Health
Giving thanks to America’s medical community for life-saving vaccines
If we were not still in the grip of a deadly pandemic, with the seven-day average U.S. death toll from the coronavirus hovering just over 1,100 a day, I probably would not have thought of giving thanks this year for the medical researchers who have given this country protection against many life-threatening illnesses. Back in […]
Federal health officials open up access to COVID-19 booster shots to all U.S. adults
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials on Friday moved to expand access to COVID-19 booster shots to all American adults, in an effort to bolster protection against infections as case counts rise again across the United States. Officials with the Food and Drug Administration on Friday morning authorized booster shots for anyone over age 18 who […]
UNMH and Pres adopt crisis standards again to prepare for a flood of patients
New Mexico’s health care workers are seeing a “slow-motion car wreck” as patients suffering from COVID-19 and complications from delayed treatment push hospitals beyond capacity, two leading physicians said Thursday. As winter approaches, they said, there’s no end in sight. If the vaccination rate freezes where it is and everyone’s behaviors stay the same around […]
States forge ahead with COVID-19 booster shots for all adults
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials are expected as soon as Friday to expand access to COVID-19 booster shots to all American adults. But some states aren’t waiting for a green light from D.C. At least six states already have opened up eligibility for the boosters from Pfizer and Moderna beyond the categories specified by federal […]
NMSU students to rally Tuesday for better graduate working conditions
LAS CRUCES — Kathy Key-Tello is a Master of Fine Arts candidate in fiction and English at New Mexico State University and a graduate student working as a teaching assistant. Key-Tello suffers from multiple psychiatric disabilities. Unable to afford the health care plan offered by NMSU, she went to the wellness clinic on campus, where […]
New DWI-detection tech might alter the law’s disproportionate impacts
A mandate for technology in new vehicles that can pull over if the driver is impaired by alcohol was rolled into the infrastructure bill on its way to President Joe Biden. That means once the U.S. National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration figures out the regulations in the next couple of years, all new cars […]
The U.S. needs paid bereavement leave and more grief counselors
Months ago, my grief counselor recommended I make a tiny altar to stick in my backpack. She knew I had to keep working at my job through my grief. The tiny altar in a purse or in a desk drawer is an idea she recommends to just about everyone, she told me, because so many […]
Anti-drunk driving tech to be installed in all new vehicles
The infrastructure bill, passed on Friday by the U.S. House includes a provision that mandates new passenger vehicles be equipped with tech to stop drinking and driving. The end goal, supporters say, is to achieve what decades of varied — and often harsh — drunk-driving laws have failed to do: eliminate driving while intoxicated completely. […]
Hospitals serving the Navajo Nation adjust as beds keep filling up
Gallup Indian Medical Center was one of several New Mexico hospitals that was praised by the state’s Department of Health for its treatment of COVID-19 patients by using monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 patients is an infusion given to patients through IV, and takes about an hour. Studies have shown that it has […]
The best chile in the galaxy is still in New Mexico
Green chile is in space, but it will take more time for science to catch up to roasting the pepper so it can give its best-quality taste. “We only have a warming oven onboard that goes to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit, so we could make them warm, but we couldn’t really roast them. So we […]
Federal vaccine rule for private businesses to kick in on Jan. 4
WASHINGTON — Many private employers beginning in January will have to ensure their workers either are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or that they will undergo weekly testing and wear a face covering, under a new federal rule announced Thursday by the White House. The policy from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is set to […]
Shipments of COVID-19 shots for kids 5-11 on the way to states after FDA gives green light
WASHINGTON — Regulators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted emergency authorization to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds, a step that means kid-sized doses can begin shipping to health care providers across the country. Vials of the two-shot vaccine will be headed to pediatricians’ offices, hospitals, pharmacies and other providers, so […]