Current Events in October 2020

Red Monkey Foods is recalling organic parsley and herbes de provence.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There have been no consumer complaints or illnesses reported to date.

A list of the recalled products, which come in 0.3-0.65-oz. glass bottles, may be found here.

The recalled products wire sold in retail stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but discard it or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact customer service at (417) 319-7300. 8am -- 5pm (CST) Monday through Friday or by e-mail at customerservice@redmonkeyfoods.com.

Fresh on the heels of the end of its annual Prime Day sale, Amazon has launched its Holiday Dash sales event. On Friday, Amazon touted the sale as a way for consumers to “beat the holiday hustle” this year. 

Amazon will drop new deals every day between now and Black Friday. The deals will go live at 3 a.m. ET and will be good for 24 hours. 

Shoppers can get deals on items in a range of categories, including toys, fashion, electronics and home goods. Amazon will also offer discounts on services including Amazon Music, Audible Kindle, and Prime Video.

The e-commerce giant has also extended its returns window. Most items shipped now through December 31 can be returned through January 31, 2021.

Early start to holiday shopping season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many brick-and-mortar retailers are giving consumers an early start by offering online deals earlier in the season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are expected to be mainly offered online since crowds are still best avoided amid the pandemic.

Walmart said in September that it would start offering Black Friday sales earlier on a wider variety of merchandise. Target also announced early holiday deals and said customers can expect to find nearly one million more deals than last year. 

A survey conducted recently by analysts at RetailMeNot.com showed that 41 percent of consumers plan to start shopping in October. Some respondents said they hope to do all of their shopping this month. 

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 7,988,893 (7,927,975)

Total U.S. deaths: 217,904 (217,155)

Total global cases: 39,032,342 (38,620,496)

Total global deaths: 1,099,950 (1,093,921)

Ohio emerges as a new hot spot

Ohio is emerging as one of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots, setting two records this week for new cases of the virus. State health officials report that 2,178 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 175,843.

Ohio is one of the states that appeared to have the virus under control during the summer before the recent surge in positive cases.

"This is in stark contrast to not too long ago, September 20, barely a month ago when we had 726 cases," said Gov. Mike DeWine said. "We've gone up dramatically in a relatively short period of time."

Pfizer vaccine may be available next month

Pfizer, one of several pharmaceutical companies working on a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, says its drug could be ready to apply for emergency use authorization (EUA) by the end of November, making it available to the public.

In an open letter Friday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said he was commenting on a potential timeline for the company’s vaccine because he wanted to eliminate confusion about what he called a complex process.

“To ensure public trust and clear up a great deal of confusion, I believe it is essential for the public to understand our estimated timelines,” Bouria said.

WHO study questions remdesivir effectiveness

Scientists who tested remedesivir and three other COVID-19 treatments say none of the drugs proved to be effective in making COVID-19 patients get better or in preventing them from dying.

“We would love to have a drug that works, but it’s better to know if a drug works or not than not to know and continue to use it,” World Health Organization (WHO) Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told Science magazine.

Remdesivir, an antiviral drug originally developed to treat ebola, has been used extensively to treat coronavirus patients, including President Trump. Gilead Sciences, which makes remdesivir, questioned the accuracy of the WHO study, noting that it was not peer-reviewed.

Chris Christie says everyone should mask up

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is urging all Americans to wear masks in public to avoid getting sick. Christi contracted the virus while attending a White House Rose Garden event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. President Trump is believed to have also contracted the virus at that event.

"I believed that when I entered the White House grounds, that I had entered a safe zone, due to the testing that I and many others underwent every day. I was wrong,” Christie said in a statement. “I was wrong to not wear a mask at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement and I was wrong not to wear a mask at my multiple debate prep sessions with the President and the rest of the team." 

Christie said he has asthma, an underlying health condition. He was treated in an intensive care unit before recovering.

Indianapolis Colts close practice facility

The National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts have shut down the team’s practice facility after several members of the organization tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s not known how many, if any, of the tests affect players.

The closure places the Colt’s scheduled game against the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend in doubt. Based on the results of retests, league officials say the game could be postponed, as some NFL games have been so far this season.

The New York Jets closed their practice facility last week because some individuals tested positive, only to learn the results were false positives. On Thursday, the Atlanta Falcons closed their facility as a precaution when a team member tested positive.

Around the nation

• Massachusetts: The coronavirus is getting worse in Massachusetts. The number of  communities in the highest-risk category on the state's COVID-19 risk map has increased by 58 percent, according to state health officials.

• Tennessee: Health officials warn that hospitals in the state are under increasing pressure amid a sharp increase in more severe coronavirus cases. Officials say there are currently 1,149 hospitalizations, which is just 12 short of the state’s all-time record.

• Texas: Texas has grappled with large numbers of coronavirus cases, but at least one county in the state has yet to confirm a single case. Loving County only has 134 residents and is the least-populated county in the U.S. So far, all of its residents are healthy.

Drugmaker Pfizer reports that its coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine candidate could be ready to apply for emergency use authorization (EUA) by the end of November, making it available to the public.

In an open letter Friday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said he was commenting on a potential timeline for the company’s vaccine because he wanted to eliminate confusion about what he called a complex process.

“To ensure public trust and clear up a great deal of confusion, I believe it is essential for the public to understand our estimated timelines,” Bouria said.

The statement comes as cases of the virus have begun to increase and health experts have warned that a “second wave” of illnesses could occur during the fall and winter. The wave already appears to be hitting Europe, which has reported a sharp increase in cases.

Caveats

While Pfizer’s news strikes a hopeful tone, it comes with a number of caveats. While it could seek permission to distribute the vaccine as soon as next month, everything would have to go right with its late stage human trials. The company would also have to provide safety data and prove that the treatment can produce positive efficacy.

Earlier this week, Johnson & Johnson paused the late stage trial for its vaccine candidate after one of the participants appeared to have an adverse reaction. Pfizer said the participant’s illness is “being reviewed and evaluated.” 

"Adverse events -- illnesses, accidents, etc. -- even those that are serious, are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies,” the company said. 

Pfizer, which is working on a vaccine with another drug company, BioNTech SE, said it continues to believe in its candidate and expects to have the necessary data to win EUA from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Specifically, Pfizer said it believes it will have data showing the drug is safe by the third week of November.

Hesitancy by the public

Assuming the trial results show the vaccine is safe for humans and is effective in preventing the coronavirus, Pfizer said it would immediately file for EUA. Pfizer is also working on a report that would show how quickly the drug could be manufactured in large quantities and distributed to the public.

Several other pharmaceutical companies are currently working on a potential vaccine, but it’s not clear how widely any vaccine would be used, at least initially. Researchers at Brigham Young University this week released a survey showing hesitancy on the part of the public to be first in line to get vaccinated.

Many of the participants in the survey said they wouldn’t feel comfortable receiving a COVID-19 vaccine until more long-term testing has been completed. To help alleviate some of these concerns, the researchers are calling for clearer messaging to consumers about the full spectrum of the vaccine process. 

Though many expectant mothers are warned about the risks associated with postpartum depression, a new study has found that depression symptoms could start earlier than many may have realized. 

According to researchers from Imperial College London, severe morning sickness, which is medically referred to as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), could increase the likelihood of depression both during and after pregnancy.

“Our study shows that women with HG are around eight times more likely to suffer antenatal depression and four times more likely to have postnatal depression,” said researcher Dr. Nicola Mitchell-Jones. “Some women in the study even had thoughts of self-harm whilst suffering HG. These figures are shocking and should be reflected in the treatment women receive. We need to do much more than simply treat the physical symptoms of HG; assessment for mental health support should also be routine for any woman with the condition.” 

Link between physical and mental symptoms

The researchers evaluated the mental health of 214 women in their first trimester of pregnancy, half of whom had been hospitalized for severe morning sickness.

The team found that severe morning sickness took a toll on the participants’ mental health. Nearly 50 percent of those who had been hospitalized for morning sickness experienced depression during pregnancy, and nearly 30 percent struggled with postpartum depression. Conversely, less than 10 percent of the women without morning sickness ever experienced depression-related symptoms, either during or after pregnancy. 

The study revealed that severe morning sickness affected the women in their day-to-day lives. Half of those who received medical care for the condition were forced to take extended periods of time off of work, which can put an even greater strain on mental health and relationships. 

The researchers hope that these findings can help change the way women with morning sickness are treated by their health care providers. Though morning sickness is a troubling physical condition, this study shows just how much of a burden it can be on women’s mental health. 

“Many women can’t afford that amount of time off work or are stay-at-home mums with young children to care for,” said Dr. Mitchell-Jones. “Too often their partners, relatives, or work colleagues are not providing the support they need because they fail to understand the severity of what these women are going through. We need to educate them, as well as health care professionals.” 

American consumers have gotten past shortages of some grocery essentials during the pandemic, but the wrath of COVID-19 is still playing a huge role in how consumers shop for fresh food. According to a report from professional services company Deloitte, the majority of the stress is coming from consumer anxiety around safety.

According to Deloitte’s “The Future of Fresh” report, a hefty 54 percent of consumers feel stressed when they’re doing their in-store grocery shopping, with many respondents saying they’re going to the grocery store less often than they were prior to the pandemic.

Adding to a grocery shopper’s misery is that hoarding and supply chain disruptions have resulted in stock depletions for everything from toilet paper to meat. Deloitte’s survey results found that two-thirds of grocery shoppers have had little to no luck in buying the fresh food they wanted simply because it was out of stock. 

When that happens, consumers are forced to decide what they want to buy instead. Most of the people in that situation -- 40 percent -- say they decided to buy an alternative fresh food item. More than a quarter of the respondents bought a processed or frozen alternative or bought nothing at all. 

Fresh food makes us happy

It might be purely psychological, but 90 percent of the respondents said that being able to buy fresh food in the midst of the pandemic “makes them happy.” 

“How customers buy food is changing,” Deloitte stated in a video overview of its study. “The promise of freshness has not.” 

More than 100 Dickey’s Barbeque Restaurants across the U.S. were involved in a data breach that spanned more than a year. 

KrebsOnSecurity reported that one of the dark web’s most popular stores for selling stolen credit card information was offering card numbers belonging to customers of Dickey’s Barbeque Restaurants. 

Around three million new credit card records were being offered this week on a dark web carding site called “Jokers Stash.” Security researchers at Gemini Advisory initially discovered the stolen credit card numbers for sale on the dark web marketplace. 

Long-running breach

Gemini said its analysis found that 156 of the eatery’s 469 locations across 30 states were compromised. The largest percentage of stolen numbers were from California and Arizona. The data was accessed between July 2019 and August 2020, the researchers said. 

“Given the widespread nature of the breach, the exposure may be linked to a breach of the single central processor, which was leveraged by over a quarter of all Dickey’s locations,” researchers said in a blog post.

Report suspicious charges

In a statement, the barbeque franchise said it’s aware of the safety incident and that it’s currently investigating its scope.

“We obtained a report indicating [that a] cost card safety incident might have occurred. We’re taking this incident very significantly and instantly initiated our response protocol and an investigation is underway. We’re presently centered on figuring out the places affected and time frames concerned,” Dickey’s said.

Consumers who have visited Dickey’s Barbeque in the past year are urged to monitor their bank accounts and credit card transactions and report any fraudulent or suspicious charges to their financial institution as soon as possible. 

The effectiveness of Remdesivir -- an early antiviral favorite in the fight against COVID-19 and reportedly one of the coronavirus medications used by President Donald Trump as part of his recovery from COVID-19 -- was questioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday. 

In a soon-to-be-released study called the Solidarity Trial, the WHO said remdesivir has "little or no effect on mortality" for patients hospitalized with coronavirus, nor does it seem to help patients recover any quicker.

Up to this point, remdesivir had received early praise for its role in reducing coronavirus-related symptoms. It was also the only drug given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the coronavirus from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Besides remdesivir, the effects of hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, interferon, and lopinavir were studied. The trial was what the WHO called “adaptive,” meaning that “unpromising” drugs could be dropped and others added. To that end, both hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir were eventually dropped.

Doesn’t include patients from the U.S.

It can’t be said that the WHO didn’t do its homework when conducting these trials. The chief goal was to determine whether any of the antivirals tested “could at least moderately affect inhospital mortality, and whether any effects differed between moderate and severe disease.”

The researchers monitored the drug’s use in 405 hospitals in 30 countries, encompassing treatments for 11,266 adults. Eligible patients were all 18 years or older, hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19, not known to have received any study drug, and had no contra-indication to any study drug. Performing the study were physicians and scientists from all over the world. 

The lone glaring omission in all who took part in the study is that there were no patients from hospitals monitored in the United States. That exception is likely to become a talking point when the efficacy of the study is discussed.

Drug maker weighs in

Gilead Sciences, the maker of remdesivir, said the WHO’s findings don’t necessarily mean that the drug (sold under the brand name Veklury) has no value.

Citing data from a trial conducted by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Gilead went on the defense by offering evidence that treatment with Veklury resulted in “clinically meaningful improvements across multiple outcome assessments in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.” 

Despite Gilead’s confidence in the treatment, the WHO researchers say remdesivir and several other treatments do little to reduce overall mortality or prevent longer hospital stays. They note that the Solidarity trial will continue with a focus on other treatment options.

"Newer antiviral drugs, immunomodulators and anti-SARS COV-2 monoclonal antibodies are now being considered for evaluation via the Solidarity Therapeutics trial," WHO said.

Disrupting the inner circadian clock can have wide-reaching effects on the body, and now a new study conducted by researchers from Virginia Tech has explored how frequently experiencing jet lag can negatively affect consumers’ health. In a study conducted on mice, they found that chronic jet lag makes tumor growth more likely, and can also have a negative effect on the body’s overall immune response. 

“We combined two different approaches of chronobiology research to study the effects of circadian desynchronization on both tumor growth and immune rhythms, and we found a link,” said researcher Diego Golombek. 

“You need optimal rhythms in immune cells and immune humoral factors to quell rapid tumor growth. When circadian rhythms are chronically disrupted, these rhythms are impaired, inverted, or disappear entirely, which could help explain why the tumors were significantly larger in the desynchronized group.” 

The power of the body’s inner clock

The researchers injected mice with melanoma cells and then divided them into groups: one group experienced 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness while the other group’s daylight and nighttime hours shifted drastically every two days of the study. This mimicked the effects of consistent jet lag and allowed the researchers to assess how manipulating the body’s internal clock affected health outcomes. 

Ultimately, the team found that not giving the body the chance to adjust to a new time zone can lead to serious health complications. In just one month, the researchers learned that the body’s overall immune response was compromised, and even immune cells in organs that weren’t associated with the tumor weren’t operating as they normally would. 

This change to the mice’s immune systems also affected the way the tumor progressed, as tumors grew three times faster for the group that experienced chronic jet lag. The immune cells surrounding the tumor were also altered in the jet lag group; the researchers said the inconsistent internal clock created a better environment for the tumor to grow. 

While the researchers plan to do more work on the connection between circadian rhythms and cancer progression, they hope that these findings highlight how detrimental chronic jet lag can be to overall health. 

“A key takeaway from this study is that if someone has a proliferative disorder, in this case melanoma, doing shift work or regularly changing time zones could exacerbate the problem by dampening immune system response to tumor growth,” said researcher Carla Finkelstein. “This research also helps explain why some tumors win the race when a person is exposed to the chronically stressful conditions that occur when the environment and the body’s clocks are misaligned.” 

Twitter has temporarily restricted the Twitter account of President Trump’s re-election campaign, @TeamTrump. The step was taken after the account posted a video referring to a New York Post story from Wednesday which contained alleged details of presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s link to a Ukrainian energy company. 

After the account was barred from publishing new tweets, Republican lawmakers accused Twitter of being “speech police.” Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that Twitter’s ban represented “clear election interference.” 

Twitter said that it was within its rights to ban the account since its policies state that “hacked materials” and posts containing private information aren’t allowed. Facebook also limited the reach of the New York Post story. 

“We don’t permit the use of our services to directly distribute content obtained through hacking that contains private information, may put people in physical harm or danger, or contains trade secrets,” the company stated.

Not incentivizing hacking

Twitter said it took action against the account that posted the New York Post story because “the images contained in the articles include personal and private information — like email addresses and phone numbers — which violate our rules.” 

Twitter said its policy also prohibits users from distributing content obtained without authorization. 

“We don’t want to incentivize hacking by allowing Twitter to be used as distribution for possibly illegally obtained materials,” the company tweeted. 

Major outage

Shortly after restricting the president’s campaign account, Twitter’s website and mobile app experienced a widespread outage for an unknown number of users. Service was restored for most people by around 8 p.m. ET, and the platform explained that a change to its systems was to blame for the outage. 

“The recent issue was caused by an inadvertent change we made to our internal systems,” the company tweeted. 

The price of gas fell slightly this week as demand was overshadowed by growing fuel supplies.

The AAA Fuel Gauge Survey shows the national average price of regular gas is $2.17 a gallon, a penny less than last week and two cents less than two weeks ago.

The average price of premium gas is $2.79 a gallon, the same as last Friday. The average price of diesel fuel is also the same as a week ago, $2.38 a gallon.

Hurricane Delta, the second Gulf Coast hurricane in a month, made landfall in Southwest Louisiana, but the disruption to refinery operations was minimal. Most facilities were back on line within hours.

The Colonial Pipeline Line 1, the main gas line, was down temporarily over the weekend due to loss of power, which was back in service by Monday morning. Not only did gas prices not rise, they actually went down.

“In a typical year, a hurricane season like we’ve experienced this year would have caused gas prices to spike, but 2020 is not a typical year,” said Jeanette Casselano McGee, AAA spokesperson. “Low U.S. gasoline demand has helped contain any impact to gas prices locally and regionally throughout this hurricane season.”

There’s evidence that these low and stable gas prices may be encouraging more driving. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, reported that Pay with GasBuddy data showed gasoline demand on Wednesday rose 1.8 percent above the previous Wednesday. But demand for gas was down 0.9 percent from last week.

The states with the most expensive gas

These states currently have the highest prices for regular gas, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey:

• Hawaii ($3.26)

• California ($3.20)

• Washington ($2.78)

• Nevada ($2.63)

• Oregon ($2.59)

• Alaska ($2.49)

• Pennsylvania ($2.48)

• Utah ($2.40)

• Idaho ($2.36)

• Illinois ($2.26)

The states with the cheapest regular gas

The survey found these states currently have the lowest prices for regular gas:

• Mississippi ($1.85)

• Texas ($1.86)

• Missouri ($1.86)

• Arkansas ($1.88)

• Oklahoma ($1.88)

• Alabama ($1.90)

• Louisiana ($1.91)

• South Carolina ($1.92)

• Tennessee ($1.94)

• Kansas ($1.95)

General Motors is recalling 3,317 model year 2020 Chevrolet Corvettes and Cadillac CT4s, CT5s and XT4s, model year 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazers, and model year 2020-2021 Buick Encore Gxs.

Sensor connection contamination in the electronic brake boost system may cause an interruption of communication between the sensor and the brake boost system.

If communication with the sensor is interrupted, the electronic brake boost assist could be lost. Extra pedal force will be required to slow and stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electronic brake boost module free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin November 9, 2020.

Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at (800) 630-2438, Cadillac customer service at (800) 333-4223, or Buick customer service at (800) 521-7300. GM's number for this recall is A202307260.

Peloton Interactive of New York, N.Y., is recalling about 54,000 PR70P Clip-In Pedals fitted on Peloton bikes.

The pedals can break during use, causing laceration injuries.

The firm has received 120 consumer reports of pedal breakages, including 16 reports of leg injuries. Five of the injuries required medical care, such as stitches to the lower leg.

The PR70P or first-generation pedal fitted on Peloton bikes were sold between July 2013 and May 2016.

The Peloton logo and the word "PELOTON" are molded into the pedal body. An orange Peloton symbol and white lettering spelling "PELOTON" are printed on the top of the cleat binding.

Pedals are warranted for one year and all remaining PR70P Clip-In pedals in service are out of warranty. Peloton recommends that consumers replace pedals annually.

The pedals, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold online at www.onepeloton.com, through Peloton telephone sales, or through Peloton showrooms nationwide from July 2013, through May 2016. The PR70P pedals were fitted on Peloton bikes that sold for about $2,000.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using bikes fitted with PR70P Clip-In pedals. Peloton is notifying all affected consumers directly on how to receive free replacement pedals, along with instructions for self-installation.

Consumers may contact Peloton toll-free (844) 410-0141 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (ET) on weekends.

Affected consumers received a touchscreen notice and an email. Only consumers who have not already replaced their PR70P pedals should contact Peloton.

Sauer Brands is recalling The Spice Hunter products.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There are no reports of illness to date.

A list of the recalled products, which come in clear glass jars marked with lot codes 20217C, 20220C, 20269C and 20270C on the white field on the label, may be found here.

The recalled products were sold in retail stores in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, and at spicehunter.com

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should not consume them, but return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Sauer Brands at (800) 444-3061, Monday thru Friday, from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist thinks that the public is putting too much hope for a coronavirus vaccine to be available quickly and to the masses.

In a question-and-answer session broadcast on YouTube, Soumya Swaminathan said that we all might have a false impression that “things will be back to normal” if we get a COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021.

She says her reasoning is based on the sheer volume of vaccines that will be needed and that no one has ever produced vaccines to the extent they’ll be needed. She offered some hope for vaccines by next year, but they'll be in limited quantities.

The vaccine pecking order

When vaccines do become available, there’ll likely be a pecking order. Health care workers and others on the pandemic’s front lines will be first to get vaccines, followed by the elderly, then on down the line to the young and healthy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that it may ask certain groups of people to not get the vaccine at first due to limited supplies.

“There will be a lot of guidance coming out, but I think an average person, a healthy young person, might have to wait until 2022 to get a vaccine,” Swaminathan said. 

The CDC attempted to drive home the point that a COVID-19 vaccine may not be suggested for children when it first becomes available. That’s simply because no vaccine has been tested on them yet.

“In early clinical trials for various COVID-19 vaccines, only non-pregnant adults participated,” the CDC said in its latest update. “However, clinical trials continue to expand those recruited to participate. The groups recommended to receive the vaccines could change in the future.”

More agreement on herd immunity

Some political leaders have supported the strategy of herd immunity, saying that letting the virus run its course would allow economic activity to resume. But both Swaminathan and Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the CDC, take a hard line against permitting the virus to spread unchecked in an effort to reach herd immunity.

“People talk about herd immunity (but) we should only talk about it in the context of a vaccine,” Swaminathan said. She noted that obtaining herd immunity will be difficult at first since at least 70 percent of the population will need to be protected from the virus before transmission rates are effectively disrupted.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 7,927,975 (7,864,910)

Total U.S. deaths: 217,155 (215,251)

Total global cases: 38,620,496 (38,275,349)

Total global deaths: 1,093,921 (1,088,051)

Applications for jobless benefits go up again

The Labor Department reports that new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week to 898,000, suggesting the job market is slowing again as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic drags down the economy.

Claims rose by 53,000 from the previous week's revised level, which itself had been revised up by 5,000 from 840,000 to 845,000. Business leaders, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, have said the economy needs another round of stimulus from Washington.

Talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Trump administration have reached an impasse, with the two sides pushing different aid and stimulus proposals.

Kamala Harris staffer tests positive

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris has postponed travel after two people associated with her campaign tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the Joe Biden campaign.

Liz Allen, Harris’ communications director, contracted the coronavirus along with a flight crew member on Harris’ campaign plane. The campaign said neither person had recent personal contact with either Harris or Biden.

As a precaution, the campaign canceled Harris’ travel through Sunday. The vice presidential candidate had been scheduled to travel for campaign stops in North Carolina, a key swing state, on Thursday.

Health experts: Herd immunity is a ‘dangerous’ strategy

A growing number of health experts warn that allowing the coronavirus to spread to achieve what is known as “herd immunity” is not the best path to follow. In fact, they say that relying on the strategy could be dangerous.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the White House Coronavirus Task force, called the idea “nonsense.” Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says trying to achieve herd immunity "misses the basic point that we're all connected." He told CNN that finding an effective vaccine is still the best way to defeat the virus.

Some political leaders have supported the strategy of herd immunity, saying that letting the virus run its course would allow economic activity to resume.

Air filters selling like toilet paper in April

With growing evidence that the coronavirus spreads mainly through the air, businesses and institutions are snapping up air filtration systems. Jim Rosenthat, CEO of Tex-Air Filters, says his phone is ringing off the hook.

“I’ve been in this business for 20 years and this is the most chaotic time that I’ve ever had in the air filter business,” he told CNBC. 

Rosenthal likened the surge in business to consumers’ hoarding of toilet paper in April, reporting a 15 percent increase in sales over last year.

New York’s loss is Maine’s gain

Since the pandemic-induced lockdown, many New Yorkers have been moving to greener pastures. According to the New York Post, many have found those more inviting horizons in Maine.

Maine’s real estate market was already thriving, according to real estate brokers who spoke with the Post. But 2020 has taken it to another level, with much of the new buying activity coming from New York.

“People have called and said, ‘Get me any house in Maine,’” Gwyneth Freeman of Better Homes & Gardens, The Masiello Group, told the newspaper.

Around the nation

• Illinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker is warning residents about COVID-19, saying the state is moving in a "concerning direction" as Illinois’ coronavirus testing positivity rate continues to rise. The state has released holiday guidance for family gatherings and travel as the pandemic continues.

• Michigan:  Michigan legislators have approved a COVID-19 response plan after a state supreme court ruling struck down Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s coronavirus-related executive orders. The package includes an extension of unemployment benefits.

• Nevada: Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced that traditional trick-or-treating at the Nevada governor’s mansion has been canceled this year due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, state health officials are asking people celebrating Halloween and Día de los Muertos to avoid large gatherings.

Wells Fargo & Co. has fired more than 100 employees that the financial services company suspected of underhandedly collecting COVID-19 relief funds. Bloomberg News first reported the incident based on information from a person with knowledge of the situation.

Wells Fargo says members of its staff committed fraud against the Small Business Administration (SBA) “by making false representations in applying for coronavirus relief funds -- specifically the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL) -- for themselves,” according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg.

“We have terminated the employment of those individuals and will cooperate fully with law enforcement,” David Galloreese, Wells Fargo’s head of human resources, said in the memo. “These wrongful actions were personal actions, and do not involve our customers.”

More than 500 JPMorgan employees were also caught pulling the same stunt just last month. The mere fact that so many could easily tap into the EIDL program sent shockwaves through the company, leveraging an internal probe. 

How the employees pulled this off

Unlike other business owners and employers, banks have the right to check whether employees had aid deposited into their accounts. Sensing that, the SBA pressed banks to look out for suspicious deposits from the program -- both to their customers and also their own staff. 

One particular aspect of the EIDL program that was evidently too good to pass up was financial advances of as much as $10,000 that don’t have to be repaid. A Bloomberg Businessweek analysis of SBA data in August identified at least $1.3 billion in suspicious payments.The SBA’s inspector general also admitted that more than $250 million in aid was likely given to ineligible recipients in addition to $45.6 million in duplicate payments.

How exactly do retailers plan to maintain social distancing on Black Friday when stores are traditionally crammed with shoppers? Walmart’s answer is to have three Black Fridays.

The retailer has announced that “Black Friday Deals for Days” will be made up of three sales events, with the first beginning online on Nov. 4. That sales event will feature deals on toys, electronic, and home products, and it will move to Walmart stores on Nov. 7.

Walmart will launch its second event on Nov. 11, again starting online. The sale will feature TV sets, computers, tablets, and entertainment media. The event will move to stores on Nov. 14. The final event will begin online on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25. In-store sales will follow on Nov. 26, the traditional Black Friday.

And new this year, customers will have the option to pick up their online Black Friday order through the retailer’s contact-free curbside pickup service.

“Although this year’s event looks different, our commitment to what our customers depend on us for – the absolute best prices of the season on hot gifts from top brands – hasn’t changed,” said Scott McCall, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S.

Unique sales and deals

Walmart says shoppers will find deals on brands like HP, Instant Pot, LEGO, L.O.L. Surprise!, Roku and Shark, including some it says will be exclusive to Walmart. The retailer also promises to have plenty of the sale items in stock.

During the first event, Walmart says it’s deals will include a  42-inch UHD Roku TV for $88 and popular Hotel Style bath towels for $5.

The second event will feature marked down prices of Apple and Samsung mobile phones, and the final event will include sales on all categories of gifts, including toys and apparel. 

Getting a head start

Walmart is not only dividing up its holiday sales promotions, it’s also getting a head start on Black Friday -- a trend other retailers have adopted. A survey conducted in September for RetailMeNot found that many consumers plan to shop early this year because of the pandemic.

Most of the people in the survey said they will probably do most of their shopping online this year, continuing a trend that began with the initial coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. The most common reason given for shopping early was to avoid delivery delays and retailers being out of stock.

In fact, an overwhelming number of respondents -- 88 percent -- said they may complete all of their purchases online and will not shop for traditional door-buster deals on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

The utility collections scam has raised its ugly head in Santa Barbara, California, where local police are warning residents to be alert for callers claiming to be from a local utility.

In nearly every case, the caller claims that the consumer hasn’t paid utility bills and is facing an immediate cutoff in service unless payment is made. Conveniently, the scammer will accept some form of electronic payment, but rarely a credit card, which has fraud protections.

The scam is old but effective, and it's an example of the “imposter scam,” a type of crime in which someone pretends to be someone they aren’t. This type of scam, which also includes the grandparent scam, has become one of the most common in recent years.

Good news and bad news

An analysis of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data for the first half of 2020 has some good news and some bad news. On the good side, the resport shows that the number of complaints about imposter scams has steadily gone down since 2018.

But the analysis, conducted by cybersecurity firm Atlas VPN, shows that financial losses from imposter scams rose significantly in the first half of this year. Consumers reported 168,818 cases of the imposter scam with losses totaling more than $300 million. The median loss was $694.

The takeaway from the analysis is that imposter scammers are growing more sophisticated and more persuasive. They’ve found ways to convince their victims that they are who they say they are.

As ConsumerAffairs reported in August, scammers operating the grandparent scam -- in which the imposter claims to be a grandchild in need of cash -- are gleaning information about their victims from social media. 

That suggests scammers have switched from dialing people at random to targeting specific individuals about whom they have some information.

Healthy skepticism

Law enforcement officials say consumers should always be highly skeptical of callers who demand immediate action, such as the immediate payment of money. Scammers know that if their potential victims have time to think about it, or talk to a friend or family member, they’ll see through the ruse.

Another red flag is the method of payment a scammer will demand. In recent years, criminals have instructed victims to pay using a gift card or a money card. The Santa Barbara police say utility companies would never do that and neither would any other legitimate enterprise.

The police department also says the utility company will never show up on your doorstep demanding cash. Neither will it threaten to cut off service unless immediate payment is made.