From USA TODAY Network and wire reports
Alabama
Montgomery: The state will roughly double the number of people eligible to receive immunizations against COVID-19 this month even though there’s still not enough vaccine for everyone who qualifies for a shot, the head of the state health agency said Friday. Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, said everyone 65 and older, educators, court officials, corrections officers, postal employees, grocery store workers, some manufacturing workers, public transit workers, agriculture employees, state legislators and constitutional officers will be eligible to get vaccinations when the program expands Feb. 8. Currently, only people 75 and older, first responders, health care workers and long-term care residents are eligible. The state has been hearing complaints that more people aren’t allowed to get in line for shots. The change means as many as 1.5 million people in the state will qualify for shots, up from about 700,000 currently, H
Alaska advocates say severe child abuse rose in pandemic Follow Us
Question of the Day By - Associated Press - Friday, January 29, 2021
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Severe child abuse cases in Alaska have increased significantly at times during the coronavirus pandemic, experts said.
As students return to classrooms, child welfare advocates are assessing the impact of the pandemic on child abuse, Alaska Public Media reported Wednesday.
Visits by one clinic to children in need of hospitalization for severe injuries because of suspected abuse skyrocketed by 173% in the last year. The number was initially reported as 220% but didn’t include four cases that were added later to the 2019 count, Mike Canfield, a spokesperson for Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, said Friday.
Alaska children’s advocates say severe abuse increased during pandemic
Print article Severe child abuse cases in Alaska have increased significantly at times during the coronavirus pandemic, experts said. As students return to classrooms, child welfare advocates are assessing the impact of the pandemic on child abuse, Alaska Public Media reported. Visits by one clinic to children in need of hospitalization for severe injuries because of suspected abuse skyrocketed by 173% in the last year. The number was initially reported as 220% but didn’t include four cases that were added later to the 2019 count, Mike Canfield, a spokesman for Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, said Friday.
House Health and Social Services committee hears testimony on proposed split of DHSS Sydney Kurle | Jan 13, 2021
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On Wednesday the House Health and Social Services committee heard testimony from multiple experts on Governor Mike Dunleavy’s proposed bifurcation of the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS). The overwhelming sentiment from these experts was that the proposed split would do more harm than good to the people who rely on DHSS.
In late December 2020, Dunleavy announced his intention to split DHSS into two separate departments, the Alaska Department of Health and the Alaska Department of Family and Community Services. This split was aimed at streamlining and improving service delivery while creating more flexibility in departments.
Two local clinics have administered a little over 200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Kodiak to people over the age of 65 and healthcare workers in the third tier