Stories tagged: "COVID-19"


For the past three years, the U.S. has been in a public health emergency because of COVID-19. It ended today. (Image via NC DPS)
The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Is Officially Over in the U.S.

For the past three years, the country has been in a public health emergency, it ends today. That means many people will have to start paying for COVID tests.

Image via Shutterstock.
Millions of Americans Could Lose Medicaid Coverage Later This Year When the COVID-19 Emergency Ends. Here’s What You Need to Know.

The Biden administration announced recently that the U.S. will no longer be in a COVID-19 emergency as of May 11, which means that an estimated five to 14 million Americans could lose access to health insurance via Medicaid. 

Chicago educator Tamisha Holifield spends time with her 2-year-old daughter Rian Holifield at Nichols Park, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. When Holifield and her daughter had COVID-19 in May, the toddler had to miss 15 days of child care. Bouts of colds have followed in what Holifield described as a "constant whirlwind" of sickness that has been stressful both financially and emotionally. "It's a major inconvenience. But I'm a single parent, so I don't have a choice. If I drop the ball, the game is over," Holifield said. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Move On From COVID? Child Care Disruptions Continue

A record-high 104,000 people missed work in October because of child care problems, surpassing even early pandemic levels.

Workers at a Walgreens location in Durham, N.C. assist persons with tests for COVID-19 at a temporary drive-thru site where patients administer their own tests in May 2020. To alleviate long testing lines today amid the Omicron surge, health officials are giving away tests and masks. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
We Got Ya, North Carolina. Here’s How to Get Free COVID Tests and Masks

Hoping to ease long lines, the Biden administration and state leaders are dishing out freebies.

Healthcare workers process COVID1-9 rapid antigen tests at a testing site Thursday. Last week North Carolina broke single-day records for COVID-19 cases three days running, according to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, topping out at 19,620. Friday, the state reported 28,474 new cases. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)
Latest Omicron News Is Giving North Carolina Deja Vu

North Carolina is seeing a huge spike of Omicron variant infections, risking staffing shortages at hospitals and schools.

Protesters march along the streets to protest the shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City, N.C., Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Brown's killing made NC the center of the racial justice movement in 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The 4 North Carolina Stories That Changed the Way I Think In 2021

Every journalist has a preconceived notion of the story, no matter what they tell you. These stories made me think twice about those notions. 

(Getty Images)
CDC Panel OKs COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids. Parents, Here Are the Next Steps.

The vaccine is safe, extremely effective, and crucial to defeating the virus that has plagued North Carolina since early 2020.