Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: Biden says pandemic ‘over,’ COVID fraud, cases & more

In the United States, nearly 96 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic as of Friday, Sept. 23, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Additionally, more than 1 million people in the U.S. have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 614 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including about 2 million in the past week, and over 6.5 million people have died.

About 224 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated as of Sept. 23 — 67.7% of the population — and over 109 million of those have gotten their first booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

About 38% of people in the country live in a location where COVID-19 community levels are considered medium and high, the agency says as of Sept. 23. Masks are advised in high-level regions.

About 62% of Americans reside where COVID-19 levels are considered low, according to the CDC.

The omicron BA.5 subvariant dominated U.S. cases for the week ending Sept. 17 and made up 84.8% of COVID-19 cases, agency data estimates show.

Pfizer and Moderna’s new, updated COVID-19 boosters target this subvariant and BA.4, another omicron version, after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the shots for emergency use on Aug. 31, McClatchy News reported.

Here’s what happened between Sept. 18 and 23.

Biden declares COVID ‘pandemic is over.’ Here’s what experts say about the data

Since President Joe Biden’s declaration that the COVID-19 pandemic is done, a number of health experts have spoken out in response with some pointing to virus data.

“The pandemic is over,” Biden said Sunday, Sept. 18, during an interview with “60 Minutes.” “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it … but the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing.”

A snapshot of recent U.S. data shows there have been more than 2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and about 12,700 deaths due to the virus across the country within the past 28 days, according to Johns Hopkins University. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 1 million people have died nationwide.

The dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, Dr. Megan Ranney, disagreed with the president’s assertion that the pandemic is “over” by referencing recent death counts.

“Is the pandemic DIFFERENT? Sure,” Ranney wrote on Twitter on Sept. 18. “We have vaccines & infection-induced immunity. We have treatments. We have tests (while they last). The fatality rate is way down. And so we respond to it differently.”

“But over?! With 400 deaths a day?! I call malarkey,” Ranney added.

Continue reading below for what other health experts have said:

Biden declares COVID ‘pandemic is over.’ Here’s what experts say about the data

$250 million meant to feed hungry kids is stolen in massive COVID fraud, feds say

A federal program designed to help feed hungry children was defrauded of $250 million as part of a massive COVID-19 fraud scheme, authorities said.

Now, 47 people have been charged in federal court, according to a Sept. 20 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Today’s indictments describe an egregious plot to steal public funds meant to care for children in need in what amounts to the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme yet,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. “The defendants went to great lengths to exploit a program designed to feed underserved children in Minnesota amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudulently diverting millions of dollars designated for the program for their own personal gain.”

In exploiting the Federal Child Nutrition Program, authorities say the defendants used money meant to provide children with nutritious food to instead buy luxury cars, homes, jewelry and a “coastal resort property.”

Keep reading about the case here:

$250 million meant to feed hungry kids is stolen in massive COVID fraud, feds say

How federal COVID-19 educational aid was awarded to every state

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government allocated $274.2 billion to help schools and students recover from the mass disruption in educational operations and development forced by remote learning models and other pandemic-related precautionary measures and methods.

Approximately $189.5 billion of these funds were made available in three waves via the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.

A further $84.7 billion was released via a series of funds attached to further COVID-19 relief action, namely the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the American Rescue Plan, and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.

Citing data from the Department of Education, HeyTutor broke down what every state received from educational relief funds passed through the CARES and CRRSA Acts and the American Rescue Plan.

Each of these funds have unique markers and requirements for distribution, but all exist for the same purpose: to help schools, their staff, and their students regain the educational ground lost during the pandemic.

Keep reading to learn how COVID-19 educational aid was allocated across the nation.

How federal COVID-19 educational aid was awarded to every state

California’s COVID-19 infection and hospital rates drop, but state’s death toll passes 95,000

As the calendar flips from summer to fall, California’s coronavirus numbers appear to be continuing a long and steady trend of improvement, with key transmission and hospitalization metrics having declined for about two straight months.

The California Department of Public Health in a weekly update Thursday, Sept. 22, reported the latest case rate for COVID-19 at 11 per 100,000 residents, a 12% decrease from the previous week.

The statewide test positivity rate fell to 5%, down from 6% last week, for the lowest positivity since the week ending May 16.

In the state’s most recent surge, which took root around the start of April as contagious offshoots of the omicron subvariant began to dominate new cases, the daily case rate peaked at about 50 per 100,000, and positivity rose as high as 16.2%. Both peaks came in mid-July.

For more, keep reading:

California’s COVID-19 infection and hospital rates drop, but state’s death toll passes 95,000

Judge shows mercy to Columbia nurse who lied to FBI about fake COVID vaccination cards

Federal Judge Terry Wooten is known for giving tough sentences — especially when a violation of public trust is involved.

But on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in a Columbia, South Carolina, courtroom, Wooten showed mercy and gave 18 months of supervised release — a non-prison sentence akin to probation — to a Columbia nurse who lied to federal agents about creating fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards. Lying to federal investigators is a felony.

“There are not too many defendants in federal court who don’t wind up with a period of incarceration,” Wooten told nurse Tammy McDonald.

McDonald, 54, whose supporters in the courtroom included her four daughters and her mother, could have gotten up to five years.

Continue reading below:

Judge shows mercy to Columbia nurse who lied to FBI about fake COVID vaccination cards

Reporters Kaitlyn Alanis, Aine Givens, Michael McGough and John Monk also contributed to this report.