BOSTON (CBS) – A new study shows just how far-reaching the coronavirus outbreak at the Biogen conference in Boston last February spread throughout the world. “I do think it speaks to the power of that virus to move from one person to another, to another, to another,” said Governor Charlie Baker. The Broad Institute study shows about 20,000 COVID-19 cases can be traced to the conference that took place at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. It shows the virus moved very quickly from Boston to Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Michigan, and even Australia. It somehow spread from the conference to Boston’s homeless community, and contributed to case-loads in hot-spots like Everett, Revere, and Chelsea. “In this particular event is was sort of like a perfect storm for a virus like this to spread that quickly,” said Tufts Medical Center Infectious Disease physician, Dr. Gabriela Andujar Vasquez. She said the study offers insight for schools and colleges planning on reopening. “Maybe with more people in the indoor setting, if masks and hygiene and social distancing happen in that setting, then we mitigate that risk.” Biogen employees helped researchers with the study. In a statement, Biogen executives said, “February 2020 was nearly a half year ago, and was a period when general knowledge about the coronavirus was limited…We never would have knowingly put anyone at risk.” ...
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Study Shows Biogen Conference Could Be Connected To As Many As 300,000 COVID Cases
BOSTON (CBS) — A new study suggests Boston’s Biogen conference could be connected to between 205,000 and 300,000 coronavirus cases as of November 1. The article was posted in Science Magazine on Thursday. Researchers said the two-day event held at the Marriott Long Wharf in February had repercussions felt around the world. Cases could be traced as far away as Australia, Slovakia, and Sweden. READ MORE: Coronavirus In Massachusetts: Today's Developments “It’s very easy for a virus to make its way around the world, particularly a virus like this where the transmission can occur before symptoms occur,” said Professor Matt Fox of the Boston University School of Public Health. “Its incredibly difficult to get people to change their behavior, particularly large-scale changes in behavior when people don’t yet see the threat that is coming.” READ MORE: Friday Marks First Anniversary Of Boston Biogen Conference Super Spreader Event The study estimates the conference is responsible for about 1.6% of all coronavirus cases in the United States. “This is exactly why this virus is so formidable, in terms of an opponent. It can spread up to two days before someone has symptoms and it was difficult, we were way behind in developing tests.” MORE NEWS: I-Team: What Massachusetts Can Learn From Leading COVID Vaccination States While Massachusetts accounted for the most cases from the conference earlier on, Florida now has the greatest proportion of cases, it added. ...
Friday Marks First Anniversary Of Boston Biogen Conference Super Spreader Event
BOSTON (CBS) – Friday marks the first anniversary of what is believed to be the first coronavirus super spreader event in Massachusetts, the Biogen conference in Boston. Ninety-nine of the 175 people who attended the two-day conference at the Marriott Long Wharf on February 26 and 27, 2020 tested positive for COVID-19. Those people then carried the virus across Massachusetts and different parts of the country and the world at a time when little was known about it and the importance of masks and social distancing. READ MORE: Coronavirus In Massachusetts: Today's Developments A study released in December suggested the conference could be connected to up 300,000 coronavirus cases as of November 1. Cases were traced as far away as Australia, Slovakia, and Sweden. The study estimated the conference is responsible for about 1.6% of all coronavirus cases in the United States. READ MORE: I-Team: What Massachusetts Can Learn From Leading COVID Vaccination States “In this particular event is was sort of like a perfect storm for a respiratory virus like this to spread that quickly,” Tufts Medical Center Infectious Disease physician Dr. Gabriela Andujar Vasquez told WBZ-TV last August. MORE NEWS: Reopening Of Wedding Industry Welcome News For Business, Brides And Grooms Biogen is based in Cambridge. It develops therapies for neurological diseases. ...
Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse ‘Biggest Hypocrite in Politics’ on Dark Money
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has served as one of the most vocal Democrat critics of “dark money’s” influence in politics, but the Rhode Island Democrat appears to be a significant beneficiary of dark money. Whitehouse has frequently criticized the alleged nefarious effects of dark money on politics, particularly as it relates to conservative and Republican dark money. Dark Money refers to political spending in which the source of the money is not disclosed. Political groups typically use dark money through political action groups such as 501(c)(4)s, and the federal government does not require those groups to disclose their donors. “Opaque” nonprofits and shell companies may also give unlimited donations to super PACs. The transparency organization OpenSecrets noted that while the Federal Election Commission (FEC) usually requires super PACs to disclose their donors, “some of these groups are effectively dark money outlets when the bulk of their funding cannot be traced back to the original donor.” Whitehouse most recently criticized conservative groups, allegedly funded by dark money, for launching attacking ads against President Joe Biden’s nominees. Whitehouse asked rhetorically, “Dark money groups running ads complaining about dark money. Hilarious. What are the chances they will support S.1 and DISCLOSE Act to get rid of dark money? Nil.” Dark money groups running ads complaining about dark money. Hilarious. What are the chances they will support S.1 and DISCLOSE Act to get rid of dark money? Nil. https://t.co/F3f7Izx8JJ — Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) February 18, 2021 Whitehouse also told former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in January 2020 how then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) kept the Senate Republican Conference in line using dark money: Whitehouse also attacked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in November 2019, claiming that the organization was using its dark money to attack efforts to combat alleged ...
Past Biden, Psaki tweets criticizing Trump resurface after new Syria airstrikes
close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for Feb. 25 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on FoxNews.com. Past Twitter messages from President Biden and one of his top aides -- both criticizing former President Trump -- weren't appearing to age well Thursday after Biden ordered airstrikes against an Iranian -backed militia stronghold in Syria. In 2017, Jen Psaki , now White House press secretary, questioned what the Trump administration’s "legal authority for strikes" was in Syria following a Trump-ordered military action. "Assad is a brutal dictator," she tweeted, "But Syria is a sovereign country." When Psaki’s nearly four-year-old tweet resurfaced, many Twitter users appreciated the irony. US LAUNCHES AIRSTRIKE AGAINST IRANIAN-BACKED FORCES IN SYRIA "Hey girl! guessing you circled back to this one, huh?" one user wrote. "Great tweet. I look forward to you condemning @JoeBiden's illegal strikes in your press conference tomorrow," another person commented. Even progressive U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., retweeted Psaki's old post, writing sarcastically "Great question." In April 2017, the Trump administration launched airstrikes against Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack the Assad regime carried out against its own people. RAND PAUL: LOTS OF 'HYPOCRISY' BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ON IMMIGRATION, MIGRANT FACILITIES In October 2019, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden called then-President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Northern Syria "erratic" and "impulsive." "The events of the past week … have had devastating clarity of just how dangerous this president is," Biden said during a speech in Iowa about Trump’s decision, which critics saw as "abandoning" Kurdish allies in the region. White House press secretary Jen Psaki and President Biden both criticized actions in Syria that were taken by former ...
