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Covid-19

Oscar G. Johnson vets center using health protection levels

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center is implementing COVID-19 health protection levels as part of Veterans Administration’s consistent, nationwide approach for veterans health. Administration facilities will adjust COVID-19 safety protocols locally as needed. The three VHA COVID-19 health protection levels — low, medium, and high — align with community transmission levels reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are based on new COVID cases and percentage of positive tests. Using the CDC’s guidance, clinical staff and facility ...

Gridlock could delay COVID funds

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is headed for “a lot of unnecessary loss of life," the Biden administration says, if Congress fails to provide billions more dollars to brace for the pandemic’s next wave. Yet the quest for that money is in limbo, the latest victim of election-year gridlock that’s stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Joe Biden’s appeal for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has hit opposition from Republicans, who've fused the fight with the precarious politics of immigration. Congress is in recess, and the next steps are uncertain, ...

Local data: 27 new virus positives in Dickinson, 15 in Iron

Local health officials Friday reported 27 new confirmed COVID-19 positives in Dickinson County and 15 in Iron County in the past eight days. Dickinson County also had 12 probable virus cases and Iron County three probables since May 19, according to figures posted Friday on the ...

Local data: 24 new virus positives in Dickinson, 12 in Iron

Local health officials Thursday reported 24 new confirmed COVID-19 positives in Dickinson County and 12 in Iron County in the previous six days. Dickinson County also had 24 probable virus cases and Iron County two probables since May 13, according to figures posted Thursday on the ...

National Guard plays major role in Wisconsin’s pandemic response

LA CROSSE, Wis. — After more than three months, the Wisconsin National Guard’s mission to assist as nursing assistants at state health care facilities is winding down. Senior Wisconsin National Guard leaders and officials from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services travelled to ...

CDC urges Pfizer booster for children ages 5 to 11

Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, advisers to the U.S. government said Thursday. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention quickly adopted the panel’s recommendation, opening a third COVID-19 shot to healthy elementary-age kids — just like what is already recommended for everybody 12 and older. The hope is that an extra shot will shore up protection for kids ages 5 to 11 as infections once again are on the rise. “Vaccination with a primary series among this age group has lagged behind other age groups leaving them vulnerable to ...