The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup officially recommended expanding Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna booster eligibility to all adults 18 and older, allowing adults living in several West Coast states to get a booster shot ahead of the winter months. The workgroup, which independently reviews recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration related to COVID-19, issued […]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its blood lead reference value – the level at which children ages 1-5 are considered to have high exposure to lead. Since 2012, this threshold had been set at 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood; children at or above this level represented the […]
As Texans head into the holiday season, there is much to celebrate when it comes to addressing the pandemic. But health experts say the state is not out of the woods just yet. First, the good news. The number of residents here hospitalized with COVID-19 is at one of its lowest points since the beginning […]
Shortages of doctors, dentists, nurses and other health care providers have hit crisis levels in Illinois’ rural counties. “Rural residents often wait longer for a provider visit or forgo medical or dental care altogether,” said Dr. Hana Hinkle, the interim director for the National Center for Rural Health Professions at the University of Illinois School […]
Since her parents were vaccinated in May, Rosie McCade has been looking forward to when she, too, would be protected from COVID and able to get back into a classroom for the first time since the pandemic began in March 2020. On Friday, that day finally came — but Rosie’s excitement wasn’t evident in the […]
After more than a year of mask-wearing in her school, Sam Whittier’s 9-year-old daughter was excited to see her teacher’s smile this week without a face covering. But two days after Gov. Bill Lee signed a law to essentially ban mask mandates in Tennessee public schools as of Nov. 12, a federal judge blocked the […]
To collect a $300 incentive, 71% of Indianapolis Public Schools staff has reported receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, district officials said. The vaccination rate is higher among teachers and principals — more than 80% — and lower among classified staff such as custodians and food service workers, said Superintendent Aleesia Johnson. IPS asked its staff to report […]
A new report describes the impact of COVID-19 on the existing rural opioid epidemic in Illinois and addresses treatment to reduce fatalities. Experts in the areas of health, law enforcement and public policy explored how the pandemic has impacted the rural opioid epidemic during a Rural Health Summit. The report by SIU Medicine says while every area […]
Days after Gov. Bill Lee signed into law sweeping changes that restrict COVID safety protocols in Tennessee, families, teachers, and school officials remain confused about what it means for mask mandates in public schools. Under the recent rollback, school boards are allowed to enact mask mandates only in the event of severe COVID conditions, for […]
At this point in the pandemic, most parents are familiar with “covid notification” letters. But the letters’ instruction on whether your kid must quarantine or not varies wildly from school to school. In Minneapolis, students exposed to covid-19 at school are supposed to quarantine for 10 days. In the suburban Anoka-Hennepin school district, a single […]
Shelby County will continue to have the authority to issue mask mandates, a federal judge said on Friday, despite a new law that restricts public schools and other government agencies from requiring masks. The opinion allows the county to continue pursuing “reasonable accommodations” to ensure students with disabilities have equal access to education. At a […]
An attorney representing more than 50 workers at Riverside Healthcare in Kankakee said the latest changes to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act will not halt his cases. The amendment to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act, approved by lawmakers and signed by the governor, clarifies the HCRCA and is intended to keep the workplace […]
