(Missouri Independent) – Nursing homes will be required to ensure their staffers are vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing federal Medicare and Medicaid dollars, the Biden administration announced Wednesday in a major move on vaccinations as the Delta variant sweeps many states. Under the new nursing home policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human […]
Tag: vaccines
Certain immunocompromised individuals can now receive third dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri
Following recent announcements from the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, certain immunocompromised individuals can begin receiving third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri. A third dose of the PfizerNBioTech or Moderna vaccines may be administered to moderately to severely immunocompromised people due to a medical condition […]
Sullivan County Health Department reports new cases of COVID-19, seven breakthrough cases
The Sullivan County Health Department August 17th reported two additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 1,086. Thirty-eight of the cases were active. Health Department Administrator Deborah Taylor reports about .6% of the total cases have been breakthrough cases. She says cases are milder for vaccinated residents than those who were not vaccinated. The health […]
Commentary: As schools reopen, an epidemiologist on what works — and what’s not worth the effort
This article is a commentary, the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, Doctor Brandon Guthrie, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of KTTN/KGOZ radio, the staff, management, and webmaster. Dr. Brandon Guthrie is an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Washington. His specific research […]
AARP calls for vaccine mandates as COVID re-enters Missouri nursing homes
(Missouri Indepentent) – With cases on the rise among both residents and staff, the nation’s leading advocacy group for retirees is calling on nursing homes to mandate COVID-19 vaccines. The number of COVID-19 cases reported each week in Kansas and Missouri nursing homes is rising again for the first time in months. Missouri, where weekly […]
Governor Parson announces nearly 500,000 MO VIP entries
Governor Mike Parson announced an official total of 495,296 MO VIP entries for the first drawing, which will take place today. The MO VIP incentivizes vaccination for those who have not yet been vaccinated, as well as provides an opportunity for rewards for the more than 3 million Missourians who have already made the decision […]
Grundy County Health Department reports 23 new cases of COVID-19; department says 93% of COVID-19 cases are unvaccinated
The Grundy County Health Department reports 23 new COVID-19 cases since August 11th, bringing the total to 1,436. Sixty-five cases are active. The health department notes 93% of Grundy County COVID-19 cases since January 1st are unvaccinated. That includes children who are too young to receive vaccines at this time. The office mentions that even […]
Biden-Harris Administration announces $500 million in rural health care funds under the American Rescue Plan
The Biden-Harris Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture is making up to $500 million available in grants to help rural health care facilities, tribes, and communities expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, health care services, and nutrition assistance. President Biden’s comprehensive plan to recover the economy and deliver relief to the American people […]
Grundy County reports a COVID-related death and 17 new cases of COVID-19; Daviess County reports 19 new cases, Livingston County 13
The Grundy County Health Department announces an additional COVID-19-related death, bringing the total to 42. Seventeen new cases have been reported since August 9th, making that total 1,413. Sixty-one cases are active, which the health department reports is the highest number of active cases since January 19th. The active cases include 24 Grundy County residents […]
Commentary: COVID brings front and center the tug between individual rights and the public good
This article is a commentary. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of KTTN/KGOZ Radio, the staff, management or webmaster. (Missouri Independent) – It seems that getting control of the coronavirus has brought front and center the question: When should an individual’s right […]
Senator Hawley announces 15 amendments to budget, calls to pass parent tax credit, hire 100,000 new police, and reopen schools
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced he will introduce 15 amendments to the Democrats’ newly-proposed $3.5 trillion budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022. Senator Hawley’s amendments would allow for the hiring of 100,000 new police officers, restrict federal funding for K-12 schools that refuse to fully reopen, fight back against critical race theory, and protect the […]
Missouri seeks to boost prizes in local vaccine incentive program
(Missouri Independent) – Prizes awarded through a vaccine incentive program offered by local public health departments in Missouri may get boosted to $100-per-person under a new federal allowance. After previously rejecting Missouri’s proposal to exceed a $25 limit on prizes paid for with federal funding to incentivize immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently […]
Less than half of Missouri nursing home staff vaccinated, reviving fear of lockdowns
(Missouri Independent) – Many of the staff and residents in Shunda Whitfield’s St. Louis County nursing home were sick before they even realized what was going on. It was April 2020, and masks weren’t yet standard practice. Little was known about COVID before it swept through nursing homes, and as a certified nursing assistant, Whitfield […]
Additional ambulances to support hospitals across the state of Missouri
Governor Mike Parson announced that Missouri is tripling the number of mutual aid ambulances that provide long-haul patient transfers to help reduce the rising COVID-19 caseloads straining hospitals. Thirty ambulances and more than 60 trained personnel began arriving in five regions of the state on Friday, August 6, 2021. “The ambulance strike teams we positioned […]
New cases of COVID-19 reported in seven area counties
The Sullivan County Health Department, on the evening of August 6, confirmed 11 more COVID-19 cases, which brought the total to 1,028. Forty-six cases were active. There had been 17 COVID-19-related deaths reported for Sullivan County. Four COVID-19 cases were added in Linn County since August 3. The health department, on the afternoon of August 6, reported […]
Area counties in north Missouri report 28 cases of COVID-19
The Sullivan County Health Department confirms two more COVID-19 cases, which brings the total to 1,003. Forty-nine cases are active. There have been 17 COVID-19-related deaths reported for Sullivan County. Thirty point seven percent of county residents have completed vaccination. The Livingston County Health Center reported August 3 two additional COVID-19-related deaths. One of the deaths […]
Families urged to catch up on kids’ doctor visits
The pandemic paused many facets of life, and a new report says wellness checkups for children were among them. With school resuming this fall, research from the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute urges Missourians to get kids caught up on preventive care. Mercy Hospital of St. Louis pediatrician Dr. Maya Moody is president-elect of the Missouri chapter […]
Biden-Harris Administration extends eviction moratorium for homeowners
The U.S. Department of Agriculture extended through September 30 the eviction moratorium for homeowners of properties financed or guaranteed by USDA. “The United States is still reeling from a nationwide housing affordability crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. USDA is taking this important action today to allow individuals and families who face eviction from […]
Fight over mask orders growing at rate to rival Missouri Delta variant cases
(Missouri Independent) – Politicians are fighting over masks. Public health officials are begging people to get vaccinated. And meanwhile, the Delta variant continues to spread almost unchecked in the state. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones defended their mask mandates during separate appearances Wednesday. Page held a press conference […]
Audio: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issues COVID-19 guidance
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued updated COVID-19 guidance last week. Missouri School Boards Association Deputy Executive Director Brent Ghan, early in the afternoon of July 27, said the association supported the guidance and urged school districts to look at it. He called vaccination a public health prevention strategy to help end […]