UAE to offer booster shot to recipients of China’s Sinopharm vaccine Changed by pandemic, many US workers won’t return to old jobs India reports record day of virus deaths as cases level off
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KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian lawmakers have voted to dismiss the health minister who has faced criticism for the slow pace of the nation’s coronavirus vaccination effort.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal held Health Minister Maksym Stepanov responsible for the failure to quickly procure more vaccine. Shmyhal says the nation of 41 million people so far has received only 2.3 million doses, and only 948,3300 Ukrainians had received at least one shot as of Tuesday.
$3B in Covid relief funds going to states for mental health, substance abuse treatment
Updated May 18, 2021;
Posted May 18, 2021
President Joe Biden salutes from the stairs of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, May 18, 2021, on his departure and then on to Detroit to visit the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Mich.AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez
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WASHINGTON Federal health officials are releasing $3 billion to help states cope with rising substance abuse and mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
The money approved by Congress in President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief bill will be equally divided between the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, roughly tripling the federal commitment to the programs, officials say.
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White House coronavirus response senior adviser Andy Slavitt on Tuesday urged young Americans to get vaccinated, saying his own son is battling long-haul symptoms of the infection.
“He’s young and fit, and in the prime of his life. But six months later, he stills suffers from tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), shortness of breath and ongoing and frequent flu-like symptoms, Slavitt said at a White House briefing. His hands are cold to the touch.
Slavitt said it is not clear how long the symptoms will last. He said that many, many young people are more seriously ill than his son, and that more than one-third of hospitalized COVID patients are under 50.
HHS Secretary Becerra forms new Behavioral Health Coordinating Council
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is distributing $3 billion in American Rescue Plan funding the largest aggregate amount of funding to date for its mental health and substance use block grant programs.
The Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) Program and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program (SABG) will disperse $1.5 billion each to states and territories (with the latter also awarding money to a tribe). This follows the March announcement of supplemental funding of nearly $2.5 billion for these programs. SAMHSA, an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has expedited federal funding to grantees to help communities grappling with mental health and substance use needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.