COVID
Feds: Florida, Missouri, Texas accounted for 40 percent of all COVID-19 cases last week
WASHINGTON — Amid a rise in infections and hospitalizations from the surging delta variant of COVID-19, the Biden administration is boosting money and other assistance to the hardest-hit areas of the country. This week, just three states with lower vaccination rates — Florida, Texas and Missouri — accounted for 40 percent of all cases nationwide. […]
States still lag in getting assistance to struggling renters, federal data shows
WASHINGTON — State and local officials disbursed $1.5 billion in rental assistance during June—more than during the entire previous five months—to help households falling behind on rent and utilities, according to U.S. Treasury data released Wednesday. That progress in getting slow-moving federal dollars to struggling renters comes as the Biden administration and housing advocates have been scrambling […]
My daughter is enrolled in Pfizer’s vaccine trial because I don’t trust COVID
By Taylor Hirth On a sunny Wednesday a little over a month ago, my 7-year-old daughter bravely held my hand as we walked into Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City to participate in a pediatric vaccine trial. After a numbing agent, a blood draw and a nasal swab, she was finally injected with either a placebo […]
University tries to beat the clock on COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban
Using the clock to its advantage before state legislation outlaws the practice, Cleveland State University said it will move forward with its requirement that all on-campus students seek vaccination against COVID-19 before returning this fall. House Bill 244, which Gov. Mike DeWine signed Wednesday, forbids public K-12 schools and colleges from requiring any vaccine without […]
DeWine signs bill to temporarily ban school COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation Wednesday that could block schools from mandating vaccination against COVID-19 for the fall. In the dying moments of the final legislative session before a summer recess, lawmakers tacked the vaccine provision as an amendment onto an unrelated bill regarding educational opportunities for military children. The amendment: It passed on […]
How the new, expanded federal child tax credit will work
WASHINGTON — The most ambitious part of the pandemic stimulus package signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year is about to hit the bank accounts of millions of U.S. parents. Starting next week and ending in December, the vast majority of U.S. households with children will begin receiving monthly payments as a result of changes […]
Biden administration defends COVID ‘surge response teams’ after Missouri governor’s criticism
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s key COVID-19 advisers on Thursday defended the administration’s strategies for boosting vaccinations in the states, after Missouri’s governor said federal door-to-door outreach efforts are not welcome there. Top Biden adviser Jeff Zients said anyone mischaracterizing the administration’s attempts is “doing a disservice to the country.” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson voiced […]
Coronavirus Delta variant Q&A
As the delta variant takes hold, the unvaccinated are in for a rude awakening. It’s not just ignorance — they’re begging for a Darwin Award. Unfortunately, thanks to all these unvaccinated knuckleheads, vaccinated Americans are now being put more at risk, too. The delta variant is a mutant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Early estimates suggest […]
Misinfo thrives at Spanish-speaking vaccination site; health workers are fighting back
LORAIN — Wanda knows she’s lucky to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Her three adult-aged children in the Dominican Republic haven’t yet had the chance — there are too few doses for too many people to go around. In the United States and Ohio in particular, the inverse is true: There’s an abundance of vaccines and […]
DeWine, top lawmakers met with national anti-vax leader in 2019
Gov. Mike DeWine and legislative leaders in the Statehouse met in 2019 with Robert Kennedy Jr., a scion of the American political dynasty and a leading voice of anti-vaccination politics. Kennedy, son of U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, came to the Statehouse to speak in support of legislation […]
Lawmakers send bill blocking school COVID-19 vaccine mandates to governor
After midnight on the last legislative day before summer break, Republican lawmakers passed legislation blocking public schools and colleges from mandating vaccination against COVID-19. The bill, if signed into law, would prohibit public schools and colleges from requiring vaccines that are available under emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All three […]
Ohio judge adds COVID-19 vaccination as terms of probation
A Franklin County judge recently began including vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of defendants’ terms of probation. Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye said Thursday he added the vaccine as a condition on three cases this week of the roughly 20 sentences he imposed. He said he discussed the matter in open court with the […]