A 30,000 participant clinical trial for AstraZeneca is complete and results show the vaccine is safe and effective. Matt Doyle has more.
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The CDC revises social distancing guidelines for schools to 3-feet instead of six. Brooke Thorington has more from a Louisiana Congressman who led the charge for revision.
Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Legislation is filed for the April session that would bar car insurance companies from charging higher premiums to women, widows, and those with low credit scores. Matt Doyle has more.
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Don’t forget to take your umbrella with you today, and you’ll need to keep it handy. State Climatologist Barry Keim says some areas will see more rain than others as a frontal boundary hangs around until Thursday, bringing plenty of rain and threats of flash flooding to a large portion of southeast Louisiana.
Keim says you can expect to see showers across the entire state over the next few days. He says the rain however is a welcome relief for some, especially in south-central Louisiana.
In addition to a flash flood watch for southeastern parishes, Keim says the Storm Prediction Center predicts a marginal risk for severe weather today.
Keim says once this system clears we should have ideal weather Friday with highs in the 70s.
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AstraZeneca’s clinical trial shows the company’s two-shot COVID-19 vaccine has an efficacy rate of 79 percent in the US.
Use of AZ’s vaccine in Europe was temporarily halted on fears it was leading to incidents of blood clotting. Tulane School of Medicine Professor Doctor Lisa Morici says the data did not support that decision.
30,000 people participated in the study.
Morici says AZ’s vaccine is similar to Johnson and Johnson’s in that it uses an adenoviral vector and can be stored for months in regular refrigerators.
Johnson and Johnson’s adenoviral vector vaccine has an efficacy rate of about 72 percent in the US on one dose.
Morici says because we may have enough Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines to vaccinate everyone in the US there’s a chance Louisianans may not end up taking AstraZeneca.
Earlier this month the Biden Administration announced it would send a significant portion of the AstraZeneca US stockpile to Mexico and Canada.
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The CDC revises guidance for K-12 schools to three feet for physical distance between students in the classroom in addition to face masks. Congressman Mike Johnson says the previous recommendation of six feet placed 89-percent of school children across the nation in the most restrictive red zone category.
Johnson says he along with other congressmen put pressure on the CDC to change the unworkable guidance.
Johnson says we’ve known for many months that the risk of transmission is extremely low particularly among young students. Johnson believes there was political pressure on the CDC not to revise the guidelines from Democrats…
State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says they are awaiting guidance from the Louisiana Department of Health before changing to three feet.
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Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau files legislation barring car insurance companies from charging women, widows or widowers, and those with low credit scores higher premiums.
One argument is that those who are recently widowed start driving more. Luneau says they’ve had experts testify to the Legislature that this is false.
Another defense from the industry was that those recently widowed are not married and thus should be charged the higher rates seen by single people.
Luneau says it’s unacceptably discriminatory to charge women more than men just because of their gender.
Credit score can also impact rates. Luneau says credit scores are often inaccurate and discriminate against the working class.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon argued last year that passing this legislation would not reduce overall premiums, just shift the burden to other drivers. Luneau disputes that claim but says even if true…