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FRIDAY UPDATES: Columbia Public Library and curbside pickup to closed through Wednesday due to staffing shortage

The Columbia Public Library is closing due to COVID-related staffing shortages Saturday, through Wednesday.

Curbside pickup service will also be closed during that time

Bookmobile visits are suspended.

The other Daniel Boone Regional Library locations will remain open at regular hours.

Boone County Health Department says no hub update due to high number of COVID cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services says there will not be an information hub Friday due to the high number of new coronavirus cases.

Officials say the increase in positive COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks also comes with an increased workload for our staff.

The department will also be changing how information is reported to help staff while still providing data to the public.

Boone County ranks fifth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week and is first when sorted by cases per 100,000. Cases are up 15.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 38.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 117,305 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 103,914 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.

Boone County has the third-largest percentage of county residents in Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 65{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 69.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 57.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 60.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 61.7{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 54.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}. Callaway County is third with 51{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.

Cole County reported over 190 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 192 new coronavirus cases Friday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 15,358 residential cases and 312 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 15,670 total cases in the county.

“Because of a reporting issue with a local healthcare system that resulted in a backlog of data, the Cole County Health Department anticipates receiving a large number of positive COVID-19 cases over the next few days from MO Department of Health and Senior Services. The positive cases date back to the first part of December,” said Kristi Campbell, director of Cole County Health Department, on Tuesday.

Cole County Health Department cases by day in January

Cole County has reported 175 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks sixth in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week and 12^th overall in total volume. Cases are up 1.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 38.8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 54.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 50.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the county’s population have been fully vaccinated.

State of Missouri passes one million confirmed coronavirus cases

The state of Missouri passed one million confirmed coronavirus cases since March 2020.

The state reported 18,708 new and probable coronavirus cases for Friday.

The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to a 9,025 seven-day average (63,174 confirmed cases from the previous week of reporting) as the state reports new coronavirus cases across the state according to state health department reporting. The daily average looks at the last seven days and doesn’t account for the past three days, which will push that number even higher.

The state reported 11,365 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 7,343 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Friday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 1,008,681 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 242,374 probable cases.

The state recorded 330 new deaths for 13,865 total and 50 new probable death was added for a total of 3,156.

Missouri’s new cases are down 1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests is 35.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} for the last week. A higher positivity suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet.

Source: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

Boone (1), Callaway (4), Saline (5), Cole (6), Pettis (7), Miller (9), Osage (15) and Moniteau (39) counties are all in the top 40 Missouri counties in cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.

The state reports that 5.97{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} (a .23{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} increase from last) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections. The state reported 7,732 breakthrough infections. The state is reporting 200,922 breakthrough cases out of 3,366,901 fully vaccinated people. The state has reported 994 breakthrough deaths.

Experts continue to tout vaccination as the best tool to fight the wave of new cases.

Still, new vaccinations have effectively stalled in Missouri, with more boosters being given daily than first or second shots. The state reported Thursday that 54.9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 18{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of total inpatient capacity and 17{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 23{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} and 30{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in Central Missouri, respectively. The state has reported a record number of hospitalizations with 3,784 patients. There are currently 711 patients in Missouri ICUs.

Federal team heading to St. Louis to ease hospitals’ coronavirus strain

A specialized U.S. military medical team including doctors and nurses will be sent to the St. Louis area next week to help support hospital staff under strain from the omicron wave, Gov. Mike Parson’s office said Friday.

The team will be based at BJC Christian Hospital, according to a release from Parson’s office.

The deployment is in response to a state request made through FEMA, Parson said. The team will be made up of 40 military medical personnel, he said.

“This team will help support our dedicated local medical professionals who work hard each day to care for Missourians,” Parson said in the release. “The best way Missourians can help aid our hospitals and health care workers is by considering vaccination to protect themselves and their families.”

The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency had already helped with the deployment of a 17-member task force to the Kansas City area that has been in place since Jan. 7 and is expected to be in place through Feb. 4.

FEMA is also helping with two AmeriCorps teams to assist at community testing sites in St. Charles, St. Louis and Springfield. Another team is helping at sites in the Kansas City area, according to the release.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services is also granting requests for waivers of rules to add flexibility for hospitals to expand bed capacity.

Missouri’s hospitals are treating more patients with COVID-19 than at any time in the pandemic, and COVID-19 intensive care admissions are also at record levels. Hospital bed capacity is at 16{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in the St. Louis area, with ICU capacity at 12{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}.

State adds 249 deaths in weekly review

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services added 249 coronavirus deaths to the state’s total in its weekly review of death certificates.

The state released the numbers late Thursday. Most of the new deaths — 211 — happened in January, according to a news release. The state added one death each for January, October and November 2021 and 35 new deaths for December.

The new deaths bring the state’s total to nearly 14,000 since the pandemic began, along with another 3,106 probable deaths from COVID-19. Deaths are down nearly 30{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in the past week, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.

January 22, 2022
COVID-19 updates: Oregon Health Authority says transmission is high all across the state
OPB

As the omicron variant of COVID-19 carries on to distribute, general public health authorities say they’re concentrated on outbreaks in high-hazard settings, Travel & Tips.

Much more than 50 percent a million Oregonians have been identified with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in the point out approximately two many years in the past, and infections and fatalities go on to climb this week. Meanwhile, faculties across the point out are undertaking their ideal to preserve up with rapidly shifting area predicaments — moving from in-individual studying to remote education and learning and back again yet again, as pupils and staff members call in sick, quarantine and then get well.

Listed here are the major headlines and most current updates on the ongoing distribute of the coronavirus, fueled by the the latest surge of the omicron variant.

Oregon reviews extra than 8,500 COVID diagnoses Wednesday

The Oregon Health Authority documented 8,538 new verified and presumptive conditions of COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the point out to 549,942 diagnoses because the start off of the pandemic.

There have been 921 hospitalized clients with COVID-19 statewide, which is 10 additional than Tuesday. Of individuals, 134 COVID-19 people were in intense treatment unit beds, down 18 from the working day prior. Only 7{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of adult ICU beds continue to be available and 6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of adult non-ICU beds stay readily available in the point out.

The state also described an further 15 COVID-19-linked fatalities, boosting the state’s dying toll because of to the coronavirus to 5,908.

Oregon Health and fitness Authority: Transmission is high all across the state

Oregon’s COVID-19 local community transmission dashboard demonstrates all of Oregon’s 36 counties are having a substantial amount of transmission – outlined as more than 100 conditions per 100,000 people.

As of midday Tuesday, 911 people today have been hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout Oregon, which include 152 in intense care unit beds.

Even though COVID-19 situations rise in Oregon, the World Health Corporation is detecting a slowdown globally and a fall in Africa, where the omicron variant was initial determined. The variety of new coronavirus instances globally rose by 20{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} final 7 days to extra than 18 million, in accordance to the WHO. In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. well being company reported Tuesday that the selection of new COVID-19 infections amplified in every single planet area other than for Africa, in which situations fell by nearly a 3rd. The range of deaths globally remained related to the former week, at about 45,000.

U.S. governing administration begins having orders, prepares to ship no-charge COVID-19 assessments

The Biden Administration has stated it is shopping for hundreds of hundreds of thousands of COVID tests to distribute as the omicron wave of the coronavirus has spiked situations throughout the place.

On Tuesday, an on the net portal through the U.S. Postal Provider introduced. It makes it possible for men and women to buy 4 free assessments per home that will ship specifically to their deal with. Folks can also attain the checks by going to www.covidtests.gov. The Biden administration said it has options to also launch a cost-free call line to purchase the tests.

Moreover, the federal governing administration will get started earning 400 million N95 masks offered for cost-free to People beginning upcoming 7 days. The White Residence explained the masks will be made obtainable at pharmacies and group overall health facilities that have partnered with the administration’s COVID-19 vaccination marketing campaign.

Read the complete tale: USPS is now taking orders for free of charge COVID-19 test kits

Portland pupils voice annoyance with university district’s COVID protocols

Learners at Portland’s Grant Higher University walked out of course Tuesday in a protest against their faculty district’s COVID-19 security strategies. They want Portland Community Educational institutions to give far more N-95 masks and quicker contact tracing.

Student Ciela Barrow mentioned she feels her college is not carrying out sufficient to prevent the virus from spreading.

Grant stays open up, but the college district has re-instituted distance finding out at a handful of colleges around the very last few days.

Read through the entire tale: College students at Portland’s Grant High Faculty walk out in excess of COVID precautions

Oregon faculty districts grapple with higher an infection premiums

Numerous of Oregon’s most significant university districts — which includes Salem-Keizer, North Clackamas and Gresham-Barlow — reopened for in-human being studying on Tuesday, after quickly canceling lessons or transferring to remote-finding out amid staffing shortages and college student absences.

The choices all around maintaining schools open up or closing them quickly, in some scenarios as a transition to distance understanding, have been mainly tied to staffing concentrations, as very well as student sick leaves and the number of out there substitutes.

Current updates and announcements:
- Portland General public Faculties has taken a building-by-building, working day-by-working day method. The district is posting updates to a faculty closure tracker.
- Klamath County College District has is closing two elementary universities commencing Wednesday because of to staffing shortages.
- North Powder Faculty District in Union Co. is shifting to comprehensive length discovering Wednesday and Thursday because of to COVID-19 scenarios and quarantines.
Read through additional in this connected tale: Omicron and colleges: answering your questions

Oregon’s largest faculty district responds to criticism from nurses

A working day soon after faculty nurses in the Portland area sent a letter important of COVID-19 efforts at the state’s greatest district, Portland Community Educational institutions responded by defending the measures it’s having.

The nurses’ letter pressed the district to make advancements, producing, “Messaging that faculties are protected – without taking the measures to make them protected – does not retain kids protected.”

The letter shown a variety of shortcomings inside school properties, this kind of as insufficient distancing amid pupils, improper mask-carrying, absence of HEPA filters and insufficient nursing staff members to correctly track and answer to disease.

The district’s lengthy response, supplied to OPB late Tuesday afternoon, lists initiatives the district and personnel are making to hold schools wholesome, but it begins by acknowledging the considerable problems educational facilities face throughout a demanding period of the pandemic.

Read the comprehensive story: Portland Public Universities responds to criticism from university nurses

Oregonians who’ve had COVID-19 share their information

Positive, there are official CDC quarantine suggestions and a state hotline and site for individuals who exam good. But from time to time you want to hear from an additional human.

Four Oregonians who have COVID-19 share what was tough and what served them get through. They notify us how tricky it was to maintain a length from loved ones, how getting time for recovery is essential, and how even with what they went via, they need to have to be on guard from remaining re-infected.

Go through the whole story: My COVID-19: Oregonians who’ve had it share their suggestions

This is a creating story. Enjoy for updates.

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January 20, 2022
Indiana coronavirus updates for Jan. 17, 2022
The latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic for Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.
INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Monday’s latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.

Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 5 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELATED: Here’s everything we know about the COVID-19 vaccine

RELATED: Here are the most common omicron symptoms being reported

Latest US, world numbers

There have been more than 65.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 6:30 a.m. Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 850,600 deaths recorded in the U.S.

Worldwide, there have been more than 328.23 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 5.54 million deaths and more than 9.62 billion vaccine doses administered worldwide.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.

Fishers Health Dept. offering vaccines, tests on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The Fishers Health Department will offer vaccines and testing on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The health department hopes that with many schools and businesses closed for the holiday, people will take advantage of this opportunity.

The Fishers Vaccination Clinic, located at 12520 E. 116th Street, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 17, for walk-ins and appointments. Appointments can be made at fishers.in.us/vaccine.

The Fishers Testing Site, located at 4 Municipal Drive, will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for drive-through testing and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. for priority testing for students and staff of K-12 Fishers-based schools. Tests can be scheduled at fishers.in.us/testing.

Hours for the ongoing school-based testing are as follows:
Monday: 7:30-9 a.m. and 3-5 p.m.

Tuesday: 7:30-9 a.m. and 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Wednesday: 7:30-9 a.m. and 3-5 p.m.

Thursday: 7:30-9 a.m. and 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Friday: 7:30-9 a.m. and 2-4 p.m.

Saturday: Noon-2 p.m.
Djokovic ‘disappointed’ with losing deportation appeal

Novak Djokovic’s final bid to avoid deportation and play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated for COVID-19 ended when a court unanimously dismissed his challenge to cancel his visa Sunday.

The 34-year-old from Serbia says he’s “extremely disappointed” by the ruling but respected it. He has won a record nine Australian Open titles, including three in a row, but this time won’t even get the chance to try.

The decision likely means that Djokovic will remain in detention in Melbourne until he is deported. A deportation order usually means a three-year ban on returning to Australia. In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic criticized the court hearing as “a farce with a lot of lies.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the ruling will help keep Australians safe.

Beijing reports 1st local omicron case ahead of Olympics

Beijing has reported its first local omicron infection weeks before the Winter Olympic Games are due to start. The infected person lives and works in the city’s northwestern district of Haidian and had no travel history outside of Beijing for the past two weeks.

Officials say the individual experienced symptoms on Thursday and was tested on Friday for the coronavirus. The news of the infection comes less than three weeks before the Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony on Feb 4., and around two weeks before the start of the Lunar New Year celebrations in China.

So far, multiple cities in China have reported omicron infections, including in southern Guangdong province as well as the city of Tianjin, which is 30 minutes from Beijing by high-speed rail.

Insurers must now reimburse cost of at-home COVID tests

Most Americans will be able to get reimbursed for COVID-19 tests that they purchase starting Jan. 15. But before Americans start sending their insurer the bill, there are a couple of caveats they need to know.

Private insurers will be required to cover the cost of up to eight at-home rapid tests per month per insured person, according to a new Biden administration rule.

People will have the option of buying tests at a store or online, then seeking reimbursement from their health insurance provider. Insurers are being incentivized to work with pharmacies and retailers to develop plans to cover the cost of the tests with no out-of-pocket cost to customers, but those programs will not be immediately widespread.

The Biden administration says the procedures will differ from insurer to insurer, and it is encouraging Americans to save receipts from rapid test purchases for later reimbursement and to reach out to their insurance providers for information.

Critically, the requirement only covers purchases on or after Saturday. Insurers are not expected to retroactively reimburse the cost of tests purchased earlier.

Those with public health insurance through Medicare, or without insurance, will be directed to covidtests.gov to order tests or to community health centers in their area offering free testing.

Federal testing website launches Wednesday; 4 tests permitted per home

The White House said the federal website where Americans can request free COVID-19 tests will begin accepting orders on Wednesday, Jan. 19.

The announcement comes as the administration looks to address nationwide shortages, but supplies will be limited to just four free tests per home.

RELATED: Free at-home COVID tests: Reimbursement details, monthly limits

Americans shouldn’t expect a rapid turn-around on the orders, and Americans will have to plan ahead and request the tests well before they meet federal guidelines for when to use a test.

The White House said “tests will typically ship within 7-12 days of ordering” through the United States Postal Service, which reports shipping times of 1-3 days for its first class package service in the continental United States.
January 17, 2022
Indiana coronavirus COVID-19 updates Sunday January 9, 2022

The latest Indiana headlines in the coronavirus pandemic for Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.

INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Sunday’s latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.

Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 5 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELATED: Here’s everything we know about the COVID-19 vaccine

RELATED: Here are the most common omicron symptoms being reported

MCPHD hosting vaccine, rapid testing clinic downtown Monday

The Marion County Public Health Department is partnering with the College Football Playoff Host Committee to provide free COVID-19 vaccines and rapid testing on Monday, Jan. 10 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on the north side of Washington Street between Pennsylvania and Meridian streets.

The walk-in clinic near Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis will take place using two MCPHD mobile units.

The vaccine clinic will offer both initial and booster doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for those ages 12 and over, as well as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for those ages 18 and older. Those receiving a second or booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine are asked to bring their vaccine card or a photo of the card. Parental or guardian consent is required for a minor to be administered the vaccine.

Rapid test results will be provided on-site within about 15 minutes of getting a test.

Warren Township students in grades 5-12 move to e-learning for entire week

Some students in the MSD of Warren Township will continue e-learning for a week.

Superintendent Dr. Tim Hanson originally notified families last week that students in grades 5 through 12 will have e-learning days Friday, Jan. 7 and Monday, Jan. 10 due to a “large number of staffing needs” that arose from positive COVID cases and other illnesses.

On Sunday, Hanson said students in grades 5 through 12 will learn virtually through Friday, Jan. 14.

According to Hanson, COVID-19 cases are impacting staff in the intermediate middle schools in the district, as well as Warren Central High School. The transportation department has also been affected.

The change does not affect students in kindergarten through fourth grade.

Purdue vs. Michigan game postponed due to COVID-19 protocols

The Purdue vs. Michigan men’s basketball game has been postponed because the Wolverines have fewer than seven scholarship players cleared to play due to COVID-19 protocols.

The third-ranked Boilermakers (13-2) were scheduled to play at Michigan (7-6) Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The Wolverines also had to postpone their game against No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday because they didn’t have enough scholarship players available.

Purdue’s next scheduled game is Friday, Jan. 14 at home against Nebraska (6-10). Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.

Deal reached on US military curbs to halt COVID

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says “a basic agreement” has been reached with the U.S. on banning the U.S. military from leaving base grounds in Japan, a step to curb the spread of coronavirus infections.

He says details of the deal are being worked out.

New daily cases have surged in what medical experts call “the sixth wave,” topping 8,000 lately, a four-month record. That’s been blamed on the U.S. military because the jump is most pronounced near the bases.

Southwestern Okinawa, which houses most of the 55,000 U.S. troops, is among the three prefectures where new restrictions have kicked in.

Latest US, world numbers

There have been more than 59.76 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 5:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 837,250 deaths recorded in the U.S.

Worldwide, there have been more than 305.24 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 5.48 million deaths and more than 9.4 billion vaccine doses administered worldwide.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.

Fishers Health Department to offer COVID-19 testing for students beginning Monday

The Fishers Health Department announced it will open priority rapid COVID-19 testing appointments for students and staff of Fishers-based schools beginning Monday, Jan. 10.

The department said the measure is an effort to help ensure schools remain open and in-person while keeping students and staff safe.

The testing will take place at the existing drive-thru location, located at 3 Municipal Drive in Fishers.

Kindergarten through grade 12 Fishers-based school staff and children who want a PCR test must register online. The department said they’re only able to offer rapid tests to people 18 and younger, and 50 and older.

Registration information and testing hours can be found at this link.

Chicago mayor, teachers still at odds over COVID protocols

Closed-door negotiations resumed Saturday to resolve a standoff between Chicago school officials and the city’s teachers union over COVID-19 precautions that canceled three days of classes this week. But the public war-of-words between union leaders and Chicago’s mayor showed little sign of an imminent resolution.

The Chicago Teachers Union wants remote learning until there’s an agreement or the latest COVID-19 surge subsides, but district leaders say remote instruction was devastating for children and their well-being.

Both sides have been negotiating a pandemic safety plan, including more standards for testing and metrics that could trigger school closures.

Pfizer vaccine appears to protect kids against MIS-C

Among 102 kids ages 12 to 18 who were hospitalized with the condition, none who had received two Pfizer shots at least 28 days earlier needed ventilators or other advanced life support. By contrast, 40{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of unvaccinated children required such treatment.

The condition, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, causes symptoms that may include persistent fever, abdominal pain and rashes. Most children recover, but 55 deaths have been reported.

The report comes as hospitalizations of U.S. children under 5 with COVID-19 soared in recent weeks to their highest level since the pandemic began, according to government data released Friday on the only age group not yet eligible for the vaccine.

Since mid-December, with the highly contagious omicron variant spreading furiously around the country, the hospitalization rate in these youngest kids has surged to more than 4 in 100,000 children, up from 2.5 per 100,000.

The rate among children ages 5 to 17 is about 1 per 100,000, according to the CDC data, which is drawn from over 250 hospitals in 14 states.

Moderna COVID-19 booster shot timing shortened to 5 months

U.S. regulators on Friday shortened the time that people who received Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine have to wait for a booster — to five months rather than six.

The two-dose Moderna vaccine is open to Americans 18 and older. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision Friday means Moderna recipients are eligible for a booster after at least five months have passed since their last shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed.

That’s in line with new recommendations for recipients of the Pfizer vaccine. Initial Pfizer vaccinations are open to anyone 5 or older. But only Pfizer recipients 12 and older are eligible for boosters, and earlier this week, U.S. health authorities said they can get one five months after their last shot.

In a statement, FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks called vaccination “our best defense against COVID-19” and said a shortened wait for a booster may help as the country battles a surge of the highly contagious omicron variant.

A booster after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine already is urged two months later.

Indianapolis Public Library canceling all programs, meeting room reservations beginning Monday

The Indianapolis Public Library announced Friday it is canceling all in-branch library programs and community meeting room reservations as of Monday, Jan. 10 due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.

The library shared the announcement on Twitter and said all library branches, online programs, computers, curbside pickups and vaccine clinics will still be open and available.

January 10, 2022
CDC updates are straining already-pressed public health departments

Dr. Michael Kilkenny did not expect the Centers for Condition Management and Avoidance news release he received on Dec. 27.

Four days previously, the CDC had minimize the isolation time for well being treatment workers with Covid to 7 times, if they have been asymptomatic and experienced a detrimental take a look at. The new announcement explained that people today with Covid could isolate for just five times soon after indicators developed, alternatively of 10.

“When we got a press launch on the 27th that seemed to contradict advice we bought on the 23rd — that was very a bombshell for us,” explained Kilkenny, chief govt officer and health officer of the Cabell-Huntington Health and fitness Division, which serves Huntington, West Virginia, and the bordering county.

Around the state, educational facilities and wellness companies scrambled to interpret the news release and regulate their policies — only to alter program yet again when the CDC crammed out information and its rationale in entire steering revealed about a 7 days afterwards.

“That gap left us guessing what we ought to truly do,” Kilkenny stated. “That’s not good administration and superior communication. It potential customers to misunderstanding. It qualified prospects to distrust.”

The CDC decision to lower isolation periods in fifty percent for quite a few people who have caught Covid-19 took area general public wellness companies by shock and still left some battling to reveal to their communities precisely what the improvements meant and why federal officers experienced manufactured them. Gaps in communication involving federal, condition and regional officers have left some public well being leaders fearing that they’ve dropped have faith in with those they serve amid general public confusion.

In interviews, three neighborhood community well being leaders, 1 state chief and two leaders of professional medical associations available a mixture of reactions to the CDC’s the latest shifts: disappointment in excess of absence of interaction but also knowledge that just about every community wellness officer faces problems in creating timely modifications and providing very clear assistance. None took challenge with the steerage alone.

“We had been listening to from the hospitals, in certain, terrific issue for how we were being going to be capable to continue to keep operations heading,” said Dr. Philip Huang, the director of the Dallas County Wellness and Human Solutions department in Texas, who said his agency was hunting at modifications to local quarantine and isolation protocols prior to the CDC built its recommendations. “Was it perfect? No. I believe however, these are amazing moments with plenty of variables and items occurring.”

The quick unfold of the omicron variant intensified a pandemic rigidity for public overall health officials: How to go speedily while also sending obvious and regular messages to a weary community. It did not enable that the variant was having off in the course of what lots of had hoped would be a holiday break.

As omicron took keep in December, federal officers responded with a flurry of modifications.

First, the CDC shortened its suggestions for isolation time for Covid-constructive wellness staff to seven times just after a adverse examination on Dec. 23. It explained wellbeing employees who had been given booster photographs did not have to have to quarantine just after exposures.

Then, on Dec. 27, the company declared in a information launch that it was shortening isolation time for the broader community to five days if symptoms were being resolving, with one more 5 times of masking afterward.

The agency did not publish a entire update and rationale behind the new procedures till Jan. 4, when it also clarified insurance policies for particular groups like these in well being treatment, jails and homeless shelters.

Some wellbeing industry experts have criticized the procedures, which deficiency screening demands for the broader public. Meantime, several in the basic general public expressed confusion.

Federal officials have stated they transformed the pointers over fears that omicron’s quick spread would shut down important services and also due to the fact they imagine the vast majority of viral transmission usually takes put early in an infection.

But local officers say they were still left in the dark about what, just, they should to be telling users of their community who experienced concerns about the new assistance.

“The push launch of Dec. 27 astonished me,” explained Kilkenny, who included that he trusts the agency to make seem decisions dependent on science and that he follows the agency’s recommendations practically religiously. “We act on steerage. We really do not act on press release.”

Lori Freeman, main govt of the Countrywide Affiliation of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), stated the CDC normally communicates in progress over significant coverage shifts. That didn’t occur this time.

“There have been no speaking details, if you will, or aspects about the switching direction,” Freeman stated, introducing that local wellness officials “had a hard time answering thoughts and responding in a good or educated way.”

That still left some officials out of action with the news of the day.

“The a lot more it seems to be disjointed, which is when men and women begin to dilemma the actual steerage,” Freeman stated.

And area public wellbeing leaders fret that their impact on crucial health actions has by now waned drastically.

“A good quite a few of our public have stopped listening to us completely. Definitely, I can not get any a lot more individuals to get vaccinated or have on masks than what are accomplishing it now based mostly on something I say,” Kilkenny reported.

Michael Fraser, the govt director of the Affiliation of Point out and Territorial Wellbeing Officials, explained omicron grew to become an unexpected emergency at an regrettable time, for the duration of the vacations when drained community wellbeing officials and the relaxation of the nation were being keen for a break.

But omicron was spreading so rapidly that it was turning into, from his standpoint, terrifying.

“I think we’re definitely misplacing criticism on CDC right now,” Fraser reported. “We were being really anxious and healthcare facility capability was very restricted. They essential to do a little something.”

Some states, like Michigan, to begin with refused to adopt the suggestions, but came all around afterwards immediately after hearing more about the CDC’s rationale, Fraser claimed.

And local wellness leaders explained the new CDC assistance may possibly much better mirror what disruptions people are ready to offer with in some communities. Some folks have been not following the prior quarantine pointers, which proposed that unvaccinated people today quarantine for 14 days just after an exposure.

“Our compliance for recommending that was extremely minimal soon after two a long time,” claimed Lisa Macon Harrison, overall health director for Granville and Vance counties in North Carolina, introducing that science ought to be balanced with the realities of what people are inclined to do to cut down the distribute of the virus.

Harrison, also the board president of NACCHO, explained she would have preferred that federal, condition and neighborhood companies be in lockstep about how to speak about the new rules, but that was not constantly achievable.

“It’s irritating not to be in the know on each determination and certainly, I give grace to the reality that we’re all in a pandemic response,” Harrison stated. “We often have to make decisions more quickly than allows for inclusive discourse.”

January 8, 2022
Michigan health department updates quarantine recommendation for COVID-19, matching CDC change

Increase in vaccine interest a shiny place in Michigan

Although the speedy at-dwelling exams are well known — healthcare pros say the results are not often precise.

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan health section is updating its quarantine assistance to reflect variations not too long ago built by the Facilities for Condition Command and Prevention.

On Monday, the CDC lowered the proposed isolation period of time for someone with COVID-19 who is asymptomatic or is seeing their indications solve to five days, followed by five times of donning a mask when all around anyone.

The Michigan Section of Overall health and Human Products and services declared Friday it would observe the CDC’s direction, but emphasized the improve in protocol was only for the normal community and does not effects safety steerage for school and congregate options.

“We have safe and effective resources for blocking the distribute of COVID-19,” mentioned Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief professional medical govt. “Obtaining vaccinated proceeds to be the most effective defense versus significant sickness and hospitalization, and we urge all Michiganders above age 5 to get vaccinated as soon as achievable.”

These most latest updates to the quarantine and isolation suggestions are a reflection on our development as we master additional about COVID – but we are not in the clear as variants like omicron continue to generate new worries in the battle to finish this pandemic. Carry on to dress in nicely-fitting masks above your nose and mouth, check and social distance to avert the distribute of COVID-19, keep away from big gatherings and get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already.”

Severe sore throat, runny nose — omicron signs resemble flu, cold

On Thursday, Michigan reissued an advisory urging colleges to need masks for pupils and team. The vaccination rate among young children and youthful people today continue to be reduced, while the omicron variant has demonstrated to be very helpful at infecting other folks.

The condition also proposed that school districts appraise actions and modify types that do not allow for for social distancing. For occasion, gatherings with 100 or much more people today really should be held remotely.

Similar: Physicians recommend from fabric masks to reduce distribute of COVID-19

As people near out the new year, Michigan is ending on a traditionally superior scenario fee. On Wednesday, it noted virtually 13,000 instances in a working day. Even with the grim benchmark, populated counties like Macomb, Wayne, and Oakland are nevertheless viewing conditions improve.

Hospitalizations also continue to be at some of their maximum premiums to day.

January 1, 2022