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COVID-19

Virus surge hits New England despite high vaccination rates

Despite having the highest vaccination rates in the country, there are constant reminders for most New England states of just how vicious the delta variant of COVID-19 is. Hospitals across the region are seeing full intensive care units and staff shortages are starting to affect care. Public officials are pleading with the unvaccinated to get the shots. Health care workers are coping with pent-up demand for other kinds of care that had been delayed by the pandemic. “I think it’s clearly frustrating for all of us,” said Michael Pieciak, the commissioner of the Vermont Department ...

Federal judge: Montoursville will keep masks

Saying a mask does not pose a potential of harm to others, U.S. Middle District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann on Thursday denied an injunction regarding a requirement in the Montoursville Area School District that students wear masks. In Brann’s opinion, “No one except perhaps a bank robber likes to wear a mask — and even then with reluctance, but as a concession to professional attire. But the Constitution does not shield us from all things we dislike. Here, parents of schoolchildren in Montoursville.” “The Constitution does not guarantee students a right to attend school ...

Fighting wave of misinfo, YouTube bans false vaccine claims

YouTube announced a sweeping crackdown of vaccine misinformation Wednesday that booted popular anti-vaccine influencers from its site and deleted false claims that have been made about a range of immunizations — and a Jersey Shore Area School Board meeting was among the videos booted. Jersey Shore Area School District Superintendent Brian Ulmer noted that the district learned last week that its Sept. 13 board meeting was removed from YouTube. “The Jersey Shore Area School District did not remove the video,” he stated. “On the administrative side of our account, there is a ...

Biden vaccine mandate splits US on party lines: AP-NORC poll

A survey of Americans on President Joe Biden’s plan to require most workers to get either vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 finds a deep and familiar divide: Democrats are overwhelmingly for it, while most Republicans are against it. With the highly contagious delta variant ...

Mask opt-out legislation clears Senate committee

A bill that would allow parents in Pennsylvania to exempt their children from wearing a mask at school cleared a state Senate committee on Tuesday as Republican lawmakers started making good on their pledge to counter the governor’s statewide mask mandate. The legislation would hand the ultimate decision on masking at school to parents and guardians, allowing them to overrule any face-covering mandate imposed by the state Department of Health, a local health department or a school board. It would also prohibit schools from keeping unmasked students away from other students or ...

JS Parents: Masks should be optional

JERSEY SHORE — “Do what’s right for the kids,” parent Ann Marie Pfirman urged the Jersey Shore Area School board at their meeting as she made the case for a masks-optional policy for district students. “I am here as a soldier of God fighting to maintain our Constitutional and God-given rights,” Pfirman told the board. She added that in preparing to speak, she realized that none of the board members “have spoke up for our children or parent rights publicly.” “I am asking you to stop hiding behind the threats of the bullies and power grabbing elitists that don’t ...