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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 …

State Rep. Steve Carra last week introduced a plan to make it easier for schools to hire substitute teachers by removing the college-credit requirement for substitutes. Carra said the legislation would help public schools facing a shortage of substitute teachers. Even before COVID-19, schools were struggling to bring in enough substitute teachers, Carra said, noting his plan will eliminate a …

Threats of violence last week resulted in lockdowns at both Three Rivers and Colon schools. On Friday, Three Rivers Community Schools interim superintendent Nikki Nash reported a tip had resulted in a lockdown at Three Rivers Middle School. A tip also had been received at Three Rivers High School earlier in the week. Meanwhile, on Thursday, students and staff were reported …

Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett said he had a request to buy a lot at 1047 Canaris St. The parcel was given to the village several years ago for back taxes. Honeysett said the lot is located in a commercial district, so a home cannot be built there unless the zoning classification is changed. No one has occupied a dwelling …

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 …

Thursday’s meeting of the board of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph County Health Agency never started after a small group of audience members refused to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements for entering the building. Most were there to object to a new contract for Health Officer Rebecca Burns, who had instituted mask and quarantine orders for schools until the state legislature banned …

Colon Township Library has announced it was the recipient of a $2,000 grant from the Branch County Foundation. Library treasurer Martha Graham said the competition was based on number of donors. The library won the grant money as it was the recipient of the most donors on Nov. 30 – Giving Tuesday, Graham said. Donations and the grant money will …

Michigan’s COVID-19 hospitalizations reached a new high Wednesday, exceeding the previous record for the fifth straight time that the state has reported data. Nearly 4,700 patients were in the hospital statewide amid a fourth surge in infections. The roughly 4,400 hospitalized adults with confirmed cases was at the highest point in the 21-month coronavirus pandemic and 150 more than a …

All Michigan drivers with auto insurance will receive a $400 per-vehicle refund next spring, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a top regulator said Tuesday. Their announcement came more than a month after the governor requested the checks by citing a multibillion-dollar surplus in the Michigan Catastrophic Care Association fund. The account, which reimburses insurers medical and other costs for people seriously injured in …