About 2.4 million people in the United States are now receiving COVID-19 vaccinations daily, but one medical expert thinks the nation may not reach herd immunity this year if more people can’t be persuaded to get a shot. “What I really worry about is that those people who are already on the fence don’t get vaccinated
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COVID-19 precautions, including masks and screening, remain in place at Portneuf Medical Center’s main campus and in all outpatient clinics.
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What’s your favorite bedtime jam? Do you doze off to jazz, a babbling brook, a crackling fire or a whirling fan of white noise? Or maybe you’re a sound aficionado, and have replaced your white noise machine with one that provides the more fashionable pink or brown noise? Whatever your pleasure, know this: While continuously
Continue Reading “Coronavirus, Fact vs Fiction,” the podcast I’d been hosting for the last 14 months, posted its last episode on Friday. That might come as a surprise, or even a shock, to some of our loyal listeners, who came to rely on its daily dose of scientific fact blended with calm assurances. But, almost 300 episodes
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The Southeastern Idaho Public Health COVID-19 Hotline will change its call center hours beginning Monday
Continue Reading As India’s explosive outbreak spills beyond its borders, the West and its drug companies are under growing pressure to waive intellectual property rights to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments so more countries can start making them. On Sunday, the US acknowledged those calls, with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain telling CBS News that US
Continue Reading Many of us start our days the same way: with a cup of coffee or tea. Caffeine is as much a part of our routine as brushing our teeth or getting dressed for the day. Maybe your habit extends to a cup of coffee in the afternoon, or you have a soda with your dinner.
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As more US state leaders announce hopeful timelines for a return to normalcy, one expert says there’s something that could delay how quickly we get there. “It’s going to take us that much longer to get back to life as normal, to stop having to wear masks for our protection, if people don’t get vaccinated
Continue Reading When the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that almost 8% of the millions who have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine hadn’t returned to get the second shot they need, it raised concerns that the country might not be able reach herd immunity. But health experts say what’s most
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A year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic was still in its relative infancy, the head of the World Health Organization stressed that a global approach would be the only way out of the crisis. “The way forward is solidarity: solidarity at the national level, and solidarity at the global level,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom
Continue Reading The United States has fully vaccinated more than 100 million people against COVID-19, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a milestone that comes with optimism about the future. “I think we can confidently say the worst is behind us,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of Brown University School of Public
Continue Reading Nearly 1.3 billion adults globally in 2020 said they would not get a Covid-19 vaccine if one were offered to them at no cost, according to a new Gallup poll released on Monday. The poll, which surveyed more than 300,000 people across 117 countries last year, showed that 68% of adults worldwide would get a
Continue Reading The US needs to vaccinate tens of millions more Americans to have a chance at suppressing the spread of coronavirus — but in parts of the country, vaccinations are slowing and demand has dropped. Experts say they saw that coming. “In the first few months, we were capturing the part of the population that really
Continue Reading Disneyland reopened Friday after being closed for more than a year, but many health safety protocols will continue to be enforced. The theme park in Anaheim, California closed on March 14, 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and announced its plan to reopen in March 2021. The park’s capacity will be significantly limited to comply
Continue Reading Although we’re closer than ever to resuming life as usual in the United States, globally, the end of the pandemic is horrifyingly far away. India is now the epicenter of the worst ongoing coronavirus outbreak, and the situation there could get worse before it begins to get better. Despite hope in the United States, where
Continue Reading Honesty Liller started using drugs when she was 12. “I just wanted to fit in with my friends,” she said. It was the start of a rocky journey that Liller, now 40, said took her to many dark places and made her a very different person. “With a name like Honesty I would lie, lie,
Continue Reading When we look back on the coronavirus pandemic, who and what will we remember? At or near the top of the list for many — especially those living in the United States during the last 15 months or so — will be Dr. Anthony Fauci, a scientist, doctor and public servant who, at this point,
Continue Reading With the coronavirus pandemic spiraling out of control in India and other developing regions, the United States this week committed to sharing 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries. But that’s a drop in the bucket. The US has bought or contracted to buy more than 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines.
Continue Reading With the coronavirus pandemic spiraling out of control in India and other developing regions, the United States this week committed to sharing 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries. But that’s a drop in the bucket. The US has bought or contracted to buy more than 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines.
Continue Reading As May arrives, the US is taking a major step toward resuming normal life, with cities, businesses and entertainment venues announcing plans to begin reopening after the deadly winter surge of Covid-19 infections. New York City indoor dining capacity will expand to 75% beginning May 7, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday, detailing a swath of
Continue Reading Covid-19 deaths are declining in the United States — and some health experts credit this drop in death to the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. The seven-day average of new Covid-19 deaths in the United States was 670 newly reported lives lost each day as of Thursday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The United
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Idaho officials reported 177 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Friday.
Continue Reading The Transportation Security Administration is extending the Biden-era transportation mask mandate. The rule requiring masks on all travelers in airports, airplanes, terminals, trains, buses and boats was set to expire May 11. The mandate now lasts until September 13. The TSA says it has received reports of 2,000 people who violated the rule, which took
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Local health officials reported 27 new COVID-19 cases in the area Friday.
Continue Reading The Biden administration will restrict travel from India starting on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. “On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration will restrict travel from India starting immediately,” she said in a statement. “The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19
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The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) awarded Portneuf Medical Center’s security team, managed by HSS, with the Program of Distinction.
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One hundred million adults in the United States are now fully vaccinated, White House coronavirus response director Jeff Zients announced Friday. “That’s a hundred million Americans with a sense of relief and peace of mind, knowing that after a long and hard year, they’re protected from the virus,” Zients told reporters at a White House
Continue Reading New mask guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week has divided experts and fueled a new debate about the best way to steer Americans out of the pandemic. The guidance boils down to this: Fully vaccinated people can now unmask at small outdoor gatherings, or when dining outside with friends
Continue Reading The first release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States began this week in the Florida Keys — the culmination of a decade-long effort by local mosquito control authorities to see if a genetically modified organism is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides in the region. For the first 12-week phase, blue-and-white boxes containing
Continue Reading Flames crackle over the wails and prayers of grieving families as they mourn loved ones lost to COVID-19, whose bodies are laid on funeral pyres that burn through the night in India’s capital, New Delhi. The families’ grief reflects the unfolding tragedy in India — now at the epicenter of the global pandemic — Jessie
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The seven-day average of new COVID-19 deaths in the United States hit its lowest point since October 2020, a CNN analysis of Johns Hopkins University data found Thursday. As of Wednesday, 684 new deaths were reported, the JHU data showed, which is about an 80% drop since January. Since the beginning of 2021, the seven-day
Continue Reading As a condition of the emergency use authorizations issued for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, those companies are expected to work toward asking the US Food and Drug Administration for full approval — and some health officials are hoping it will happen soon. These vaccines have been in use since mid-December under emergency use
Continue Reading A new review of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine safety monitoring data finds that only 3% of reported reactions after receiving the vaccine are classified as serious — and there have been a total of 17 incidents of severe blood clotting while also experiencing low blood platelet levels. The report, published on Friday by the
Continue Reading The seven-day average of new Covid-19 deaths in the United States hit its lowest point since July 2020, a CNN analysis of Johns Hopkins University data found Thursday. As of Wednesday, 684 new deaths were reported, the JHU data showed, which is about an 80% drop since January. Since the beginning of 2021, the seven-day
Continue Reading I’ve been wanting to take my friend to my favorite tea shop for what seems like forever. Ever since we had to switch from having our tea in person to sipping over video calls during the pandemic, I’ve been looking forward to having a reunion at “Dr. Bombay’s Underwater Tea Party.” It has been a
Continue Reading As May arrives, the US is taking a major step toward resuming normal life, with cities, businesses and entertainment venues announcing plans to begin reopening after the deadly winter surge of Covid-19 infections. The travel industry is gearing up for a big summer season. This week, Delta will resume filling the middle seat on flights
Continue Reading With demand for Covid-19 vaccines falling off, mass vaccination sites around the country find themselves facing a dilemma of how to deliver vaccines without wasting precious doses. State and local leaders have been asking Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers to scale down the size of vaccine vials and how much is being distributed. “Many of our health
Continue Reading Playgrounds seem like — and in many cases are — a relatively safe pandemic activity, but there are factors that can complicate the issue. Playgrounds are “a great opportunity to get families together and be outside and enjoy, but do so in a safe way,” said Dr. Ada Stewart, a family physician with Cooperative Health
Continue Reading College students hesitant to receive a COVID-19 vaccination may need to rethink their decision. As most colleges in the US inch toward the end of the spring semester, a new procedure is taking shape for their return. More than 100 US colleges and universities have said they will require all their students to get vaccinated
Continue Reading The earliest description of cancer is from an ancient Egyptian papyrus, and going back further, even dinosaurs suffered a form of the disease. But cancer long has been thought to have become a common disease only in the last two centuries or so. This is, in part, down to longer life expectancies, habits like smoking,
Continue Reading Idaho officials reported 210 new COVID-19 cases Thursday.
Continue Reading Local health officials reported 23 new COVID-19 cases in the area Thursday.
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The Teton County Wyo. health order requiring individuals in Teton County, Wyo. to wear face coverings in certain places is expected to be rescinded on May 7, 2021 instead of expiring on May 17, 2021 as initially planned.
Continue Reading As coronavirus shut down the world last year, Terre Baldwin was getting a life-saving heart and kidney transplant in San Francisco. With no guests allowed in her hospital room, she spent most of her days staring at the ceiling. At the same time, about 30 miles east, her brother Al Baccei was on a waiting
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When humans finally have the chance to explore Mars, the members of those crewed missions will be millions of miles from home with delayed communications. Before they go, scientists want to understand as much as possible about the potential effects of microgravity and radiation on the human body. A big step toward this goal was
Continue Reading Experts have made it clear: to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, America needs to get vaccinated. And that includes younger Americans, some of whom still are hesitant or may think they don’t have as much to fear from the virus. Everyone 16 and older is currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. But a recent Quinnipiac University
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Gov. Kate Brown is extending Oregon’s state of emergency for COVID-19 until June 28, saying a fourth surge of the pandemic is being driven by variants of the disease and causing increased cases and hospitalizations.
Continue Reading Turkey has entered its first national coronavirus lockdown as infection rates continue to climb in the country, now the highest in Europe. The lockdown began on Thursday at 7 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) and will last through the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and over the Eid al Fitr holiday.
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The Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity to establish and operate mobile, off-site, walk-in and special COVID-19 vaccination clinics in underserved populations.
Continue Reading Americans have an easy way to crush COVID-19 — one that would let businesses fully reopen safely, ditch the need for social distancing and restore a mask-free return to normalcy. But many Americans don’t want to get vaccinated as myths and misunderstandings spread. “Facebook runs a survey every day … and that’s shown that vaccine
Continue Reading After loosening its COVID-19 prevention guidelines somewhat this week for people who are fully vaccinated, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could soon go even further if new cases continue to decline, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. The seven-day average of new cases has dropped from about 60,000 new infections per day to “around
Continue Reading The US Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to ban menthol flavored cigarettes and all flavored cigars, including menthol flavor, within the next year, according to an agency announcement Thursday. The aim is to “significantly reduce disease and death” from using these two products. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the
Continue Reading Turkey is bracing itself for its first national coronavirus lockdown as infection rates continue to climb in the country, now the highest in Europe. The lockdown will begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) and will last through the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and over the Eid
Continue Reading There is a split scenario unfolding as the world battles the pandemic. In countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, jubilant, newly-vaccinated people hug their loved ones after a long period of separation. In India, distraught families count their dead. Sick people are being turned away from hospitals that have run out of
Continue Reading Is that face in the mirror looking a bit, well, older these days? “Some of this is due to perception, what I call ‘Zoom face,’” said Dr. Rajani Katta, author of “Glow: The Dermatologist’s Guide to a Whole Foods Younger Skin Diet.” “Between the harsh lighting, the strange angles, and just staring at your face
Continue Reading If you’re planning to travel to the Maldives here’s what you’ll need to know and expect if you want to visit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The basics The Maldives reopened borders to all travelers from all countries on July 15, 2020. The primary exception to this is the tightly packed capital city of Malé, which
Continue Reading After loosening its COVID-19 prevention guidelines somewhat this week for people who are fully vaccinated, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could soon go even further if new cases continue to decline, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. The seven-day average of new cases has dropped from about 60,000 new infections per day to “around
Continue Reading Idaho officials reported 255 new COVID-19 cases and five new deaths Wednesday.
Continue Reading Washington State University will require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations this fall for students and employees.
Continue Reading Local health officials reported 44 new COVID-19 cases in the area Wednesday.
Continue Reading The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were found in the real world to be 94% effective against COVID-19 hospitalization among fully vaccinated adults ages 65 and older in the United States, according to a new US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. The study also found that the vaccines were 64% effective among those
Continue Reading Los Angeles County, the first county in the US to have recorded more than one million coronavirus cases, is set to enter its least restrictive reopening phase as early as next week, public health officials announced. The nation’s most populous county was once California’s pandemic epicenter — recording one Covid-19 death every 10 minutes in
Continue Reading New York is the latest state to allocate COVID-19 vaccine doses directly to primary care doctors as part of an initiative to reach people who may be reluctant to be inoculated. A group of primary care doctors in New York City vaccinated patients at their own offices for the first time Tuesday. Primary care doctors
Continue Reading In its gradual return to normal, the US took another step forward this week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance Tuesday on the activities fully vaccinated Americans can safely enjoy without a mask. The agency said fully vaccinated people can unmask at small outdoor gatherings or when dining outside with friends
Continue Reading Are you one of the growing numbers of Americans who are fully vaccinated? If so, you can now get more of your pre-COVID life back, according to new guidelines released Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Remember: You’re not considered “fully vaccinated” until two weeks after you got a single-dose of
Continue Reading Just in time for warmer weather, fully vaccinated Americans can now safely enjoy more pre-pandemic activities without a mask, according to new guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But health officials are seriously concerned about sputtering vaccine interest in some areas. The CDC defines fully vaccinated people as those who are
Continue Reading India is experiencing the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak. The country has had more than 17.6 million cases since the pandemic began last year. But experts fear the the real number could be up to 30 times higher. Grieving families are struggling to keep themselves and their loved ones safe amid an overwhelmed health care system,
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The Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) will hold a media briefing about COVID-19 in Idaho at 2:30 p.m. MDT Tuesday.
Continue Reading When it comes to being indoors, the six feet rule of social distancing misses the bigger point of how coronavirus spreads, according to two Massachusetts Institute of Technology experts. While staying six feet apart can help prevent the spread of large droplets of saliva or mucus that carry coronavirus and other germs, that distance does
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The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare director said people no longer have to prove they live or work in Idaho to get vaccinated.
Continue Reading Idaho officials reported 289 new COVID-19 cases and six new deaths Tuesday.
Continue Reading Local health officials reported 51 new COVID-19 cases and 5 new deaths Tuesday.
Continue Reading President Joe Biden spoke on Covid-19 Tuesday afternoon. You can watch it live below: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued new guidance on outdoor mask use for fully vaccinated Americans. Fully vaccinated people can now unmask at small outdoor gatherings, or when dining outside with friends from multiple households. The
Continue Reading On Saturday morning, thousands of people marched through London to protest against public health measures being contemplated or deployed amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. At least a few reportedly pinned yellow Stars of David to their chests or printed sweatshirts with the symbol, apparently analogizing proposed mandatory vaccination documentation to the symbols that Nazis forced
Continue Reading As the United States and the world continue to struggle in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, one truth has emerged — it didn’t have to be nearly this bad. Preparedness can prevent epidemics. COVID started as single and potentially containable outbreak before spreading rapidly across the globe and changing life as we know
Continue Reading US officials say COVID-19 vaccines are our way out of the pandemic. But the US faces a stubborn challenge — vaccine hesitancy — which could prevent some communities from reaching widespread protection levels and suppressing the spread of the virus. Providing strong incentives to get a shot could help, some experts say. “Many Americans want
Continue Reading The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration lifted the pause on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Friday. The agencies previously had decided to pause administration of the vaccine due to cases of an extremely rare blood clotting disorder found in six women between the ages
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Thousands of business in Wyoming have received federal relief aid during the pandemic but records show some have now been asked to repay some or all of the money because of miscalculations and other reasons.
Continue Reading Amanda Saucedo did everything the natural parenting blogs she read told her to do before she brought her newborn son Ben into her bed to co-sleep in October 2014. “I was a single mom of two kids, so I took sleep any way I could get it,” said Saucedo, who was 27 at the time.
Continue Reading With polls showing that about half of Republicans are unenthusiastic about getting a Covid-19 vaccine, some of former President Donald Trump’s advisers are encouraging him to make a public service announcement urging his followers to roll up their sleeves, according to two former senior Trump administration officials. The officials emphasized that vaccine hesitancy among Republicans
Continue Reading Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and receiving a vaccination card has become a rite of passage for many Americans who have endured the pandemic for the last year. Securing a vaccination card, however, doesn’t necessarily mean your COVID-19 vaccine status is in your medical records. Many got the vaccines at drive-in events, sports stadiums and other
Continue Reading Miscarriages are common. Some 23 million pregnancies worldwide end in miscarriage every year — that’s 15% of all pregnancies or 44 each minute, according to new estimates published in The Lancet medical journal on Monday. However, existing care and support for women and couples is “inconsistent and poorly organized” and amounts to little more than
Continue Reading Have you recently had the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine? Get medical attention quickly if you suffer persistent, severe headaches, blurred vision, shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, persistent abdominal pain or unusual bruising within three weeks of getting the J&J vaccine, the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control said Monday in
Continue Reading Fewer new people are getting their first COVID-19 shot than those finishing up their second, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the last 10 of 11 days, the number of “fully vaccinated” people has risen more than the number of people with “at least one dose” — suggesting
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The Pocatello City Council is planning to readdress the City’s face covering ordinance on Monday.
Continue Reading Idaho officials reported 542 new COVID-19 cases and three new deaths over the weekend.
Continue Reading Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 and receiving a vaccination card has become a rite of passage for many Americans who have endured the pandemic for the last year. Securing a vaccination card, however, doesn’t necessarily mean your Covid-19 vaccine status is in your medical records. Many got the vaccines at drive-in events, sports stadiums and other
Continue Reading The European Union is seeking to resume “transatlantic travel as soon as it is safe to do so,” and is urging member nations to take a unified approach to opening borders to US citizens. EU officials have been “following very closely the progress of vaccination in the United States” and the speedy rollout there is
Continue Reading The US will begin sharing millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine with other countries soon, an official told CNN on Monday. The US has tens of millions of AstraZeneca’s vaccine stockpiled but none have been used because it has not yet been granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. Because President Joe
Continue Reading COVID-19 vaccination efforts may begin to slow down as more Americans get vaccinated, an official told CNN on Sunday. More than 42% of the US population has gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 28.5% of the population is fully vaccinated. “We’re
Continue Reading After surviving a fear-filled year of the COVID-19 pandemic, getting vaccinated is a cause for celebration. As COVID-19 vaccines become more readily available, companies want to reward Americans who’ve been vaccinated with special offers after getting their shots. CNN Business put together a list of companies that are providing freebies when you show proof of
Continue Reading President Joe Biden is expected to announce Tuesday that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidance for wearing masks outdoors, three people familiar with the expected announcement said. Ahead of his first address to Congress on Wednesday, the President will give remarks on the state of the pandemic on Tuesday.
Continue Reading The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in newly updated guidance for summer camps that people who can get vaccinated against COVID-19 should do so, but everyone should wear masks, distance is still necessary and staying outdoors is best. In guidance posted on Saturday, the CDC notes that vaccines are not yet authorized
Continue Reading COVID-19 vaccination efforts may begin to slow down as more Americans get vaccinated, one US official told CNN on Sunday. More than 42% of the United States population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 28.5% of the population is fully
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A growing number of Americans have missed their scheduled second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna require two doses — administered three and four weeks apart, respectively — to be considered fully effective. But data shows about 8%
Continue Reading Two leading US officials say fully vaccinated Americans may get more guidance in just a matter of days on what they can safely do. Part of that guidance is going to be on outdoor mask use, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday. “In the next few days very likely, the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Continue Reading Americans who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to visit the European Union this summer, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in an interview with The New York Times on Sunday. “The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,” von der Leyen said,
Continue Reading A reckoning with the deaths resulting from institutionalized racism, a resurgence of almost-daily gun violence and 3.1 million pandemic deaths worldwide, there has been trauma piled upon trauma upon trauma. It turns out these collective traumas are taking a toll on all of us, according to Roxane Cohen Silver, a professor of psychological science, medicine
Continue Reading Everybody is talking about the “finish line.” After more than a year of trauma and heartbreak, state and local officials are pointing to an end point — a return to the normalcy we’ve craved for months — that they say is just around the corner. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said last month the state was
Continue Reading The US will likely soon come up against a significant obstacle in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic — more doses of the vaccines than people who are willing to receive them, according to data that is worrying experts. “We actually think that (vaccine) supply will outstrip demand … in probably the middle of May,”
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