By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — In another ominous sign about the spread of the delta variant, Idaho public health leaders expanded health care rationing statewide and individual hospital systems in Alaska and Montana have enacted similar crisis standards. The moves come amid a spike in the number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico– New Mexico State University launched their new “Vax Trax” program Wednesday to monitor vaccination status for staff and students. In order to be on the NMSU campus, it is required to show proof of vaccination or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing and show proof of a negative test. John Webster, NMSU’s Covid-19 project
Continue Reading SANTA FE, New Mexico — The New Mexico Department of Health announced on Wednesday that the state’s mask mandate in indoor public settings would be extended for another month. The current indoor mask mandate was set to expire on Wednesday after being implemented on Aug. 20. Under the public health order, all New Mexicans aged
Continue Reading MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government says it has successfully completed a three-month push to provide coronavirus vaccines to all adult residents of communities along its border with the United States. Mexico said that when it began the effort in June, it hoped the mass vaccinations would aid in lifting pandemic restrictions on non-essential
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EL PASO, Texas — Covid-19 booster shots will be made available as part of a vaccination drive this upcoming weekend, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso announced Tuesday. Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso will offer both initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the un-vaccinated and the Pfizer booster shots for those
Continue Reading PHOENIX, Arizona — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed the first lawsuit Tuesday to block President Joe Biden’s new vaccine requirements that could affect 100 million workers. Brnovich, who is running in a crowded Republican primary for U.S. Senate, claims Biden is illegally treating U.S. citizens and legal immigrants differently from people caught crossing the
Continue Reading By Ellie Kaufman and Oren Liebermann, CNN Four US military branches have set deadlines for when active-duty, reserve and National Guard service members must be vaccinated against Covid-19. The deadlines set by the services follow Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s announcement at the end of August that all US military service members must be vaccinated
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By Virginia Langmaid, CNN A new analysis published Tuesday estimates that preventable costs for treating hospitalized, unvaccinated Covid-19 patients reached $5.7 billion over the last three months. This most recent data takes into account the surge in hospitalizations seen in August, which study authors estimate accounted for $3.7 billion of preventable spending alone. The data
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EL PASO, Texas — An El Paso pediatric physician said Covid-19 pediatric hospitalizations are not surging compared to other major cities across the state, and the country, crediting the area’s high vaccination rate. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, out of the more than 13,000 patients hospitalized with Covid-19, 278 are kids.
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EL PASO, Texas — Nine more El Pasoans died from Covid-19 over the past week, with two of those being breakthrough deaths involving fully vaccinated individuals, the El Department of Public Health announced Monday. Eight of the nine deaths involved people with underlying health conditions; the lone death that didn’t involve underlying issues was the
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — President Joe Biden recently ordered new vaccine requirements that will affect 100 million Americans, including healthcare workers. In a speech last Thursday, the president said any healthcare worker in a facility that receives federal funding must get the vaccine. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is working on extending the
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EL PASO, Texas — City Manager Tommy Gonzalez says Covid-19 cases in El Paso are on the decline. At Monday’s City Council meeting, Gonzalez briefed city representatives saying new Covid-19 cases fell by over 35% since the end of August. This is welcoming news as health officials said cases started to trend upward in July—prompting
Continue Reading By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press An international group of scientists is arguing the average person doesn’t need a COVID-19 booster yet — an opinion that highlights the intense scientific divide over the question. Two of those scientists are top U.S. vaccine regulators, raising questions about whether White House plans for booster doses
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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s pandemic death roll rose by 20 on Friday, the largest reported single-day increase in months. The state on Friday also reported 885 additional confirmed cases, the largest one-day increase in a week and substantially higher than the recent daily average. The state’s pandemic totals increased to nearly 240,000
Continue Reading By Aya Elamroussi, CNN As the US averages more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths daily, not getting vaccinated is akin to driving while intoxicated, one health expert said Friday. “We need to start talking about the choice to remain unvaccinated as the choice to go out and drive intoxicated,” CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen told
Continue Reading By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer New U.S. studies show COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective against hospitalizations and death. That’s even against the extra-contagious delta variant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked over 600,000 coronavirus cases in 13 states. As delta surged over the summer, those who were unvaccinated were four times more
Continue Reading WASHINGTON, DC — In his most forceful pandemic actions and words, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new federal vaccine requirements affecting as many as 100 million Americans in an all-out effort to increase Covid-19 vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant. Speaking at the White House, Biden sharply criticized the roughly 80 million
Continue Reading By Dakin Andone, Stella Chan and Cheri Mossburg, CNN All eligible students attending Los Angeles Unified public schools — the nation’s second largest school district — will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the calendar year, the school board of education has voted. In a special meeting held Thursday, the
Continue Reading By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 310,000, a pandemic low and a sign that the surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the delta variant has yet to lead to widespread layoffs. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless
Continue Reading Patrick Oppmann The Cuban government has begun to vaccinate children as young as two years old for COVID-19, the island’s state media reported, in a bid to get kids back into classrooms. While other countries have said they will eventually vaccinate children, Cuba is believed to be the first to give Covid-19 vaccines to toddlers.
Continue Reading Hospitals across Kentucky are so full with Covid-19 patients, almost the entire system is stretched to the limit. CNN’s Miguel Marquez reports.
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — He was a star basketball player at New Mexico State University and is now the head coach of a powerhouse basketball program. But most recently, William Benjamin had a health scare – and basketball is taking a back seat until he can get better. Benjamin, the 13-year head coach of
Continue Reading By Mallory Simon, CNN A Florida judge ruled against Gov. Ron Desantis on Wednesday and allowed schools in the state to mandate face-masks while the case is appealed at a higher level. The ruling from Second Circuit Judge John Cooper, effective immediately, means the state of Florida must stop enforcement of banning mask mandates —
Continue Reading By Kevin Liptak, CNN President Joe Biden, entering autumn with coronavirus still wreaking havoc on the nation’s health and economy, will push for vaccine mandates and testing programs as part of a revamped approach to ending the pandemic. The six-pronged plan Biden is set to unveil Thursday afternoon was still being finalized by the President
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ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico – Against the strong recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell continues to endorse a horse de-wormer as an effective Covid-19 treatment. “I’m a huge proponent, under doctor’s orders, to try whatever other alternative there is,” the Republican southern New Mexico
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — Five El Pasoans died in the county from Covid-19 over the past week – but for the first time in recent weeks, health officials said Tuesday that all of those deaths involved persons who weren’t vaccinated. However, there were 159 new “breakthrough” infections reported involving those who were vaccinated, El Paso
Continue Reading EL PASO, Texas — The Delta variant continues to grip the United States, with hospitalizations at the highest levels they’ve been since the beginning of the year. That’s leading many to start thinking about if or when they need to get a booster shot. Dr. Armando Meza, infectious disease specialist with Texas Tech University Health
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WASHINGTON, DC — Millions of jobless Americans who have depended on federal unemployment aid as a financial lifeline are losing those benefits just as the Delta variant of the coronavirus poses a renewed threat to the economy and the job market. Two programs — one that provides jobless aid to self-employed and gig workers, the
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EL PASO, Texas — El Paso’s universal indoor face mask requirement took effect as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Under the mandate from El Paso City/County Health Authority Dr. Ocaranza, anyone age 2 and older must wear a face covering (over both the mouth and nose) inside any building within county limits – regardless of whether
Continue Reading By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Health experts and medical groups are pushing to stamp out the growing use of a decades-old parasite drug to treat COVID-19. Ivermectin is approved in the U.S. to treat infections from tiny worms and other parasites in humans and some animals like cows and horses. But
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