COVID-19
Postal Service offering four more free COVID-19 at-home tests
U.S. residents can receive four free kits to test for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus which causes the COVID-19 disease. You can place your order here. There are no shipping costs. You do not have to give a credit card number; you only need to give your name and address. Those who need help or do […]
Attempt to kill Biden student debt relief plan tied to income fails in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday night failed to garner enough votes to block a new Biden administration rule on an income-driven repayment plan for federal student loans. The resolution did not pass, 49-50. Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia was the sole Democrat who joined Republicans in backing the resolution. Sen. Tim […]
Health care workers more likely to report burnout than before the COVID pandemic
Health care workers are facing increased mental health struggles that can lead to burnout or workers thinking of finding another job, according to survey results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC urged health care employers to take care of their worker’s mental health and foster a healthy work environment. A report […]
GOP lawmakers, again, convene a COVID hearing chock full of misinformation
For the second time in five months, Republican state lawmakers listened intently and offered no pushback during a day-long special hearing at the Arizona Senate billed as examining the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic that was instead rife with conspiracy theories, misinformation and fear-mongering around vaccines and public health. In May, the Novel Coronavirus […]
Next legislative session ‘make or break’ for N.M. health councils
As the U.S. government abandoned its response to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many federally funded public health services have been diminished or gone away. A large federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allowed groups in New Mexico devoted to public health in local communities to mitigate the effects of the […]
U.S. House votes to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker
WASHINGTON — Dissident Republicans in the U.S. House voted with Democrats on Tuesday to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a historic move that came just nine months after he secured the gavel following days of negotiating with the GOP’s right flank and 15 rounds of voting. It wasn’t immediately clear after the vote how the […]
States and cities eye stronger protections for gig economy workers
Joshua Wood remembers days during the COVID-19 lockdown when New York City’s streets were practically empty, save for workers like him. That experience convinced the 25-year-old Brooklynite — who makes deliveries for both Uber Eats and a package delivery service — that the gig economy needed some urgent changes. Roughly 1 in 6 American adults […]
A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new COVID-19 booster vaccines for all — but many who need them most won’t get them. About 75% of people in the United States appear to have skipped last year’s bivalent booster, and nothing suggests uptake will be better this time around. “Urging people to get boosters […]
As child poverty doubles, states launch or expand their own tax credits
The federal pandemic-era child tax credit expansion lifted millions of children out of poverty in the second half of 2021. But Congress allowed it to expire at the end of that year, and new U.S. census data shows the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, erasing the record gains that were made. “It […]
New round of COVID-19 booster shots on the way after CDC recommendation
WASHINGTON — Americans older than six months should get an updated COVID-19 booster this fall, according to a recommendation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday. The vaccine should be available by later this week, the CDC said in a statement. “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from […]
Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, as public health officials brace for another cold and flu season. An advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote on recommendations Tuesday, the final step in the process before people will […]
Report finds Native people got sicker from Covid-19 despite fewer pre-existing conditions
A new Covid-19 study published in PNAS Nexus by UNM researchers found that Native patients were sicker and more likely to die in the hospital than others, even though they had fewer pre-existing conditions. The report is based on data from 475 patients brought to UNM hospital during the period April 2020 through December 2021. The patients […]