Latest Scott Harris Friedman News
Alabama pauses use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has temporarily paused giving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine out of an “abundance of caution” while federal officials investigate reports of rare blood clots, the state health officer announced Tuesday. The...
Trump-loving Alabama county faces uphill vaccination effort
HALEYVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Tending a thrift store that displays a faded Trump flag in a nearly all-white Alabama county with a long history of going against the grain, Dwight Owensby is among the area's many skeptics of the COVID-19 vaccine. Owensby, 77, said he doesn't...
Birmingham extends mask order as Alabama gets vaccine funds
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s largest city on Tuesday extended a mandate requiring face masks in public to slow the spread of COVID-19, even as the statewide mandate expires. The Birmingham City Council voted to extend the mask requirement through May 24. Gov....
Alabama governor lifts mask rules, urges common sense
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday that Alabama is shifting to personal responsibility in the fight against COVID-19, keeping her promise to let a statewide face mask order expire Friday. Ivey said she's issuing a "greatly slimmed down" health order...
Health officials urging masks, caution over Easter holiday
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — With the potential for crowded churches and big family gatherings over Easter, health officials are urging people to follow Alabama's mandate for face masks and social distancing to avoid a new surge of COVID-19. Only 663,000 or so of the state's...
Alabama expanding vaccine eligibility to 16 and up on Monday
CAMDEN, Ala. (AP) — Everyone 16 and older will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in Alabama beginning next week, Gov. Kay Ivey said Friday, as health officials attempt to expand an immunization program that is trailing the rest of the nation. Ivey, who made the...
State study: 30% of adults hesitant about COVID-19 vaccine
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s top health official said Friday that a study showed about 30% of adults in the state are hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine, a reluctance that concerns medical officials as they try to keep state case numbers on the decline. The...
Ivey encourages mask wearing after mandate expires April 9
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey this week urged people to wear masks in public after the statewide mask mandate expires next month. Ivey has been adamant that she will not extend the mask mandate past April 9. On Monday, her office released designs for...
Officials: Black Belt leads state in vaccination percentages
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s poverty-stricken Black Belt has the highest percentage of people getting COVID-19 vaccinations in the state, according to numbers released by health officials Friday. The Alabama Department of Public Health on Friday released the...
The Latest: Ireland reaches half million vaccinations
LONDON — Ireland has given out half a million coronavirus vaccinations about two months after the first inoculation. Prime Minister Micheal Martin says the health department announced the figure on Saturday. It includes both first and second doses and comes 63 days...
