SNAP Recipients Will Lose Their Pandemic Boost And May Face Other Reductions By March
SNAP recipients nationwide will stop getting pandemic-era boosts after this month’s payments, the Food and Nutrition Service announced. The emergency allotments provided an additional $95 or the maximum amount for their household size — whichever was greater. The announcement stated “SNAP emergency allotments were a temporary strategy authorized by Congress to help low-income individuals and families deal with the...
Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines Authorized As Booster For Younger Kids
US FDA News Release, Oct. 12, 2022 Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent to authorize their use as a single booster dose in younger age groups. The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is authorized for administration at least two months following completion of primary or booster vaccination...
Unemployment In Hopkins County Declines To Pre-COVID Rate In April
Franklin and Hopkins Counties continued to have the lowest unemployment rates in the Northeast Texas Workforce Development Area. In fact, unemployment in Hopkins County declined in April 2022 to the pre-COVID low of 2.8%, down from a seasonally adjusted rate of 3% in March 2022 and a 3.1% rate unadjusted for seasonal employment, according to the data published May 20, 2022 on Texas Labor Market Information website, for Texas Workforce...
Alcohol Isn’t The Only Thing A Breath Test Can Detect; It Can Now Detect COVID-19 Too
Alcohol isn’t the only thing a breath test can detect; COVID-19 can now be detected in less than 3 minutes using a breath sample. Not having to stick a long cotton swab up the nose, have a blood sample drawn or cheek swab to check for the virus sounds great, just don’t expect to see the new diagnostic devices readily available to the average consumer anytime soon – or even some locations that previously conducted...
FDA Approves Second COVID-19 Vaccine
News Release – Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 Moderna To Be Marketed as Spikevax COVID-19 Vaccine For Ages 18+ Today (Jan. 31, 2022), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; the approved vaccine will be marketed as Spikevax for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. Key points Spikevax meets the FDA’s rigorous...
Love And The Effects Of COVID
Johanna Hicks, Family & Community Health Extension Agent, Hopkins County By Johanna Hicks, Texas AgriLife Extension Family & Community Health Agent, Hopkins County, [email protected] Interesting articles and e-mails often cross my desk. As a strong advocate for healthy marriages, a recent interview with Brad Wilcox, Director of the National Marriage Project, University of Virginia, brought some interesting information to...
Jan. 12 Deadline For Rural Hospitals, Nursing Facilities To Apply For ARPA COVID-19 Funding
AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is reminding rural hospitals and nursing facilities in Texas to apply for $128 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to help pay for critical staffing needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Jan. 12. “We’re encouraging health care providers who have worked so hard in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to take advantage of this...
FDA Acts To Expand Use Of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
FDA Jan. 3, 2022 News Release Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to: Expand the use of a single booster dose to include use in individuals 12 through 15 years of age.Shorten the time between the completion of primary vaccination of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and a booster dose to at least five months.Allow for a third primary...
Over 800 Active COVID Cases Reported For Hopkins County Over The Last 10 Days
3 Additional Hopkins County COVID Deaths Confirmed COVID cases in Hopkins County have skyrocketed over the last 10 days, going from a total of 77 new cases from Dec. 1-14 to 899 new cases reported as of Dec. 28, 2021 – 835 of those cases were reported to still be active on Tuesday. Three additional Hopkins County residents’ deaths have also been confirmed by death certificate to have been caused by COVID-19, according to...
First Known Case Of COVID-19 Omicron Variant In Texas Identified In Harris County
DSHS News Release – 6:59 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 The first known Texas case of the COVID-19 B.1.1.529 variant has been identified in a resident of Harris County. The adult female resident was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Results of genetic sequencing this week showed that the infection was caused by the Omicron variant strain. The case is being investigated by Harris County Public Health and the Texas Department of State...