COVID-19
The Navajo Nation has lifted its mask mandate, fully reopening to the public
Almost three years after it was instituted to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Navajo Nation has lifted its mask mandate, making mask use optional in public spaces and businesses for the general public. By removing the mask mandate, the Navajo Nation is now considered fully reopened to the general public. “It’s time for the […]
Community response helped reverse COVID’s devastating toll on Indigenous communities in Arizona
When COVID-19 first hit the U.S. in early 2020, urban centers like New York City became a focus of national attention. But as the disease spread throughout the U.S. later that spring, the Navajo Nation emerged as a disease hotspot, with case rates rising higher than anywhere else in the country. Newly compiled data reveals […]
COVID-19 no longer grabs headlines, but still poses a threat
WASHINGTON – Almost three years after the first COVID-19 cases were detected in Arizona, here’s what we know: It hits the elderly hardest, it spikes in summer and winter, it killed men in Arizona at sharply higher rates than women and new strains continue to evolve. And it’s not going away. “COVID is here to […]
Congress on track to scrap Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in defense bill
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. military would no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine under a proposal Congress could pass as soon as this week. The provision eliminating the vaccine mandate is tucked into the massive National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy bill that Congress has passed each year for […]
Health officials urge vaccinations for flu and COVID-19 ahead of holiday gatherings
As the holidays loom, three respiratory illnesses are hitting the state and public health officials say now is the very best time for Arizonans to get vaccinated in order to be best protected come time for family gatherings. “There is no time better than now to get vaccinated,” Eugene Livar, Director of Public Health Preparedness […]
Millions of workers are dealing with long COVID. Advocates call for expanding social safety net.
Emily Withnall caught COVID-19 from her teenager in July 2020. In the more than two years since, the 40-year-old has suffered from debilitating fatigue, spinal pain and heart palpitations. In addition to her primary care doctor, she regularly sees a cardiologist and says her acupuncturist and craniosacral therapy help relieve her pain and the trouble […]
Study: More Republicans than Democrats likely died of COVID-19
It’s already known that hundreds of thousands of Americans would still be alive if every eligible person had gotten vaccinated against COVID-19. Now new research strongly suggests that many more of those “excess deaths” in Ohio and Florida were among people with Republican voter registrations. It’s perhaps unsurprising that Republicans were more reluctant to get […]
Federal judge blocks COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Head Start staff
A federal judge in Louisiana has issued a permanent injunction to block the Biden administration’s mandate that all Head Start program workers, volunteers and contractors be vaccinated for COVID-19. A temporary injunction had been in place since January after Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and his counterparts in 23 states filed against the federal government […]
GOP balks at White House request for billions for public health, natural disasters, Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress are lukewarm about providing $47 billion in new emergency spending for the ongoing Ukrainian war against Russia’s invasion, COVID-19 and monkeypox public health campaigns, and to help states recover from natural disasters. GOP senators, who have returned to Washington after Congress’ summer break, aren’t so sure the Biden administration’s request […]
COVID-19 vaccine may become annual, like flu shot
WASHINGTON — COVID-19 boosters shots are on track to become as frequent as the annual flu shot, though high-risk people may need more than one dose per year, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. “For a large majority of Americans, we are moving to a point where a single annual COVID shot should provide a high […]
Arizonans can get the new COVID-19 omicron booster as soon as next week
Arizonans can expect to line up for the new omicron-aimed COVID-19 booster shot as soon as next week, now that the vaccines have been approved for deployment by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The shots, developed by Pfizer and Moderna, were granted emergency authorization by the FDA on Wednesday, in recognition of the […]
What Biden has and, maybe just as importantly, has not done
President Biden has announced he will be cutting or eliminating student loan debt for millions of Americans. It’s the latest in a growing list of tangible, beneficial achievements by his administration. One of the best ways to assess what President Biden has accomplished since taking office is to put his administration’s achievements into context — […]