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Covid-19

Pfizer shots protect kids

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine gave children 5 and older strong protection against hospitalization and death even during the omicron surge that hit youngsters especially hard, U.S. health officials reported Tuesday. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention come a day after a study of New York children suggested the vaccine may not be as effective in 5- to 11-year-olds as in older kids — especially at blocking milder infections. That data raised the question of whether kid-sized doses given to those under 12 might be too low. But the CDC said data from multiple ...

Dickinson has three new virus cases, Iron two since Friday

State data Monday showed Dickinson County had only three more confirmed COVID-19 positives and Iron County two new cases since Friday, reflecting a statewide decline in virus activity. Figures on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus website Monday indicated 64 new ...

Many state employees can soon shed masks

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Starting Thursday, many state employees will no longer be required to wear masks at work as Michigan continues to report declining COVID-19 infections. The Office of the State Employer announced the change Monday in an email to the state’s 46,000-plus workers. Masking may still be mandated for some employees, such as those working inside prisons and state psychiatric hospitals. “More changes to policies may be coming in the following weeks,” Liza Estlund Olson, director of the office, wrote. “We look forward to seeing more of the smiles of our ...

Law lets part-timers keep jobless aid

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A law enacted Monday gives Michigan’s unemployment agency flexibility to stop seeking repayment of benefits from part-time workers who began qualifying when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The bill, signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is intended to resolve a conflict between state law and a new federal program — created in 2020 and extended into 2021 — that provided unemployment aid to people who were not otherwise eligible, including part-time employees. It retroactively specifies that claimants seeking the benefits, which have since expired, could certify ...

Anti-abortion groups question grants

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Anti-abortion groups in Wisconsin on Monday questioned whether Gov. Tony Evers legally awarded about $2.4 million in federal stimulus money to Planned Parenthood, a move they claimed violated a state law prohibiting the funding of abortions. The groups, represented by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, also said the grant programs appeared to be unlawfully created and unlawfully administered. The letter sought more information from Evers, a Democrat, about how the legality of creating two grant programs without approval from the ...

Local, state data shows slowdown in new virus positives

Local data Thursday showed that in the past week COVID-19 activity in Dickinson County has dwindled to 18 new confirmed positives, while Iron County added half that number at nine cases. Both counties, however, did have two more deaths each attributed to the virus since the last report Feb. ...