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COVID-19

Home COVID tests to be covered by insurers starting Saturday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under the new policy, first detailed to the AP, Americans will be able to either purchase home testing kits for free under their insurance or submit receipts for the tests for reimbursement, up to the monthly per-person limit. A family of four, for instance, could be reimbursed ...

Italy targets the unvaccinated with new virus restrictions

ROME (AP) — Italy targeted the unvaccinated with a host of new coronavirus restrictions Monday, with proof of vaccination or recovery from a recent infection required to enter public transport, cafes, hotels, gyms and other popular venues. The new “super” health pass requirement, which ...

Stay home or work sick? Omicron poses a conundrum

As the omicron variant of COVID-19 infects workers across the nation, millions of those whose jobs don’t provide paid sick days are having to choose between their health and their paycheck. While many companies instituted more robust sick leave policies at the beginning of the pandemic, some of those have since been scaled back with the rollout of the vaccines, even though omicron has managed to evade the shots. Meanwhile, the current labor shortage is adding to the pressure of workers having to decide whether to show up to their job sick if they can’t afford to stay ...

Pennsylvania seeks more hospital beds, staff in COVID surge

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania has begun working to boost the number of hospital beds and organize “strike teams” of extra health care workers for hospitals and nursing homes struggling with surging COVID-19-related caseloads and staffing shortages, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Friday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency are coordinating the undertaking after getting requests for help, Wolf’s office said in a statement. The plans involve adding hospital beds within regions for 60 days to absorb patients from swamped ...

Supreme Court skeptical of Biden’s workplace vaccine rule

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fully vaccinated and mostly masked, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-testing requirement on the nation’s large employers. The court seemed more open to a separate vaccine ...

Hospitalizations skyrocket in kids too young for COVID shots

Hospitalizations of U.S. children under 5 with COVID-19 soared in recent weeks to their highest level since the pandemic began, according to government data released Friday on the only age group not yet eligible for the vaccine. The worrisome trend in children too young to be vaccinated ...