COVID-19
‘Flying blind:’ A Kentucky COVID-19 pandemic retrospective
On March 6, 2020, a Kentuckian in Lexington tested positive for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency. The United States had been under a public health emergency for more than a month by then. Five days after Kentucky’s first confirmed case, the World Health Organization said COVID-19 was […]
What to know about Kentucky’s dominant COVID-19 strain
The “vast majority” of Kentucky’s COVID-19 cases are now the variant EG.5 – also known as “Eris” – according to Louisville infectious disease expert Dr. Mark Burns. This variant is “slightly more contagious … but overall not very different from the original omicron” strain, Burns told press Wednesday. EG.5 is an omicron descendant, according to […]
COVID-19 image of nurses as ‘Healthcare Heroes’ both daunting and inspiring to students
Fewer students were studying to become nurses in Kentucky last year than in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. Enrollment in educational programs that lead to a nursing license declined in 2021 and 2022. But a variety of statewide efforts could help push the numbers back up in the coming years. Kentucky needs more nursing students […]
Beshear, Cameron both claim the moral high ground
This article is published with permission from the Northern Kentucky Tribune, a nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. FANCY FARM, Kentucky – The first faceoff of the candidates for governor, at last Saturday’s Fancy Farm Picnic, brought the race into clearer focus. Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron is betting that culture will trump […]
Kentucky lost hundreds of physicians when it most needed them
The commonwealth lost nearly 600 physicians from 2019 to 2022, Kentucky Medical Association Executive Vice President Patrick Padgett told legislators in Frankfort on Wednesday. The loss of 590 physicians represents a $1 billion economic loss, Padgett said. It also means a hit to patient services. And it happened during the deadly coronavirus pandemic that killed nearly […]
‘She changed the world.’ Kentucky honors the late Virginia Moore
LOUISVILLE – There’s a version of the late Virginia Moore that the general public mourns: the woman who stood next to Gov. Andy Beshear day after day, interpreting in sign language how many Kentuckians COVID-19 had killed that day. But her friends and family who gathered at the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville on […]
University of Louisville researchers get millions in federal funds to study immune system
University of Louisville researchers announced Friday that three federal grants totalling $6.1 million will allow them to further study immune system dysregulation, which they say causes serious illness and death in some patients who have COVID-19. This funding, from the National Institutes of Health, comes after UofL researchers “discovered that a specific type of immune […]
Kentucky’s population shifted older in a decade. Here’s how and why it matters.
Kentucky’s population is shifting older, new data shows, with the oldest counties in the western part of the state. Counties with colleges and military clusters are home to the younger populations, according to analyses of new Census data by the Kentucky State Data Center (KSDC). Eastern Kentucky is aging faster than the rest of the […]
Meet some of the Kentuckians answering 988
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. LOUISVILLE – When Sunshine Randolph was an undergraduate student, her stepfather died by suicide. “It really does kind of rock your world,” she said of the experience, which drew her to […]
Daniel Cameron needs to focus on Kentucky’s challenges, not cultural attacks
Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s resounding victory in the Republican primary for Kentucky governor is an historic milestone. As the first Black person to be nominated for the office by either party, he has a chance to become the first Black Republican governor from any state. The win also factors in analyses of the clout and […]
As the COVID public health emergency ends, prepping for a new pandemic is next
WASHINGTON — After more than three years and 1.1 million deaths, the United States on Thursday will end the public health emergency for COVID-19 — and Congress is attempting to better prepare for a possible resurgence of that virus or another. The expiration of the designation, originally put in place in January 2020, means alterations to […]
COVID-19 national emergency declaration ending. Virus is still here.
LOUISVILLE – The national COVID-19 public health emergency declaration expired Thursday, but Kentucky health experts caution that the virus isn’t gone. “We have to remember that the disease has not gone away,” said Dr. Dan Goulson, the chief medical officer for CHI Saint Joseph Health. He spoke during a Thursday press conference featuring several Kentucky […]