COVID
Errors, deception preceded deadly nursing home covid outbreaks, inspections show
Regulators found infection control violations in at least three dozen Ohio nursing homes placed the health and safety of patients in “immediate jeopardy” during the COVID pandemic, an Ohio Capital Journal investigation has found. Between allowing nurses with active COVID-19 infections to report for their care duties, placing infected residents in shared rooms with uninfected […]
Ohio’s pandemic politics cast long shadow over omicron surge
After a severe bout of COVID-19 put him in the ICU and left him with significant respiratory systems, Dr. Emily Amin’s patient had questions about getting vaccinated. Most of the COVID-19 patients Amin treats at the Wexner Medical Center are either vaccinated but manage an immune-compromising condition, or unvaccinated. In an interview, Amin recounted how […]
Biden says ‘big chunks’ of his spending bill could still succeed, including climate plan
President Joe Biden said Wednesday the climate and child care provisions in his domestic spending agenda could still become law this year, even as the larger plan has stalled in the Senate over other items that Biden conceded may not pass — such as an expanded child tax credit. In a nearly two-hour news conference, […]
Legislatures across country back off pandemic protocols
As Dr. Jennifer Bacani McKenney walked the halls of the Kansas Statehouse on opening day of the legislative session this month, she was taken aback by what she saw. In the hallways, where “people are chatting and hugging and all that stuff, there were probably less than half of the people wearing masks … You definitely wouldn’t […]
Online orders for free at-home COVID tests to begin Jan. 19
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday launched a new website for Americans to request up to four free COVID-19 tests per household. The administration is buying 1 billion at-home rapid COVID-19 tests, and Americans will be able to begin ordering the tests online on Jan. 19 at COVIDtests.gov. This is part of the administration’s effort to […]
Meet the anti-vax doctor who just won a local school board race
For most the pandemic, Dr. Elizabeth Laffay, a licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine, worked from the outside in. She told state lawmakers that vaccines kill; she touted dubious COVID-19 treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine on talk radio; she stormed a Big Lots with a small and barefaced crowd to protest its mask requirement; and she […]
Supreme Court blocks Biden workplace vaccine rule, allows health care workers mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s fight against the pandemic, blocking a federal mandate that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 — though the court allowed a separate rule requiring vaccinations for some health care workers. The two rulings represented a split victory for Republican attorneys general from Ohio, Missouri, […]
Biden sends medical teams to 6 states, promises more free COVID tests and masks
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the federal government will deploy military medical units to six states to assist hospitals overwhelmed with the recent spike of the omicron coronavirus variant. Starting next week, more than 120 medical personnel — the beginning of a deployment of 1,000 service members — will go to hospitals […]
Complaints about White House handling of COVID-19 aired at U.S. Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — Senators from both political parties expressed their frustration with the Biden administration coronavirus response team during a Tuesday hearing that keyed in on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on vaccines, as well as the shortage of COVID-19 tests available for Americans. The hearing also was highlighted by a tense exchange between […]
Supreme Court appears wary of Biden vaccine-or-test employer mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared unconvinced Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses, casting doubt on a key piece of the White House COVID-19 response. The justices seemed potentially more comfortable with another Biden administration rule to fight the virus that requires certain health care workers […]
Ohio is 2nd in nation for COVID-19 deaths over last week
Ohio is second in the nation per capita in terms of the reported COVID-19 death rate over the last seven days, according to a database from The New York Times. Only Wyoming experienced a higher rate of COVID-19 deaths over the past week, the data shows. Nearly 30,000 Ohioans have died of COVID-19, including some […]
Ohio leaders have failed the public as state now stands as one of worst for COVID
Paging Dr. Amy Acton. Help! We are rudderless and reeling. Our health care system is crashing. Hospitals are running out of beds. COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations are through the roof. Hospitalized children are outpacing adults. Especially in five states. Ohio is one. With only half the state fully vaccinated, the even more infectious virus […]