LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – Initial data from New Mexico State University shows just more than 30% of students submitted vaccination proof by the Sept. 30 deadline. “We’re not where we want to be with our vaccinated students,” admitted Jon Webster, the university’s Covid-19 project manager. “We want to make sure we’re protecting all of
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WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Friday denied a request from a group of New York City teachers to block the city’s vaccine mandate for public school employees. Sotomayor did not refer the request to the other Supreme Court justices, or comment on her action, likely signaling they agreed with her decision. In
Continue Reading SAN FRANCISCO, California — California has announced the nation’s first coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that the mandate won’t take effect until the Covid-19 vaccine has received final approval from the U.S. government for various grade levels. The government has given final approval for the vaccine for anyone 16 and
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — Justice Brett Kavanaugh has tested positive for Covid-19, the U.S. Supreme Court said Friday, the first publicly known case of coronavirus among the high court’s justices. Kavanaugh, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive on Thursday night, the court said in a statement, and his immediate family tested negative. He has no symptoms, the
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By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Drugmaker Merck says its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus. That is potentially a leap forward in the global fight against the pandemic. The company said Friday it will soon ask health officials in the U.S.
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EL PASO, Texas — A state appeals court ruling late Thursday set aside El Paso’s Health Authority order requiring the wearing of face masks at public indoor venues. The Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso put the mask mandate on hold until it can decide an appeal of that order. State Attorney General Ken
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — One of the top infectious disease experts in the state questioned why a mask mandate is still in place for El Paso when the community has more than 75% of its eligible population vaccinated against Covid-19. In a tweet, Dr. Ogechika Alozie said, “Hey El Paso, you can’t have it both
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WASHINGTON, DC — YouTube will block all anti-vaccine video content, including Covid-19 as well as measles, the chicken pox, etc., the company announced on Wednesday. The Google-owned online video company is also banning prominent anti-vaccine activists, taking down several channels, according to YouTube’s Vice President Of Trust and Safety Matt Halprin. The ban will include
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – For those not yet vaccinated against the coronavirus, Las Cruces medical experts recommend getting both the Covid-19 and flu shots as soon as possible. “It cannot be overemphasized,” said Dr. Obi Okoli, an infectious disease specialist. “It’s the best thing we can do for both diseases. It’s very essential everybody
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SANTA FE, New Mexico — New Mexico will start administering Covid-19 vaccine booster doses to eligible groups immediately, ABC affiliate KOAT reported. Based on the latest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance people between the ages of 18 and 49 with underlying medical conditions or those who have an increased risk for Covid-19
Continue Reading By Jen Christensen, CNN New data suggests booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines were well-tolerated, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. “The frequency and type of side effects were similar to those seen after the second vaccine doses and were mostly mild or moderate and short-lived,” Walensky said during
Continue Reading By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for teachers who don’t want New York City schools to impose a vaccine mandate for them and other workers say they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. They announced their intentions late Monday just after a federal appeals panel gave the green light
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EL PASO, Texas — Eight more El Pasoans died from Covid-19 over the past week, with one of those being a breakthrough death involving a fully vaccinated person who also had underlying health issues, the El Department of Public Health announced Monday. One of the deaths had no underlying illness, officials indicated. The eight latest
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden received his Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 booster shot on Monday at the White House during an on-camera event. He’s also scheduled to make remarks ahead of receiving his booster shot. The 78-year-old Biden’s booster was administered on the first workday after federal agencies recommended a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas —Beginning Monday, the City of El Paso said it will begin to administer the Covid-19 Pfizer booster vaccine to eligible adults who have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least 6 months ago. “Although immunity in the fully vaccinated has been found to be high several months after administration, a booster shot
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UPDATE, Sept. 24: Funeral arrangements for prominent El Paso veteran and community leader John Ceballos have been announced. His viewing will be at Martin Funeral Home, 128 N Resler Drive in El Paso, from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. on Oct. 5. Family and friends will lay him to rest at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery at
Continue Reading By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Covid-19 outbreaks are far more likely in schools that don’t require students and staff to wear masks, new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Two studies released Friday support the agency’s recommendation for universal indoor masking in schools. One study in Arizona showed schools with no
Continue Reading By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writers The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed COVID-19 booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans. The move opens a major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive against the coronavirus. A panel of advisers made the recommendation Thursday and CDC Director
Continue Reading By MATTHEW PERRONE, LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press The U.S. has moved a step closer to offering booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to seniors and others at high risk from the virus. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday signed off on such shots as a way to shore up protection in
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EL PASO, Texas — The Yselta Independent School District could likely discontinue its weekly Covid-19 rapid testing for students due to several factors, including the district’s positivity rate that district officials say is on the decline. During a board meeting on Sept. 15, Lynly Leeper, YISD’s chief financial and operational officer recommended to the board
Continue Reading NEW YORK, NY — A two-dose version of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine provides 94% protection against symptomatic infection, the company said Tuesday — making a two-dose regimen of J&J’s Janssen vaccine comparable to a two-dose regimen of Moderna’s or Pfizer’s. Plus, the company said, adding a booster dose to a single shot of the
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego held a joint briefing Monday afternoon to acknowledge that the community had reached a major milestone in its efforts to end the Covid-19 pandemic. Emergency Management Coordinator Jorge Rodriguez told Commissioners Court earlier in the day that El Paso County had
Continue Reading DALLAS, Texas — Lauren Lewis originally mistook the dry cough for allergies. In early November 2020, she attended an outdoor concert with her mother and younger daughter in Dallas, a couple of days after begrudgingly attending a mandatory in-person meeting at work. “When I got home I was like, ‘[The cough] is probably because I
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — Eight more El Pasoans died from Covid-19 over the past week, with four of those being breakthrough deaths involving fully vaccinated individuals, the El Department of Public Health announced Monday. All eight deaths involved people with underlying health conditions, officials indicated, and included: 1 man in his 60s2 women in their
Continue Reading By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000. And like the worldwide scourge of a century ago, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear. Instead, scientists hope the virus that causes COVID-19 becomes a mild seasonal bug as human
Continue Reading By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major easing of pandemic travel restrictions, the U.S. will allow foreigners to fly into the country this fall if they have vaccination proof and a negative COVID-19 test. The White House says the changes will take effect in November. Airlines, business groups and travelers cheered
Continue Reading By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11. The vaccine maker said Monday it plans to seek authorization for this age group soon in the U.S., Britain and Europe. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12
Continue Reading UPDATE #2: WASHINGTON, DC — An influential federal advisory panel has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give Pfizer booster shots against Covid-19 to most Americans, but it approved the extra shots for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. The twin votes Friday represented a heavy blow to
Continue Reading By Maggie Fox, CNN A head-to-head study of all three authorized coronavirus vaccines in the United States finds the Moderna vaccine is slightly more effective than Pfizer’s in real-life use in keeping people out of the hospital, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine comes in third, but still providing 71% protection. Pfizer’s vaccine provided 88%
Continue Reading By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from expelling migrant families apprehended at the US-Mexico border under a public health order, according to a Thursday ruling, marking a major defeat for the administration. In a long-awaited ruling, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia District Court acknowledged that the ruling
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