Health Care
FDA panel backs COVID-19 booster shots only for elderly and high-risk Americans
WASHINGTON — A federal health advisory panel wrestled Friday with whether to widely authorize a booster dose of Pfizer’s two-shot COVID-19 vaccine for most Americans, ultimately recommending that a third dose be offered only to older or higher-risk individuals. The Biden administration had hoped that states could begin rolling out a wide national booster shot […]
Louisiana health care workers struggle with strain of COVID-19, hurricane recovery
Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have been treating chainsaw cuts, bug and animal bites as well as respiration issues in a makeshift tent hospital outside Terrebonne General Health System in Houma for days. Terrebonne General, the largest hospital in Louisiana’s Bayou region, suffered damage to its roof during Hurricane Ida and has mostly been […]
New Orleans construction projects see funding restored — for now
The Louisiana State Bond Commission approved funding Thursday for over $30 million worth of New Orleans area construction projects and committed to spending $53 million more on city projects a month after blocking the same money over COVID-19 restrictions. Republicans on the bond commission withheld funding for New Orleans projects in August in part because […]
How House Democrats would expand Medicare and Medicaid and lower prescription drug costs
WASHINGTON — New Medicare benefits for older Americans, like dental care. An expansion of eligibility for Medicaid for low-income people in Republican-controlled states that have declined to take that step. And potentially an historic effort to rein in prescription drug prices — if congressional Democrats can work through objections from moderates in their party. The massive […]
Biden to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for federal employees and contractors, reports say
WASHINGTON — Federal employees will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 with no opt-out for testing under an executive order that President Joe Biden is expected to sign Thursday, according to several news outlets. The new requirement will be rolled out as Biden gives a major address Thursday afternoon on new national strategies for combating […]
Louisiana nursing home owner who warehoused patients is a political donor
The nursing homes owner who left nearly 850 of his patients in an unsanitary warehouse following Hurricane Ida has been a generous supporter of both Democratic and Republican politicians in Louisiana. State and federal campaign finance records show Bob Dean has given at least $289,000 to candidates since 1994 both as an individual and through […]
With local hospitals damaged, Louisiana discusses ‘field hospital’ after Ida
With four of the five hospitals in Louisiana’s bayou region almost entirely inoperable, state and federal officials are considering setting up a “field hospital” to provide medical care for Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Louisiana Department of Health […]
Louisiana babies airlifted out of Louisiana hospitals, sent to Texas
Six newborns from Terrebonne General Medical Center were evacuated to Ochsner Lafayette General, the hospital announced Tuesday. All six are in stable condition and staff members at the hospital have been working extra shifts and staying late for feedings to take care of all patients, Critical Care Nurse Manager Meagan Daigle said. Other sick babies […]
Louisiana starts recovery from Hurricane Ida with limited power, phone service
Louisiana citizens started to dig themselves out of the wreckage left by Hurricane Ida Monday while dealing with widespread power failures, sewerage system outages and downed mobile phone service across much of the southeastern region of the state. Some of the parishes most affected by the powerful storm — including New Orleans — didn’t have […]
When Ida meets delta: 5 ways the COVID-19 surge complicates Louisiana’s hurricane response
Hurricane Ida is already expected to be a life-altering, Category 4 storm with winds over 100 miles per hour not only along the Louisiana coast but also more inland parts of the state like Baton Rouge and Lafayette. But this hurricane also poses a bigger threat because it is expected to strike at a time […]
Louisiana nursing home workers have a low vaccination rate. Biden mandate should change that.
Nursing homes will be required to ensure their staffers are vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing billions of federal healthcare dollars in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The president’s new mandate is likely to have a big impact on Louisiana, which has persistently had one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination […]
John Bel Edwards on vaccine mandates: 6 things to know
Gov. John Bel Edwards repeatedly said Wednesday that he won’t be issuing COVID-19 vaccine mandates for the public sector — including for K-12 schools, universities and state employees — until a vaccine receives full approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration and not just emergency use authorization. “I do look forward to the day […]