Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy join 23 other Republican Senators in requesting a meeting with President Biden over concerns involving his recent oil and gas policy. UL Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says he expects Biden will take this meeting.
The Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine hopes to be the third effort against the pandemic in the U-S. It offers the convenience of one shot, but an international average efficacy of 66-percent. Assistant Dean for Translational Science at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine Dr. Lucio Miele says however in the U-S the efficacy rate is higher.
State health officials say while the vaccination rate of nursing home residents is 69-percent the rate among staff is much lower at 26-percent. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter however feels more staff will get vaccinated once the rollout conducts their second visit of three visits to the facilities.
Governor Edwards says he’s seen vaccination rates among staff almost double on the second visit at Veteran’s Homes and feels that will happen in the private nursing homes as well.
The Department of Health confirms the state’s second and third cases of the UK variant of COVID-19. The new cases were found in Southwest Louisiana and the greater New Orleans area. With a new variant of the virus entering the state, Governor Edwards calls on residents to be even more diligent about mitigation.