COVID-19
Schools and state health officials should go beyond CDC guidelines to ensure continued access to in-person learning
As students returned to school across North Carolina this week, school leaders are facing a daunting challenge: how to academically support students knocked off track by the pandemic while still navigating an ongoing COVID pandemic that puts student and staff health in jeopardy. This critical challenge is heightened by lack of strong guidance from the […]
Hit me with your best shot of science
The recent photographs from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope mesmerized millions of Earth-bound mortals, myself included. On display was both the spectacular beauty of deep space and the power and creativity of science. Shortly after those photos arrived on our timelines did we learn of the uptick in cases of polio in the U.S. On […]
As COVID outlook improves across North Carolina, Omicron-specific boosters expected to offer ‘critical’ protections
500,000 doses of the new updated booster arriving in NC over the next two weeks The latest wave of the COVID-19 virus is showing modest signs of improvement with 43 counties with a high risk of illness and strain on the health care system. That’s down from 62 high risk counties the previous week. As […]
Anthony Fauci, leader on federal COVID response, to step down in December
WASHINGTON — Anthony Fauci, one of the federal government’s leading public health figures, announced Monday he’ll be leaving his post in December, though he made clear he’s not retiring. The 81-year-old doctor who runs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, became a household name […]
Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: No COVID for me
Fun fact: It has been almost two and a half years since the pandemic started and I still haven’t gotten COVID. Nope. Not once. (I can picture my very superstitious grandmother demanding I now throw salt over my left shoulder and make an “X” on the nearest mirror.) I would say my good fortune, so […]
Half of NC counties once again have high COVID-19 community levels
The first week of July, just four North Carolina counties had high COVID-19 community levels, according to data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the month closes, that number is 50 – half of the counties in the state. The CDC looks at […]
Biden tests negative for COVID, announces he’s back to in-person work
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden held a celebratory speech in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, marking his return to the Oval Office less than a week after testing positive for COVID-19. Biden used the event to encourage Americans to keep updated on their COVID-19 boosters, to test for the virus using the free rapid tests […]
Tyson asks U.S. Supreme Court to shield it from COVID-19 lawsuits in state courts
Faced with court rulings that say a Trump administration directive doesn’t protect Tyson Foods from liability caused by workers’ deaths due to COVID-19, the food giant is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter. Arguing that recent court rulings against the company will have “drastic consequences for the next national […]
Lives hang in the balance as time runs out for action on health insurance
Five years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Yet I’m the lucky one. I could afford to get treatment. Too many people in America don’t have the health care they need, even today. The 2021 American Rescue Plan included subsidies to make health insurance more affordable than ever, resulting in a record-breaking […]
Monday numbers: A closer look at COVID exhaustion and how it’s affecting our response to the pandemic
The latest poll results from the the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index show that Americans are exhausted with COVID-19 and its variants, with a majority saying they don’t believe they will ever be rid of the virus in their lifetimes. The results, released last week, are the latest indication that while the current BA-5 variant continues to spike infection levels and spur new waves of hospitalizations...
Biden: ‘I’m feeling much better than I sound’ after COVID diagnosis
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has begun using an albuterol inhaler intermittently to treat symptoms related to COVID-19, but is feeling well, according to White House officials and the president on Friday. “I’m feeling much better than I sound,” Biden said during a virtual meeting on gas prices with his economic advisers Friday afternoon. When […]