Gay, lesbian adults in US have higher COVID-19 vaccination rates than heterosexual adults: CDC
Gay and lesbian adults in the United States have higher COVID-19 vaccination rates than heterosexual adults, health officials said Thursday.
According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lesbians and gay men age 18 and older reported higher vaccination coverage overall (85.4%) than their heterosexual counterparts (76.3%), whose rates were similar to those of bisexual adults (76.3%) and transgender adults (75.7%)
Additionally, gay and lesbian adults were also more likely to trust in the efficacy of the potentially life-saving shots than heterosexual adults.
When it comes to “confidence in vaccine safety,” 76.3% of gay or lesbian adults said they felt either “completely” or “very” confident with the shots; while 63.9% of heterosexual adults said they felt that way.
When asked whether vaccines were “very” or “somewhat” important to protect against COVID-19, 91% of lesbian and gay adults agreed with that statement. Comparatively, 80% of heterosexual adults said they felt the same way.
According to CDC researchers — who used data from the National Immunization Survey Adult COVID Module collected between Aug. 29 and Oct. 30, 2021 for the survey — LGBTQ people “have higher prevalences of health conditions associated with severe COVID-19 illness compared with non-LGBT populations.”
—New York Daily News
Only Christians need apply? Gov. Mike Parson’s ‘Christian values’ statement prompts legal concerns
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Does the next director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services need to be a Christian?
That is the question after Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement Tuesday that he would only choose someone for the job who shared the “same Christian values” as him.
Parson, a Republican, was blasting conservative hard-liners in the Missouri Senate who had just jettisoned his pick for state health director, Donald Kauerauf, a pro-vaccine and mask public health professional with 35 years of experience.
But in defending his pick, Parson’s statement, which his office also shared on social media, prompted a whole new round of criticism.
“I’m curious Governor, is this a standard you traditionally use?” state Rep. Adam Schwadron, a Republican, asked on Twitter. “Article VI of the US Constitution strictly prohibits a religious test as a qualification to any office or public trust. Considering that, I then must ask the question. Would someone who is Jewish, such as myself, be considered for nomination?”
In his statement, Parson said, “Don is a public health expert that is on record opposing masking requirements and COVID-19 vaccine mandates. He is outspokenly pro-life and morally opposed to abortion. Missourians know that I share these beliefs and would not have nominated someone who does not share the same Christian values.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
LA’s minimum wage to rise to $16.04 in July
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles’ hourly minimum wage will rise from $15 to $16.04 on July 1, officials said Thursday.
The city’s wage is tied to the consumer price index as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and has risen steadily over the last seven years following a push by city leaders to boost the hourly rate and curb poverty.
The wage will apply to businesses of all sizes, according to the city’s website.
L.A.'s economic landscape in 2022 is far different than it was in 2015, the year city leaders voted for a set of escalating pay increases. High housing costs are fueling the city’s homelessness crisis, and inflation has made some goods more expensive.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, who pushed to raise the minimum wage in 2015, said Thursday the wage increase set to go in effect in July “is the latest reason to celebrate today — and a reminder of how our fight for better wages is far from finished.”
Although local chambers of commerce often oppose minimum wage increases, some businesses accept them as necessary, given the high local cost of living for workers.
—Los Angeles Times
Putin courts China’s Xi for help in showdown with the West
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping hold their first in-person meeting in more than two years Friday as the two presidents find themselves increasingly aligned against a common adversary.
Their summit in Beijing is a conveniently timed show of solidarity on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics. The Russian leader is using the occasion to court his increasingly powerful neighbor to help offset the U.S.’s alliance network, describing the two countries in an interview with Chinese state media as playing an “important stabilizing role.”
The 38th one-on-one exchange between the two long-tenured authoritarian leaders comes as the U.S. and Europe warn of punishing sanctions if Russia invades neighboring Ukraine, something Moscow insists it isn’t planning to do. With growing political, military and economic frictions between China and the U.S., both Moscow and Beijing see an advantage in drawing closer together to support each other on the world stage.
Putin is easily the most high-profile among the 21 world leaders attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Games, with Australia, Canada and the U.K. joining the U.S.’s “diplomatic boycott” over China’s human rights record. Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking to politicize the global sporting event, while using Putin’s visit to tout closer ties with Moscow.
—Bloomberg News
