COVID-19 vaccine race heats up with clinical trials at 3 Michigan sites
By Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press (for Bridge Magazine) The race for a COVID-19 vaccine is picking up as three medical centers in Michigan now are involved in Phase 3 clinical trials of three different vaccine candidates. The hope is at least one of them will prove to be safe and effective in preventing […]
Michigan economy is stronger than expected amid pandemic. Thank the stimulus.
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Federal stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits have propped up the Michigan economy during the coronavirus pandemic, driving up spending and tax revenue and blunting the impact of an ongoing recession. The message, delivered Monday by financial experts in Lansing, is good news for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and […]
Pandemic takes toll on Michigan children with autism and their families
By Anna Clark (Bridge) If you ask Jaden Williams, he’ll tell you that there’s some benefit to the COVID crisis. The sixth-grader at Pasteur Elementary School in Detroit doesn’t like virtual programs. But, he said, “at the real school, when I’m in the class the whole entire day, I’m being stressed.” He describes his […]
Will Postal Service botch election in Michigan? It’s unlikely, experts say.
By Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) For weeks, Americans have feared impending doom: Cuts in the U.S. Postal Service would jeopardize mail-in balloting during the November election. On the verge of likely the biggest absentee-ballot election in Michigan history, those fears were spurred by the removal of mail boxes and sorting machines across the country, including some in Michigan. President Trump has attacked mail-in […]
COVID-19 recession could trigger a surprise tax cut in Michigan
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING — Michiganders could be in line for a surprise tax cut because of the coronavirus pandemic and recession – if state officials don’t stop it first. A little-known provision in a 2015 road funding law signed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder requires Michigan to automatically lower its income tax rate if revenue flowing […]
Feds demand answers from Whitmer on Michigan nursing home deaths
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge) LANSING – The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it is seeking data from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and three other Democratic governors who “issued orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents.” Much of the data is already publicly available, but the department […]
Most Michigan students have option: Return to class or learn at home
By Ron French (Bridge) Most Michigan school districts will give students at least the option of returning to classrooms, according to a study released Friday. The study, by the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University, which examined the school reopening plans of more than 800 school districts and charter schools, found that 86 […]
Central Michigan started class Monday. By Friday: 38 coronavirus cases
by Ron French, Robin Erb (Bridge) By Friday, the end of the first week of classes at Central Michigan University, there were 38 confirmed cases of coronavirus connected to students, and the college was warning that the campus could switch to remote learning if “selfish” students keep throwing parties. The number of coronavirus cases connected […]
Despite FDA delay, Michigan to keep using convalescent plasma for COVID-19
by Kate Wells, Michigan Radio (Bridge) Michigan hospitals will keep using convalescent plasma to treat certain COVID-19 patients — they’ll just have to keep jumping through certain hoops to do it. That’s after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reportedly delayed authorizing the experimental treatment for “emergency use.” That authorization — if it is eventually […]
Relief, optimism, and mistrust greet $600M Flint water lawsuit settlement
by Jonathan Oosting, Riley Beggin (Bridge) LANSING — Half a decade after LeAnne Walters helped expose the Flint water crisis, the mother of four says she and her children still suffer from rashes because of the stew of toxins they ingested through their tap. Her twin boys Gavin and Garrett, now 9 years old, […]
