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| Biden expected to speak on Covid vaccine boosters for Americans – live | Biden expected to speak on Covid vaccine boosters for Americans – live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| US expected to recommend an extra dose eight months after second shot of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine | US expected to recommend an extra dose eight months after second shot of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine |
| Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is now in the United Arab Emirates, after fleeing the country as Taliban forces approached Kabul. | |
| WAM news, a state-run media outlet, posted a statement on its website saying, “The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds.” | |
| It had been unclear where Ghani had fled to after leaving Afghanistan, and reports had suggested he might be anywhere from Saudi Arabia to Oman. | |
| Asked yesterday about Joe Biden’s relationship with Ghani, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, “I’m not going to characterize anything about President Ghani at this point, who is no longer a factor in Afghanistan. And I don’t think there’s much merit in me weighing in more deeply on him.” | |
| The first vice-president of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, has declared himself the country’s “caretaker president” in Ghani’s absence, even as the Taliban moves to form a new government. | |
| Salomé Gómez-Upegui reports on Florida parents’ outrage over the ban on school mask mandates: | |
| In Pinellas county, Florida, Maggie, a mother of three, is sending her kids to school every day with two or three extra masks even if, in her fourth grader’s class, only a third of the children are wearing them. Just two days into the new school year, she received a call from school officials saying there were already five known cases of students with Covid-19. | |
| “Based on my kids’ school, and the number of parents that have chosen to not mask their kids, it looks like we’re in the minority,” said Maggie, who asked to be identified by just her first name. “I think the voices who are very anti-mask are very loud.” | |
| Despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stating that K-12 students should wear masks for in-person learning, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed an executive order on 30 July that bars school districts from putting mask mandates in place, even though children under 12 cannot yet receive a vaccine. | |
| This has left some Florida parents making difficult individual decisions to have their children wear masks, often going up against the political and social norms of their schools and communities. | |
| Texas governor Greg Abbott, who tested positive for coronavirus yesterday, has reportedly told people that he received a third coronavirus vaccine dose. | Texas governor Greg Abbott, who tested positive for coronavirus yesterday, has reportedly told people that he received a third coronavirus vaccine dose. |
| NBC News reports: | NBC News reports: |
| If Abbott did receive a booster shot, his coronavirus case raises interesting questions about the possibility of breakthrough infections after getting a third vaccine dose, although breakthrough cases remain uncommon even without a booster. | If Abbott did receive a booster shot, his coronavirus case raises interesting questions about the possibility of breakthrough infections after getting a third vaccine dose, although breakthrough cases remain uncommon even without a booster. |
| Alexandra Villarreal reports from Austin: | Alexandra Villarreal reports from Austin: |
| In case you somehow missed it yesterday: Texas governor Greg Abbott tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, after weeks spent banning local mask requirements and meeting maskless crowds. | In case you somehow missed it yesterday: Texas governor Greg Abbott tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, after weeks spent banning local mask requirements and meeting maskless crowds. |
| Abbott, a Republican, is fully vaccinated against the virus and is not experiencing symptoms, his office said in a statement. He is taking a monoclonal antibody treatment and isolating in the governor’s mansion. | Abbott, a Republican, is fully vaccinated against the virus and is not experiencing symptoms, his office said in a statement. He is taking a monoclonal antibody treatment and isolating in the governor’s mansion. |
| Spokesperson Mark Miner said: “Governor Abbott is in constant communication with his staff, agency heads and government officials to ensure that state government continues to operate smoothly and efficiently.” | Spokesperson Mark Miner said: “Governor Abbott is in constant communication with his staff, agency heads and government officials to ensure that state government continues to operate smoothly and efficiently.” |
| Texas has once again emerged as a hotspot for the coronavirus, with only 314 available intensive care unit beds statewide. Pediatric ICUs are running out of space while children head back to class. | Texas has once again emerged as a hotspot for the coronavirus, with only 314 available intensive care unit beds statewide. Pediatric ICUs are running out of space while children head back to class. |
| Abbott has restricted cities, counties, school districts and public health authorities from requiring masks or Covid-19 vaccines. And when officials in Texas’s major cities defied his order, the state supreme court barred their local mask mandates – at least temporarily. | Abbott has restricted cities, counties, school districts and public health authorities from requiring masks or Covid-19 vaccines. And when officials in Texas’s major cities defied his order, the state supreme court barred their local mask mandates – at least temporarily. |
| The Biden administration reportedly decided to recommend coronavirus vaccine boosters after viewing worrisome data about the declining efficacy of vaccines over time. | The Biden administration reportedly decided to recommend coronavirus vaccine boosters after viewing worrisome data about the declining efficacy of vaccines over time. |
| Politico reports: | Politico reports: |
| Joe Biden addressed the potential need for booster shots late last month, in a speech on his administration’s latest efforts to get more Americans vaccinated. | Joe Biden addressed the potential need for booster shots late last month, in a speech on his administration’s latest efforts to get more Americans vaccinated. |
| “No American needs a booster now,” Biden said at the time. “But if the science tells us there’s a need for boosters, then that’s something we’ll do. And we have purchased the supply -- all the supply we need to be ready if that was called for.” | “No American needs a booster now,” Biden said at the time. “But if the science tells us there’s a need for boosters, then that’s something we’ll do. And we have purchased the supply -- all the supply we need to be ready if that was called for.” |
| Greetings from Washington, live blog readers. | Greetings from Washington, live blog readers. |
| Joe Biden will receive a briefing from the White House coronavirus response team, and the president will then deliver a speech on his administration’s vaccination strategy. | Joe Biden will receive a briefing from the White House coronavirus response team, and the president will then deliver a speech on his administration’s vaccination strategy. |
| Biden is expected to address the likely approval of coronavirus vaccine boosters for Americans, as the country’s case numbers continue to climb due to the spread of the Delta variant. | Biden is expected to address the likely approval of coronavirus vaccine boosters for Americans, as the country’s case numbers continue to climb due to the spread of the Delta variant. |
| According to the AP, US health authorities are expected to soon recommend receiving an extra dose of the vaccine eight months after getting the second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. (Research is ongoing about boosters for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.) | According to the AP, US health authorities are expected to soon recommend receiving an extra dose of the vaccine eight months after getting the second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. (Research is ongoing about boosters for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.) |
| Biden’s speech comes less than a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended booster doses for some immunocompromised people, who represent about 3% of the US population. | Biden’s speech comes less than a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommended booster doses for some immunocompromised people, who represent about 3% of the US population. |
| But with the White House still struggling to convince some Americans to get their first vaccine dose, it could be quite difficult to launch a new messaging campaign urging people to get a third shot. | But with the White House still struggling to convince some Americans to get their first vaccine dose, it could be quite difficult to launch a new messaging campaign urging people to get a third shot. |
| The blog will have more details on the speech coming up, so stay tuned. | The blog will have more details on the speech coming up, so stay tuned. |