Latest COVID-19 Headlines

All the headlines from our COVID-19 Topic Page, ordered by recency.

How the Pandemic Changed Employment (And How That’s Here to Stay)

Sep 6 2021 // No one needs to be told how rough 2020 was. But perhaps organizations — agencies, brokerages, and insurers in particular — need a reminder on just how much their worlds have shifted for the better since the...

Inmates at Arkansas Jail Unaware They Were Given Anti-Parasite Drug to Treat COVID-19

Sep 3 2021 // inmates at a northwest Arkansas jail said they weren’t told a medication they were given to treat COVID-19 was actually an anti-parasite drug that federal health officials have warned should not be used to treat the...

What’s an Employer to Do If Workers Avoid COVID Vaccine?

Sep 3 2021 // What can employers do if workers avoid COVID-19 vaccines?They can require vaccination and fire employees who don’t comply, or take other actions such as withholding company perks or charging extra for health...

States’ Contact Tracing Struggling to Keep Up With Latest Surge in COVID Cases

Sep 1 2021 // Health investigators across the U.S. are finding it nearly impossible to keep up with the deluge of new COVID-19 infections and carry out contact tracing efforts that were once seen as a pillar of the nation’s...

Pandemic Uncertainty Hasn’t Slowed Private Equity Investments in Insurance: S&P Global

Aug 31 2021 // Private equity and venture capital firms have been pouring capital into insurance companies despite the uncertainties about claims and losses from the pandemic, according to a new analysis from S&P Global Market...

‘Mission: Impossible’ Movie Producer Sues Insurer Over 7 Coronavirus Stoppages

Aug 31 2021 // Production on the new “Mission: Impossible” movie was shut down seven times due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday that accuses the film’s insurance company of failing to...

How Automakers Are Navigating Differences Over COVID Vaccine Mandates

Aug 27 2021 // Public support for stronger measures to require COVID vaccinations is strong, according to a new Reuters/IPSOS poll, but for Detroit automakers the debate over vaccination policy is far from over.General Motors Co. said on...

Cruises Revise COVID Guidelines Amid Reports of Breakthrough Cases

Aug 27 2021 // Joel Steckler was eager for his first cruise in more than a year and a half, and he chose the ship that just two months ago became the first to accept passengers again after a long pandemic shutdown.Steckler was fully...

NRA Canceling Annual Meeting in Texas Because of COVID

Aug 26 2021 // The National Rifle Association announced it has canceled its annual meeting, which had been set to be held next month in Houston, due to concerns over COVID-19.The NRA’s meeting had been set for Sept. 3 through Sept....

Case of 76 in Massachusetts Veterans Home Who Died of COVID Lands in Court

Aug 26 2021 // Two former top officials at a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 residents died in one of the country’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility appeared in court Tuesday in an effort to...

Canada’s Ruling Party Plans Tax Hike for Big Insurers, Banks to Fund COVID Recovery

Aug 26 2021 // OTTAWA – Canada’s ruling Liberal Party said on Wednesday that if re-elected it would raise corporate taxes on the most profitable banks and insurers to help pay for the cost of the COVID-19 recovery.The Liberals...

FDA’s COVID Vaccine Approval Makes Challenges to Mandates Tougher to Win

Aug 25 2021 // Formal U.S approval of the Pfizer Inc /BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine will make it nearly impossible to successfully challenge mandates by employers, legal experts said.The decision by the Food and Drug Administration to...

Illinois County Settles with Nurse Over COVID Request

Aug 24 2021 // A southern Illinois county agreed to pay a nurse $35,000 to settle her lawsuit alleging she was fired for refusing to tell local law enforcement which residents had tested positive for the coronavirus.The payment to nurse...

Kentucky Supreme Court Rules to Limit Governor’s COVID Emergency Powers

Aug 24 2021 // The Kentucky governor’s efforts to aggressively combat COVID-19 suffered a landmark legal defeat Saturday as the state’s high court cleared the way for new laws to rein in his emergency powers.The state Supreme...

FDA Grants Full Approval to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine

Aug 23 2021 // The U.S. drug regulator on Monday granted full approval to the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine, making it the first to secure such Food and Drug Administration validation as health authorities struggle to win over...

Early COVID-19 Vaccinations Prevented 140,000 Deaths: Study

Aug 20 2021 // A new study by Indiana University and RAND Corp. assessed the impact of COVID-19 vaccinations and found that 139,393 deaths were prevented during the first five months of vaccination efforts in the United States.With...

Europe Reinsurers’ H1 Profits Climb on Lower COVID Claims, Hardening Prices: Moody’s

Aug 19 2021 // The four largest European based reinsurers – Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and SCOR – reported sharply higher profits in the first half of 2021, compared with the same period in 2020 — as a result of lower...

Workers at Massachusetts Veterans’ Home at Center of COVID-19 Outbreak Sue

Aug 19 2021 // Employees of the Massachusetts veterans’ home at the center of a devastating COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020 have sued several members of the facility’s former leadership team, alleging they were forced...

Biden Administration to Require Nursing Home Employees to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

Aug 19 2021 // President Joe Biden said on Wednesday his administration will require employees at nursing homes to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of the facilities participating in the Medicare and Medicaid government...

COVID-19 Cases Skyrocket in Texas Nursing Homes; Nearly Half of Workers Unvaccinated

Aug 16 2021 // The number of nursing homes across the state with at least one active COVID-19 case has shot up nearly 800% in the past month — while nearly half of nursing home employees in Texas remain unvaccinated.Nursing home...