covid-19

January 28, 2022 - Rural hospitals were able to survive 2021 with special pandemic assistance, but some aid is set to expire by the end of this year. Advocates say state Medicaid expansion could help rural hospitals confront the worsening staffing crisis and provide much-needed care in their communities.

January 14, 2022 - The Virginia-based rendering company at the center of a union organizing drive and class action lawsuit over wage theft has been sold to a company in Texas. Current and former employees are fighting to ensure the sale doesn't provide cover for an employer that has long fostered a toxic, abusive, and even deadly work environment.

December 17, 2021 - Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi are among the states with the lowest vaccination rates. Grassroots organizations there are partnering with public health officials to battle misinformation and distrust in rural, Latino, and Black communities — but elected officials in those states aren't making their jobs any easier.

November 16, 2021 - The workers who went on strike last week at a Bojangles fast food restaurant in the small mountain town of Burnsville say they were motivated to act by management's failure to take COVID-19 seriously.

November 12, 2021 - A report by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis found there were three times as many COVID-19 cases and deaths among workers at the five largest meatpacking companies in the pandemic's first year as previously known. But at a recent hearing on the report, most Republican lawmakers spent their time calling for an investigation into the pandemic's origins. 

October 12, 2021 - The Southern Economic Advancement Project is helping local governments plan how to spend funds they're getting from the COVID-19 economic stimulus bill in a way that promotes equity in disaster recovery. It's also tracking innovative efforts to stretch ARP funds to their full potential in cities including New Orleans; Durham, North Carolina; and Mobile, Alabama.

October 4, 2021 - South Carolina is dealing with a high proportion of children suffering from COVID-19, but Gov. Henry McMaster (R) and other state leaders want to block public schools from enforcing mask mandates. We hear from teachers and doctors fighting to protect children from deadly infection.