Obstetrician Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman was treating patients in New York City when the COVID-19 pandemic swept in. Hospitals began filling up. Some of her pregnant patients were among the sick. It was a terrifying time. Little was known about the virus called SARS-CoV-2 to begin with, much less how it might affect a pregnancy, so doctors […]
New Hampshire is one of a few states that doesn’t provide preventive dental care for Medicaid recipients, but that could change under a proposal to expand coverage. Legislation unanimously approved by the state Senate with bipartisan support would expand Medicaid benefits to provide dental coverage to an estimated 100,000 low-income health-care consumers who don’t currently […]
Newark Public Schools students and staff might be allowed to drop their face masks starting May 2, if the COVID infection rate in the district remains low, the teachers union president said. The decision to ease the district’s face mask mandate and other COVID-related rules will depend on results from at-home rapid tests students and […]
Legislation to ban state and local governments from requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter public places and private businesses cleared the House this week. Lawmakers voted 64-31 to approve House Bill 990, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, to prohibit state and local governments from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition of entry […]
More than $3 billion in federal money has flowed to Texas health care providers in recent months to help pay for COVID-19 treatments, tests and vaccines for patients without health insurance, according to national health officials. Of that, a tiny fraction — some $2.2 million — went to the local independent hospital in rural Titus […]
New Jersey ranked last for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis from the Committee To Unleash Prosperity. The group gave the Garden State an F-minus for its pandemic performance, tying New York and the District of Columbia. “Shutting down their economies and schools was by far the biggest mistake governors […]
The Detroit school district will scale back its COVID testing next school year, switching from universal, weekly screenings to random tests on a small segment of people in the district. Detroit is one of the few school districts in Michigan requiring universal testing for all employees, students and contractors. In late January, the school district […]
In January of last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mischaracterized an outside study about school reopening. The researcher emailed the agency to complain, but the error was never corrected. In fall 2021, a CDC study acknowledged that it could not identify the direct effects of masking on COVID spread in schools. The […]
Maine has the third-largest percentage of nursing staff shortages at long-term care facilities in the nation, according to a new report. The study by Seniorly, an online platform that connects people with senior living options and resources, found that nearly 38% of nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Maine are reporting nursing shortages this year – […]
The Detroit school district is looking to turn its vaccination policy for school employees from a mandate into a recommendation. The new policy, if approved by the board, “requires all employees to disclose their COVID vaccine status and strongly encourages employees to vaccinate,” according to a draft presented for its first reading during Tuesday’s school […]
In late March 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a second booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines for vulnerable populations in the U.S., a move that was soon after endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People ages 50 years and older and certain immunocompromised individuals who are at higher risk for severe disease, hospitalization and […]
An outbreak of avian flu has led the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to cancel poultry and bird events, but it may be awhile before the local economies will feel the outbreak’s effects, state officials said. Six incidents of avian flu in North Dakota have been reported since March 29 to the U.S. Department of […]
