It’s the second spring break of the pandemic, and rumors abound about people exploiting loopholes to get vaccinated in order to party. But some students who’ve been immunized were eligible because of where they work or underlying health conditions.
The debate begins with the covid death tallies. But the issues go beyond basic numbers.
Struggling with low pay and high stress, New York paramedics and EMTs are reaching a breaking point.
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to have medical conditions that make covid especially dangerous. But a lack of federal tracking means no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus.
Authorities seized 1.7 million fake masks in New York and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell called for a national probe.
Hospitals dealing with staff shortages during the current covid surge are unable to tap into one valuable resource: foreign-trained doctors, nurses and other health workers, many with experience treating infectious diseases. Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Nevada are the only states to have eased credentialing requirements during the pandemic.
At least 2,900 health workers have died since the pandemic began. Many were minorities with the highest levels of patient contact.
Hospitals are in better shape now than in the spring, with more knowledge of how to handle COVID-19 and bigger stockpiles of protective equipment. Still, nurses worry about staffing shortages and unfilled jobs.
As coronavirus cases surge, state officials can’t afford to wait for a new president to take office before taking action. But some governors’ initiatives seem to be little more than policy tweaks or symbolic gestures.
The tax was touted as a way to generate funding for treatment programs across the state. But to avoid paying, scores of manufacturers and wholesalers stopped selling opioids in New York.