COVID-19, homicides and ODs strain Indiana coroner’s budget
The Marion County coroner’s office budget has been strained from deaths from COVID-19, drug overdoses and rising homicides in Indianapolis.
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Federal court rules losses suffered by Patachou restaurant not covered by insurance
The Patachou restaurants in Indianapolis and Carmel will not be able to recoup their financial losses from the COVID-19 shutdown in the spring of 2020 after a federal court found the insurance policy they held only reimbursed for damage to the actual brick and mortar structures.
U.S. officials recommend shorter COVID isolation, quarantine
U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation recommendations for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.
Man charged in Indiana deputy’s shooting dies from COVID-19
A former town marshal charged in the September shooting of a southwest Indiana sheriff’s deputy has died after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
DOJ says inmates on home confinement can stay out of prison
The Justice Department on Tuesday reversed its own legal opinion and said it would allow federal inmates released on home confinement because of the coronavirus pandemic to stay out of prison.
High court to hold special session on vaccine requirements
The Supreme Court says it will hold a special session in just over two weeks to weigh challenges to two Biden administration policies covering vaccine requirements for millions of workers, policies that affect large employers and health care workers.
ILAS sets ambitious goal for annual holiday fundraiser
The cards have been mailed and the team captains continue to encourage colleagues to donate as the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society moves forward with a ramped-up holiday campaign that has a goal of raising $400,000 — nearly double the record amount received in 2020.
AG Rokita sues Biden administration over preschool masks, vaccine mandates
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has joined attorneys general in 23 other states in a lawsuit against the Biden administration over mask and vaccine mandates the federal government imposed on all preschool programs funded by the federal Head Start program.
Pfizer pill becomes 1st US-authorized home COVID treatment
U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.
U.S. Navy sending team to Methodist Hospital to help with rising COVID-19 cases
Federal officials are sending a 20-person U.S. Navy team to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to help relieve overwhelmed staffers at Indiana’s largest hospital.
Indiana hospitals make plea to Hoosiers: ‘The situation is dire’
Warning that they are running out of beds and the situation is getting critical, three large hospital systems in central Indiana are pleading with Hoosiers to get vaccinated, boosted, tested and wear masks.
EXPLAINER: Must employers follow Biden’s vaccine mandates?
Tens of millions of workers across the U.S. are in limbo as federal courts have issued different rulings related to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for larger private companies, certain health care workers and federal government contractors.
COVID-19 omicron variant confirmed in 1st Indiana patient
Tests have confirmed Indiana’s first known case of the COVID-19 omicron variant, state health officials announced Sunday.
Indiana lawmakers take up vaccine limits amid COVID-19 surge
Some Indiana doctors and health experts warned Thursday that a Republican-backed proposal aimed at limiting workplace COVID-19 vaccination requirements would hurt efforts to stem the illness as the state’s hospitals are strained with their highest-ever overall patient counts.
Justice Department asks high court to allow vaccine mandate
The Biden administration late Thursday asked the Supreme Court to block lower court orders that are keeping President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers from going into effect in about half of the states.
CDC recommends Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 shots over J&J’s
Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
St. Joseph County judges require masks in courthouses
A northern Indiana county’s judges have reinstated an order requiring people to wear masks in four courthouses because of the county’s rising COVID-19 infection rates.
Data indicate omicron is milder, better at evading vaccines
The omicron variant appears to cause less severe disease than previous versions of the coronavirus, and the Pfizer vaccine seems to offer less defense against infection from it but still good protection from hospitalization, according to an analysis of data from South Africa, where the new variant is driving a surge in infections.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 reach highest mark since last year
Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in Indiana have reached their highest level since late last year, according to the latest figures from the Indiana State Department of Health.
Legislation pits religious freedoms against employer rights
It’s one of the trickiest paths an employer must tread: when to make allowances for workers who express sincerely held religious views on matters ranging from work schedules to dress and grooming practices. And for the past year, Indiana employers have faced one more sensitive area: whether to enforce COVID-19 vaccination mandates on workers who say the vaccines violate their religious beliefs.