Celebrity Health

COVID has ravaged communities across the country, but we haven't heard much about the struggles of the good folks in Beverly Hills and Malibu ... that is until now.

Adam Carolla joked about the 2 upscale towns, but there was a message in his sarcasm ... he thinks many of the COVID restrictions are absurd, nonsensical and impossible to unearth the logic behind them.

Adam was on his way to Mastro's Saturday night to outdoor dine, despite the fact that most parts of L.A. County are now prohibiting dining at restaurants, period.

He's railed on this before, but this time Adam really leans in and makes his case. Adam, who has 14-year-old twins, is head-scratching over school closures despite what he says is a lack of evidence that keeping them open would be COVID unsafe.

London is in COVID free fall, as thousands of travelers crammed into train stations for the Xmas holiday ... this as a new, more virulent mutation of the virus rips across the country.

The size of these crowds is alarming, as this new form of the virus infects the population. The mutant virus spreads 70% faster than the original. Scientists think the vaccine will still work on the mutation, but they're not sure.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was in mortal danger himself after contracting the virus earlier this year, was pushing to relax COVID restrictions, but he's abandoned that effort.

As for the new strain, it accounted for 28% of the COVID cases in London back in November, but this month it accounts for 62% of the cases.

The government imposed travel bans Saturday, but apparently, thousands of travelers didn't get the memo, because the train stations throughout London were jammed.

The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy and Germany have suspended flights to England because of the COVID mutation.

Scientists are looking for the next Elvis Presley to tamp down resistance to the COVID vaccine ... and if they're lucky they'll find someone as effective as The King.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has already said he's looking for celebrities, athletes and other influencers to shoot video of them taking the vaccine, to assuage fears and skepticism, which is considerable.

Turns out back in 1956, when polio was raging in the U.S., a huge percentage of young people resisted Jonas Salk's vaccine. In New York City, only 10% of young people got the shot a full year after it was on the market.

Enter Elvis ... who agreed to become the poster boy for the vaccine. The March of Dimes recruited him to get a shot while photographers snapped away.  Elvis obliged, smiling as he got stuck, and it made a difference.

The question ... who's today's Elvis? Beyonce's a candidate, for sure, but times are more complicated and people more cynical. Polio didn't become a political football the way COVID has, so it's going to be harder. Fact is ... the most influential person to influence others might be Dr. Fauci himself, who's about to turn 80.

Willie Roaf says he ain't surprised Drew Brees is returning so soon from a punctured lung and broken ribs ... telling TMZ Sports the QB is one of the baddest dudes to ever suit up in the NFL!!

"Drew Brees is probably one of the toughest guys mentally you're going to meet to ever play," Roaf says. "He's focused, he's ultra-competitive and it just motivates him."

Brees busted up his core in back-to-back games just a couple weeks ago ... cracking some ribs against the Bucs on Nov. 8 and doing even more damage a week later.

41-year-old Drew took a big hit early in the Saints' win over the 49ers ... and it was later revealed the shot punctured his lung and fractured even MORE ribs.

Most thought the dude would miss around two months ... but Saints coach Sean Payton confirmed Friday that Brees would be under center for the huge New Orleans-Kansas City tilt on Sunday.

And, when we spoke to Roaf about it all ... the legendary offensive lineman told us if the team cleared the QB to play, then people shouldn't worry too much about him.

"If he can deal with the pain and it's not gonna get worse -- he's not going to get injured -- I guess they're saying he's OK to play," Roaf said.

By the way, Roaf played for both the Chiefs and the Saints in his Hall of Fame career ... so, who's he got on Sunday?

A passenger on a United jet with nearly 200 others onboard was pronounced dead shortly after the pilot made an emergency landing, and it's almost certain the man had COVID.

It's gotta be terrifying for the other passengers ... the man was on the plane shaking and sweating, as the jet was making its way from Orlando to L.A.

The situation became so dire the pilot made an emergency landing in New Orleans. Medics performed CPR on the man, to no avail. He died at a local hospital. One such person on the plane who was helping to administer CPR was Tony Aldapa, who gave us the blow-by-blow from his own POV -- as he was one of just three people rotating for chest compressions.

Check it out ... he tells us they were in the air trying to keep the man alive for nearly an hour before they touched down in NOLA -- where the guy was taken away by waiting paramedics.

Now here's the scary part .... a United spokesperson tells TMZ the passenger declared he was not diagnosed with COVID and had no COVID-related symptoms.

That apparently was not true ... the spokesperson says during the emergency the man's wife was overheard saying her husband did indeed have COVID-related symptoms, including loss of taste and smell.

The incident occurred last Monday, and the CDC is now scrambling to contact the 179 passengers who were onboard.

A teenager who died from COVID-19 this year passed in a much more graphic manner than initially thought ... because the walls of his hospital room were drenched in blood.

13-year-old Peyton Baumgarth's coronavirus death in late October was well-documented, but photos recently shared by his mother, Stephanie Franek, show just how gruesome his final moments were as doctors and hospital staff tried life-saving measures that ultimately failed.

The kid had been put on a ventilator after going to a St. Louis hospital. Sure enough, he'd contracted the virus ... but his condition went from bad to worse in just days -- leaving him in need of a therapy called ECMO to level out his plummeting oxygen levels.

For some reason, after the treatment, Peyton started to hemorrhage in his chest, at which point he started having terrible coughing episodes that required emergency surgery. As docs tried replacing the ECMO tubes in his neck, the blood that had pooled there began spraying everywhere as they attempted to resuscitate him and get him breathing.

Peyton ultimately died, and his mother captured photos of the aftermath -- which included blood spatter all over the walls and machinery around his bed.

Stephanie's story serves as a cautionary tale -- she says she never thought she'd lose her son, despite underlying conditions he had that put him more at risk for respiratory issues. Friends and family of Peyton's have started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has saved Xmas by making a secret sojourn to the North Pole ... armed with the COVID vaccine.

The good Doc was on CNN Saturday, fielding questions from worried kids who fear Santa has been sidelined by the virus. No Santa means no presents, right?

Well, Dr. Tony let the kiddies in on a little secret ... he slinked away from his desk over at the NIH and made the trek to the Pole, where he inoculated Santa himself.

Fauci got all scientific, saying he measured Santa's immunity level and he was good to go.

So Fauci had 2 saves in 2020. He promises to save us from COVID with various measures he's advocated and put in place, and he saved Christmas.

Apparently, an untold thousands of folks didn't get Dr. Fauci's memo about not traveling for Xmas ... or they're just ignoring it.

LAX was PACKED Friday night with many folks setting out to join friends and fam for a Christmas celebration.

Almost everyone is wearing a mask, but they are packed in like sardines for prolonged periods of time ... not ideal.

SoCal is in dire shape with ZERO ICU beds in L.A. and massive numbers of people testing COVID-positive. That's pretty much the case all over the country.

As we reported, a passenger on a United jet was almost certainly infected with the virus this week. With nearly 200 people onboard, the plane made an emergency landing where the sick passenger was taken to a hospital and died. He apparently lied before boarding, saying he had no COVID symptoms. His wife was overheard on the plane saying he did indeed have symptoms.

Marco Rubio did his part to show America the COVID vaccine is A-OK ... but how's the Senator from Florida so damn pale?!!

A self-deprecating Rubio said, "I know I looked away from the needle And yes, I know I need a tan But I am so confident that the #Covid19 vaccine is safe & effective that I decided to take it myself."

Members of Congress are among the first in line for the vaccine, given that they need to stay healthy to run the country, even though as a group they have failed miserably for months in coming up with a relief package for struggling Americans.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell have also gotten the vaccine, as did Vice President Pence.

Joe Biden will get the vaccine next week and he will do so on camera. The idea is to show the country the leaders who are advocating vaccinations are walking the walk.

The German Shepherd that survived an horrific incident of animal cruelty is getting a Christmas miracle ... the pooch will spend the holiday in a loving foster home in Florida.

The dog, which Volusia County Sheriff's officials appropriately named "Miracle," is being cared for by a foster care individual who kindly offered up their home ... according to Volusia County Animal Services director Adam Leath.

Miracle was in Animal Services custody after her owner, Allison Murphy, was arrested after police body cam video showed her throwing the dog off a second floor, motel balcony during an interaction with Sheriff's deputies ... but we're told Animal Services didn't want the pooch to live in a cage so they found her a temporary home.

As we reported ... Miracle amazingly didn't get injured in her fall -- thus her name -- and cops jumped to her rescue after she tried to run away.

Miracle got fully checked out at an animal hospital, where a vet only saw a few scrapes and bruises to her feet. She actually landed feet first. She was hospitalized overnight and is on pain meds.

Animal Services also tells us the exam turned up a sewing needle in Miracle's left rear thigh ... they don't know how the needle got there, and it's now part of the felony animal cruelty investigation against the owner.

While Miracle's got a new foster parent -- whom we're told will remain anonymous because of the ongoing criminal case -- whoever adopts Miracle will have to wait until the outcome of the criminal case against the owner.

We're told Animal Services will present evidence to a judge Dec. 28 to make certain Miracle is never returned to her owner.

John Wayne Bobbitt's toe met the same fate as his penis ... both went on the chopping block.

John -- whose penis was notoriously hacked off by his then-wife Lorena while he was sleeping -- just had another gruesome amputation to his extremities.

JWB tells TMZ ... two toes on his right foot have now been amputated, and the first amputation triggered the second.

John explains he lost his big toe on his right foot last year after a callous formed, and an infection spread to the bone. He says that led to the next little piggy getting chopped off.

JWB tells us his second right toe was amputated last weekend at a hospital in Vegas. He says the toe was fractured because his previously amputated big toe left him with no support on the foot, and as he limped around, the pressure he was putting on the second toe caused it to shift and break.

Making matters worse ... his left foot was in a cast as doctors weighed amputation on that body part, which only added to the strain.

Remember, John says he suffers from neuropathy so he didn't know the toe was fractured until he went to a doctor for a checkup. He says the doc noticed the problems right away and recommended amputation.

John says he's been released from the hospital yet again and now he's got a bandage on his right foot and special shoes so he can walk. He tells us he also uses a knee scooter to get around.

JWB says he's on the mend and is finally feeling healthy ... but he's still got a lot of work to do and he's seeing a podiatrist.

He's been through so much. Still, the first cut is the deepest.

Another huge milestone in Keyontae Johnson's recovery -- the Univ. of Florida basketball star just did the Gator Chomp from his hospital bed!!

It's been almost a week since Johnson collapsed on the court in a game against Florida State. He was hospitalized in Tallahassee and was eventually transported back to the UF hospital in Gainesville.

Johnson was placed in a medically induced coma after the incident -- but has since woken up and has made tremendous progress in his recovery.

You can see in the new video ... Johnson is talking, smiling and moving his arms (hence the "Chomp"). It's all great to see.

"First and foremost, I would like to thank God," Johnson says.

"I know you all have been sending your prayers out the last few weeks and me and my parents are very grateful for all the prayers that have been going out."

"To all the doctors and medical staff at Tallahassee Memorial and UF Shands, I just want to say thank you for all the support you gave me."

"To my Gator Nation and UF athletic family, I just want to thank you for all the prayers you gave out to me."

Great to see -- and hopefully he'll continue to get better ... and maybe even get back on the court sometime soon.

Just over a month after "Impeachment: American Crime Story" started filming ... TMZ's learned it's been shut down due to COVID-19.

Production sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... 'Impeachment' halted its production this week because members of the cast and crew tested positive for the virus.

The exact number of cases is unclear ... but we're told it's "multiple." We're also told there's not yet a return date to resume filming.

It was just last week when we saw Sarah Paulson and Beanie Feldstein's remarkable transformation as Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinski respectively for FX's political drama.

And, this is interesting. We contacted FilmLA, the org that monitors and facilitates movie shoots in Los Angeles and asked if they knew about the shutdown over the virus. They told us they had no idea ... no one had contacted them.

The news of 'Impeachment' shutting down comes on the heels of "Shameless" production going into panic mode after initially thinking it had a COVID outbreak on its hands. But, as we first reported, a massive lab screwup was to blame for 18 false-positive tests.

Pfizer says it's sitting on liquid gold -- a warehouse packed with the COVID-19 vaccine -- but it can't get word from the government on where to ship them.

The pharma giant made the shocking revelation in response to allegations it was having issues with production and distribution of its vaccine after successfully shipping the first batch out earlier this week. Nearly 3 million doses have already been sent out, but now Pfizer's pointing a finger at the federal government.

Pfizer says, "We have millions more doses sitting in our warehouse but, as of now, we have not received any shipment instructions for additional doses."

Bizarre, right?

The news comes as Moderna is on the verge of getting the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization, which would put 2 COVID vaccines on the open market.

Notre Dame could REJECT an invitation to the College Football Playoff if officials don't allow players' families to attend ... so says Irish head coach Brian Kelly, who just made the threat on Friday morning.

Kelly spelled out his feelings on the matter in a heated Zoom sesh with reporters ... saying, "I'm not sure we'll play in the playoffs if the parents can't be there."

"Why would we play if you can't have families at the game? If you can't have families at bowl games, why would you go to a game where your families can't be part of it?"

Kelly continued, "What's the sense of playing a game in an area of the country where nobody can be part of it?"

The NCAA had planned to hold one of its CFP semifinal games at the Rose Bowl this season ... and, despite Los Angeles not allowing spectators at sporting events due to COVID, the org. is still pushing forward with that plan.

Kelly clearly believes that's a ludicrous idea ... saying the NCAA should just move the game to another site so players' family members can watch in person.

"Maybe they need to spend a little less time on who the top four teams are and figure out how to get parents into these games because it is an absolute shame and a sham if parents can't be watching their kids play," Kelly said.

"My kids have been on campus since June. They haven't seen their families very much at all. They've had to fight through COVID, some of them have had COVID. They can't be around their families for Christmas, and you're going to tell me we're going to have a playoff and maybe one site can have families and the other can't? Please."

Kelly added, "Somebody's got to wake up in that room and figure this out or you might as well call this the professional league. I am so sick and tired of this playoff committee talking about having sites where you can't have parents at and their families. It's ridiculous."

Cy Young winner Shane Bieber is spreading some holiday cheer this week ... by surprising some huge Cleveland baseball fans in the hospital with virtual meet and greets!!

The 25-year-old ace spent some 1-on-1 time with several children at Cleveland Clinic ... talkin' baseball, asking about their holiday wish lists and more.

And, get this -- the guy even got ROASTED by one fan over Cleveland's struggles in the postseason!!

"Welp, you haven't played too late into October, so I guess it wouldn't be that cold," the fan said with a smile ... clearly referencing the New York Yankees' quick 2-0 series win over Cleveland in the 2020 playoffs.

The star pitcher was able to laugh it off, saying, "I know right? it hasn't gotten that cold, but it gets cold early in the season."

The fan admitted he was just making a funny, replying, "I know, I was just messing with you."

The video is amazing ... and it's clear the fans are truly excited to speak with the 2019 All-Star MVP.

Bieber had one more surprise up his sleeve -- gifting each kid with a bunch of team merch.