News briefs

CVS and Walgreens have wasted more vaccine doses than most states combined

Two national pharmacy chains that the federal government entrusted to inoculate people against COVID-19 account for the lion’s share of wasted vaccine doses, according to government data obtained by KHN.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 182,874 wasted doses as of late March, three months into the country’s effort to vaccinate the masses against the coronavirus. Of those, CVS was responsible for nearly half, and Walgreens for 21%,or nearly 128,500 wasted shots combined.

CDC data suggests that the companies have wasted more doses than states, U.S. territories and federal agencies combined. Pfizer’s vaccine, which in December was the first to be deployed and initially required storage at ultracold temperatures, represented nearly 60% of tossed doses.

It’s not completely clear from the CDC data why the two chains wasted so much more vaccine than states and federal agencies.Some critics have pointed to poor planning early in the rollout, when the Trump administration leaned heavily on CVS and Walgreens to vaccinate residents and staff members of long-term care facilities. In response to questions, CVS said “nearly all” of its reported vaccine waste occurred during that effort. Walgreens did not specify how many wasted doses were from the long-term care program.

One thing is clear: Months into the nation’s vaccination drive, the CDC has a limited view of how much vaccine is going to waste, where it’s wasted and who is wasting it, potentially complicating efforts to direct doses to where they are needed most. Public health experts say having a good handle on waste is crucial for detecting problems that could derail progress and risk lives.

—Kaiser Health News

Ghislaine Maxwell trial is pushed back to fall from July

NEW YORK — British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell won a delay in her sex-trafficking trial until the fall, as the judge agreed to move it from July 12.

Maxwell, 59, is being held in a federal lockup in Brooklyn on charges stemming from her time with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. She asked for the delay, over prosecutors’ objections, arguing that she and her legal team needed more time to prepareafter the U.S. filed a revised indictment in late March.

—Bloomberg News

Woman known as ‘serial stowaway’ to stay jailed after latest arrest at Chicago's O’Hare Airport

CHICAGO — The woman known as the “serial stowaway,” accused of sneaking through airport security and onto flights, will remain in custody as her latest cases are pending, a Cook County judge ruled Monday.

Marilyn Hartman’s attorney argued she had successfully stayed away from airports for about a year before her latest arrest,that a Chicago residential facility was eager to take Hartman back and that she needs therapy she can’t get behind bars.

Judge Peggy Chiampas, who has repeatedly told Hartman to stay away from airports, rejected the idea that the latest arrest in March was an anomaly.

“This is not an aberration, this a pattern that has been established by your client, that she continuously refuses to honor and respect this court’s order. Not once, not twice, but numerous times. Numerous times,” Chiampas said.

Hartman will continue to be held without bail on allegations that she violated the terms of her probation and her previousbail bond. And bail on her most recent case will remain at $100,000, the judge said.

Hartman was last arrested after she left her residential facility without permission, prosecutors said. Authorities tracked her ankle bracelet to the O’Hare CTA station, where she was arrested without incident. She now faces a new charge of escape from electronic monitoring.

—Chicago Tribune

G7 ministers meet in person in London for the first time in 2 years

LONDON — Ministers from the G7 countries were meeting in person for the first time in two years on Monday in London, with discussions including the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, a post-Brexit trade deal, Iran's nuclear program and China.

British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab met one-on-one with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ahead of the G7 meeting,where ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the U.S. were to join.

At a news conference, Raab said Britain stood "shoulder to shoulder" with the U.S. on issues such as Iran and Afghanistan,while also agreeing that China needs to stick to its international commitments.

Blinken said the U.S. had "no closer ally, no closer partner" than Britain, the Press Association reported.

Raab also talked with his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, principally about Britain's application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — a free trade agreement of mainly Pacific nations which includes Japan.

"The depth of the UK-Japan relationship is based around a shared outlook on democracy, free trade, tackling climate change,and security collaboration," Raab said in a statement.

Members of the European Union are also attending the first in-person G7 event since the coronavirus pandemic, and representatives from Australia, India, South Korea, South Africa and the chairman of the Association of South-East Asian Nations have been invited as guests.

—dpa