Health & Safety

A worker fills a bottle with water on a farm during a drought in Firebaugh, Calif., on July 13.

Outdoor Workers Could Face Far More Dangerous Heat By 2065 Because Of Climate Change

6:11pm August 17, 2021

by Eric McDaniel

A new report warns that outdoor workers are at risk of lost wages and dire health consequences if greenhouse gas pollution continues. People of color are especially vulnerable to harm.

Local Leaders In Texas Are Defying The Governor's Ban On Mask Mandates

5:30pm August 17, 2021

by John Burnett

A surge in COVID-19 cases has local leaders across Texas openly defying the governor's ban on mask mandates. The fight has now moved to the courts.

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Students Are Moving Onto Campus — Can Colleges Pull It Off Without A COVID Disaster?

5:30pm August 17, 2021

by Elissa Nadworny

Students across the country are headed back to campus for fall classes. With the delta variant raging, there are questions around how colleges can pull this semester off.

COVID Booster Shots Could Be Out For The Public By Fall. Here's How It Would Work

4:55pm August 17, 2021

by Pien Huang

Federal officials are signaling the COVID-19 booster shots for the general population could be coming as early as this fall. It could boost immunity before prior vaccinations start wearing off.

Workers Are Dying Of Heat Outdoors Without Standards To Protect Them

4:55pm August 17, 2021

by Jacob Margolis

Farmworkers, construction workers and firefighters are dying from excessive heat on the job. The federal government has no heat standard to protect them, and climate change is making things worse.

Health & Safety

Novant Health Intensive Care Units Are Now 97% Full

4:53pm August 17, 2021

by April Laissle

Novant Health's hospitals are filling up with COVID-19 patients.

Alice Gomez and Maria Ramos work at Dr. Bronner's soap factory in Vista, Calif. The company is doing weekly coronavirus testing but still wants all its workers vaccinated.

Health & Safety

Employers Want You To Get Vaccinated. This One Is Offering A $1,000 Bonus

4:24pm August 17, 2021

by Andrea Hsu

With the delta variant spreading, more companies are mandating that employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus, but some are still hoping bonuses will do the trick.

Health & Safety

Indoor Mask Mandate Returns To The Triad

3:15pm August 17, 2021

by David Ford

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines issued an emergency order requiring residents to wear masks in non-household situations indoors.

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Health & Safety

Is It OK To Lie For A Booster? Here's What Some Of You Had To Say

2:50pm August 17, 2021

by Suzette Lohmeyer

In a previous "Coronavirus FAQ," we looked at the medical, practical — and ethical — implications of lying to get a booster or a shot for a kid under 12. And we asked you to share your views.

A family photo of Cruz Urias Beltran taken during the 1990s.

Heat Is Killing Workers In The U.S. — And There Are No Federal Rules To Protect Them

2:23pm August 17, 2021

Heat has killed hundreds of workers in the U.S., many in construction or agriculture, an investigation by NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations found. Federal standards might have prevented them.