Health
Do African Americans in Louisiana have equal access to the vaccine? We can’t say
Louisiana doesn’t know the race or ethnicity of more than half of the people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine shot in the state, making it difficult to determine whether minorities are underrepresented in vaccine distribution — as some have feared would happen. In total, 33 percent of people who received at least one shot […]
Biden orders tougher mask rules as part of overhauled COVID-19 strategy
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s first policy focus after being sworn in? Overhauling the disjointed federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed another 4,400 American lives on his first day in office alone. “The brutal truth is, it’s going to take months before we can get the majority of Americans vaccinated,” Biden said Thursday. […]
Biden taps Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s top public health official, for federal post
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania’s top public health official for a cabinet-level post, the incoming administration said early Tuesday. Biden has named state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine as his assistant health secretary, putting her on track to become the first openly transgender official to face confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The news was […]
‘Nobody is satisfied’ with Louisiana’s vaccine distribution so far, Edwards says
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ covered three major topics during a Wednesday afternoon press conference: the schedule for a special election for the seats left open by Rep. Cedric Richmond and the late Luke Letlow, COVID-19’s alarming spread in Louisiana and his dissatisfaction with the state’s vaccine distribution thus far. Louisiana will hold a special election […]
Judge dismisses Formosa Plastics lawsuit, but permit remains suspended
A federal court in Washington D.C. on Friday dismissed a lawsuit challenging a wetlands permit for a $9.4 billion Formosa Plastics facility in St. James Parish; however, the lawsuit had already accomplished one of its primary goals. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended Formosa’s permit in November, and the permit remains suspended as the […]
Louisiana pharmacies overwhelmed as COVID-19 vaccine eligibility expands
Louisiana pharmacies selected to receive COVID-19 vaccinations that can be used to inoculate people 70 years old and above were inundated with phone calls after the state made their business names and locations public Monday morning (Jan. 4). “The phone just doesn’t stop ringing,” said pharmacist Constance Rabalais of Sentry Drug of Marksville. “I’ve never […]
7 Things You Need To Know About Louisiana’s COVID-19 Vaccine Plan
Louisiana is entering its fourth week of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and the number of people who qualify for the first vaccine shot is tripling. An additional 640,000 people in Louisiana are now eligible to receive the first shot of the vaccines starting Monday (Jan. 4) — bringing the total number of people who are eligible […]
Louisiana will make small amounts of COVID-19 vaccine available to people 70 and older next week
Louisiana will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to people 70 and older and additional types of health care workers next week as the first batch of Moderna’s vaccine is set to arrive Monday in a limited supply, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday. “The number of vaccine doses that we are going to receive next week […]
Congressman-elect Luke Letlow admitted to ICU with COVID-19
Louisiana’s newly-elected U.S. congressman, Luke Letlow, was admitted into intensive care Wednesday at Ochsner LSU Health Center in Shreveport after he was hospitalized with COVID-19 five days ago, according to Letlow’s spokesman Andrew Bautsch. Bautsch released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying Letlow was transferred from St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe to Ochsner LSU in […]
La. Supreme Court, citing procedural error, sends ‘Edwards v. House’ petition case back to district court
The Louisiana Supreme Court on Monday vacated a November ruling from a Baton Rouge Judge that said it was unconstitutional for the Louisiana House, by itself, to use a petition to end the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions. The court sent the case of Edwards v. House of Representatives, et al. back to Judge William Morvant in […]
There are good reasons Black people don’t trust health institutions, but I still got the vaccine
By Maurice Sholas, M.D., Ph.D. “To make people trust, you need to become trustworthy…. I think if…communities were engaged in conversation… people would know: ‘You are hearing me, you are respecting my right to ask questions and get a legitimate answer. So now let me make up my own mind’…. If we approach it […]
Attending LSU basketball games more dangerous than attending football games, epidemiologist warns
An announced plan to limit the stands at LSU basketball’s games to 25 percent capacity is not restrictive enough to adequately prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, an infectious disease expert says, but interim LSU President Tom Galligan said the actual capacity will likely be between 16 to 18 percent when social distancing rules […]