Study: Infants Born In Early Pandemic Have Slight Lag In Motor, Social Skills

NBC News: Babies Born In Pandemic Have Slight Developmental Lag, Study Finds
Babies born during the early months of the pandemic scored slightly lower on a screening of their developmental skills than those born prior to the pandemic, regardless of whether their mothers had Covid-19 during pregnancy, a study published Tuesday revealed. The study, in JAMA Pediatrics, followed 255 babies born in March to December 2020 in New York City, which was the U.S. epicenter in the pandemic’s early days. (Chuck, 1/4)

In other news about the pandemic —

Dallas Morning News: Nearly 200 Dallas Police And Fire-Rescue Workers Quarantined In Latest COVID-19 Surge
Close to 200 Dallas police and fire workers are quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 as cases of the omicron variant surge, according to both departments. More than three-quarters of the infected first responders (155) are Dallas Fire-Rescue workers. It’s the highest number of fire staff out at one time, Jason Evans, a Fire-Rescue spokesman, said Monday. The department, for example, had 29 cases in July, 76 cases in August and 59 in September. The city began ordering mandatory testing of fire staff in August after cases increased in the summer. (Bailey Jr., 1/4)

Detroit Free Press: Gov. Whitmer Isolating After Her Husband Tests Positive For COVID-19
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is isolating after her husband, Marc Mallory, tested positive for coronavirus, a spokesman said Tuesday. “Today, the first gentleman tested positive for COVID-19 after feeling under the weather," said Whitmer spokesman Bobby Leddy. "After the positive test, Gov. Whitmer took a rapid test, which came back negative, and is awaiting the results of a PCR test out of an abundance of caution." (Egan, 1/4)

ABC News: 79th Annual Golden Globes Will Have No Red Carpet, No Audience, No Media Coverage 
The upcoming Golden Globes will be a very quiet affair -- a far cry from what used to be known as the rowdiest awards show of the season. The 79th annual Golden Globes will be held Jan. 9 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California -- the same location as usual -- but this year there will be no audience, no red carpet and no media credentials provided for journalists to cover the event. (Iervolino, 1/4)

NPR: Seth Meyers And Jimmy Fallon Test Positive For COVID-19
As the omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread across the U.S., both of NBC's late-night talk show hosts, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, have announced they've tested positive for COVID-19. "The bad news is, I tested positive for COVID (thanks, 2022!)," Meyers said in a tweet Monday. "The good news is, I feel fine (thanks vaccines and booster!)." Meyers said the network had canceled the remainder of shows scheduled from Tuesday to Friday. "Tune in next Monday to see what cool location we will try and pass off as a studio!!!" Meyers added. (Franklin, 1/4)

Southern California News Group: Former California Assembly Candidate Who Opposed Vaccine Mandates Has Died Of COVID-19 Complications
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby, who ran for state Assembly in 2020 and had become a leader with the Republican Party of Orange County, has died suddenly, a week after telling friends she was very sick with COVID-19. She was 46 years old. “I lost a dear friend to Covid complications,” Ben Chapman, chair of the Greater Costa Mesa Republicans, tweeted Monday. “You’ve been nothing but an inspiration to many of us here in Orange County.” Condolences were pouring in online Monday for Ernby, who was a Huntington Beach resident and presumed 2022 candidate for Assembly. (Staggs, 1/4)

NBC News: Married California High School Sweethearts Die From Covid Hours Apart
A Latino couple in Southern California died from Covid-19 just hours apart from each other. Alvaro and Sylvia Fernandez, 44 and 42, both died from Covid on Dec. 19. The couple had met in their teens and were married for 25 years. "They were high school sweethearts. They've been together since she was 15," Salvador Fernandez, Alvaro Fernandez's brother, told NBC Los Angeles. "One couldn't live without the other." Family members told NBC Los Angeles the couple were unvaccinated and Alvaro Fernandez had diabetes. They tested positive for the virus days before their deaths, according to the family. (Flores, 1/4)