whiteboard confessional

Nurses find quiet space to uplift one another as pandemic rages on

This chapter of the pandemic weighs heavily on health care workers. As they continue working to treat the sick, they’re also trying to take care of their own mental health. Some days are worse than others, but working in a hospital during the pandemic can be overwhelming. Jennifer Beer is the unit secretary. “It’s been […]

grad walk FGCU

Scaled-back graduation continues as FGCU plans to host another Grad Walk

Unconventional graduation is leading to mixed reactions at Florida Gulf Coast University. FGCU plans to host a Grad Walk at Alico Arena. This is something the university started doing during the pandemic. This is more of an intimate ceremony where graduates can reserve a time to walk across the stage and receive their diploma in […]

COVID Testing 4

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, will it become endemic?

It’s been nearly two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic on March 11, 2020. We spoke with one of the country’s leading analysts to talk about what’s next. Do you recall the Asian flu (H2N2) of 1957? Probably not because it faded into obscurity, like the SARS CoV-1 outbreak. It […]

Nearly half of Biden’s 500M free COVID tests still unclaimed

Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests the Biden administration recently made available to the public still have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test. Wild demand swings have been a subplot in the pandemic, from vaccines to hand sanitizer, along with tests. On the first day of the White House […]

CDC: Many healthy Americans can take a break from masks

Most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined the new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and […]

CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday

The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics […]

Fewest Americans collecting unemployment aid since 1970

The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits fell to a 52-year low after another decline in jobless aid applications last week. Jobless claims fell by 17,000, from 249,000 to 232,000 for the week ending Feb. 19, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, fell by 7,250 to […]

US vaccination drive is bottoming out as omicron subsides

A handwritten log kept by nurses tells the story of the losing battle to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 in this corner of Alabama: Just 14 people showed up at the Marion County Health Department for their initial shot during the first six weeks of the year. That was true even as hospitals in […]

Pregnancy-related deaths climbed in pandemic’s first year

Pregnancy-related deaths for U.S. mothers climbed higher in the pandemic’s first year, continuing a decades-long trend that disproportionately affects Black people, according to a government report released Wednesday. Overall in 2020, there were almost 24 deaths per 100,000 births, or 861 deaths total — numbers that reflect mothers dying during pregnancy, childbirth or the year […]