INDIANAPOLIS — Drugmaker Eli Lilly said Thursday its antibody drug can prevent COVID-19 illness in residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care locations. It's the first major study to show such a treatment may prevent illness in a group that has been devastated by the pandemic. Residents...
Coaches Want to Restart Football in Spring, Even if Local COVID Infections are ‘Substantial’
Fresno-area high school football coaches want to preserve at least part of the 2020-21 season for their student athletes and are proposing a spring schedule of games and playoffs, even if Fresno County is still in the red tier for COVID-19 infection rates. The coaches, who talked about their proposal...
As COVID Vaccine Supplies Dwindle, Clinics in Fresno, Tulare, and Madera Counties Hit Pause
The messages about COVID-19 vaccine availability on public health websites up and down the Valley speak for themselves. Fresno County says, "All appointment times have been filled." Kings County says, "There are currently no vaccine appointments available." Tulare County says, "All Vaccine appointments at Tulare County Public Health Clinics are FULL." "We're...
Did Shutting Down Outdoor Dining Contribute To California’s COVID-19 Surge? Disease Expert Believes So
[aggregation-styles] SF Gate Late last week, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot — typically cautious on COVID-19 policy — raised some eyebrows after calling for restaurants and bars to reopen "as soon as possible." Her logic: The current COVID-19 surge has been primarily fueled by at-home gatherings and parties, and if people...
Study: First 10 Days After Leaving Hospital Pose Deadly Risks for COVID Patients
The first week-and-a-half after a COVID-19 patient is released from the hospital can be especially dangerous. That's the takeaway from a new study published by JAMA conducted by a team from the University of Michigan and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. The researchers compared post-hospital outcomes for nearly 2,200 veterans who...
Bay Area Restaurants, Wineries File Lawsuit Over Outdoor Dining Ban
[aggregation-styles] KTVU-Television NAPA, Calif. - A coalition of Bay Area restaurants and wineries filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against California’s ban on outdoor dining, calling the restriction "arbitrary, capricious, and untethered to evidence." The lawsuit, filed in Napa County Superior Court, named Governor Gavin Newsom and California State Public Health...
Madera Hospital, With ICU Inundated, Transfers Patients to Other Facilities
Madera Community Hospital was so inundated with ICU patients Monday night they had to put out a plea for help. "We were successful in moving about five of those patients out of that facility," Fresno County EMS Director Dan Lynch told reporters on a video call Tuesday afternoon. Three patients...
‘Shameful’: US Virus Deaths Top 400k as Trump Leaves Office
As President Donald Trump entered the final year of his term last January, the U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Not to worry, Trump insisted, his administration had the virus “totally under control.” Now, in his final hours in office, after a year of presidential denials of reality...
Bill McEwen: Five Steps to Heal America Under Biden
Our nation's capital looks like a far-away authoritarian land with 25,000 National Guard soldiers and thousands of police officers deployed to keep Joe Biden safe for his presidential inauguration on Wednesday. America hasn't been this divided since the Civil War, and the immediate future is filled with huge challenges that...
Trustee Slatic Calls for ‘Redshirt’ Year for High Schoolers When In-Person Classes Resume
High school students who want an extra year in school after struggling with distance learning and the absence of friends and activities during the pandemic should be allowed to do so, Fresno Unified Trustee Terry Slatic said Tuesday. Slatic is proposing that students in grades 9 through 12 be allowed...