COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, October 14, 2022
CHN Staff,
October 14, 2022
The “twindemic” is coming edition. Health care professionals are bracing for a quadruple whammy this winter that is expected to severely test hospitals across the country. Already, flu cases are on the upswing throughout the U.S., and public health experts warn this could be the worst flu season in years. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of new COVID-19 cases continue to be reported daily. And on top of all this, many hospitals, particularly children’s hospitals, emergency rooms and pediatric units are dealing with what in some states is a flood of children sick with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Extending free school lunch for millions: ‘All that is lacking is political will’
Emily Rodriguez,
October 13, 2022
Since I was a kindergartner up until I graduated high school, I ate free school lunch every single day. My single mother worked two jobs to keep me and my sister afloat. She would leave early in the morning and wouldn’t come back till late in the evening. Free school lunch was our lifeline. Growing up, I was unaware of the economic hardships my mother worked through. The only thing I knew is that I could go to school, and I could eat. My mother relied on the knowledge that for one meal of the day, she didn’t have to worry about paying or having the time to prepare it. She knew that while her daughters were at school, they were not going hungry because of free school meals.
First Focus report: Federal spending on children rose sharply in 2021, but now has regressed
Emily Rodriguez,
October 12, 2022
A child needs more than just food to grow. When children are deprived of food, shelter, and extracurriculars they fall behind their peers. How is a child who is going to bed hungry going to have the energy to pay attention in school? How is a child without a warm bed going to get enough sleep? How is a child not going to notice their crying parents at the kitchen table desperately trying to figure out how to survive?
The U.S. purchased 171 million COVID-19 booster shots. Where are the takers?
David Elliot,
October 7, 2022
A new study released this week revealed some sobering news. The study, which was conducted by the Commonwealth Fund and Yale School of Public Health, found that if booster vaccinations continue at their current low pace, the U.S. could see a fatality rate approaching 1,200 deaths per day by March. That’s about three times the current rate.
Revive the Child Tax Credit. Our children deserve no less.
CHN Staff,
October 6, 2022
I like to think I’m an American success story. I was born into homelessness, grew up in the foster care system, and suffered unthinkable domestic abuse as an adult. Now I’m on track to graduate with a Master’s degree in social work next spring. But don’t mistake my story for the “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” trope that conservative lawmakers like to call the American Dream. That idea is mythical, and my own success story proves it.
