COVID-19

Mark Kirchhoff, left, a volunteer with Columbia Project Homeless Connect, speaks July 29, 2021 with Taylor Knoth, a public health nurse, at the registration table for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic.

Once Upon a Time in Missouri: Republican Attorney General Backed Mandatory Vaccination

During a 1921 smallpox outbreak in Kansas City, the state health board required vaccine passports to board trains. The case is pertinent in today’s COVID-19 vaccine debate.

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Sandy Thornhill is a working mom, an entreprenuer and doula in Kansas City. Childcare access has been an issue, she said, so she's had to pivot. Photo by Daniel Videtich during the 2020 Kansas City George Floyd protest. (Contributed)

curiousKC | Waitlists, Closures and Access: Waning Child Care Support Burdens Working Parents

During the pandemic, many daycare and childcare centers shut down. So, how are working parents being supported now?

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MU Health Care opened a mass COVID-19 vaccination site in the Walsworth Club at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri. on Jan. 25, 2020.

COVID Cases Among Children Rising as Missouri Delta Variant Wave Enters Fifth Month

One effect of the Delta variant wave is that children are a much larger share of recent COVID-19 cases, just as the school year begins.

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Heather King, a nurse and mother of a 9-year-old daughter, supported the Johnson County Commissions public health order requiring children from pre-K to sixth grade to wear masks indoor at school.

Two-thirds of Kansas’ 25 Largest Public School Districts Adopt Mask Mandates

Two-thirds of elected school boards responsible for the 25 largest public school districts in Kansas imposed some form of an indoor masking mandate in response to the spread of COVID-19.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a mixed impact on mental health services on college campuses. Fewer students are reaching out for help, but those who do are seeing counselors more frequently.

Mental Health on Campus: University Counselors Seeing Fewer Clients, But More Often

College mental health counselors saw fewer clients, at least initially, during the COVID-19 pandemic. But clients sought help more frequently.

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Nika Cotton makes a drink at Soulcentricitea, which she opened on Troost Ave. last July. Cotton applied for a grant from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, but did not receive any money.

In Kansas City, Restaurant Revitalization Funds Flowed to Whiter, More Affluent Areas

Local businesses received a total of $53 million from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. But few of those dollars flowed east of Troost.

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An unidentified family member visits through the window with their loved one at Cross Creek.

Survey: Just 1 in 4 Nursing Homes Confident They Can Survive Another Year

What does the future look like for long-term senior care centers? One survey suggests only 25% will make it past this year. Here’s what that means for Kansas City.

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Gregory Cushman, an associate professor of environmental history at the University of Kansas, marched with faculty and students to raise awareness about potential damage of administration plans to downsize the staff and eliminate degree programs to address budget problems.

COVID-19 Challenged The Business Model At Kansas Universities And Revealed A ‘Tectonic Shift’

Enrollment at Kansas colleges fell by 8.1% last fall — more than the national average. With continued uncertainty over COVID-19 and the highly contagious delta variant, universities could face the biggest money crisis in their history.

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U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., speaks outside the U.S. Capitol, surrounded by (from left) Rep. Mondaire Jones, Rep. Al Green, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

After Pressure from Cori Bush, Feds Order Eviction Ban in Areas With High COVID Rate

Federal health officials on Tuesday announced a new, narrower moratorium on evictions through Oct. 3, which would protect struggling renters in areas of the U.S. that have been hit hardest by soaring COVID-19 infection rates.

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Syringes of COVID-19 vaccinations are filled during MU Health Care’s mass vaccination clinic at the Walsworth Family Columns Club at Faurot Field in Columbia on Feb. 4, 2021.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Goes Beyond Party Lines

While some pundits argue that party affiliation plays a role in low COVID-19 vaccination rates, experts say vaccine hesitancy goes beyond politics.

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