Here are a few COVID-19 news updates for today, March 8.
Minneapolis Teachers Decide To Strike, After Failed Contract Negotiations. Minneapolis Teachers Decide To Strike, After Failed Contract Negotiations. The dispute is focused on a "living wage" for education support staff in the largest Minneapolis school district. Also under negotiation are class-size limits and student mental health services. We are on strike for safe and stable schools, we’re on strike for systemic change, , Greta Cunningham, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, via ABC News. ... we’re on strike for our students, the future of our city and the future of Minneapolis public schools, Greta Cunningham, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, via ABC News. 29,000 students are currently affected by the strike. While the school district has vowed to continue negotiations, teacher union leaders say the process should not have progressed to a strike. This agreement could have been reached much earlier. It shouldn’t have taken a strike vote, but we got there, Leah VanDassor, Local Teachers Union President, via ABC News. Parents who have dealt with the added stresses of at-home learning expressed weary support for the teachers. You kind of become immune to it, between distance learning, and home school, it’s now a way of life, unfortunately, Twin Cities Parent, via ABC News. In the neighboring city of St. Paul, negotiations averted a teacher strike, . as district administrators largely agreed to the demands of teachers in their city. This comprehensive settlement offer addresses the union’s priorities, does not add to the projected $42 million budget shortfall next year, , Joe Gothard, St. Paul Superintendent, via ABC News. ... and most importantly, keeps our students, teachers and staff in the classroom, Joe Gothard, St. Paul Superintendent, via ABC News. Union officials in Minneapolis seek a starting wage of $35,000 for those who support the work of teachers in the district
Teachers in Minneapolis go on strike
Minneapolis public school teachers hit the picket lines on Tuesday, saying they are fighting to ensure the “safe and stable schools our students deserve” and for better wages for the lowest-paid support professionals.
For many families of the 29,000 students in one of Minnesota’s largest school districts, an extended walkout by the nearly 3,300 teachers could mean a return to the struggles of balancing work and child care that they have faced throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
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World Health Organization supports booster doses of the vaccine
An expert group convened by the World Health Organization said Tuesday it “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine amid the global spread of omicron, capping a reversal of the U.N. agency’s repeated insistence last year that boosters weren't necessary for healthy people and contributed to vaccine inequity.
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In a statement, WHO said its expert group concluded that immunization with authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide high levels of protection against severe disease and death amid the continuing spread of the hugely contagious omicron variant. WHO eased back on its earlier position in January by saying boosters were recommended once countries had adequate supplies and after protecting their most vulnerable.
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How to get free antiviral medicine if you test positive for COVID-19
The rollout of the US government's Covid-19 test-to-treat program is underway, with in-pharmacy clinics ordering shipments of Covid-19 antiviral medications and some locations expecting to offer the service within days.
"We've had more than 1,000 pharmacy-based clinic sites register today, so that even exceeded our expectations for Day One of this program," Dr. Tom Inglesby, senior adviser to the White House's Covid-19 Response Team, told CNN on Monday.
The Covid-19 antiviral pills Paxlovid and molnupiravir are already available for free in the United States, but quick access can be challenging for some people.
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Here are more COVID-19 stories from the day:
Photos: Scenes from Hong Kong's COVID-19 crisis
FILE - Residents queue up to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing center for COVID-19 in Hong Kong on Feb. 24, 2022. The fast-spreading omicron variant is overwhelming Hong Kong, prompting mass testing, quarantines, supermarket panic-buying and a shortage of hospital beds. Even the morgues are overflowing, forcing authorities to store bodies in refrigerated shipping containers. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
