From McDonald's to Goldman Sachs, here are the companies mandating vaccines for all or some employees A nationwide spike in coronavirus cases is pushing companies to implement vaccine policies for some workers. NBC News

As the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to strike communities nationwide, companies are stepping up their vaccine requirements, mandating that some or all employees get vaccinated or provide proof of vaccination.

What is the 'delta plus' variant of the coronavirus? What is the “delta plus” variant? It’s a relative of the delta variant, identified by British scientists last month. Because it isn't a variant of interest or concern, it has not yet been officially named after a letter of the Greek alphabet, like the other worrisome variants. AP NEWS

What is the “delta plus” variant?

It’s a relative of the delta variant, identified by British scientists last month.

Northern states see uptick in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations as weather gets colder With people heading indoors, some colder states are beginning to see a rise in cases. ABC News ABC News

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Despite vaccination rollouts, several states, particularly those in colder climates, are beginning to see a rise in infections.

Court overturns order aimed at protecting immigrant detainees from A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday overturned a lower court order that forced immigration detention officials to monitor and sometimes release detainees who were at high risk of Rafael Bernal TheHill

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday overturned a lower court order that forced immigration detention officials to monitor and sometimes release detainees who were at high risk of COVID-19 infections.

Moderna won't share its vaccine recipe. WHO has hired an African startup to crack it It's the first step in an audacious plan to solve vaccine inequity by setting up the manufacturing of mRNA vaccines across low-resource countries. NPR.org

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The World Health Organization has hired the company, called Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, as part of a $100 million plan to figure out how to make an mRNA vaccine against COVID that is as close as possible to the version produced by Moderna.

...  nursing homes were not impervious to the highly contagious variant that swept through many states with lower vaccination rates. Ten states, including Florida, Michigan and Ohio, still report vaccination rates for nursing home staff under 60 percent.

An estimated 115,000 health workers have died from Covid-19 Globally, just two in five health care workers are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the WHO said Thursday. Andrew Joseph STAT

Some 115,000 health care workers died from Covid-19 from January 2020 to May of this year, according to a new World Health Organization estimate, as the agency pushed once again for efforts to address vaccine inequity.

China-linked disinformation campaign blames Covid on Maine lobsters In mid-September, Marcel Schliebs, a disinformation researcher at the University of Oxford, spotted the emergence of a surprising coronavirus origin theory. NBC News

In mid-September, Marcel Schliebs, a disinformation researcher at the University of Oxford who had been tracking messaging that Chinese diplomats and state media spread on Twitter for 18 months, spotted the emergence of a surprising coronavirus origin theory.  

Puerto Rico leads nation in Covid-19 vaccinations, White House says Puerto Rico leads all states and U.S. territories in Covid-19 prevention and vaccination rates, according to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. NBC News

Puerto Rico leads all states and U.S. territories in Covid-19 prevention and vaccination rates, the White House said.