Current Events in March 2021

If you’re waiting for the mailman to deliver your $1,400 stimulus check, it’s on its way. However, if you’re in debt, that $1,400 might be gone before you ever see it.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is not allowed to offset the amount of the stimulus check to pay various past-due federal debts or back taxes, but that’s where the agency’s authority ends. Other forms of debt -- such as state taxes, credit card bills, and medical bills -- remain unprotected. 

To make matters worse, those stimulus funds can be taken out with no questions asked. All a debt collector has to prove is that they have obtained a judgment against the debtor to collect on those accounts.

Lawmakers try to remedy the situation

While the stimulus plan offers many benefits -- from a Child Tax Credit of up to $3,600 per child, $20 billion for rental assistance, and $4.5 billion for energy bills through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program -- the loophole that gives creditors access to in-debt consumers’ bank accounts is ominous.

Some of the stimulus checks have already landed in people’s bank accounts, and some of the larger banks are expecting a landslide of deposits this Wednesday. That means the opportunity to remedy the situation with debt collectors is closing quickly. However, lawmakers are stepping in to try to fix the issue as quickly as they can.

Sen. Ron Wyden (OR-D) said he plans to introduce legislation that would safeguard the stimulus money from being garnished so that debt collectors can’t prevent those in need from getting access to emergency funds.

Different check, but same loophole

Wyden is not alone, and this isn’t the first time that this loophole has been left open.

“The stimulus is an essential shot in the arm to help families pay for food, rent, medicine, and auto loans, and stay connected to essential utility services,” said National Consumer Law Center Associate Director Lauren Saunders. 

But Saunders noted that the new bill, unlike the December stimulus bill, fails to prohibit debt collectors from garnishing bank accounts to grab stimulus payments. “Now Congress must take immediate action to ensure that the economic stimulus payments feed families as intended rather than debt collectors,” he said.

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 30,145,075 (29,446,321)

Total U.S. deaths: 548,178 (534,946)

Total global cases: 120,937,133 (120,002,856)

Total global deaths: 2,675,102 (2,655,755)

Moderna begins testing its vaccine on children

As states make progress in vaccinating adults, drug companies are beginning to think about children. But until now, none of the approved COVID-19 vaccines have been tested on children.

Now, that’s changing. Moderna has announced that it is testing its vaccine on children from infants to 11-year-olds in the U.S. and Canada. The first children in the study have already received doses.

“We are pleased to begin this Phase 2/3 study of mRNA-1273 in healthy children in the U.S. and Canada and we thank NIAID and BARDA for their collaboration,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO. 

Experts worry AstraZeneca vaccine issues could slow U.S. vaccinations

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is mostly used outside the United States, but some health experts worry that recent problems with the vaccine could have repercussions in the U.S.

Several European countries have suspended the use of the vaccine after a very small number of recipients developed blood clots after receiving it. Dr. William Schaffner of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine says he is concerned that news reports about the issue could cause people in the U.S. who are hesitant about taking any vaccine to be even more hesitant.

Sweden and Latvia are the latest countries in Europe to pause the use of the vaccine over blood clot concerns, which most health experts in Europe contend are unfounded. They point out that the general population in Europe is at a higher risk for developing blood clots.

U.S. gets poor marks for pandemic response

The vaccine rollout may be going well now, but researchers writing in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons gives the U.S. low marks for how it handled most of the last 12 months, saying it “failed at every level.” 

In fact, the assessment found both the U.S. and the global response have been "plagued by lack of preparedness, conflicts of interest, highly politicized 'science,' suppression of open discussion, disregard of the bedrock principle of informed consent, and willful neglect of what is likely the most important pillar of response: early treatment." 

Dr. Jane M. Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), says the first failure was to not replace protective gear for medical workers that was depleted in 2009, and by outsourcing supply lines to China.

Survey shows Americans are ready for a spring break

People who are fully vaccinated apparently can’t wait to hit the road again. A new Tripadvisor survey found that half of U.S. respondents are planning a trip between now and May 31.

Even though few have been vaccinated, millennials appear to have the worst case of cabin fever, with 58 percent of that group planning a spring trip. Seventy-one percent of millennials say they are comfortable dining out, and 54 percent say they expect to return to normal life within three months.

It may come as no surprise that the fastest-growing destinations this spring, according to TripAdvisor searches, are in Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The least-searched destinations are New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

Study: Just a few people spread most COVID-19 germs

Researchers at Colorado University (CU) Boulder say their findings suggest that just a few people are responsible for spreading most of the coronavirus germs. They say these “super carriers” represent about 2 percent of the population but carry up to 90 percent of the virus load.

The scientists further claim that about half the people who are infected with the virus don’t spread it to others at the time of their diagnosis. They reached that conclusion after studying 72,000 test samples.

“The takeaway from these studies is that most people with COVID don’t get other people sick, but a few people get a lot of people sick,” Sara Sawyer, senior author of the first study, told CU’s student newspaper. “If you don’t have a viral super-carrier sitting near you at dinner, you might be okay. But if you do, you’re out of luck. It’s a game of roulette, so you have to continue to be careful.”

Around the nation

• Michigan: State officials have cleared the way for all adults to become eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by April 5. “The safe COVID-19 vaccine is the most effective way to protect you, your family, and others from the virus,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “It will help the country get back to normal and help the economy.”

• Florida: As Florida begins to open back up, its restaurant association is urging residents and visitors to support restaurants that have struggled over the last year. The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association estimates that nearly 600,000 restaurant employees were laid off since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 10,000 restaurants have closed.

• New Mexico: The state says it has made huge progress in countering the spread of the coronavirus. It reported a single death from the virus on Monday and only 185 news cases. Forty-two of those cases occurred in just two counties.

Microsoft has released a “one-click” tool that enables smaller companies to patch the critical “Hafnium” vulnerability disclosed by the company earlier this month. 

Security researchers warned last week that four bugs in the Microsoft Exchange email and calendar servers were at risk of being used in attacks by the Chinese espionage group Hafnium. The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said it was "aware of widespread domestic and international exploitation" of the bugs. 

Microsoft recently released a patch for the flaw (CEV-2021-26855), but it was primarily designed for large organizations with dedicated IT or security teams capable of executing the complex fix. Now, the tech giant has released an easier-to-install tool for smaller firms without such teams. 

“....we realized that there was a need for a simple, easy to use, automated solution that would meet the needs of customers using both current and out-of-support versions of on-premises Exchange Server,” Microsoft said. 

Mitigating the flaw

The tech giant said the tool will guard against attacks that have been seen so far, but it won’t prevent future attacks and isn’t a replacement for the other Exchange patches. However, the company said it is “the fastest and easiest way to mitigate the highest risks to internet-connected, on-premises Exchange servers prior to patching.” 

“This new tool is designed as an interim mitigation for customers who are unfamiliar with the patch/update process or who have not yet applied the on-premises Exchange security update,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “By downloading and running this tool, which includes the latest Microsoft Safety Scanner, customers will automatically mitigate CVE-2021-26855 on any Exchange server on which it is deployed.”

The company’s “one-click” mitigation tool can be accessed here. 

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has accused Walgreens of failing to halt suspicious prescription orders at Arkansas locations, thereby “substantially” contributing to the opioid crisis in the state. 

In a lawsuit filed Monday, Rutledge claimed the drugstore giant’s lack of action in reporting orders that didn’t appear to be medically legitimate exacerbated "the oversupply of such drugs and fueling an illegal secondary market.”

The lawsuit noted that Walgreens distributed more than 142 million dosage units of oxycodone and hydrocodone in Arkansas from 2006 to 2014. A majority of counties in the state -- 66 out of the 75 -- have higher opioid prescribing rates than the national average. 

“This high volume of opioids alone should have alerted Walgreens to the fact that suspicious orders were being placed, as the amount of opioids that were sent into Arkansas far exceeded what could be consumed for medically legitimate purposes," the lawsuit said. "Yet, Walgreens failed to report and halt those orders and instead increased the number of pills distributed."

Walgreens intends to fight back

Rutledge said the lawsuit seeks "to force Walgreens to act responsibly and follow federal and state laws and damages for fueling the epidemic,” and to impose "civil penalties for each violation of Arkansas’s consumer protection laws.” 

While the suit can’t reverse the damage already done, the attorney general said the suit may be able to bring “desperately needed assistance to devastated families and communities" in the state. 

In a statement to various media outlets, Walgreens said it plans to "vigorously defend itself against this litigation.” A company spokesperson said that Walgreens’ key focus has always been the health and safety of patients. 

The spokesperson added that Walgreens pharmacists "always evaluate the patient, the prescriber, the drug, the applicable law, and the surrounding circumstances prior to making an appropriate professional decision whether to fill a prescription for a controlled substance."

Facebook has agreed to pay News Corp Australia to show news content on its platform under a recently announced three-year contract. 

The tech giant held off on reaching a deal with Australia for a period of time, even going as far as blocking Australian users from viewing and sharing news links on the site. But less than a week later, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Facebook had started negotiating with authorities again. 

Facebook then lifted the news ban after officials agreed to make some changes in its proposed laws. News Corp Australia has now passed a new law requiring tech companies to pay for news content, and Facebook has agreed to abide by the new rule. 

Compensating news publications

Under the partnership announced Monday, Facebook will pay to “provide access to trusted news and information to millions of Facebook users in Australia through its Facebook News product.” The deal will allow content from News Corp, Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, to be featured on Facebook News. 

“The agreement with Facebook is a landmark in transforming the terms of trade for journalism, and will have a material and meaningful impact on our Australian news businesses. Mark Zuckerberg and his team deserve credit for their role in helping to fashion a future for journalism, which has been under extreme duress for more than a decade,” News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson said in a statement. 

News Corp noted that it’s also reached similar agreements with Google and Apple that will lead to news publications being fairly compensated by tech platforms for the content they produce. 

“This digital denouement has been more than a decade in the making,” Thomson added. 

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg set out to rally the troops on Monday by launching a campaign that he hopes will bring 50 million people a step closer to getting vaccinated for COVID-19. 

“We've already connected over 2 billion people to authoritative Covid-19 information,” Zuckerburg said in his announcement. “Now that many countries are moving towards vaccinations for all adults, we're working on tools to make it easier for everyone to get vaccinated as well.”

Facebook is stepping up by adding some new additions to its Covid Information Center. They include the following:

• A tool that shows you when and where you can get vaccinated, plus a link to make an appointment. This information can be found in the Covid Information Center, but it will also show up in Facebook users’ News Feeds. Note: When ConsumerAffairs visited the Covid information page, it was suggested that we “follow” the page to get updates. You might have to do the same.

• To help spread the word, vaccine-related information from the Covid Information Center will also show up prominently on Facebook-owned Instagram and WhatsApp. On Instagram, the information can be accessed straight from your profile by tapping the menu icon in the top right corner. Facebook did not specify where WhatsApp users will find the related information, but ConsumerAffairs found a general primer for coronavirus-related information here.

Zuckerberg feels that having WhatsApp be a part of the campaign is essential because of its popularity, particularly in emerging mobile markets around the world.

“We're working with health authorities and governments to expand their WhatsApp chatbots to help people register for vaccines,” he said. “More than 3 billion messages related to Covid have already been sent by governments, nonprofits and international organizations to citizens through official WhatsApp chatbots, so this update will help with the vaccination effort as well.”

All well and good, but…

On the surface, what Facebook is doing seems all well and good. However, a specialist in HIPAA Privacy and Security and Electronic Health Records (E.H.R.), said caution is called for.

“Though the Facebook initiative you note does not position the company as a vendor of an E.H.R. they are collecting information that can be considered a Personal Health Record,” Michael Arrigo, Managing Partner and CEO at No World Borders, told ConsumerAffairs.

Pointing to the Federal Trade Commission's stance on the subject, Arrigo reminds consumers that “PHRs are regulated and subject to similar privacy rules. Given Facebook's history of breaches I do not recommend using their solution.”

Purdue Pharma, maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, has proposed paying a larger financial settlement to resolve numerous lawsuits against it that accuse the company of contributing to the opioid crisis in the U.S. In a filing in bankruptcy court, the company, largely controlled by the Sackler family, proposed a payment of $4.28 billion, an increase from the $3 billion in the original settlement proposal.

A number of states have filed lawsuits against the drugmaker and had dismissed the $3 billion settlement from the family offer as insufficient. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, representing one of the plaintiff states, was initially unimpressed with the new offer.

“We’re going to keep fighting for the accountability that families all across this country deserve,” Healey told The Wall Street Journal.

Several other attorneys general who have signed onto the lawsuit concurred, saying they want the Sacklers to pay more of their personal funds in any settlement. "This plan does not go as far as it needs to," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, told NPR.

Hopes to emerge from bankruptcy

For its part, Purdue Pharma hopes a resolution of lawsuits will help it emerge from bankruptcy. It sought Chapter 11 protection in September 2019, proposing a plan that it said would produce $10 billion to $12 billion to reimburse municipalities for the money they’ve spent to deal with the opioid crisis.

The unusual bankruptcy plan would allow Purdue Pharma to transform into a “public benefit trust.” It would continue to sell opioid drugs, but the profits would go to the plaintiffs who have sued the company.

Under the plan, the Sackler family, the major stockholders in the company, would forfeit ownership of Purdue and contribute at least $3 billion toward the settlement out of their private funds -- a sum now increased to $4.28 billion under the new proposal.

New terms

Under the new bankruptcy plan, the Sackler family would relinquish ownership of Purdue Pharma's operations in the U.S. but would continue to control the company’s overseas subsidiaries for the foreseeable future. They would also admit to no wrongdoing.

Last year, the company entered a guilty plea to three criminal counts connected to the marketing and distribution of OxyContin. Over a number of years, prosecutors accused the company of making illegal kickbacks and hiding the addictive nature of OxyContin in their marketing presentations to health care providers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. totaled 67,367 in 2018. The states with the highest rates of death due to drug overdose were West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Hampshire.

Having an exercise routine is important for all consumers, but several studies have highlighted the benefits associated with pregnant women staying physically active. 

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Virginia Health System shows that exercising during pregnancy may lead to health benefits throughout kids’ lives. In an experiment conducted on mice, their work showed that mice born to mothers that exercised during pregnancy were less likely to develop long-term health conditions into adulthood. 

“Most of the chronic diseases that we talk about today are known to have fetal origin,” said researcher Zhen Yan, PhD. “This is to say that parents’ poor health conditions prior to and during pregnancy have negative consequences to the child, potentially through chemical modification of the genes.”

Long-term health benefits from exercise

The researchers conducted their study on mice to determine the long-term effects of parents’ health pre-conception and mothers’ exercise habits during pregnancy. There were two groups of mice: one group received a high-fat diet prior to pregnancy and another group was fed a standard diet. Once the mice were pregnant, a portion of the mice given the high-fat diets were given wheels to exercise on during pregnancy. 

After the mice gave birth, the researchers analyzed the DNA patterns of all the offspring to understand what effect parental obesity and exercise had on the newborn mice’s health. The team learned that when both parents are obese, their children are more likely to have genes associated with diabetes and other metabolic conditions. However, when the pregnant mice took advantage of their opportunities to exercise during pregnancy, their offspring had better health outcomes. 

The study showed that mice that exercised during pregnancy produced newborns that were less likely to develop chronic metabolic issues. This was true even as the mice grew beyond infancy into adulthood; exercising during pregnancy had long-term protective benefits for the mice’s offspring. 

Never too late to start exercising

Though the researchers want to continue this work to include human participants, they hope that consumers understand just how beneficial it can be to incorporate exercise during pregnancy. 

“The take-home message is that it is not too late to start to exercise if a mother finds herself pregnant,” Dr. Yan said. “Regular exercise will not only benefit the pregnancy and labor, but also the health of the baby for the long run. This is more exciting evidence that regular exercise is probably the most promising intervention that will help us deter the pandemic of chronic diseases in the aging world, as it can disrupt the vicious cycle of parent-to-child transmission of diseases.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn more attention to disparities in internet access across the country. 

Now, researchers from Rice University have analyzed the benefits of schools investing more money into providing internet access to their students. Based on a survey of Texas public schools, the team found that expanding internet access was associated with improved classroom performance. 

“We are proud that Texas public schools can serve as a live learning case for understanding education policy,” said Vikas Mittal, one of the study’s authors. “Investments in internet access provide clear and meaningful academic benefits. Yet, schools need to implement policies to address increased disciplinary issues such as cyberbullying.” 

Kids are doing better in school

For the study, the researchers looked at data from more than 9,000 public schools throughout Texas. The team was interested in looking at how each school’s spending on internet access affected their students’ learning and behavioral outcomes between 2000 and 2014. 

From an academic standpoint, increasing internet access among student populations was a positive investment. Greater internet access was associated with higher SAT scores, better in-class performance, and higher graduation rates. 

The researchers also found that having greater internet access benefited students beyond their schooling years. They found that making the investment to provide more students with internet access led to a greater economic return long-term. 

Social repercussions

Though the academic outcomes were beneficial, the researchers also found that when more students had internet access, it negatively impacted their social dynamics. The study showed that disciplinary problems, including cyberbullying, increased as more students gained access to the internet. 

Though these findings are important, this study was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the researchers don’t believe these results will translate to virtual learning scenarios. 

“K-12 education has transformed into virtual learning due to COVID-19,” Mittal said. “Our research conclusions apply to a setting where physical learning is supplemented by internet access."

Even with increasing vaccinations and the relaxation of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, a new survey shows consumer behavior is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic days.

Consumers may not constantly stock up on toilet paper, but the survey from NCSolutions shows most people -- 96 percent -- will continue the increased emphasis on cleaning and disinfecting. That likely means it will continue to be difficult to find disinfectant wipes at the grocery store or plentiful supplies of hand sanitizer.

The pandemic changed the way consumers shopped for food and many of these trends may be lasting. The survey shows 47 percent of Americans are eating healthier food and roughly the same percentage are cooking at home more rather than ordering take-out.

As a result, Americans are spending more at the supermarket. The survey shows spending on groceries has increased 14 percent in the last 12 months and that trend is expected to continue as well. For context, Linda Dupree, CEO at NCSolutions, says researchers looked at history.

‘How long will it last?’

"The big question on everyone's minds is which of these newly formed behaviors will stick?” she said. “Looking back at history, we see numerous examples of behaviors changing post-crisis.”

The U.S. economy soared after the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19, leading to the excesses of the “Roaring 20s.” When the Great Depression followed, Americans became extremely careful with money for a generation or two.

"We expect Americans to sustain their higher interest in consumer packaged goods (CPG) products and activities that foster self-care and well-being – both physical and emotional – for some time," Dupree said.

The survey showed that more than half of Americans -- 56 percent -- expect COVID-19 to be a factor through the rest of the year and maybe into 2022. However, an overwhelming majority -- 80 percent -- are optimistic about the post-vaccine environment, including the short-term future.

Eager to hit the road

Planning ahead to the spring and summer, 41 percent of consumers say they plan to drive to destinations away from home. Another 38 percent said they plan to have outdoor social gatherings. There is less of an appetite to attend sporting events or concerts but 34 percent said they plan to eat at restaurants a lot more once they’ve been vaccinated.

Another trend likely to survive the end of the pandemic is a well-stocked pantry. When asked to list the products they plan to keep on the shelf, 81 percent mentioned cleaning supplies. 

Other items mentioned by more than half the survey participants include fresh fruits and vegetables, pain killers, chicken, eggs, vitamins, and snack foods.

Mediterranean Food of Warren, Mich., is recalling 2-lb plastic jars of Alqosh Sesame Oil.

The product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The recalled product, which comes in a 2-lb, clear plastic jar marked with lot # 16082020 and a production date of 08/16/2020 on the side, was sold in retail stores in Michigan and and distributors through the company's staff from November 6 through December 10, 2020.

What to do

Customers who the recalled product should not consume it, but return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (586) 777-3460 from 9:00am to 4:00pm Monday -- Friday.

Hyundai Motor America is recalling 4,696 model year 2019-2020 Kona Electric and model year 2020 Ioniq Electric vehicles.

The lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery may short-circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.

What to do

Hyundai will notify owners, and -- as an interim action -- owners have the option to follow provided instructions to perform a battery update through the vehicle's infotainment system or request a Hyundai dealer to provide the update.

Once parts are available, dealers will replace the Battery System Assembly (BSA). Repairs will be performed free of charge.

Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the interim repair is complete.

The recall is expected to begin April 30, 2021.

Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at (855) 371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 200.

Volkswagen Group of America is recalling 128 model year 2021 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles.

The lug bolt holes on the wheels may have been machined incorrectly, preventing the wheel bolt from sufficiently attaching to the wheel bearing hub.

An insufficiently attached wheel may separate from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

What to do

Volkswagen will notify owners, and dealers will inspect all four wheels -- and as necessary -- replace the wheels, lug bolt and wheel bearings free of charge.

The recall began March 4, 2021.

Owners may contact Volkswagen customer service at (800) 893-5298. Volkswagen's number for this recall is 44Q9.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that consumers are making it a priority to get their second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, with only a small percentage missing their appointment to get their second shot.

Of everyone who received a first dose and had the time required to receive the second dose during the first two months of the U.S.’ COVID-19 vaccination program, 88 percent had completed the series and 3.4 percent had missed the second dose. All told, among all two-dose recipients, the agency said 95.6 percent of people received the second dose within the recommended interval. 

Vaccine data is promising but continues to take shape

CDC analysts say the data is reassuring but that the numbers might skew high because the groups prioritized to receive vaccines during the study period were more likely to have been vaccinated at their work site or residence, including health care workers and long-term care facility residents. The agency said that as priority groups broaden past frontline/essential workers and seniors, adherence to the recommended dosing interval might decrease. 

Second-dose completion status and interval between first and second dose among persons who initiated the COVID-19 vaccination series varies by jurisdiction and demographic characteristics. Among demographic groups who missed the second dose, Indian/Alaska Native persons (5.1 percent) and persons aged 16−44 years (4.0 percent) ranked the highest. 

“Public health officials should identify and address possible barriers to completing the COVID-19 vaccination series to ensure equitable coverage across communities and maximum health benefits for recipients,” the CDC wrote. “Strategies to ensure series completion could include scheduling second-dose appointments at the first-dose administration and sending reminders for second-dose visits.”

The series completion rate was lowest among adults aged 65 years or older (87.2 percent). However, adults in this age group also had the lowest percentage of missed second doses (2.3 percent). 

TurboTax says consumers aren’t likely to encounter the same frustrating delay in seeing their stimulus payment appear in their bank accounts as they may have during the last round of payments. 

The company confirmed that it’s been working with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to ensure that the third economic impact payments don’t get held up this time, as they did for millions in January. 

Earlier this year, TurboTax apologized for an error that caused a delay in payment distribution for many of its customers. Some Americans even had their stimulus payments deposited into the wrong bank accounts by the IRS. TurboTax and the IRS eventually corrected the issue -- and on Monday, the tax preparation company said it has worked with the agency to prevent the same glitch from happening again. 

“The IRS has begun processing stimulus checks. We are working closely with the IRS, and we’ve confirmed that the IRS has accurate bank account information for all TurboTax customers,” TurboTax tweeted.

Payments going out

IRS officials also said they have a new system that enables the agency to quickly correct customer account information errors when they occur. TurboTax added that consumers can find up-to-date information regarding their $1,400 stimulus payment on its website. 

While some consumers have already received their third deposits, others will have to wait until later this week. The IRS said it will continue sending the payments out over the next few weeks. 

Over the weekend, some customers of Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase complained that the banks have been slow to post payments to accounts. Wells Fargo has assured customers that it’s not holding the funds.

“We know the importance of the stimulus funds to our customers, and we are providing the payments to our customers as soon as possible on the date the funds are available, based on IRS direction,” Jim Seitz, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, told Bloomberg News. “Wells Fargo is not holding the funds.”

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 29,446,321 (29,401,277)

Total U.S. deaths: 534,946 (534,315)

Total global cases: 120,002,856 (119,621,938)

Total global deaths: 2,655,755 (2,649,974)

Consumers return to the skies as vaccinations increase

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports that the largest number of people in the last 12 months passed through its security checkpoints at U.S. airports on Friday. Officials say they expect travel to continue increasing as more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Individual airlines also are seeing an increase in business. For example, JetBlue said the trend of increased bookings has been on the rise over the last couple of weeks.

Delta joined JetBlue in reporting strong increases in passenger bookings so far this month. In a filing, JetBlue attributed the increase almost entirely to leisure travel.

Dr. Fauci warns states about ‘risky business’

Although there’s growing optimism that the coronavirus pandemic is mostly behind us, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief adviser on the pandemic, says it’s too early for a victory lap. Over the weekend, he pointed to sharp increases in cases of the virus in Europe and said the same thing could happen here.

“When I hear pulling back completely on public health measures, saying no more masks, no nothing like that, that is risky business,” Fauci said during an interview with NBC News.

But another health expert, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, says the U.S. may hold an advantage over European countries because the U.S. has been able to vaccinate more of its population.

Some consumers impatient with the stimulus payment rollout

The Treasury Department, using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), began sending out $1,400 payments to Americans over the weekend, just hours after President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid bill. But it wasn’t fast enough to suit some people.

Specifically, customers at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase complained that the banks informed them that the money would be available in their accounts by Wednesday at the earliest. Scores of customers vented their displeasure on Twitter.

The banks insist that they aren’t sitting on the funds, a charge some customers made. They point out that the official payment date for the stimulus funds is Wednesday, March 17.

Health data breaches surge during the pandemic

It may just be a coincidence, but data breaches exposing health records surged in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Protenus, a health care compliance analytics company, reports that more than 40 million patient records were breached in 2020.

The researchers said health systems face unprecedented challenges as they tried to get a handle on the varying components and associated effects of COVID-19. They say one result was an increase in breaches of patient data.

The single largest breach reported last year was the result of a ransomware hacking incident. The hackers were able to access the system's donor database and were able to partially remove donor information that included dates of birth, inpatient/outpatient statuses, contact information, and other sensitive patient information. This hacking incident affected 3,320,726 patient records.

Facebook launches campaign to encourage vaccinations

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the social media giant is launching a campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated against the COVID-19. He said the global campaign is designed to get shots into the arms of 50 million people.

“We've already connected over 2 billion people to authoritative Covid-19 information,” Zuckerberg said in a statement. “Now that many countries are moving towards vaccinations for all adults, we're working on tools to make it easier for everyone to get vaccinated as well.”

Zuckerberg said one tool will show Facebook users when and where they can get vaccinated and provide a link to set up an appointment. The tool will be in the “Covid Information Center,” which will appear in users’ news feed.

Around the nation

• Oklahoma: The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported 492 new cases of the virus on Sunday, but the trend is moving in the right direction. Data from Johns Hopkins shows that the rolling average of new cases in the state has fallen 37 percent over the last two weeks.

• New Jersey: Gov. Phil Murphy has announced the next phase of eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine. Transportation and other essential workers, as well as people with elevated risks, can now receive the shots.

• Louisiana: While cases of the coronavirus within the state are on the decline, so are hospitalizations. In its Sunday update, the Louisiana Department of Health reported that there were 457 hospitalized patients who tested positive for coronavirus.

As promised, the government began distributing $1.400 payments to Americans over the weekend. Some people got their money as early as Friday while others will have to wait until the middle of this week -- depending on what bank they use.

Some Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase customers took to social media over the weekend to complain after the two banks said some payments would post to accounts no earlier than Wednesday of this week

While it’s only a matter of a few days, plenty of Americans showed impatience in social media posts, especially since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a “Get My Payment” page that allows people to check the status of their payment. In many cases, they were able to determine that the government had quickly sent the money to their bank account.

‘Not holding the funds’

According to posts, some people saw that the IRS had sent out the money to others but that their bank was not making it available immediately. Officially, however, the banks note that the payment date on the $1,400 checks is Wednesday, March 17.

“We know the importance of the stimulus funds to our customers, and we are providing the payments to our customers as soon as possible on the date the funds are available, based on IRS direction,” Jim Seitz, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, told Bloomberg News. “Wells Fargo is not holding the funds.”

Some people on Twitter accused the two banks of reaping millions of dollars per day by holding onto the funds, a charge that both institutions denied. Wells Fargo says the government plans to distribute the $1,400 payments in tranches, meaning all eligible people won’t get their money at the same time.

Wells Fargo has asked its customers not to call branches to inquire about the status of their payments because bank employees don’t have that information. JPMorgan says customers who are concerned about the timeliness of the payments should set up account alerts that would let them know when the deposit posts to their accounts. 

Customers eager to receive the money contained in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) aid bill did not appear to be satisfied with that approach. Some declared on Twitter that they would close their accounts and move them to other banks or fintech firms.

The vaccinations of millions of Americans against the coronavirus (COVID-19) made this past weekend a huge one for travel. Government data shows that Friday was the biggest day for air travel in more than one year.

But while travelers may have less to fear from the virus, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns that they face increasing threats from scammers. Specifically, criminals are creating websites that appear to be the ones that frequent travelers use to sign up for expedited airline boarding.

These phony websites mimic those of Trusted Traveler programs, such as TSA precheck or Global Entry in the United States and NEXUS in Canada. According to the latest BBB Scam Tracker reports, scammers are using these websites to gain access to consumers’ personal information and, in some cases, take their money.

The scam works because so many people need to renew their participation in these programs, which have been largely unused for the last 12 months. To do that, most people go to their favorite search engine to find the program’s website.

Fake sites show up with the real ones

Included in the search queue are the new sites that scammers have created. The official site is undoubtedly included in the list, but it may not be at the top. If you click the link for one of the bogus sites, you could become a victim.

According to the BBB, these sites may charge you the cost of the application fee, plus a large service fee. Worse still, you’ll have to fill out a form that contains sensitive, personal information that may include your full name, passport number, and home address.

“When I clicked on the link, it appeared to be an official TSA Precheck site,” one victim posted on BBB’s Scam Tracker site. “This company asked for all the information as I would expect to provide in the process… including your full name, passport number, and home address. Then, you are prompted to pay $140, making it seem I was paying for TSA fee.”

The BBB says people who end up on one of these scam sites not only lose money and reveal sensitive information that could result in identity theft, but they aren’t enrolled in any travel program, resulting in a rude surprise the next time they arrive at a crowded airport.

How to protect yourself

As long as search engines don’t screen the links that show up in searches to weed out scams, consumers have to remain vigilant and do the job themselves.

Don’t assume any company that appears in your search is legitimate. When looking for a federally-run Trusted Traveler program, look closely at the URL in your browser’s address field to make sure it is a secure link.

You can tell that a site is secure if the link starts with “https://” and includes a lock icon on the purchase page. In the United States, all government websites end in “.gov.” In Canada, government agency websites are under "gc.ca."

Toys “R” Us has been acquired by brand management company WHP Global. The toy retailer, which went bankrupt in 2017, was originally purchased by Tru Kids. Now, WHP says it’s taking over and intends to facilitate an expansion. 

“We’re in the brand business, and Toys R Us is the single most credible, trusted and beloved toy brand in the world,” Yehuda Shmidman, chairman and chief executive officer of WHP, told CNBC. “We’re coming off a year where toys are just on fire. ... And for Toys R Us, the U.S. is really a blank canvas.”

In the years following its Toys “R” Us acquisition, Tru Kids attempted to revive the ailing retailer by opening several pop-up locations featuring interactive experiences for children. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to steep decline in mall traffic, and these locations subsequently closed.

Tru Kids also attempted to offer an online Toys “R” Us shopping experience, but neither of the changes have resulted in much improvement to the chain’s wellbeing. 

“The restructurings took a big toll on the company,” Shmidman said. “And then Covid is, hopefully, once in a century. But now we’re getting past those two things. And the sky’s the limit.”

Expanding the business 

WHP says it will be managing the Tru Kids business and overseeing its expansion. In North America, the plan is to open Toys “R” Us stores again. Shmidman said the stores may be in the form of flagships, pop-ups, mini stores inside other stores, or even airport locations. Malls with enough traffic are also being considered as potential Toys “R” Us locations. 

“There are so many malls that will no longer be in the future, so we don’t need to be there,” Shmidman said. “But we could be in malls that do have traffic. ... So we really have an opportunity not just to capture that experience for toys that people are yearning for, but also capture where [people] want to shop. That will be very interesting post-Covid.”

WHP hasn’t provided a detailed timeline or said how many stores it plans to open, but Shmidman said some stores would open ahead of the holidays in ideal circumstances.