RAVEN SANTANA, CORRESPONDENT | MARCH 14, 2022 | CORONAVIRUS IN NJ, HEALTH CARE New MSU study shows stress related to academics, finances and COVID-19 As we enter the third year of this pandemic, we are getting a clearer picture of how the isolation and changes impacted people’s mental health, including that of college students. Many entered college hoping…
DetailsUpdated: Feb. 08, 2022, 9:26 a.m. | Published: Feb. 07, 2022, 6:32 p.m. Newark Public Schools, the largest district in New Jersey, will continue to require students to wear face masks even after the state mandate ends March 7, a school official confirmed to NJ Advance Media on Monday. “The wearing of masks is part of…
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JOANNA GAGIS, CORRESPONDENT | DECEMBER 30, 2021 | HEALTH CARE Fewer kids were tested for lead in 2020, the latest year for which data is available. New Jersey is seeing an increase in the number of children with elevated levels of lead in their blood. The pandemic forced many kids to spend additional time at home where…
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The Biden administration announced Friday that Americans can begin ordering free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests starting Jan. 19. Orders for up to four tests per household can be placed using the website COVIDtests.gov. The administration will also set up a phone number so those without access to computers or high-speed internet can place orders. The White…
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering updatingits mask guidance to recommend that people opt for the highly protective N95 or KN95 masks worn by health-care personnel,if they can do so consistently, said an officialclose to the deliberations who was not authorized to speak publicly. With the highly transmissible omicron variant spurring record…
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By David Leonhardt Dec. 7, 2021 Scientists around the world are racing to understand the Omicron variant, and there are some clearer signs than a week ago. Today’s newsletter will try to answer four big questions about Omicron, with help from experts. The answers do come with a caveat: There is still a lot of uncertainty…
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PETER CHEN | NOVEMBER 2, 2021 | OPINION State outreach is necessary to reach the neediest children As lawmakers in Washington debate the extension of the child tax credit, nearly 1 million New Jersey families with children under age 18 have already received advance monthly payments starting in July to help them pay for food, transportation and…
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Partnership to Provide Greater Access to Capital for the State’s Black and Latinx Businesses October 20, 2021 08:46 ET | Source: New Jersey FAM Fund Newark, NJ, Oct. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The New Jersey “40 Acres and a Mule” Fund (NJ “FAM Fund”), a private investment vehicle established to reduce socio-economic disparities resulting from systemic racism, announced…
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Many New Jerseyans are now eligible for another COVID vaccine dose, and the state is reopening megasites to meet the expected demand. NEW JERSEY — With more than 100,000 additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in New Jersey as of Monday afternoon and recently expanded third dose/booster shot eligibility, the state is planning to…
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By Patrick Wall Sep 17, 2021, 7:30pm EDT Earlier this summer, Newark’s youth vaccination rate was still alarmingly low. As of mid-July, only 30% of eligible Newark children had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine — a full 14 percentage points below the statewide rate. That month, Mayor Ras Baraka warned Newark residents that, with so few young…
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By Patrick Wall and Catherine Carrera Sep 7, 2021, 2:14pm EDT After 18 months of eerie silence, classrooms across Newark echoed once again Tuesday with the sound of students — their jittery excitement only partially muffled by the mandatory masks. “I don’t mind wearing my mask because I know it stops me from catching the virus,” said Angela Villa,…
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By Tehsuan Glover – Aug 2, 2021 Newark’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds will pay for up to twelve months of past-due rent and up to three months of prospective rent, on a case by case basis, if applicable. Tenants and landlords can receive help in English, Spanish, or Portuguese by calling (866)484-9033, Monday through Friday, 9am-6pm. Help…
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The move was expected to kick off a round of new vaccination mandates from hospitals, schools and private companies. By Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland Aug. 23, 2021 WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for people 16 and older, a decision that is likely to set off a…
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JOHN MOONEY, EDUCATION WRITER | AUGUST 12, 2021 | EDUCATION, CORONAVIRUS IN NJ Federal regulators approve plan for school spending ahead of September reopening. New Jersey’s plan for spending more than $2 billion in federal money for extra services addressing the COVID-19 pandemic has won final approval from Washington, the federal Department of Education announced Thursday. New Jersey…
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08/6/2021 EAST BRUNSWICK – Joined by educators, medical professionals, parents, and school administrators, Governor Phil Murphy today announced that all students, educators, staff, and visitors will be required to wear face masks indoors for the start of the 2021-2022 school year. The Governor signed Executive Order (EO) 251, which will mandate masking in the indoor premises…
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July 30, 2021 | 3:34 PM ET When revising its mask guidance this week to urge even vaccinated people to wear masks indoors in much of the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was criticized for not citing data in making that move. Now it has — and the data is sobering. The study details a…
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May 25, 20215:00 AM ET The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a strong statement about the effectiveness of vaccines when it decided that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks in most circumstances. But it left some parents concerned about how the change might affect children too young to be vaccinated. Dr. Paul Offit,…
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May 10, 2021 5:23 PM ET The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that children 12 to 15 years old are now eligible to receive a key COVID-19 vaccine as the agency expanded its emergency use authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting FDA commissioner, said the expansion “brings us closer to returning to…
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new guidance detailing steps summer camps should take to prevent and respond to COVID-19 infections. Brandon Chew/Tribune News Service via Getty Images April 26, 202111:22 AM ET Last year, the coronavirus pandemic forced many summer camps to close and families to change their plans. Now, new guidance from…
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By David Leonhardt Mr. Leonhardt is a senior writer at The Times and writes The Morning newsletter, where he has been covering Covid-19. April 22, 2021 Many families will soon face a complicated choice about how quickly to resume their prepandemic activities. More than 50 percent of American adults have already received at least one Covid-19…
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Struggling New Jersey residents could see their monthly food benefit nearly double under a proposal designed to avoid what advocates describe as a looming “hunger cliff” after federal emergency funding expires in February. Lawmakers unanimously approved a bill Thursday to establish a $95 minimum monthly allotment to participants in SNAP, the state and federally funded…
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Adolescents at high schools throughout the state are learning how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health issues and substance use disorders in their friends and how to seek help from an adult that they trust through a mental health first-aid program for teenagers. The Mental Health Association in New Jersey is introducing the…
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The Murphy administration is making progress in lead remediation efforts. It awarded $38 million in grants to some 20 organizations Wednesday for their work to rid the state of hazardous lead exposure, especially for our youngest and most vulnerable residents.
The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, also known as the new 988 hotline, has been operational for only six months, and it has already handled more than two million inquiries across phone calls, chats and text messages. This number far surpasses the inquiries received in the same time period the previous year, when the hotline was 10…
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In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the updated bivalent COVID-19 booster shots to protect against the most prevalent omicron strains in addition to the initial COVID-19 strain of the virus for people who have had their last COVID-19 shot at least two months prior. However, some medical experts are recommending that…
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Evidence thus far shows that pregnant people infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at higher risk for severe disease and death, as well as complications in their pregnancies. Early in the pandemic, maternal-fetal health specialists had to confront the fact that there were no easy answers they could give their patients regarding how COVID-19 might affect their…
DetailsTRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, and Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli today announced that New Jersey is opening additional vaccination sites for monkeypox in Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, and Passaic counties for residents without a confirmed exposure who believe they may have been exposed or are at high risk for having been…
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The state may be scaling back COVID-19 testing requirements for workers but Rutgers University is not. School officials this week decided to maintain safety requirements for students and employees this fall — including being fully vaccinated and boosted and wearing face coverings in all indoor teaching spaces, libraries and labs. Unvaccinated students and staff must…
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Governor’s call to action recognizes adolescents and young adults still struggling with emotional aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy became the chairman of the National Governors Association during the organization’s summer meeting in Portland, Maine. In his new role, Murphy announced his “Strengthening Youth Mental Health” initiative to address the mental health…
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After federal health leaders further relaxed COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, New Jersey will no longer require state workers, government contractors or employees of school districts or child-care facilities to be regularly tested for the coronavirus if they are not immunized, essentially making vaccinations optional for these groups. Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Monday immediately…
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