Many Tennesseans are more vulnerable than ever as the omicron variant arrives. Even with 50% of the state still unvaccinated, other public health protections are unlikely to be revived to slow the spread of COVID.
Baptist Health Paducah, Mercy Health Lourdes Hospital, Jackson Purchase Medical Center and Murray-Calloway County Hospital are all aiming to fully comply with a federal vaccine mandate put in place by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid in early November. The mandate calls for all hospital employees at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Vanderbilt has received funding to study how hospitals snatched up and burned through personal protective equipment early in the pandemic. At the time, public health officials thought some hospitals were hoarding supplies, but they didn’t know who.
Baptist Health announced its vaccination mandate in early August. Last week, they reported 99.6% compliance, with only 10 people leaving the company as a result of the mandate.
At least one health department in western Kentucky is already giving shots to newly eligible children, with other departments making plans to do so in the coming week.
On Monday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reported that the state had surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 deaths. He said it was the third leading cause of death last year and so far this year.
As Kentucky continues to recover from the job losses and the unpredictability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one of America’s iconic social service organizations is finding many families in the Owensboro region struggling to make ends meet.
Courtesy TSU NewsMany Tennesseans are more vulnerable than ever as the omicron variant arrives. Even with 50% of the state still unvaccinated, other public health protections are unlikely to be revived to slow the spread of COVID.
A federal judge in Kentucky has temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
