GAO Says FEMA Needs To ID Lessons Learned From Covid Pandemic
CIDRAP looks at a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which assessed how FEMA estimated spending from January 2020 to March 2024. Also in the news: Michigan's bird flu response; H5N1 in five more dairy herds and three more cats; and more.
CIDRAP:
GAO Report Critical Of FEMA's Handling Of Pandemic
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has yet to identify lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report examined the status of obligations and expenditures related to COVID-19 and how FEMA estimated spending from January 2020 to March 2024. For fiscal years 2020 through 2024, Congress passed both annual and supplemental appropriations for the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) totaling $97 billion, the GAO said. (Soucheray, 7/10)
Reuters:
Former CEO Of SCWorx Corp Convicted Of Securities Fraud Over COVID Tests
The former CEO of healthcare software company SCWorx Corp was found guilty of investor fraud for falsely stating the company was becoming a major supplier of COVID-19 rapid tests early in the pandemic, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. The Justice Department said in a statement that a federal jury in New Jersey convicted Marc Schessel, 64, of two counts of securities fraud for public statements by SCWorx in April 2020, early in the pandemic, claiming that it was buying and reselling at least 48 million COVID-19 test kits, despite knowing that the statements were false. SCWorx said it had a binding contract to acquire the rapid COVID test kits from an Australian supplier. (Singh, 7/10)
On bird flu —
Reuters:
Bird Flu Response In Michigan Sparks COVID-Era Worry On Farms
Some dairy farmers are resisting Michigan's nation-leading efforts to stop the spread of bird flu for fear their incomes will suffer from added costs and hurt rural America. The government's restrictions, which include tracking who comes and goes from farms, are rekindling unwanted memories of COVID-19 in Martin and other small towns in central Michigan. (Polansek, Huffstutter and Douglas, 7/11)
CIDRAP:
H5N1 Confirmed In 5 More US Dairy Herds, More Cats
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today added five more dairy herds in three states to its list of H5N1 avian flu outbreak confirmations. Also, APHIS confirmed the virus in three more cats from two states, both of which are experiencing H5N1 outbreak in dairy cows and poultry. (Schnirring, 7/10)
KFF Health News:
Finland Is Offering Farmworkers Bird Flu Shots. Some Experts Say The US Should, Too
As bird flu spreads among dairy cattle in the U.S., veterinarians and researchers have taken note of Finland’s move to vaccinate farmworkers at risk of infection. They wonder why their government doesn’t do the same. “Farmworkers, veterinarians, and producers are handling large volumes of milk that can contain high levels of bird flu virus,” said Kay Russo, a livestock and poultry veterinarian in Fort Collins, Colorado. “If a vaccine seems to provide some immunity, I think it should be offered to them.” (Maxmen and Allen, 7/11)
In related news about unpasteurized milk —
CIDRAP:
Salmonella Outbreak Tied To Raw Milk Products From Often-Implicated Firm May Have Sickened 165
A four-state Salmonella outbreak linked to raw (unpasteurized) milk products has infected at least 165 people—many of them children—from fall 2023 to June 2024, Food Safety News (FSN) reported today based on data it obtained from the California Division of Communicable Disease Control (CDCDC) and the California Department of Health. The median age of patients is 7 years. (Van Beusekom, 7/10)
