Ban on COVID vaccine mandates by private businesses, including health care facilities, passes Texas Senate
The bill offers no exceptions for doctorsโ offices, clinics or other health facilities. Senators agreed to let those entities require unvaccinated employees to wear personal protective gear or take other โreasonableโ measures to manage the spread.
For Texans with long COVID, specialized centers can provide more effective treatments โ if they can access them
Long COVID clinics in Texas are few and far between, often with months-long waitlists. But these centers can provide care that validates stigmatized patients, offers unique treatments and teaches physicians more about the new condition.
Leading Long COVID expert becomes patient, using unique therapy to ease symptoms
Flow Therapy, also known as Enhanced External Counter Pulsation (or EECP), has been around for 20 years. It is mainly used for people with cardiovascular disease and heart failure, but it has recently shown success for many Long COVID patients.
Texas Supreme Court says Gov. Greg Abbottโs COVID ban on local mask rules was lawful
Several of Texasโ largest cities sought to put in place mask requirements, which Gov. Greg Abbott overturned. The ruling is a legal win for Republicans in Austin their ongoing symbolic fight with cities, often run by Democrats.
UK was ill-prepared for pandemic because resources were diverted to Brexit, ex-health chief says
Britain's former health secretary has told an official inquiry that the U.K. was ill-prepared for a pandemic partly because government resources had been diverted away from pandemic planning to brace for a possibly chaotic no-deal Brexit.
Texas schools say itโs time to stop tying mental health funding to school safety money
Federal pandemic aid helped build public school mental health services in Texas. School officials now brace for the expiration of those funds next year. Theyโre urging lawmakers to create a dedicated funding stream for mental health assistance in schools.
Community health groups celebrate education, vaccinations as COVID-19 emergency declaration ends
Dr. Adelita Cantu was the first person in Bexar County to get the first COVID-19 shot in Bexar County in December 2020. Since then, she's joined a community-wide coalition to educate and vaccinate the community to reduce COVID deaths.
Japan to lift COVID-19 border controls before holiday week
Japan will lift most of its coronavirus border controls, including a requirement that entrants show proof of three vaccinations or a pre-departure negative test, beginning Saturday as the countryโs Golden Week holiday season begins and a large influx of foreign tourists is expected.
Why some Texas cities and counties had to return millions of dollars meant to help renters during the pandemic
For some local relief programs, a lack of staffing, political support and effective community outreach got in the way of spending federal funds to prevent evictions, a new report found. More than $30 million went unspent and had to be returned.
Foundations, major donors tackle nationโs nursing shortage
As more nurses leave their jobs in hospitals and health-care centers, foundations are pouring millions of dollars into efforts to ensure that more stay in the profession and get more out of the job than just the applause and pats on the back they got during the bleakest days of the pandemic.
WHO pleased to see China ease harsh zero COVID policies
A top official at the World Health Organization said the U_N_ agency was โpleasedโ to see China loosening some of its coronavirus restrictions, saying โitโs really important that governments listen to their people when the people are in pain.โ.
House panel says lax screening helped facilitate PPP fraud
A House investigations panel says financial technology firms โabdicatedโ their responsibility to screen out fraud in applications for a federal program designed to help small businesses stay open and keep workers employed during the pandemic.