Reporter
Jane Roberts has reported in Memphis for more than 20 years. As a senior member of The Daily Memphian staff, she was assigned to the medical beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has done in-depth work on other medical issues facing our community, including shortages of specialists in local hospitals. She covered K-12 education here for years and later the region’s transportation sector, including Memphis International Airport and FedEx Corp.
There are 1465 articles by Jane Roberts :
“With the growing threat of COVID-19 variants and our duty to provide a safe environment for vulnerable patients, a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for our employees is the responsible and right thing to do.”
Shelby County Health Department director Dr. Michelle Taylor stands firm on agency’s authority to require masks.
Testing will begin Sept. 6 for Health Department staff.
Hospital has nearly half the serious cases in the state.
No decision yet at Baptist, the area’s largest system; 58% of its 19,000 employees are vaccinated.
Students who do not comply and do not qualify for an exemption are to be sent home.
The Shelby County Health Department amended Directive No. 24 to require face coverings for students and teachers in all K-12 schools, officials announced Friday.
Here’s how some area colleges are handling vaccinations as students return to school for the fall. One is even paying students $1,000 to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
Pediatric hospitalizations reflect COVID, rising number of respiratory infections. Related story:
Attorney Ralph Gibson said in a letter that Christopher Rowland did not participate in the meeting: “While the meeting was happening, Mr. Rowland had dinner with his children, took an important phone call, and dealt with the dogs which needed to be let out during the meeting.”
Tennessee officials say local school boards and parents, not the state, should have the final say in whether students wear masks to school.
Of the 4,383 active cases in Shelby County, more than a quarter are in children, and those children are suffering more respiratory symptoms than they were earlier in the pandemic.
The COVID-19 surge Shelby County is experiencing now is expected to be steeper than those at other times in the pandemic.
Shelby County had 1,051 active pediatric cases as of Tuesday, Aug. 3. The largest contingent is among 15- to 17-year-olds, who account for more than a fifth of cases.
The Shelby County Health Department has new guidance on masking.
Sunday, the situation was dire enough that Regional One Health diverted trauma cases to other emergency rooms.
“We have an untapped resource of labor that they can get, and they probably are not aware of that,” says Troy Allen, director of employment for Shelby Resident and Vocational Services.
Order runs through the end of August and may be renewed.
The university raised more than $35 million, including a record of $26.5 million for academic support when unemployment was at record highs and the campus mostly was quiet.
Decision on masking mandate rests with the county mayor’s office. Aside from a tweet endorsing the CDC guidelines Wednesday, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris refused comment.
The change reflects research that shows the vaccinated can transmit the COVID-19 virus to others.
‘In the general course of a month, Delta went from nothing to just about everything,’ said Richard Webby, an infectious disease expert who works at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The VA is the first federal agency to mandate vaccines. It applies to employees at the VA Hospital in Memphis. The only other Memphis hospital that mandates vaccinations is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Poplar Healthcare supports physicians across the country witha variety of technologies to process lab specimens.
Tennessee may still immunize 14-18-year-olds under Mature Minor Doctrine but instances are “very nuanced and fringe,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Lisa Piercey.