āWhen I become mayor, you know what Iām going to spend my first year doing? Iām going to have a bunch of ribbon-cuttings tearing out your fucking bike lanes.ā āCongressman Anthony Weiner to frenemy Mayor Bloomberg, during a recent dinner at which beef was served, in their few minutes of cordial man-to-man conversation. [NYT via Gothamist]
Evidence that COVID survivors may only need one vaccine dose
For people who have had Covid-19, a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine is enough to provide robust protection from the coronavirus, according toĀ two newĀ studiesĀ from Britain that were published late Thursday in The Lancet, a prominent medical journal.
The studies, among the first fully vetted papers to weigh in on how to vaccinate people who have had Covid-19, added strong evidence to the case for giving just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine to people who already have antibodies against the virus.
Jennifer Granholm has been confirmed as energy secretary
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm won Senate confirmation Thursday to be President Joe Bidenās energy secretary. The vote was 64-35.
Granholm, who served two terms as governor in a state dominated by the auto industry, will be a key player in Bidenās vision for a green economy as the United States fights to slow climate change.
Trumpās years-long quest to conceal his tax returns has come to an end
The Biden administration is shifting language used by the government
At the Department of Homeland Security, the phrase āillegal alienā is being replaced with ānoncitizen.ā The Interior Department now makes sure that mentions of its stakeholders include āTribalā people (with a capital āTā as preferred by Native Americans, it said). The most unpopular two words in the Trump lexicon ā āclimate changeā ā are once again appearing on government websites and in documents; officials at the Environmental Protection Agency have even begunĀ using the hashtag #climatecrisisĀ on Twitter.
And across the government, L.G.B.T.Q. references are popping up everywhere. Visitors to the White House website are nowĀ asked whether they want to provide their pronounsĀ when they fill out a contact form: she/her, he/him or they/them.
It is all part of a concerted effort by the Biden administration to rebrand the government after four years of President Donald J. Trump, in part by stripping away the language and imagery that represented his anti-immigration, anti-science and anti-gay rights policies and replacing them with words and pictures that are more inclusive and better match the current presidentās sensibilities.
Pfizer is looking at ways to make its COVID vaccine more effective
PfizerĀ Inc. andĀ BioNTech have begun a study testing in people whether the companiesā Covid-19 shot can provide protection against emerging strains of the coronavirus.
The companies said Thursday they have started the small study to see whether a third dose of their authorized Covid-19 vaccine would increase its effectiveness against new variants, such as the strain first identified in South Africa.
The approach differs from that ofĀ ModernaĀ Inc.,Ā which said Wednesday it had made a new vaccine targeting the strain found in South Africa and shipped doses to U.S. government researchersĀ for human testing.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they are also in discussions with U.S., European and other health regulators about studying a tweaked version of their vaccine that researchers designed to protect against the variant found in South Africa.
āWe are taking multiple steps to act decisively and be ready in case a strain becomes resistant to the protection afforded by the vaccine,ā Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in a statement.
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