Current Events in April 2021

Chrysler is recalling 1,222 model year 2021 Alfa Romeo Stelvios.

An improperly crimped clamp may allow the side curtain airbag cushion and inflator to separate, causing an incomplete deployment or preventing the deployment of the airbag.

An incomplete or non-deployment of the side curtain airbag increases the risk of injury in a crash.

What to do

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sideair bag inflatable curtain assembly free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin May 19, 2021.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at (800) 853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is Y15.

The J. M. Smucker Company is recalling two lots of Meow Mix Original Choice Dry Cat Food.

The products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

There are no reports of pet illness or adverse reactions.

A list of the recalled products, sold at select Walmart stores in Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming may be found here.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should stop feeding them to their cats and dispose of them immediately.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at (888) 569-6728, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (ET) or online at www.meowmix.com/contact-us.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) is recalling 4,992 model year 2017 B250e & CLA250, and model year 2017-2018 AMG CLA45, GLA250 & AMG GLA45 vehicles.

The steering shaft bore hole for the universal joint bearing may allow excessive movement that -- over time -- could result in the separation of the bearing and universal joint.

A separated universal joint bearing can cause a loss of steering control and increase the risk of a crash.

What to do

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and -- as necessary -- replace the steering shaft free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin May 31, 2021.

Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at (800) 367-6372.

General Motors is recalling five model year 2021 Chevrolet Tahoes.

The second-row center seat belt latch may be trapped beneath the trim bezel and therefore inaccessible.

A passenger in the second-row center seat will be unable to wear a seatbelt, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the trim bezel, correctly position the seat belt latch plate, and reinstall the trim bezel free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin May 10, 2021.

Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at (800) 222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N212329320.

Renters who continue to be financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic have received some much-needed support. On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new policy to strengthen the nationwide U.S. eviction moratorium.

The new rule requires debt collectors and attorneys who seek to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent to be provided with “clear and conspicuous written notice” of what their rights are under the eviction moratorium created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That notice has to be delivered at the same time as the eviction notice or, in cases where no eviction notice is required by law, on the date that the eviction action is filed.

Debt collectors are also responsible for adequately informing the tenant. They must provide the notice in writing — phone calls, text messages, or emails are not sufficient. 

Debt collectors must inform consumers about protections

The CFPB says debt collectors who fail to meet the new standard will be in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). That act provides a private right of action against debt collectors, and violators can be held liable for actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees. 

The CFPB’s rule does not preempt more protective state laws, so debt collectors may also need to provide additional notices to consumers living in states and localities that have adopted their own eviction moratorium rules. 

The agency hopes the new rule will finally get the message across to property owners and their attorneys that they’re looking at possible federal prosecution and consequences from state attorneys general if they violate the ban on evictions.

“With COVID-19 killing hundreds of Americans every day, kicking families out into the street during this pandemic may literally be a death sentence,” said CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio. “No one should be evicted from their home without understanding their rights, and we will hold accountable those debt collectors who move forward with illegal evictions. We encourage debt collectors to work with tenants and landlords to find solutions that work for everyone.”

Failing to get the word out

CFPB officials hope the rule will also help ensure that consumers know about their temporary eviction protections. It should also stop debt collectors from misleading tenants about their eligibility for those protections. Just last month, the CDC extended its moratorium on evictions through June 30 in order to stem the spread of COVID-19. 

Based on informal outreach to consumer advocates and others, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the CDC had done a less than adequate job of making consumers aware of the moratorium and its requirements.

“As a result, some consumers who otherwise might be permitted to remain in their homes during the pendency of the CDC Order may be evicted because they fail to claim such protection or may choose to leave before being evicted (i.e., either before any eviction action is filed, or after an eviction action is filed but before any physical eviction takes place),” the CFPB said, adding that evictions can undermine public health by contributing to the spread of COVID-19. 

Need help?

Renters who are struggling to pay their rent due to the pandemic have additional resources they can turn to. At the top of the list is the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which is run by the U.S. Treasury Department. The program provides assistance through state and local governments to help tenants catch up on missed payments to avoid eviction. 

Applicants must apply through their local programs, but the National Low Income Housing Coalition has a directory of state and local rental assistance programs that renters can use to find the right ones for them. 

Landlords aren’t being left out when it comes to getting help. They may also be eligible for funds under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 31,802,046 (31,741,301)

Total U.S. deaths: 568,572 (567,759)

Total global cases: 143,128,250 (142,252,661)

Total global deaths: 3,047,754 (3,033,225)

FDA criticizes conditions at plant making Johnson & Johnson vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a report that is critical of the conditions at a Baltimore plant where a subcontractor has produced Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. The report said the plant failed to maintain sanitary conditions.

In late March, the FDA announced that 15 million doses of the vaccine produced by Emergent BioSolutions had to be discarded after workers reportedly mixed up two vaccine dosages.

Use of the vaccine is currently suspended for unrelated reasons. Health experts are reviewing data after six women who received the vaccine later developed serious blood clots and one woman died.

COVID-19 cases fall but deaths rise

The latest data published by The COVID-19 Tracking Project at Johns Hopkins University shows that new cases of the coronavirus are down, but deaths are up slightly. 

There were more than 54,000 new cases reported on Tuesday, an improvement from the day before when there were nearly 68,000 new cases of the virus. The increase over the last four weeks has concerned health officials, but they note that the rise in U.S. cases is far slower than in many other nations.

There were 767 reported deaths from the virus on Tuesday, nearly double Monday’s total. Health experts say deaths from COVID-19 are a lagging indicator of the virus, sometimes rising four weeks after an increase in reported cases.

Vaccination pace is increasing

When eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine was opened to adults 16 and older this week, the people administering the shots were busy. Figures supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the U.S. has administered 3 million shots a day for the last two weeks.

Since late December, when the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine rolled out, the U.S. has vaccinated more than 40 million people with at least one shot. About a third of adults are fully vaccinated.

While young people are only now able to receive inoculations, seniors 65 and older -- the first group to receive the vaccine -- have an 80% vaccination rate, with 65% fully vaccinated against the virus.

Vaccine supply quickly outpacing demand

A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation warns that the U.S. is reaching a tipping point between supply and demand for the coronavirus vaccine. Supplies have been limited since the December rollout, and not everyone was eligible for the shots.

The report says there will be more supply than demand in the next two to four weeks. So how is that a bad thing? 

“Once this happens, efforts to encourage vaccination will become much harder, presenting a challenge to reaching the levels of herd immunity that are expected to be needed,” the report’s authors write.

Researchers say COVID-19 is making HIV/AIDS worse

With COVID-19 being the focus of health care over the last 13 months, other areas haven’t gotten the attention they have in the past. Patients have put off everything from cancer screenings to minor surgeries.

Researchers say HIV/AIDS research has also suffered during the pandemic. They say the coronavirus has caused “profound disruptions” across the spectrum of HIV/AIDS research and treatment. Routine HIV screening is down sharply at clinics and hospital emergency rooms. 

"This is a major derailing," Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, told NPR. "There will be damage. The question is, how much?"

Around the nation

• Wisconsin: Cases of the virus are on the rise across the state. Doctors at University of Wisconsin (UW) Health report that they are seeing a significant increase in infected children. "Normally, we didn’t see as much disease in children as we did in adults," said Gregory Demuri with UW Health. "This has swung quite a bit over the last several weeks or so."

• Indiana: The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is stepping up vaccination efforts. It reports that 20,768 more people are now fully vaccinated as of Tuesday. So far, 2,191,407 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

• Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance is urging Gov. Charlie Baker to lift the statewide mandate requiring people to wear a face mask while outside. It notes that most older people have already been fully vaccinated and inoculations are now open to everyone. “It’s time to start taking steps back to normal,” said Paul Diego Craney, a spokesperson for the group.

As the Biden administration considers whether it can legally cancel student loan debt, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is upping the ante by proposing a tax on Wall Street investors to provide free college education.

Sanders has introduced the College For All bill in the Senate. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash) has sponsored the same measure in the House. The bill, if enacted into law, would pay tuition for all students attending community colleges and public trade schools. It would eliminate tuition at four-year public colleges and universities, but only for students from families earning less than $125,000 a year. It would also provide the same support for public and private historically minority colleges and universities. 

The U.S. government would provide 75% of the funding, with states providing the rest. The federal government would raise money for the program by placing a tax on Wall Street transactions.

Sanders previously proposed a tax on Wall Street to pay for public education. Under that proposal, the tax on stock trades would be 0.5%, the levy on bond trades would be 0.1%, and the fee to the government on derivative transactions would be 0.005%. A summary of the bill suggests that would raise nearly $2.5 trillion.

There would likely be strong opposition to those numbers from various quarters, making it difficult to get the measure through a narrowly divided Senate.

Here’s who would pay

During the pandemic, millions of people began trading stocks using platforms like Robinhood and sharing ideas on Reddit. Along with hedge funds, they would take a hit. So would union pension funds, not to mention university endowment funds. Nearly all are invested on Wall Street.

“In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, a higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few,” Sanders said in defending his proposal. “If we are going to have the kind of standard of living that the American people deserve, we need to have the best-educated workforce in the world.”

President Biden has yet to back a proposal for paying off student loan debt. During his campaign, he said he would support forgiving up to $10,000 in loans. The administration is now investigating whether the president has the legal authority to pay off $50,000 in loans per student.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General are sending $4 million in payments to more than 10,000 consumers who were duped into giving money to the operators of a fraudulent debt collection agency. 

Consumers who fell victim to the scheme were tricked into paying debts that they either didn’t owe or that the defendants weren’t authorized to collect. 

The defendants did business under a number of names, including Stark Law, Stark Recovery, and Capital Harris Miller & Associates. The people behind the scheme allegedly harassed consumers with phone calls and demanded immediate payment for supposedly delinquent loans. 

Victims would sometimes be threatened with lawsuits or arrests and were told they would be charged with “defrauding a financial institution” or “passing a bad check,” even though failing to pay a private debt is not a crime. 

‘Brazen’ scam 

The complaint noted that many consumers ended up paying the debts they supposedly owed (even if they didn’t actually owe them) simply because they wanted to put an end to the calls and alleged threats.

The case is part of the FTC’s “Operation Collection Protection,” which aims to crack down on parties subjecting consumers to illegal debt collection tactics. 

“It’s illegal to harass people to pay debts they clearly don’t owe, and to sell phony debts to other debt collectors,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re proud to partner with the Illinois Attorney General to halt these egregious debt collection practices.”

“Phantom debt collection is one of the most brazen scams today,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. “With the FTC, we are working to protect consumers by shutting down these scam operations.”

Consumers affected by this scam are receiving full refunds -- an average of $375 each. The FTC says consumers who receive checks should deposit or cash them within 90 days. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to get tougher on robocalls. On Tuesday, the agency fully rolled out the Robocall Mitigation Database -- an initiative that forces telephone companies to keep the agency updated on their robocall mitigation efforts. 

The FCC has been relentless on robocalls for more than a year. Once the U.S. Senate passed the TRACED Act, the agency took measured steps to make sure all telecom providers got in line to adopt new policies that would not only stop the scourge of robocalls and caller ID spoofing but also ensure they are not the source of illegal calls.  

“Protecting consumers from scammers that use robocall and spoofing tools is a top priority,” said FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “To succeed, we not only need an all-hands-on-deck response from government, but we need industry commitment and focus.  Our message to providers is clear: certify under penalty of perjury the steps you are taking to stop illegal robocalls, or we will block your calls.” 

Telecoms are slow to start

The FCC has offered some phone companies an extension so they can come into compliance with STIR/SHAKEN obligations and adopt robocall mitigation programs. However, the new line in the sand is only five months away. 

According to the FCC’s public notice, by September 28, 2021, telecom providers will be prohibited from accepting calls directly from a voice service provider that attempts to send a call to residential or business subscribers in the U.S. if that voice service provider’s filing does not appear in the Robocall Mitigation Database.

The clock is ticking, but the uptake on adhering to the FCC’s mandates has been slow so far. When ConsumerAffairs examined the FCC’s new database, we were surprised that out of the 410 providers listed, only one -- Piratel (Los Alamitos CA) -- has completed the STIR/SHAKEN implementation to date.

Amazon has announced that it’s bringing Amazon One -- a new contactless payment option that lets customers link their card to their palm print -- to a Whole Foods store in Seattle. The technology enables shoppers to pay for their items simply by hovering their palm over the reader device. 

In a blog post, Amazon said customers can sign up to use the technology at any Amazon One kiosk or device. Consumers can choose to enroll with just one palm signature or both. The company said enrollment takes less than a minute and paying using the tech takes just a second.  

Previously, the palm signature reading technology was only available in Amazon Go, Amazon Books, and other smaller Amazon stores. The company said it’s collected “great” customer feedback on Amazon One since its introduction. Customers have appreciated its touchless nature and how quickly they are able to pay for goods. 

Expanding the technology 

The new technology has been installed at a Whole Foods store at Madison Broadway in Seattle, but Amazon has plans to expand it to seven others in the Seattle area “over the coming months.” Eventually, the retailer plans to offer it to third-party retailers. 

“At Whole Foods Market, we’re always looking for new and innovative ways to improve the shopping experience for our customers,” Arun Rajan, senior vice president of technology and chief technology officer at Whole Foods Market, said in a statement. 

“Working closely with Amazon, we’ve brought benefits like Prime member discounts, online grocery delivery and pickup, and free returns to our customers, and we’re excited to add Amazon One as a payment option beginning today. We’re starting with an initial store at Madison Broadway in Seattle and look forward to hearing what customers think as we expand this option to additional stores over time.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies have highlighted how consumers have turned to alcohol as a means of stress relief. Reports have indicated that binge drinking and harmful alcohol use have both been on the rise over the last year. 

Now, a new survey conducted by experts from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) revealed that a similar trend has emerged among regular drug users. According to their findings, substance use has increased among this population since the start of the pandemic, and many survey respondents are worried about a potential overdose. 

“People who use drugs have been negatively impacted by the pandemic in ways that put them at a greater risk for experiencing substance and health-related harms, including overdoses and a decreased ability to mitigate risk behaviors,” said researcher Dr. Farihah Ali. “These findings warrant the need for increased accessibility of safe supply programs, take-home naloxone and drug-testing kits, as well as novel approaches to help ensure they have the necessary tools available to make informed choices and mitigate risk.” 

How the pandemic has affected drug use

To understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected drug use, the researchers conducted 200 phone interviews with current drug users. Participants were either receiving opioid agonist treatment (OAT) or were using psychoactive substances at least once per week. 

The researchers learned that nearly 50% of the individuals they spoke with reported an increase in drug use since the pandemic started; approximately 7% reported relapsing over the course of the pandemic. 

“One of the potential factors in relapse is all the time spent alone and isolated with all the pandemic restrictions,” said researcher Dr. Tara Elton-Marshall. “Using alone itself was a real concern. We know that people who use alone are more likely to die of an overdose, in part because there is nobody there to administer naloxone or call emergency services.” 

Based on a rapid increase in overdose deaths in Canada during the early months of the pandemic, the researchers believe this increase in drug use could be because pandemic-related restrictions have affected how often drug users can access their substances of choice. 

Along with drugs being harder to access, the survey also revealed that many participants were unsure where their drugs were coming from or what they could potentially be mixed with. This led to nearly 40% of the participants expressing concern over overdosing. 

Implementing better safety measures

The pandemic has affected and changed nearly every facet of consumers’ lives, and these findings have highlighted just how critical it is for experts to step in and implement safety measures that could benefit those who are most vulnerable to drug use. Moving forward, the team hopes these results lead to real change that best serves consumers and their long-term health. 

“We need everything from good treatment and harm reduction measures to realizing that we are in an environment where everything is different during COVID and we need different solutions,” said researcher Dr. Jürgen Rehm. “We need to consider now how to decriminalize drug use. This survey lends strong support for the need for an integrated drug policy strategy including harm reduction.” 

A new study conducted by researchers from Stanford Medicine explored the complications associated with women getting epidurals to ease pain during childbirth. 

According to their findings, epidurals are not linked with an increased risk of a child developing autism. The team explained that these shots can help women with pain relief during labor, and they shouldn’t worry about adverse complications with their infants. 

“The epidural is the gold standard in labor pain management,” said researcher Elizabeth Wall-Wieler, Ph.D. “The vast majority of evidence around epidurals, including that from our new study, shows that they are the most effective means of providing pain relief to women during labor and that serious complications are rare.” 

A safe way to relieve pain

To better understand the relationship between women who received epidurals and later autism diagnoses, the researchers analyzed data from over 123,000 children born in Manitoba, Canada. 

Overall, less than 40% of the women involved in the study received an epidural during childbirth. The researchers learned that just over 2% of the children born to women who had received an epidural were diagnosed with autism; comparatively, just under 2% of children born to women who hadn’t received an epidural during childbirth were diagnosed with autism. 

The researchers were interested in this subject because of an earlier California-based study that identified a link between epidurals and autism diagnoses. However, the researchers said that study lacked an analysis of outside factors that can impact brain development and autism. 

In this study, experts evaluated several factors that may impact autism risk. Some of them included mothers’ smoking, alcohol, and recreational drug use; fetal distress during labor; genetic influences; socioeconomic factors; and pre-pregnancy health status, among many others. After accounting for all of these measures, the findings indicated that epidurals don’t pose a significant risk to autism diagnoses. 

The researchers hope that these findings encourage women to make decisions during labor based on their individual needs without worrying about how their choices may later impact their children’s development. 

“Our study has a stronger finding because we accounted for limitations the first study had,” said researcher Dr. Alexander Butwick. “An epidural remains a well-established and effective means of providing pain relief during labor, with several benefits associated with it.” 

General Motors is recalling 60,678 model year 2015 Chevrolet Colorados and GMC Canyons.

The power steering assist may be lost due to a poor electrical connection within the steering gear assembly.

A loss of power steering, particularly at lower speeds, increases the risk of a crash.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace steering gear torque sensor cover assembly free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin May 10, 2021.

Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at (800) 222-1020, and GMC customer service at (800) 462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N202325410.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) is recalling 493 model year 2018-2021 E63S AMGs, E63S AMG Wagons, and model year 2019-2021 AMG GT63 4-door, & AMG GT63S 4-door vehicles.

The starter motor positive cable may not have been installed correctly, potentially allowing the power supply harness wires to chafe.

Damaged wires may cause a short circuit and result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

A short circuit can also increase the risk of a fire.

What to do

MBUSA will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and -- as necessary -- correct the screw connections and position of the positive cable free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin May 25, 2021.

Owners may contact MBUSA customer service at (800) 367-6372.

Geico suffered a data breach earlier this year that led to customers’ driver’s license numbers being exposed for more than a month. 

In a data breach notice, the motor vehicle insurer said it fixed the security issue immediately after becoming aware of it. However, there’s still some risk that fraudsters could apply for unemployment benefits using the stolen data.

“We recently determined that between January 21, 2021 and March 1, 2021, fraudsters used information about you – which they acquired elsewhere – to obtain unauthorized access to your driver’s license number through the online sales system on our website,” the company wrote in the breach notice. “We have reason to believe that this information could be used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in your name.”

Security enhancements 

Geico said the hackers behind the breach used personal information about Geico customers that they pilfered from other places in order to gain access to Geico’s sales system and steal the driver’s license numbers. 

“As soon as GEICO became aware of the issue, we secured the affected website and worked to identify the root cause of the incident. While we regularly maintain high security and privacy standards, we have also implemented—and continue to implement—additional security enhancements to help prevent future fraud and illegal activities on our website,” the notice said.

The company said it isn’t sure how many customers were affected by the breach or if the scope of the incident extends beyond California. Customers with security concerns can get a one-year subscription to IdentityForce -- an identity-theft protection service. The insurance company is also encouraging its customers to vigilantly look at account statements and credit reports to ensure that there is no unauthorized activity. 

“If you receive any mailings from your state’s unemployment agency/department, please review them carefully and contact that agency/department if there is any chance fraud is being committed,” Sheila King, a manager for data privacy at Geico, wrote in the breach notice. 

When students return to classrooms this fall, parents will be happy to know that schools and child care centers across the U.S. will return to serving healthy meals free of charge.

As part of the Biden administration’s school reopening plan, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Tuesday that it will allow school meal programs flexibility that enables social distancing. The waiver will extend through June 30, 2022. 

“USDA will remain relentless in ensuring our nation’s children get the critical nutrition they need,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “States and districts wanted waivers extended to plan for safe reopening in the fall. USDA answered the call to help America’s schools and child care institutions serve high quality meals while being responsive to their needs as children safely return to their regular routines. This action also increases the reimbursement rate to school meal operators so they can serve healthy foods to our kids.”

Everyone wins

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, free school lunches for more than a million children were at risk because of cuts to the SNAP program. Then, when the pandemic hit and schools were closed, the USDA quickly put together the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to issue waivers and make it as easy as possible for children to receive meals. 

Vilsack called the waiver extension a win-win-win for kids, parents, and schools. It will give up to three healthy meals per day to nearly 12 million children who depend on assistance. 

Schools will be allowed to serve meals through the USDA’s National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option (SSO), a program typically only available during summer vacation. SSO has the same nutrition standards as the standard school meal programs – fruits and vegetables, milk, whole grains, and sensible calorie levels. Schools that choose this option will receive higher-than-normal meal reimbursements for every meal they serve without having to worry about increased costs related to pandemic-related operational and supply chain challenges. 

One of the advantages for parents is how the program will adapt to meals and snacks at flexible meal times. Caregivers will also have the option to pick up “grab-and-go” meals for their children when programs are not operating normally, even if they do not have a child present.

The USDA has put together a list of child nutrition program information, including COVID-19 waivers by state, available meal pickup points when schools are closed, and how to participate in the Seamless Summer Option and Summer Food Service Program.

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

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 31,741,301 (31,672,240)

Total U.S. deaths: 567,759 (567,233)

Total global cases: 142,252,661 (141,544,240)

Total global deaths: 3,033,225 (3,022,288)

U.S. at a pandemic crossroads

As far as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is concerned, it’s “the best of times and the worst of times.” In some states, new cases are rapidly declining. In others, they’re rising at a worrisome rate.

According to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. is at a “complicated stage.” She says the seven-day average of new cases is at more than 67,443, up 1% from the previous week. A month ago, the seven-day average was 53,000 cases a day. Walensky says vaccinations are critical.

“The more people get vaccinated, the fewer infections there will be, which means fewer variants will emerge and fewer breakthrough infections will occur and the quicker we can get back to doing the things we love,” she told reporters.

State Department issues travel warnings

While cases of COVID-19 are slowly rising in the U.S. they’re surging in many other countries where vaccination efforts have been slow to ramp up. The State Department has issued a travel advisory that urges Americans to reconsider all foreign travel.

The new travel guidelines are intended to discourage visits to approximately 80% of countries worldwide that are seeing big increases in cases. There may be additional guidance later this week, the department said in a statement.

Cases of the virus have been rapidly increasing in India, Brazil, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Italy, Spain, and Germany. People planning a trip can check the status of their destination here.

Vaccines may help COVID-19 ‘long haulers

There’s more anecdotal evidence that getting a shot of one of the vaccines could help people who are still suffering symptoms of the coronavirus months after becoming infected.

Angela Keen, co-founder of the Kapu Quarantine Breakers Group on Facebook, which includes members who battle extended symptoms of COVID-19 long after they should have fully recovered, said she immediately felt much better after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Dr. Todd Seto, director of Research of Academic Affairs at Queen’s Medical Center in Hawaii, is studying 2,000 Queen’s employees to test for their antibody levels. He says the anecdotal evidence that vaccines help with COVID-19 “long hauler” symptoms is promising, but he is advocating for a formal study.

Consumer product companies still see strong demand

How’s your supply of toilet paper holding up? A year after consumers made a run on essential items like toilet paper and household cleaners, consumer product companies are still scrambling to keep up with demand.

A new report from the Consumer Brands Association shows that sales of consumer packaged goods jumped 9.4% to $1.53 trillion last year. Analysts believe demand is just as strong in 2021. In reporting first-quarter earnings, Procter & Gamble confirmed that belief and stated that consumers are likely to see price hikes soon.

“As the world was swirling in chaos, companies had to focus intensely on output because people needed their products to stay home,” said Consumer Brands’ CEO Geoff Freeman. “The 2020 economic data is the paper trail of a year when the CPG industry rose to the occasion and delivered.”

Rocker Ted Nugent tests positive

Musician Ted Nugent, who was an unabashed pandemic skeptic from the start, disclosed on Facebook this week that he has COVID-19. 

“Everybody told me that I should not announce this, but I have had flu symptoms for the past 10 days. I thought I was dying,” he said in a video post.

In previous posts, Nugent said COVID-19 was “not a real pandemic” and at other times suggested it was all a scam.

Around the nation

• New Jersey: Cases of COVID-19 are falling again, but Gov. Phil Murphy says this is no time for residents to let down their guard. For now, restrictions will remain in place. “We just don't have the latitude that other states that don't have that density and weather reality have," Murphy said.

• Texas: Texas A&M University researchers have identified a new COVID-19 variant called BV-1, related to the U.K. variant. Of special concern, they say the new variant doesn’t seem to be contained by antibodies.

• Iowa: “No thanks, we’re good.” That was the response this week from 43 counties that turned down their allocation of COVID-19 vaccines. The counties, double the number from the previous weeks, told state officials they have plenty on hand to meet demand.