(Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images)
June 01, 2021
9:37 AM ET
Font Size:
The more scientists learn about natural immunity to COVID-19, the stronger it appears to be.
A pair of recent papers in Nature established that immune response to COVID-19 persists for up to a year after infection, and the body’s mechanisms for fighting the virus evolve during that time and may even grow stronger. Earlier research has indicated that the natural immune response granted by surviving a bout with the virus may offer comparable protection to a vaccine, although the science isn’t entirely clear.
The continued evolution of “memory cells” outlined in a pre-review Nature paper shows signs that the body may be able to adapt to fend off new variants over time. That may be key in determining whether the masses will require booster shots to supplement an initial round of vaccination.
Font Size:
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s approval rating has plummeted among her state’s own voters, according to a new poll, with liberals accounting for much of the drop.
Just 35% of registered Californians approve of Feinstein’s job performance, compared to 46% who disapprove, a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released Thursday shows. Her approval is tied with a late January poll for the all-time low, while the 11-point underwater margin is the lowest in her nearly three-decade career.
Among California’s “strongly liberal” voters, just 45% said they approved of Feinstein’s performance, while 40% said they disapproved. Among “somewhat liberal” voters, Feinstein’s ratings stood at 49% approval and 29% disapproval.
Font Size:
A top Republican congressman on the Oversight Committee has opened an inquiry into Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s ownership stake in energy firm Proterra, according to a Wednesday letter.
Rep. Ralph Norman, who is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment, told Granholm that he is conducting oversight into the potential conflict of interest in a letter sent to her office. Norman asked her to share a variety of documents and filings that could give Republicans on the committee better insight into her continued involvement with Proterra.
“As the Secretary of Energy, it also appears that you are involved with decisions and issues that directly conflict with your ownership of Proterra, Inc.,” Norman wrote, according to the letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Specifically, one of the priorities of the Biden Administration’s Department of Energy is electric vehicle technology.”
Font Size:
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that he would veto funding for his state’s legislature after Democrats delayed the passage of an expansive elections bill.
Democrats in the state House quietly left the floor late Sunday with just hours to spare in the legislative session, preventing the bill from coming up for a vote. If signed into law, Senate Bill 7 would enhance voter ID provisions, empower partisan poll watchers and ban ballot drop boxes and drive-thru voting centers, which were used disproportionately in Texas’ biggest counties.
It would also make it easier to overturn an election in the state, allowing courts to throw out the results of an entire election if the amount of illegally cast votes exceeds the margin between two candidates, regardless of which candidate received more fraudulent votes. In 2020, there were just 43 documented cases of voter fraud, according to the Houston Chronicle.