With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu - KFF Health News A Colorado picnic celebrated Farmworker Appreciation Day. But some dairy workers there said they aren’t feeling appreciated: They don’t have basic protective gear, even as bird flu spreads through area farms. paulavirna KFF Health News

...some dairy workers ...said they haven’t received any personal protective equipment beyond gloves to guard against the virus, even as they or colleagues have come down with conjunctivitis and flu-like symptoms that they fear to be bird flu.

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COVID-19 devastated teacher morale − and it hasn’t recovered The pandemic led many teachers to leave their jobs − a trend that could continue if education leaders don’t address issues that affect morale. The Conversation

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Jury fines BlueCross for firing worker over COVID-19 vaccine mandate | Chattanooga Times Free Press

A Tennessee jury has awarded a former research scientist at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee $687,000 in back pay and damages after she was fired in 2021 for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Following a three-day jury trial in Chattanooga last week, a federal jury decided BlueCross failed to provide reasonable accommodation for Tanja Benton, who did most of her work from home and claimed a religious exemption to the company's vaccine mandate.

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US health departments experience workforce shortages and struggle to reach adequate staffing levels in public health

Gaps persist in hiring enough U.S. public health workers, and health departments continue to face challenges in recruiting new employees, according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Indiana University. Insufficient funding, a shortage of people with public health training, and a lack of visibility for public careers, in addition to lengthy hiring processes, are cited as barriers contributing to an absence of progress for achieving a satisfactory level of workers. The results are published in Health Affairs.

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