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Tag: COVID-19
Showing 22-42 of 529 results
Letter: Charter schools should let the masks go, too
“Charter schools should be required to follow public health recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, county, governor and president of the USA.”
Asheville board upholds employee firings over vaccine mandate
The volunteer Civil Service Board, which has authority over employee grievances, agreed with the city’s argument Feb. 22 that five workers had shown insubordination by refusing COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing in October. Asheville has since suspended its “test-or-vaccinate” policy effective March 2.
Letter: Bravo for reporting on vaccine side effects
“Vaccine injury is almost a taboo topic in polite society these days without getting the dreaded label of anti-vax.”
Buncombe floats $7.5 million pre-K expansion
Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who chairs the county board’s Early Childhood and Development Committee, outlined a plan for $7.5 million in additional spending on pre-K expansion over the next two years. Funding would come from the county’s roughly $27 million in remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act money.
Letter: Present the whole picture of COVID-19 vaccines
“You have a responsibility to your readers and the community to report the facts and the whole story.”
Buncombe to reconsider mask mandate Feb. 15
Buncombe County’s current indoor mask mandate has been extended three times after going into effect Aug. 18. Robert Pressley, the only Republican on the Board of Commissioners, has thus far been the only member opposed in any of those votes.
Q&A with Julie Silver, school nurse for Buncombe County Schools
Julie Silver wanted to be a school nurse from the time she was in nursing school. “It was fun because you got to do rotations through the different nursing careers and shadow them,” says Silver. “I really enjoyed going to do my shadows with the school nurses because it’s not just boo-boos and Band-Aids. There’s […]
WNC teens face additional struggles during COVID
While the overall number of emergency department visits was lower in 2020 than in 2019, potentially due to people avoiding hospitals out of COVID-19 concerns, the proportion of visits by teens with thoughts of suicide increased. Among North Carolina kids age 10 to 14, suicidal ideation visits accounted for 3.5% of all ED visits in 2020, up from 2.4% in 2019.
Couples counseling flourishes amid COVID-19 pandemic
“People are just calling left and right,” says James Colvin, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Asheville. “Last week I must’ve had seven or eight calls. I hate turning anyone away but I had to do that.” Relationships have always had to navigate disputes, both large and small. But in his 30 years of […]
Letter: Huge benefits of vaccine outweigh low risks
“For her, the vaccine has been a godsend, allowing patients and staff some protection against this catastrophe. Not just for patients, but for all of us, especially those with vulnerable friends or family.”
Parents of toddlers navigate masks, day care and feelings
Katie Ford, a family therapist, says it’s too early to tell if the societal shifts spurred by COVID-19 will have long-term effects on children born into this world. But she stresses that it’s more important than ever to validate kids’ feelings and let them know they’re not alone.
Letter: Weigh the costs of all-day masking for kids
“It’s uncomfortable, inhibits learning and impairs social interaction and growth (consider how many of your favorite memories involve people’s faces — all of them?).”
Letter: Maintaining a free society
“With all debate and discussion against the pseudo-vaccine jab stifled, your article took an act of courage.”
Local handling of COVID vaccine troubles breeds medical mistrust
Many Western North Carolina residents who spoke with Xpress say they shared their negative responses after COVID-19 vaccination with health providers. But they also say their concerns have been minimized or ignored, driving a lack of trust about the vaccines and the broader medical establishment.
Buncombe continues mask mandate amid record COVID spread
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners members unanimously voted Jan. 4 to extend the county’s indoor mask mandate through Wednesday, Feb. 16. The extended mask requirement does not contain any language regarding enforcement, nor does it specify the type of face covering that residents should wear, despite health experts saying cloth masks are insufficient against the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Letter: Get on board and get vaccinated
“God has gifted humans with the knowledge, the ability and the science to help prevent the spread of infections, as well as COVID.”
Year in Review: Security felt elusive in 2021
When Xpress asked community members about safety and security in 2021, the questions were intentionally left very broad. After all, concepts like safety and risk can mean very different things to different people depending on their circumstances. Would respondents opine about public safety? Housing security? Financial security? Sexual assault? Homophobia? The resulting responses take the […]
Year in review: In 2021, readers shared thoughts on pandemic, growth, Vance Monument and more
Xpress readers offered up a raft of thought-provoking letters to the editor, commentaries and comments about local affairs in 2021.
Year in Review: Community members discuss 2021 health concerns
While COVID-19 may have dominated WNC’s psyche in 2021, it was by no means the only health and wellness story Xpress told. Opioid abuse, mental health and self-care also emerged as major themes from the year.
Spiritual guidance in the time of COVID
Editor’s note: In preparing this story, Xpress also reached out to Mission Health seeking comment, but while an initial contact was made, the organization ultimately did not respond to the paper’s request for an interview. As a longtime hospital chaplain, Molly Garnett is used to navigating emotionally challenging moments. In her job, she offers comfort […]
