The world’s first vaccine that would lower the risk of adults 60 and older from getting RSV has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Teiko Foxx has the story…
_______________________________________________
The full House is scheduled to debate the proposed $46-billion state budget bill today. Kevin Gallagher has more…:
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”
_______________________________________________
A Bossier City Police officer continues to recover from a mass shooting at a gas station off of Interstate 20. Brooke Thorington has more…
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
_____________________________________________
The Food and Drug Administration approved the world’s first respiratory syncytial virus vaccine by pharmaceutical giant GSK. RSV causes lower respiratory illness and the vaccine would target adults who are 60 and older. LSU Health New Orleans Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Fred Lopez says having this before the next RSV season coming in late fall and winter is significant.
Cut 4 (12) “…important advancement.”
For older adults with underlying medical conditions like asthma, emphysema, and heart failure, complications from RSV infection can potentially be life-threatening. RSV hospitalizations for the current season were around 51 per 100,000 people, according to the CDC. Lopez says the vaccine looks promising to lower the risk of symptomatic illness.
Lopez says the CDC must still recommend the vaccine before it becomes available to the public.
RSV kills up to 10,000 people ages 65 or older and up to 300 children under 5 every year in the U.S. The CDC’s final recommendation on who will get the vaccine will come in June.
_______________________________________________
The state House is scheduled to begin debate of House Bill 1, the proposed $45.7-billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1st. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerome Zeringue says it may not be everything Governor Edwards asked for, but the spending plan is a good one…:
Cut 7 (10) “…expenditure limit.”
The governor wanted teacher pay raises of $2000 to $3000 a year. Zeringue says the raises in HB 1 are less than that, because they chose instead to put more surplus dollars into lowering the state’s teacher retirement system debt; the so-called Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL). He says this will enable school districts to give their own raises…:
Cut 8 (06) “…and institutions.”
Early childhood education will also have less dedicated funding than the governor hoped for. Zeringue says federal money for these programs is falling off and the state cannot afford to sustain funding at that level; not with another fiscal cliff coming in 2025…:
House floor debate on the budget bill, plus dozens of proposed member amendments should begin today at the Capitol.
____________________________________________________
To address the critical need for registered nurses, UL Lafayette and Ochsner Lafayette General have formed a partnership for students to earn an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Interim Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Lisa Broussard, says it’s ideal for those who have a bachelor’s degree in any field and desire a career in nursing.
And not only is the degree accelerated, but Broussard says the hospital will also cover the cost of tuition and provide clinical sites for students.
Cut 11 (08) “…upon graduation.”
Any general education courses will be paid for by the student, but any of the 17 required nursing credits will be paid for by the hospital.
Broussard says the nursing shortage is predicted to grow considerably and the partnership is ideal for those who want a career in nursing but both time and costs are obstacles to earning a degree.
The program begins in May of 2024 and students will graduate in August of 2025. For more information visit LouisianaRadioNetwork.com.
________________________________________
Bossier City authorities credit a hotel manger for helping them apprehend a man who was on a killing spree. B-C-P-D spokesperson Louis Johnson says 50-year-old Cortrell Burks fled to a nearby hotel after fatally shooting two people during an armed robbery Tuesday morning at a gas station off of I-20…
Authorities arrested Burks outside of the LeBossier Hotel and Event Center. He’s also wanted in the stabbing death of a 40-year-old woman in Birmingham.
Johnson says officers arrived in about 90 seconds after getting word of a shooting at the Valero gas station on Industrial Drive. He says a responding officer was shot four times.
Cut 14 (11) “…keep him protected.”
The wounded officer has been identified as Kenny Gallon. He’s been on the force for seven years and is married with two children. Bossier City police chief Daniel Haugen says Officer Gallon is in good spirits. McWilliams says it appears Burks was traveling on I-20 and happened to stop in Bossier City…
Johnson says the two people killed are a 36-year-old man, who was a clerk, and a 47-year-old, male who was an employee.
__________________________________________________
LSU pitcher Paul Skenes will go for his ninth win of the season tomorrow when the Tigers visit Auburn to begin a three-game series. Former LSU baseball star and now analyst on the SEC Network, Todd Walker, says Skenes was a good pitcher at Air Force last season, now he’s one of the best in the country…
Cut 16 (15) “…walk anybody” (2x)
Skenes’ dominance is why LSU is a favorite to win the College World Series. Walker says the Tigers will need a couple of other pitchers to excel in the postseason for the Bayou Bengals to win a seventh national title in program history…
LSU has been the consensus number one ranked team in the country all season, but Walker says it’s baseball and the best team doesn’t always win a national championship…