BISMARCK, N.D. -- COVID-19 is taking a heavy toll on North Dakota. With the election out of the way, some hoped that politics might be taken out of debating the state's response, but the disagreements continue.

Newly re-elected Gov. Doug Burgum announced this week that hospitals are at full capacity because of the pandemic. He's been outspoken about encouraging people to wear masks to help stop community spread, but has refused to issue a statewide mandate.

Landis Larson, president of the North Dakota AFL-CIO, said a mandate would not only protect front-line workers from infection but also from having to enforce orders issued by their employer or municipality.

"You know, a lot of cities have made mask mandates with no penalty," he said. "Well, the people who end up enforcing it, or trying to, are those front-line people."

Larson said his biggest concern is a lack of standards in OSHA enforcement when it comes to infectious diseases. He said that was addressed in the HEROES Act relief package, which cleared the U.S. House but wasn't taken up by the Senate.

Meanwhile, Burgum, a Republican, said during a news conference this week he thinks there isn't enough data to show statewide mask rules are effective, while noting that local ordinances could have a greater impact.

Also during the news conference, Burgum announced that because hospitals are overwhelmed, staff members who might have the coronavirus but are asymptomatic can keep working in COVID-19 units. That move was made following a request from hospital administrators.

Jason Boynton, a math professor and activist with North Dakota United, said he feels Burgum has been in a tough position, having to govern people who take the virus seriously as well as those who think the crisis is overblown. With the election cycle out of the way, he said, he hopes the governor might feel less restraint to make bold decisions.

"I hope that he can try," Boynton said, "and I hope that he can institute a mandate that's got some teeth to it."

Boynton said he feels having a statewide mandate instead of a patchwork of local ordinances would create less confusion and might get more people to comply.

The governor's office has seen a handful of top health officials resign during the crisis, drawing more public scrutiny of the state's response.

With flu and COVID-19 cases increasing during the holiday season, a Georgia doctor said now is the time to take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Dr. Michael Satchell, family medicine physician at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, encouraged everyone to consider flu and COVID-19 vaccinations to reduce the risk of serious illness, especially for those most vulnerable.

"Those who are vaccinated are actually 60% less likely to get a serious form of COVID or to be hospitalized," Satchell pointed out. "We're seeing that the vast majority and greater than 90% of those who are hospitalized are those who have not been vaccinated."

Satchell recommended everyone six months and older think about getting vaccinated, especially older adults and those with existing health conditions, to stay safer during the holiday season.

He acknowledged symptoms of flu and COVID-19 can overlap with a common cold but Satchell advised testing if you have symptoms like persistent cough, fatigue, or loss of taste and smell. He noted COVID-19 tests are still available online, and added it is important to consult with a provider if symptoms persist or exposure is suspected.

"It's important because there are still people dying from COVID," Satchell emphasized. "In Georgia, almost 300 people died in the last 3 months. So we're still seeing a lot of hospitalizations last season, the 2023-24 season, we had over 900,000 people across the country were hospitalized with COVID. So it's still out there."


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Groups fighting to improve access to health care are asking the U.S. Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr's nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy is an environmental lawyer who ran for president, then threw his support to Donald Trump in August.

Matthew Herdman, California state director for the nonprofit Protect our Care, said Kennedy has falsely linked vaccines to autism.

"When he went to American Samoa to talk about vaccine safety there, almost immediately afterward, there was a large measles outbreak that led to 83 Americans losing their lives," Herdman recounted. "I would be terrified to see that happen, spread nationwide across our country."

Kennedy has said one of his priorities would be to reexamine pesticides that are legal in the U.S. but banned or being phased out in Europe. He has also promoted raw milk, despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that unpasteurized milk can carry salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and the virus that causes bird flu.

Dr. Diana Dayal, an emergency room resident physician at UCLA Medical Center and a union representative, said she's troubled by Kennedy's beliefs.

"He has touted countless baseless claims time and time again that have later been contradicted by expert review," Dayal pointed out. "From his takes on vaccine development to fluoride safety, he misrepresents isolated data as conclusive and then interprets other studies incorrectly. Conveniently he then ignores vast scientific evidence and peer review that runs counter to his beliefs."

Chris Noble, organizing director for the group Health Access California, noted Kennedy once called the COVID-19 vaccine the "deadliest vaccine ever made."

"RFK Jr. will continue to propagate medical conspiracies that further erode trust in evidence-based medicine that will result in preventable death and grave threats to public health if given a seat of power," Noble contended.

Billions of dollars in federal subsidies for health plans on CoveredCA are set to expire next year unless the Republican-controlled Senate reinstates them. Kennedy has so far not taken a public position on the issue.

A new report on lung cancer by the American Lung Association showed Maryland has quite a bit of room to improve diagnoses and treatment but experts said the state has taken some big steps in tackling it.

The report showed almost 17% of Marylanders at high risk for lung cancer were screened, a little less than the national average. Maryland fared better in other metrics, including lower rates of adult smokers and people unable to access treatment.

Aleks Casper, Maryland director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, said to improve the state's standing, Marylanders at risk of lung cancer need to be screened at higher rates.

"If we can get people screened, our chances of impacting all the other metrics improve," Casper explained. "If we get people screened and we can find it early, then we can connect them to treatment and we can connect them to surgery, which impacts outcomes."

The report also noted Latinos in Maryland are the least likely group to be diagnosed early.

Casper pointed out certain policies in Maryland have removed barriers to diagnosis and treatment. Just this year, Maryland became one of 15 states to require insurance to cover biomarker testing, including for lung cancer. The National Cancer Institute described biomarker testing as using a sample of tissue, blood or other fluid to look for genes or chromosomes which could increase a person's likelihood of developing certain cancers, which Casper emphasized is critical.

"Being able to test and determine what the best type of treatment for that person's disease, that kind of really individualized care and giving people access to that, is really important," Casper added.

Those who want to find out if they're eligible to be screened for lung cancer can take a quick test at savedbythescan.org.


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