Health and Wellness

Michigan has received an initial, small federal shipment of COVID-19 pills that can be taken at home, state health officials announced Friday. The arrival of the newly authorized oral medications comes as the state confronts record high coronavirus cases and near-peak hospitalizations amid a surge fueled by the omicron variant. The pills cleared federal approvals over two weeks ago and can only be …

Michigan’s health and education departments on Thursday urged schools to postpone or make virtual large gatherings, including sporting events, if they are not “essential” — as COVID-19 cases spike across the state. The recommendation, intended to keep schools open when classes resume after the winter break next week, was included in a letter to K-12 superintendents and charter school directors. Large events …

Michigan on Wednesday recorded all-time high COVID-19 case counts, reporting nearly 13,000 a day — almost a third more than the peak set more than a year ago. The two-day average was 12,929, some 3,100 infections above the nearly 9,800 from a single day in November 2020. The explosive growth came as the state already grapples with a fourth, months-long …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday that she still supports President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, clarifying comments she made earlier this month in which she expressed concerns about it. After a federal appeals court overruled a decision last week that paused a nationwide vaccine mandate for employers of 100 workers or more, 27 Republican-led state governments have come forward with their intent …

People who haven’t been vaccinated for COVID-19 are taking up too many beds at Michigan’s strained hospitals, as the state prepares for the rapid spread of omicron variant, the governor said Tuesday. The omicron variant is already the dominant strain in the U.S. and is expected to spread rapidly through Michigan in the near future, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said at a news …

How many people would still be alive if not for COVID? How many more loved ones and people in our lives will we lose to this virus? We many never know. It takes a toll to witness so much death and suffering. During the summertime, I watched as my team and I started to heal. Morale was coming back, stress …

Michigan’s record-high number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients dipped Wednesday, the first drop in 49 days as health leaders continued to urge vaccinations while describing a dire situation inside hospitals. The state recorded 330 additional deaths, including 100 in the most recent 48-hour period. The seven-day average of daily deaths, 120 as of Monday, was up substantially from 67 two weeks …

One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December. Trucks loaded with freezer-packed vials of a COVID-19 vaccine that had proved wildly successful in clinical trials fanned out across the land, bringing shots that many hoped would spell the end of the crisis. That hasn’t happened. A year …

The Michigan Court of Appeals won’t order a hospital to use a deworming drug to treat a man who has health problems related to COVID-19. The court said it won’t disrupt the judgment of doctors at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. “A court directive in this matter could open the door for a flood of similar suits from …

Michigan’s COVID-19 surge is trending in a “deeply concerning direction” ahead of the winter holidays and, unlike a year ago, is not subsiding following Thanksgiving, state health officials said Friday while urging vaccines and booster shots. Infection rates and hospitalizations are near or at all-time highs in the state 21 months into the pandemic. Vaccination rates lag the national average, especially among …