News and Issues

Patients admitted with COVID-19 at select hospitals may now volunteer to enroll in a clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of a potential new treatment for the disease. The Phase 3 randomized, controlled trial is known as ACTIV-3, and as a “master protocol,” it is designed to expand to test multiple different kinds of monoclonal antibody treatments. It also can enroll additional volunteers in the middle of the trial, if a specific investigational treatment shows promise. The new study is one of four ongoing or planned trials in the National Institutes of Health’s. more »

Bills Introduced: A bill to direct the attorney general to convene a national working group to study proactive strategies and needed resources for the rescue of children from sexual exploitation and abuse ... A bill to ensure access to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for workers who are unable to obtain child and family care ... A bill to extend existing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) flexibilities for states during the COVID-19 pandemic ... A bill to temporarily waive section 115 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 as applied to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and SNAP programs ... A bill to make permanent the employer credit for paid family and medical leave. more »

Were the 3 Waves in 1918–1919 Caused by the Same Virus? If So, How and Why? Historical records since the 16th century suggest that new influenza pandemics may appear at any time of year, not necessarily in the familiar annual winter patterns of interpandemic years, presumably because newly shifted influenza viruses behave differently when they find a universal or highly susceptible human population. Thereafter, confronted by the selection pressures of population immunity, these pandemic viruses begin to drift genetically and eventually settle into a pattern of annual epidemic recurrences caused by the drifted virus variants. In the 1918–1919 pandemic, a first or spring wave began in March 1918 and spread unevenly through the United States, Europe, and possibly Asia over the next 6 months. Illness rates were high, but death rates in most locales were not appreciably above normal. A second or fall wave spread globally from September to November 1918 and was highly fatal. In many nations, a third wave occurred in early 1919. more »

Personal Income and Outlays: Current-dollar personal income increased $1.39 trillion in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $193.4 billion in the first quarter. The increase in personal income was more than accounted for by an increase in personal current transfer receipts (notably, government social benefits) that was partly offset by declines in compensation and proprietors' income (table 8). ... Disposable personal income increased $1.53 trillion, or 42.1 percent, in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $157.8 billion, or 3.9 percent, in the first quarter. Real disposable personal income increased 44.9 percent, compared with an increase of 2.6 percent. more »