State and schools get new Covid-19 guidance; Beshear makes employee masks optional; state will go from daily to weekly report

State Dept. for Public Health graph, adapted by Kentucky Health News; to enlarge, click on it. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News As Kentucky came close to leaving the statewide "red zone" for coronavirus infection, Gov. Andy Beshear told state employees they could take off their masks and made the state's guidance...

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Flu cases in Ky. still low, but state reports a flu-related death

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky has reported its first death from influenza this season, even as flu cases have remain low and stable for about four weeks.  The state Department for Public Health says that in the week ended Feb. 19, it counted only 83 flu cases, down from 85 the previous week. The state has recorded 2,744 cases this season and one flu-related death, recorded this reporting week. The state's flu level is "regional,"...

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Bill would let Medicaid to pay certified community health workers

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to require Medicaid reimbursement for certain services provided by certified community health workers, and streamline their certification process, awaits a vote in the full House.  CHWs aren't trained medically, but are trained as patient advocates who come from the communities...

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Kentucky's coronavirus infection rate is sixth among the states and its Covid-19 hospitalization rate ranks second

New York Times graphs show top nine states in infection rates, and the national rate. Click to enlarge. By Al Cross Kentucky Health News The waning pandemic continues to be stronger in Kentucky than in all but a few states, according to the latest New York Times rankings based on data from the Centers for Disease...

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Pandemic state of emergency would end March 7 under resolution state Senate sent to the House on a party-line vote

Sen. Donald Douglas (Legislative photo)  By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The Senate has sent the House a resolution to end the Covid-19 state of emergency in Kentucky on March 7. Senate Joint Resolution 150, sponsored by Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, would end the state of emergency...

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Rate of new vaccination against coronavirus in U.S. at new low; new and additional vaccination in Kentucky also at record low

Rates of new and additional vaccination against the coronavirus in Kentucky and the nation have hit new lows. Over the last seven days, the average number of Covid-19 vaccinations in Kentucky was 2,508, the lowest since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began gathering reliable data in January 2020. Most Kentucky...

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Drug companies' settlement with states and local governments will bring Kentucky $483 million over the next 18 years

The state has finalized a $483 million settlement with four drug companies over their roles in the opioid epidemic, and payments should start in the second quarter of the year, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Friday. The 18-year agreement with drug distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and manufacturer Johnson...

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Under new masking guidance, CDC says people in all but 18 Kentucky counties should still wear masks in indoor public spaces

Centers for Disease Control map, adapted by Kentucky Health News; to enlarge, click on it. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has relaxed its guidance for wearing masks to thwart the pandemic, but says infections and hospitalizations in most of Kentucky are so high that people in all but 18 of...

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Senate bill to address the state's nursing shortage passes its first hurdle, but some say it wouldn't do enough

Photo illustration via Nolan Group Media By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to address the nursing shortage in Kentucky passed out of a legislative committee Wednesday, but the state nursing association and several lawmakers said more needs to be done to keep nurses in the profession. "This is not just...

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44 of 120 counties are now out of the high-infection red zone, but Kentucky still ranks high in new cases and hospitalizations

State Dept. for Public Health map, adapted by Kentucky Health News; to enlarge, click on it. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News As the Omicron variant's surge in Kentucky wanes, more than a third of the state's 120 counties have moved out of the state infection map's red zone, for counties with high levels of...

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UK medical and engineering teams will take new technology for testing wastewater for coronavirus to rural Kentucky this summer

By Elizabeth Chapin University of Kentucky Throughout the pandemic, researchers from the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine and College of Engineering have joined forces to track the virus’ presence in the community by testing wastewater. The practice has seen limited use in the past as a public-health surveillance tool, but the pandemic has brought newfound interest due to its ability to monitor infection trends without extensive clinical...

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Latest Covid-19 surge seems over in Kentucky, but state still has second highest infection rate among states, well into the red zone

Ky. Health News graph from state data; click on it to enlarge. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Kentucky's pandemic metrics have largely returned to where they were before the latest surge, but the commonwealth continues to have the second highest coronavirus infection rate among the states.  Kentucky reported...

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House passes bill to add incentives and expand Rural Hospital Loan Program to include closed hospitals that reopen

Graphic from Gov. Andy Beshear's December press conference By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill to update the Kentucky Rural Hospital Loan Program to add incentives and include some closed hospitals has passed unanimously in the House and is in the Senate for further consideration.  House Bill 364,...

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Herd immunity from Covid-19? Not likely. Herd resistance? Yes.

A recent report estimated that 73 percent of Americans have immunity to the coronavirus, either from being infected by it or by getting vaccinated against it. That has made some people say that the nation is approaching "herd immunity," which protects unvaccinated people by making it more difficult for the virus to circulate. That's unlikely, experts say. But they do think the highly contagious Omicron variant has spread so widely that it provided...

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Most Covid-19 numbers in Kentucky continue to trend down, but our infection rate still ranks second among the states

Ky. Dept. for Public Health map, adapted by Ky. Health News; for a larger version, click on it. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News New coronavirus cases and the percentage of people testing positive for the virus in Kentucky keep declining in Kentucky, but it still ranks second among the states for its seven-day...

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Kentucky's infection rate remains top among states, even as almost every metric used to measure the pandemic trends down

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Even as Kentucky's daily case rate, infection rate, positivity rate and hospital rates are steadily trending down, Kentucky's coronavirus-infection rate continues to be the highest among states.  Gov. Andy Beshear reported that Kentucky's weekly case numbers and positivity rates...

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Tobacco levies a toll of disease and death in Kentucky; health advocates say state government needs to do a lot more about it

As the state legislature ponders allowing local governments to again regulate tobacco sales, the Lexington Herald-Leader has produced a comprehensive report showing the damage done to Kentucky's health by the crop that once accounted for almost half the state's farm income – and politicians' unwillingness to do much to limit...

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Had Covid-19? You're 60% more likely to have mental illness, study finds; researcher says it shows disease isn't 'like the flu'

Los Angeles Times photo People who've had Covid-19 have a 60 percent higher chance of experiencing mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, and thinking of suicide, as well as drug and alcohol abuse and disturbances in sleep and cognition. The results come from a study by researchers at Washington University...

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Bill aims to ease Kentucky's nursing shortage by relaxing licensing and instruction requirements, enrollment caps

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A state Senate committee plans to hear a bill Wednesday to address the nursing shortage in Kentucky, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.  Sen. Robby Mills Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, offers four key measures to address the shortage:...

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Bill would allow a year of Medicaid for new mothers, almost 1/2 of whom don't get routine care in Ky., where death rate is highest

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A bill that would extend Medicaid coverage to new mothers up to 12 months after giving birth passed unanimously out of the House Friday and now heads for the Senate for consideration.  Rep. McKenzie Cantrell House Bill 174, sponsored by Rep. McKenzie Cantrell, D-Louisville,...

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