U.S. COVID-19 deaths hit 600,000, equal to yearly cancer toll
With the arrival of the vaccine in mid-December, COVID-19 deaths per day in the U.S. have plummeted to an average of around 340, from a high of more than 3,400 in mid-January.
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NIH study suggests coronavirus may have been in U.S. as early as December 2019
The new report, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, bolsters earlier studies indicating the virus entered the country under the radar and may have been spreading in the first two months of 2020, well in advance of warnings.
Workers push back against hospitals requiring COVID vaccines
Legal experts say such vaccine requirements, particularly in a public health crisis, will probably continue to be upheld in court as long as employers provide reasonable exemptions, including for medical conditions or religious objections.
Pandemic leaves Girl Scouts with 15 million unsold boxes of cookies
As the pandemic wore into the spring selling season, many troops nixed their traditional cookie booths for safety reasons.
Travel rebound: 2 million people go through U.S. airports
The Transportation Security Administration announced Saturday that 2.03 million travelers were screened at airport checkpoints on Friday. It was the first time in 15 months that the number of security screenings has surpassed 2 million in a single day.
Schools across U.S. brace for surge of kindergartners in fall
School districts across the United States are hiring additional teachers in anticipation of what will be one of the largest kindergarten classes ever as enrollment rebounds following the coronavirus pandemic.
Indiana reports 314 new COVID-19 cases
The Indiana State Department of Health on Friday reported four new deaths from COVID-19, raising the cumulative death tally to 13,295.
New federal COVID-19 safety rules exempt most employers
The Biden administration has exempted most employers from long-awaited rules for protecting workers from the coronavirus, angering labor advocates who had spent more than a year lobbying for the protections.
Indiana to close OptumServe’s COVID-19 testing sites at end of June
At its peak, OptumServe, a division of health care insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, provided testing in 53 counties. Currently, 30 counties have an OptumServe testing site.
Community Health to require all employees to be vaccinated
Community Health said more than 60 percent of the system’s 16,000 employees have already voluntarily received the vaccine since becoming eligible to receive it in December.
State’s COVID-19 case count climbs by 374
The state said more than 2.63 million Hoosiers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 2.7 million had received the first dose of a two-dose vaccination.
Wedding boom is on as vendors scramble to keep up
With restrictions on large gatherings loosening, wedding planners and others who make the magic happen said they’ve started pushing their bookings into late 2022 and early 2023.
U.S. deaths from heart disease, diabetes climbed amid pandemic
Data released this week show the biggest increases in the death rates for heart disease and diabetes in at least 20 years.
Indiana reports 308 new COVID cases, 12 more deaths
The state said more than 2.62 million Hoosiers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 2.7 million had received the first dose of a two-dose vaccination.
U.S. increasingly unlikely to meet Biden’s July 4 vaccination goal
The pace of new vaccinations in the United State has dropped below 400,000 people per day—down from a high of nearly 2 million per day two months ago.
Indiana’s COVID-19 case count rises by 302
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased from 601 on Sunday to 614 on Monday.
Indiana reports lowest daily case count in nearly a year
The state said more than 2.58 million Hoosiers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
U.S. vaccination rates fall off, imperiling Biden’s July 4 goal
The slowdown is national—with every state down at least two-thirds from its peak—and particularly felt across the South and Midwest.
July 4 downtown fireworks show returning after 2020 cancellation
The annual fireworks show has new organizers and a different launch site. The 36-story Regions Tower had been the launch site since the 1970s, but can no longer be used.
COVID-19 cases increase by 405 in Indiana
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 decreased from 666 on Wednesday to 652 on Thursday.