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President Biden on Tuesday sought to clarify his comments from days earlier that the coronavirus pandemic “is over,” telling guests at a fundraiser that the COVID-19 situation is not as bad as it was. Biden attended a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in New York City ahead of his speech Wednesday to the United Nations General Assembly. At one point, speaking about efforts on the pandemic, Biden referenced his comments to Scott Pelley of CBS last week in which he said the pandemic was “over.” (Samuels, 9/20)

Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday hit President Joe Biden for calling the COVID-19 pandemic “over,” saying his comments did not align with his administration’s actions. The Democratic president’s comments in an interview aired by CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday reflected his thinking at a time where mask-wearing is uncommon and the disruptions from the pandemic are far less significant than they were at the outset. (Marino Jr., 9/20)

KHN: Covid Still Kills, But The Demographics Of Its Victims Are Shifting 

As California settles into a third year of pandemic, covid-19 continues to pose a serious threat of death. But the number of people dying — and the demographics of those falling victim — has shifted notably from the first two years. Given the collective immunity people have garnered through a combination of mass vaccination and protections built from earlier infections, Californians overall were far less likely to die from covid in 2022, when the omicron variant dominated, than during the first two years of the pandemic, when other variants were largely at play, amplifying a national trend. (Reese, 9/21)

Kathreen Friend is a pediatric registered nurse based in Doniphan, Missouri — a small town of about 1,800, just 15 minutes north of the Arkansas border. As the lone pediatric specialist in her county, it’s not unusual for her days to fill up with appointments. (Valdivia, 9/21)

Forced into a hectic international competition for goods like many states during the early months of the pandemic, New York never procured anywhere close to what it supposedly needed. But the collection it did manage to build hasn’t done much more than gather dust. The state acquired 8,555 ventilators at a cost of $166 million and 1,179 X-ray machines for $86.4 million, state officials told POLITICO this month. And now they’re stacked in warehouses across New York with no plans to distribute them or put them to any immediate use; Covid treatments have largely moved away from ventilators, and hospitals say they have plenty available to deal with their immediate needs. (Spector, 9/20)

The Justice Department charged 47 people in connection with an alleged scheme that stole more than $250 million from a federal program that fed low-income children, in what officials called the largest theft yet uncovered from a coronavirus pandemic aid program. Federal prosecutors said those charged created entities that claimed to be providing meals to tens of thousands of children who didn’t exist. (Gurman, 9/20)