Wall Street steadies following last week’s omicron-related slide
The most powerful lift for stocks came from those that have been able to grow strongly almost regardless of the economy’s strength or pandemic’s pall.
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Sports conferences ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 launch mental health initiative
Teammates for Mental Health will be unveiled this week during basketball games involving the three conferences, including the ACC/Big Ten women’s and men’s challenges.
More omicron variant cases pop up as world rushes to learn more
The COVID-19 variant was identified days ago by researchers in South Africa, and much is still not known about it, including whether it is more contagious, more likely to cause serious illness or more able to evade the protection of vaccines.
Stocks sink on new COVID variant; Dow loses 905 points
It was the worst day for Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index since February, and the price of oil fell about 13%, the biggest decline since early in the pandemic, amid worries of another slowdown in the global economy.
New omicron variant stokes world fears, triggers travel bans
A World Health Organization panel suggested omicron could pose greater risks than delta, which is the world’s most prevalent variant and has fueled relentless waves of infection on every continent.
Indiana COVID-19 daily cases climb back past 4,000, hospitalizations rise
Another 17 deaths from COVID-19 were reported to the state on Tuesday, raising the total to 16,805.
On the road again: Travelers emerge in time for Thanksgiving
The number of air travelers this week is expected to approach or even exceed pre-pandemic levels, and auto club AAA predicts that 48.3 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday period, an increase of nearly 4 million over last year.
Biden administration asks court to allow vaccine mandate
The legal tussle over the vaccine mandate for larger private employers is one of several challenges over Biden administration vaccine rules. Courts so far have not halted two other mandates—one for health care workers and one for contractors for the federal government.
Indiana hospitalizations from COVID near seven-week high as case counts climb
Another 51 deaths from COVID-19 were reported to the Indiana State Department of Health on Tuesday, raising the total to 16,788.
White House to spend $1.5B to attract doctors to underserved communities
The pandemic has highlighted what has long been a barrier to accessing quality medical care in rural areas and communities of color: provider shortages.
Roche Diagnostics terminates ‘small number’ of workers for not getting COVID-19 vaccine
About 3,000 people work on the company’s large campus at 9115 Hague Road on the northeast side of Indianapolis and another 1,500 people work elsewhere across the region.
Indiana GOP bill stymies workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandates
The bill is set on an extraordinary fast track for approval, with a single public hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the Statehouse followed by the House and Senate voting on final approval six days later.
Cap on drug price hikes for privately insured sparks battle
The main drug industry lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, says inflation rebates would undermine innovation that continues after medicines are approved.
Indiana COVID-19 hospitalizations up 31% over past two weeks as cases rise
The moving average of daily COVID-19 cases has climbed from 1,660 at the beginning of the month to 2,848, an increase of 71.6%.
Renewed Indiana pot legalization push faces GOP opposition
The Republican-dominated Legislature has not taken any action on bills submitted over the past decade for allowing medical marijuana or removing criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of the drug.
Fired exec at Community Health can pursue retaliation lawsuit, judge rules
U.S. District Judge Richard Young this week threw out most of Community Health’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Thomas Fischer, who served as the hospital system’s chief financial officer for eight years before he was fired in 2013.
Pfizer, U.S. ink $5.29B deal for possible COVID-19 treatment
Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to authorize emergency use of the experimental pill, which has been shown to significantly cut the rate of hospitalizations and deaths among people with coronavirus infections.
For second time, Franciscan Health extends deadline for employee vaccinations
Franciscan issued a three-paragraph statement, saying it had “re-examined its next steps” for the COVID-19 vaccine and was now adopting a Jan. 4 deadline to comply with the federal mandate.
U.S. offering investment to boost COVID-19 vaccine capacity
The Biden administration is making billions of dollars available to drugmakers to expand domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines in the hopes of building capacity to produce an additional 1 billion shots per year to share with the world.
Indiana governor, GOP lawmakers look to end COVID-19 orders
Indiana’s governor is facing pressure from fellow Republicans to end the statewide COVID-19 public health emergency order that’s been in place since March 2020 even as the state has seen a recent jump of infections and hospitalizations.