchdog investigation has uncovered evidence of animal abuse involving the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is led by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The agency used $424,455 in taxpayer dollars to support University of Georgia researchers who performed experimental drug tests on 28 beagles after infecting them with parasites, according to the Daily Caller.
Documents obtained by the White Coat Waste Project showed that some of the dogs “vocalized in pain” upon being injected with an experimental vaccine.
Source: Peek Into Fauci’s Closet Reveals Horrific Experiments on Beagles, Tests Left Dogs in Obvious Pain
