About 60 percent of current Covid outbreaks in Georgia are occurring in K-12 schools across the state, public health officials said Tuesday. That’s seven times more than the child outbreaks in previous virus surges, Cherie Drenzek, the state epidemiologist, told the board of the Department of Public Health. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths among children have…
More than half of all Georgia public school students are now required to wear masks in class, the Associated Press reported recently. One physician organization would like to see mask requirements extended to more schools – and to other settings. In a new GHN Commentary, the president of the Georgia State Medical Association points out…
By Dr. Ericka Russell-Petty We, the doctors of the Georgia State Medical Association, want to express our alarm and concern over the current surge of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data over the course of the pandemic have documented that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, have excess negative health consequences, more hospitalizations, and are more likely to…
The misuse of an anti-parasite drug to treat or prevent Covid has spiked in recent weeks, leading to increased calls to poison centers. The CDC issued a health advisory Thursday warning doctors and the public about the use of ivermectin to treat the virus. The drug, used for roundworm infections and the mostly tropical disease known as river blindness, is not approved for Covid. The Georgia Poison…
“It feels like it just doesn’t end.’’ That’s how Damien Scott, CEO of Emanuel Medical Center in rural southeast Georgia, described the current covid wave and its impact on his hospital and community. All six ICU beds at the Swainsboro hospital Tuesday morning were filled with very sick virus patients, with five on ventilators. Several…
To describe the current COVID surge, hospital leaders in South Georgia are using strong words, such as ‘‘scary,’’ ‘‘fear’’ and “overwhelmed.’’ The state’s COVID-19 map shows most of the hottest spots for the latest case surge are in the southern part of Georgia. And some hospital officials in the region say the impact is worse…
The Piedmont Healthcare system will require doctors, hospital leaders and new employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Sept. 1, the Atlanta-based nonprofit organization said Monday. Other employees at Piedmont facilities will be required to get COVID shots “in the near future,’’ Piedmont said in a statement. “It’s important to consider that vaccination is a…
By Brenda Goodman and Andy Miller Part Three of a series Ideally, anyone should be able to look at this map we created and learn what percentage of health care workers at their local hospitals have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19. That may not be possible, however, because some hospitals say the data are incorrect. The…
By Andy Miller and Brenda Goodman Second in a series Houston Healthcare did the typical things to promote COVID-19 vaccination among its hospital workers, including stressing the importance and safety of getting a shot. But the Warner Robins-based system’s successful vaccine effort had a personal dimension as well. The deaths of three beloved staff members…
By Brenda Goodman and Andy Miller Brenda Goodman is a senior news writer for WebMD. Andy Miller is editor and CEO of Georgia Health News. This is the first of a series. Tim Oswalt had been in a Fort Worth, Texas, hospital for over a month, receiving treatment for a grapefruit-sized tumor in his chest…