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The annual child wellness report KIDS COUNT found 27% of students in Kansas and 20% of students in Missouri were chronically absent in 2021-2022. At the same time, high rates of children in both states have experience at least one traumatic event.
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Around 14% of all staff positions at Missouri hospitals were vacant in 2023. That rate is lower than it was at the height of the pandemic, but still higher than in 2019.
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After the federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Acts expired, many states passed their own laws to require employers to provide paid sick leave. Missouri does not have a paid sick leave policy in place.
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We normally think of trees as being good for the environment. But in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, they're actually heating up the earth as woodlands take over grasslands.
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Missouri landlords were found to cash in on the State Assistance for Housing Relief program — sometimes for upwards of $1 million — even as they failed to provide tenants basic maintenance and upkeep.
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Sophie Day didn’t realize she had long COVID until she fainted and fell down a flight of stairs, breaking her collar bone. Since then, she’s been seeing an occupational therapist at University Health’s Center for COVID Recovery, which has helped her manage her debilitating fatigue.
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Wastewater tests are designed to provide an early warning system so that public health officials can ward off outbreaks.
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Schools are still struggling to raise attendance rates and student performance to where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, school districts are preparing for a new law in Kansas that allows students to transfer to schools outside the district where they live.
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In the Kansas City area, hospitals are already seeing a steady stream of cases associated with respiratory viruses, including COVID. If the trend of hospitalizations continues, the CDC warns that hospitals will be forced to ration care.
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The CDC reported this month that only 17% of adults and 7% of children have received the updated COVID vaccine, which targets more recent coronavirus strains. But it’s never too late to get boosted, especially if you're hopping on a plane for Christmas break.
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The CDC reports that only 16% of adults and 7% of children have received the updated COVID vaccine. Although hospitalizations are currently low in Kansas City, providers warn the virus can still be deadly.
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Kansas City hospitals are preparing for an influx of respiratory illnesses this winter, as influenza and RSV case numbers are starting to rise, and COVID-19 lingers.