Tag: COVID-19 testing

George Mason University Pulls Booster Mandate After Students Fight Back

Peter D'Abrosca
healthcare worker giving vaccination

After students at George Mason University (GMU) fought the school’s administration on mandatory booster shots for COVID-19, the school Monday announced that it has scrapped the mandate, though it did not credit the students for their efforts. 

“George Mason University announced today it will strongly encourage students who remain unvaccinated to get the COVID-19 vaccine and booster, but no longer require it, in observance of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ opinion,” the school said in a message written by President Gregory Washington. 

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Commentary: Omicron, a Variant of Control

Virginia Star Staff

Last week, I dusted off my Chinese-flu soapbox and said a word or two about (cue the scary music) the Omicron variant. It sounds like the title of a Robert Ludlum novel, doesn’t it? A friend told me about a parlor game that the journalist Christopher Hitchens and his pals used to play in which the object was to contrive names for Shakespeare’s plays that sounded like the title of a Ludlum novel. Hamlet was “The Elsinore Conundrum.” I am sorry that Hitch is not still with us to try his hand at the Omicron variant. 

So far, I have to say, it’s been pretty much of a dud—unless, that is, you’re the stock market, which has taken a beating this last week or so, in part because of this new kid on the medical block (there is also that much more toxic financial emergency, the Biden Administration, but that’s for another day). The new variant has also been a godsend for scolds, nags, bureaucrats, and meddlesome so-called public health officials nannies who are just itching for another excuse to lock down your world, introduce new travel restrictions, and impose new testing protocols.

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Analysis: More Than a Third of Unvaccinated Workers Will Quit Their Jobs If Forced to Take Weekly COVID Test

Virginia Star Staff

More than a third of U.S. workers who have not been vaccinated for COVID-19 say they will quit their jobs if their employer requires them to take a weekly test or get the shots as a condition of employment, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports.

The data come from the foundation’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, an ongoing research project that tracks the public’s attitudes and experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations. It combines surveys and qualitative research, as well as public opinion on vaccine confidence and acceptance, information needs, messages and other criteria.

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Additional Walgreens in Virginia to Offer Free COVID-19 Antigen Testing, Health Department Says

Jacob Taylor

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced on Thursday that it is expanding its partnership with Walgreens to offer Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen COVID-19 testing for free at specific locations throughout the Commonwealth, according to a press release from the agency.

Before the expanded agreement only four Walgreens in the state were providing the drive-through tests, but now that number has increased to 15 select locations, the release said.

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Reports: Largest Concentrations of ‘at-Risk’ Coronavirus Patients Are in States with Best Health Infrastructures

Virginia Star Staff

Many individuals considered to be the most at-risk for coronavirus live in states that had the best health infrastructures in place before state restrictions began in March, according to two recent analyses.

Residents of West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia were found to be the most vulnerable, according to personal-finance website WalletHub’s analysis of States with the Most Vulnerable Populations to Coronavirus.

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