COVID-19
Iowa man sues after being fired for refusing to ‘sin’ by getting vaccinated
An Iowa medical-supply worker is suing his former employer for refusing to accommodate his religious beliefs by requiring him to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Brandon S. Hoefer of Butler County says he was fired for refusing to comply with a directive from his employer, the medical supply company NuCara, to be vaccinated, despite his belief […]
How U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson helped derail a fight against election lies
Back in July, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. A federal court had recently granted a temporary injunction, in Missouri v. Biden, finding that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment by coercing social media companies to remove content, related both to elections and the COVID-19 vaccine, that it […]
State agency accused of disability discrimination in firing longtime employee
A fired employee of Iowa Workforce Development is suing the state agency for alleged disability discrimination related to the health risks she faces from COVID-19. IWD is the state agency dedicated to helping Iowans with disabilities find and maintain employment. In her lawsuit against the agency, Kirstin Born of Polk County states that she began […]
A new COVID booster is here. Will those at greatest risk get it?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends new COVID-19 booster vaccines for all — but many who need them most won’t get them. About 75% of people in the United States appear to have skipped last year’s bivalent booster, and nothing suggests uptake will be better this time around. “Urging people to get boosters […]
New round of COVID-19 booster shots on the way after CDC recommendation
WASHINGTON — Americans older than six months should get an updated COVID-19 booster this fall, according to a recommendation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday. The vaccine should be available by later this week, the CDC said in a statement. “We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from […]
Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, as public health officials brace for another cold and flu season. An advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote on recommendations Tuesday, the final step in the process before people will […]
Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19; President, testing negative, maintains schedule
WASHINGTON — First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Monday night, the White House said in a statement. Biden has mild symptoms and will spend the week at home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the White House said. President Joe Biden tested negative Monday night and Tuesday. He will continue to be tested “at a […]
Students blocked from campus when COVID hit want money back. Some are getting refunds.
Thousands of college students will get hundreds of dollars in compensation as colleges and universities move this summer to settle multimillion-dollar lawsuits stemming from canceled classes and activities during COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. While some of the class-action suits against the colleges and universities are still in litigation, and still others dismissed, several major cases have […]
Iowa’s COVID hospitalization rate is stabilizing
The number of people infected by COVID-19 who are receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals reached a new low at the start of this month and was roughly unchanged throughout the month of June, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On July 1 — the most recent day for which there […]
Half a million people in less than a dozen states have lost Medicaid coverage since April
More than 500,000 people across 11 states have lost their Medicaid coverage since the unwinding of a policy that allowed people to stay in the program throughout the pandemic. The data, reported by the states and tracked by health policy researcher KFF, shows that of the five states providing data on people who lost Medicaid coverage […]
COVID hospitalizations, deaths continue to decline
The number of people with COVID-19 who are receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals is at its lowest since at least August 2020 and is steadily declining, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalizations are one the most reliable indicators now of the coronavirus’ prevalence because of a lack of widespread […]
Iowa COVID hospitalizations have reached new low
The number of people with COVID-19 who are receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals on any given day is at its lowest since at least August 2020, according to federal health data. That reflects a downward trend of infections that require intensive care or longer stays at the hospitals, said Dr. Matthew Sojka, chief medical […]