BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The coronavirus’ omicron variant starting to barrel across South America is pressuring hospitals whose employees are taking sick leave, leaving facilities understaffed to cope with COVID-19’s third wave. A major hospital in Bolivia’s largest city stopped ...
JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli hospital on Monday said preliminary research indicates a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine provides only limited defense against the omicron variant that is raging around the world. Sheba Hospital last month began administering a fourth vaccine to more than 270 medical workers — 154 who received a Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and 120 others who received Moderna's. All had previously been vaccinated three times with the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine. The clinical trial found that both groups showed increases in antibodies “slightly higher” than following ...
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Monday resumed his weekly briefings on the coronavirus, six days after he tested positive for COVID-19. Justice’s return coincided with the state surpassing 20,000 confirmed cases of the virus over a one-week period for the first time. The Republican governor, 70, developed a headache and high fever and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Jan. 11, forcing him to call off his State of the State speech to the Legislature the next day. Justice, who is fully vaccinated, received a monoclonal antibody treatment as recommended by ...
NEW YORK (AP) — In just two weeks, the cost of pecans for the pies at Peggy Jean’s Pies in Columbia, Missouri, has surged nearly 40%, perplexing co-owner Rebecca Miller and adding to the cost of doing business. Miller will soon have to bump up the price of her Southern Pecan, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan, and German Chocolate pies by $2 to $24. While pecans have risen the most, Miller is seeing price increases across the board, from blackberries to condensed milk and eggs. She consults with three food brokers weekly to source the lowest prices for ingredients. But she still needs to ...
COVID-19 infections are soaring again at U.S. nursing homes because of the omicron wave, and deaths are climbing too, leading to new restrictions on family visits and a renewed push to get more residents and staff members vaccinated and boosted. Nursing homes were the lethal epicenter of the ...
Biltmore United Methodist Church of Asheville, North Carolina, is for sale. Already financially strapped because of shrinking membership and a struggling preschool, the congregation was dealt a crushing blow by the coronavirus. Attendance plummeted, with many staying home or switching to other churches that stayed open the whole time. Gone, too, is the revenue the church formerly got from renting its space for events and meetings. “Our maintenance costs are just exorbitant,” said the Rev. Lucy Robbins, senior pastor. “And we just don’t have the resources financially that we ...
