Shahla Farzan
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Black people and Latinos in St. Louis are more likely to live in areas with polluted air. Long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to faster coronavirus transmission, new research finds.
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A federal mandate will soon require all U.S. nursing homes to vaccinate their workers or risk losing government funding. But some worry vaccine mandates will worsen staff shortages.
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The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates there are at least 330,000 lead pipes funneling tap water into Missouri homes and other buildings — the sixth-highest of any state in the nation.
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The coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. appears to be widespread throughout Missouri, based on sewage samples.University of Missouri scientists have tested thousands of wastewater samples from water treatment plants, prisons and colleges over the past three months.Genetic material from the U.K. variant is now present in all areas tested in Missouri.But researchers say the amount of viral particles has stayed stable, suggesting vaccinations and other efforts to slow the spread of the virus are working.Several other coronavirus variants have been found in sewage samples statewide, including those first identified in Brazil, South Africa and southern California.
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Since the pandemic began, the number of teens and young adults waiting for a shelter bed at Covenant House Missouri in St. Louis has more than doubled — and many are experiencing homelessness for the first time.
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Missouri lawmakers are considering legislation that would shield nursing homes and other businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits. Some advocates worry the proposal will prevent nursing home residents from holding facilities legally responsible for abuse and neglect.
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As part of a two-year statewide effort to track ticks, scientists from A.T. Still University in Kirksville and the Missouri Department of Conservation are asking residents to mail in samples of the tiny parasites. The team plans to map the distribution of tick species on a county-by-county basis, along with their bacterial pathogens.
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While some antibodies remained effective, researchers found it often took more of them to quash the new variants compared to the original virus. The results, along with a growing body of research worldwide, suggest COVID-19 vaccines and treatments may need to be updated in the future.
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St. Louis officials stressed last spring that two downtown tent encampments posed a threat to public health, eventually relocating residents to temporary housing across the city. An investigation by St. Louis Public Radio in collaboration with APM Reports has found the city may have put residents in harm's way by placing them at hotels with a history of criminal violence, drug activity and unsanitary living conditions.
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Loss of smell is one of the telltale signs of COVID-19, affecting up to 80% of patients by some estimates. Though there is no cure, an experimental therapy currently being tested at Washington University has given some patients hope.