COVID-19

Registered Nurse Orlyn Grace administers a COVID-19 booster vaccination to Jeanie Merriman at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic April 6, 2022, in San Rafael, California.

‘A nice, regular fall’: Kansas doctors call for more vaccinations to dampen COVID-19 cases

BY: - September 20, 2023

TOPEKA — Doctors warn that colder months have already brought an uptick in COVID-19 cases, especially in the urban parts of the state, though numbers are still significantly lower than they were during the height of the pandemic. During a Wednesday update on the state’s COVID-19 situation, doctors and health officials asked Kansans to take […]

Registered Nurse Orlyn Grace administers a COVID-19 booster vaccination to Jeanie Merriman at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic April 6, 2022, in San Rafael, California.

Food and Drug Administration approves COVID boosters for upcoming season

BY: - September 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the latest round of COVID-19 boosters, as public health officials brace for another cold and flu season. An advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to vote on recommendations Tuesday, the final step in the process before people will […]

U.S. FDA Authorizes Second COVID-19 Booster Shot For Those Over 50

Updated COVID-19 vaccines expected to be available in September, federal officials say

BY: - August 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is gearing up for a fall vaccination campaign that not only includes updated COVID-19 boosters, but the annual flu shot and the newly approved RSV vaccine. “We’re going to be encouraging Americans to get their COVID-19 vaccine in addition to their annual flu shot, as well as the immunizations for […]

Nurses draw vaccine doses from a vial as Maryland residents receive their second dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine March 25, 2021, at the Cameron Grove Community Center in Bowie, Maryland. The vaccinations were provided by Prince George's County's Mobile Units as vaccinations in Maryland are now over the 20% threshold. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Hospitalizations in Kansas and nationwide signal ‘summer surge’ of COVID-19

BY: - August 4, 2023

TOPEKA — A national summer uptick in COVID-19 cases has arrived, but Kansas physicians are still waiting to see if cases in the state follow national trends. Across the U.S., hospitalizations have been on the rise since the beginning of July, the first increase seen this year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]

Mike Brown, chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to drop the criminal case against President Donald Trump for harboring classified documents because the allegations of wrongdoing were ridiculous and evidence Democrats corrupted agencies and departments of the federal government to target conservative Republicans. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas GOP chairman: Latest Trump indictment a leap by U.S. into ‘banana republic territory’

BY: - June 13, 2023

Kansas Republican Party chairman Mike Brown says classified-document indictment of former President Donald Trump should be withdrawn by federal prosecutors.

Kansas Action for Children health policy adviser Heather Braum says an anti-vaccination bill vetoed by Gov. Laura Kelly would have triggered an irresponsible change in state law placing the life of children in jeopardy. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Action for Children sounds alarm on anti-vax, food security and child care bills

BY: - May 15, 2023

The nonprofit Kansas Action for Children says the 2023 Legislature followed the wrong policy path on food stamp, child care and anti-vaccination bills.

Workers demonstrate in Miami Springs, Florida, in September 2020, in support of continued federal unemployment benefits in the pandemic economy

Fast federal response to pandemic key to US economic recovery, economists say

BY: - May 13, 2023

The public health emergency declaration ended on Thursday, and with it some of the policies that helped the U.S. recover from the many of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Although COVID-19 is still a public health threat, the national economic crisis it created has subsided with the U.S. economy back to its pre-pandemic […]

Kansas governor vetoes bill on child COVID-19 vaccines, authority of health officials

BY: - May 12, 2023

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly shot down an anti-vaccination bill that would have blocked child COVID-19 vaccination requirements and stripped authority from public health officials, a move greeted with outrage from Republican leaders in the Legislature. House Bill 2285, sent to Kelly’s desk in the last days of the legislative session, narrowly passed the House […]

Memorial Held In Washington, DC For Nurses Who Battled COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID public health emergency ends, prepping for a new pandemic is next

BY: - May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — After more than three years and 1.1 million deaths, the United States on Thursday will end the public health emergency for COVID-19 — and Congress is attempting to better prepare for a possible resurgence of that virus or another. The expiration of the designation, originally put in place in January 2020, means alterations […]

Kelly relies on executive power to scuttle deal on COVID-19 lawsuit filed by Wichita business

BY: - May 11, 2023

Six Republican legislators on the State Finance Council wanted to settle a COVID-19 lawsuit filed in Wichita, but Gov. Laura Kelly rejected the deal.

Rep. John Eplee, an Atchison Republican and family physician, said the Legislature's passage of a bill restricting authority of state and local public health officials was a misguided response to government actions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Legislature narrowly approves bill stripping authority from state, local public health officials

BY: - April 29, 2023

Kansas Legislature presented Gov. Laura Kelly with a bill restricting authority of state and local public health officials responding to health emergencies.

Senior businesswoman using laptop for team meeting video conference

Long COVID is hurting business; workplace accommodations could help

BY: - April 18, 2023

Three years after the start of the pandemic, millions of working age people still suffer from long COVID-19 and some lawmakers and advocates, including people with long COVID, say not enough is being done to protect their well-being and ensure they can continue to be employed. Proposed federal legislation, better workplace accommodations, and more federal […]