Despite two recent mass shootings, including one in Georgia, the state Senate on Monday passed a gun rights bill that proponents say protects the Second Amendment freedoms of citizens. The bill passed along party lines, with Republicans, who control the chamber, voting in favor of it. Gov. Brian Kemp’s floor leader, Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia),…
Georgia’s COVID vaccine campaign is shifting from seeking supply to stoking demand. Starting Thursday, all Georgians 16 and older will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday at a news conference at the state Capitol. Last week, Kemp allowed people 55 and older and those with medical conditions to get the vaccine,…
By Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine As the nation reels from last week’s shooting spree that killed eight in the Atlanta area, a gun rights bill is poised for passage in the Georgia General Assembly. House Bill 218 got through most of the legislative process before the shootings March 16 at three metro Atlanta massage businesses….
Near America’s largest coal-fired power plant, toxins are showing up in drinking water and people have fallen ill. Thousands of pages of internal documents show how one giant energy company plans to avoid the cleanup costs for coal ash. By Max Blau Mark Berry raised his right hand, pledging to tell the whole truth and…
Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday that judges and other court personnel in Georgia are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. In announcing the move, Kemp cited the substantial backlogs in court cases in the state, because many court proceedings had to be suspended during the pandemic. “We believe it is vital to get the…
By Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine Lorna DeLoach and her husband were diagnosed with COVID-19 a week ago. “I’m just taking it day by day,’’ she said Wednesday while battling a fever. “I’ve got some secondary infection going on.’’ DeLoach, 56, believes she was infected with COVID while performing her duties as the probate court…
A state Senate committee passed a much pared-down version of legislation that would have restructured the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Senate Bill 256 went from 32 pages to two in its latest version, which received unanimous approval from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday. The original version would have taken…
Now that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is heading to Georgia and other states, will it reduce the number of people who are hesitant about getting a COVID-19 shot? A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey suggests that J&J’s new single-dose vaccine will make a difference in public attitudes. The two vaccines that have been in…
Gov. Brian Kemp, as expected, is adding educators to the state’s COVID vaccine priority list. But the governor also is expanding eligibility for other groups: adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers; and parents of children with complex medical conditions. They will join K-12 educators and staff of public and private schools, and…
It’s not just the actual infections that have altered the medical landscape in Cook County. The COVID-19 pandemic has produced many more people with depression and anxiety, says Dr. Jairaj Goberdhan, a family physician in the South Georgia county. “I have written more prescriptions for that,’’ he says, adding, “I have written more sleep aid…