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Covid-19 Oversight News: Vaccine Eligibility, Covid-19 Origins, and New Pandemic Communications
In this email:
* The Vaccinated Get Back to Normal
* But Hospitalization Rates Remain Unchanged for the Unvaccinated
* An Inside Look at Fauci’s Emails


American Oversight’s Covid-19 Oversight Hub ([link removed]) provides news and policy resources to help you keep track of the investigations into the government’s pandemic response. The project brings together a public documents database, an oversight tracker of important ongoing investigations and litigation, regular news updates, and deeper dives into key issues.

The Vaccinated Get Back to Normal
As Memorial Day weekend kicked off last Friday, nearly 2 million Americans ([link removed]) traveled in airports — a record high number since the coronavirus pandemic began last spring. The week prior to the holiday, the Biden administration announced that half of all American adults ([link removed]) are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the U.S. Covid-19 case rate dropped to its lowest ([link removed]) in the past 11 months.

On June 1, Moderna filed for full FDA approval of its Covid-19 vaccine, becoming the second drugmaker to do so after Pfizer. Last week, Moderna announced ([link removed]) that its coronavirus vaccine is effective in those aged 12 and up, and that it planned to apply for FDA authorization to expand the vaccine’s availability to adolescents. (The FDA expanded ([link removed]) the use of Pfizer’s vaccine to include adolescents over the age of 12 early last month.) In a new poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation ([link removed]) , 41 percent of parents of children between 12 and 17 years old said their child had already gotten at least one dose or would be getting one soon.

But Hospitalization Rates Remain Unchanged for the Unvaccinated
Of course, the coronavirus continues to spread among those who are unvaccinated. The Washington Post adjusted recent data ([link removed]) to determine the virus’ toll among those who are unvaccinated, and found that in this group, the death and hospitalization rates have remained stable for the last few months, while they’re dropping for the rest of the country.

Lack of vaccination is impacting some of the most vulnerable segments of the population. Last week, nearly 1,500 migrants held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers tested positive ([link removed]) for Covid-19, with critics pointing to limited vaccine access for those in detention. Economic concerns may also be holding some back: According to the recent Kaiser survey ([link removed]) , about one-third of unvaccinated adults, especially those who are Black or Hispanic, are concerned that they might need to pay for the vaccine.

In the States
* Last week, the Royal Caribbean Group became the first cruise company ([link removed]) approved by the CDC to restart cruises in a limited capacity. But in Florida, from where many cruises depart, Gov. Ron DeSantis has banned businesses ([link removed]) from asking customers whether they've been vaccinated against Covid-19 — a practice that cruise lines are depending on to comply with federal guidelines. Publicly, DeSantis doubled down last week and told reporters, “We are going to enforce Florida law.” But according to a leaked recording of a Celebrity Cruises executive, DeSantis and his administration are working to create an exception
([link removed]) for cruise lines.
* According to the nonprofit Covid Act Now ([link removed]) , which determines each state’s Covid-19 risk level through metrics such as daily new cases, infection rate, and positive test rates, almost all U.S. states have now reached medium risk. Only Colorado, Florida, Washington, and Wyoming remain at high risk.
* More states have eased pandemic-era restrictions ([link removed]) in recent days. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, businesses are reopening at full capacity.


In the Documents
* American Oversight published new records ([link removed]) showing top Trump administration officials, including Jared Kushner and former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, entertaining queries from representatives of private companies who wished to be involved in the pandemic response. The documents include multiple instances from March and April 2020 in which White House officials forwarded Hahn requests from private contacts.
* American Oversight also recently obtained communications ([link removed]) of FDA officials and political appointees from the days before the FDA authorized convalescent plasma for Covid-19 patients. The emails, also reported on by Politico ([link removed]) , offer an inside look into the federal government’s internal disagreements surrounding the authorization, which had occurred just one day after President Donald Trump claimed ([link removed]) that the “deep state” at the FDA was willfully delaying the approval of coronavirus therapeutics.


An Inside Look at Fauci’s Emails
The Washington Post obtained hundreds of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s emails ([link removed]) from March and April 2020, during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. The emails include exchanges between Fauci and George Gao, a top Chinese health official, and show Fauci handling a flood of requests and suggestions during these months, including from the Walt Disney Company and the NFL Players Association.

Biden Administration Seeks Information On Covid-19 Origins
Last week, President Joe Biden ordered ([link removed]) U.S. intelligence agencies to “redouble their efforts” to investigate the origins of Covid-19, and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra called ([link removed]) for a follow-up investigation into the issue at a World Health Organization meeting. Other top U.S. officials, including Fauci, have said that a deeper investigation is needed into whether the virus naturally jumped from an animal host into humans or escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China. A team of scientists convened by the WHO concluded in late March that a lab accident was extremely unlikely, but American officials have suggested that the team may not have had complete access to data and are calling for greater transparency.

Oversight of Economic Impact Payments
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) assessed ([link removed]) the Internal Revenue Service’s Economic Impact Payment program, which disbursed individual coronavirus stimulus payments. TIGTA found that as of July 16, 2020, the IRS had issued more than 4.4 million EIPs, totaling nearly $5.5 billion, to potentially ineligible individuals. These included payments made to deceased individuals, individuals in U.S. territories who also received payments from the territories, and individuals with filing status changes.

Congressional Oversight
* PPP Loans: The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis wrote to ([link removed]) financial technology lenders Kabbage Inc. ([link removed]) and BlueVine ([link removed]) , and partner banks Cross River Bank ([link removed]) and Celtic Bank ([link removed]) seeking documents related to their handling of Paycheck Protection Program loans. The requests came in
light of reports that these companies and banks were linked to a disproportionate number of fraudulent PPP loan cases.
* Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation: The House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to ([link removed]) top executives at Facebook ([link removed]) , Twitter ([link removed]) , and Google ([link removed]) requesting a briefing as part of its investigation into the spread of false and misleading information regarding Covid-19 on social media and tech platforms.
* State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Final Rule: The Senate Finance Committee wrote to ([link removed]) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the Treasury Department to provide flexibility in the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds final rule to ensure underserved communities are not inadvertently denied broadband funding.

To find out more about our work, you can follow us on Twitter at @WeAreOversight ([link removed]) and @ojocorrupcion ([link removed]) , or like us on Facebook ([link removed]) . If you are able, please consider supporting our work with a contribution here ([link removed]) .

Donate to American Oversight ([link removed])
Thank you again for following our latest news. We are grateful for your support and for helping us hold the administration accountable.

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