The Louisiana Health Equity Task Force has worked on educating minorities about COVID, soon they will focus on the importance of being vaccinated. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Senator Bill Cassidy says we are on track in Louisiana to begin the first wave of COVID vaccinations mid-month. Matt Doyle has the story…
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Today the US Supreme Court hears a case involving a Louisiana man that could result in retrials for all Louisiana prisoners who were convicted on non-unanimous verdicts. Matt Doyle has the story.
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The CDC says COVID vaccines should be widely available to the public by mid-2021, however members of the Louisiana Health Equity Task Force worry that both blacks and Latinos will forgo being vaccinated. Dr. Corey Hebert who serves on the task force says it’s due to mistrust of the medical community.
Herbert says another hurdle with the vaccines for minorities is the double dose factor and the health disparity issue for minorities such as lack of transportation to obtain medical help in their community.
Early in the pandemic around 70-percent of fatalities from COVID in the state were among blacks now it’s approximately 44-percent. Herbert credits the task force’s outreach with changing that number.
Hebert says the task force will also launch a media campaign aimed at minorities about the benefits of the COVID vaccination.
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Senator Bill Cassidy says Pfizer has started shipping its COVID vaccine to Louisiana and other pre-positioned sites across the country. Cassidy says a distribution plan for Louisiana is in place and local companies have been enlisted to safely transport the vaccine.
Three pharmaceutical companies say they have developed a highly effective COVID vaccine and Pfizer could receive approval from the U-S Food and Drug Administration next week.
Pfizer’s vaccine looks like it will be the first administered, but Cassidy says it must be stored at very low temperatures, and only some staging sites in Louisiana have that capability.
Moderna and AstraZeneca are also set to apply for emergency approval for vaccine distribution.
Cassidy is confident that the first wave of vaccinations, those for healthcare workers and nursing home residents, will begin mid-month in Louisiana.
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The US Supreme Court will hear a case today that could deem all past non-unanimous jury convictions in Louisiana unconstitutional, potentially resulting in thousands of retrials.
The case was brought on behalf of Thedrick Edwards, a Louisiana man who is serving time on non-unanimous convictions. His lawyer Andre Belanger says his client must be given a retrial.
The case would decide whether or not Ramos vs. Louisiana, a ruling that deemed non-unanimous convictions unconstitutional, would be retroactive to settled cases. A constitutional amendment deeming all future non-unanimous convictions unconstitutional was passed by Louisiana voters in 2018 but was not retroactive to cases that had already been decided.
Belanger says all past non-unanimous convictions deserve a second look.
Edwards is serving a life sentence on rape, kidnapping, and armed robbery convictions related to a 2006 Baton Rouge crime spree. Edwards’ primary charge, rape, was decided 11-1 with the court’s lone Black juror voting to acquit.
The Louisiana Attorney General opposes the case on the grounds it could upend thousands of violent crime convictions like Edwards’, but Belanger says it’s about righting a historic wrong.
Louisiana Solicitor General Liz Murrill will represent the state by phone today. She released a statement saying “If Ramos were to be applied retroactively thousands of long-final convictions, whose crimes each have victims, would be unsettled.”
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Senator John Kennedy was a guest on the Moon Griffon show Tuesday and asked about President Trump’s election challenge. The state’s senior Senator, also a Republican, Bill Cassidy has already called for the transition to begin for President-Elect Biden. Kennedy however says Trump has the right to express his opinion about the election.
Kennedy says the election is not final until all the court cases are concluded.
Kennedy says he would never deny anyone the right to vote and the amount of mail-in ballots this election, created problems. In the meantime, Kennedy says he’s waiting on the courts.
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Training camp is underway for the Pelicans and veteran Eric Bledsoe is one of the new faces. He was acquired from Milwaukee in a four-team trade that sent fan favorite Jrue Holiday to the Bucks. Bledsoe is entering his eleventh season after averaging 15 points a game last season and he looks forward to taking on a leadership role in New Orleans…
As far as Bledsoe’s role on the court, he says he’ll do whatever he can to help the team win.
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LSU’s offensive line is trying to fix the issues that led to pass protection problems in the loss to Texas A&M last Saturday. Tigers offensive guard Ed Ingram says they are spending a lot of time this week watching the film of the Crimson Tide’s defense…
LSU will face number one ranked Alabama without its best receiver as Terrace Marshall has decided to opt-out and get ready for the NFL draft. Ingram says he supports Marshall’s decision…
It’s unclear who will start at quarterback for LSU on Saturday after TJ Finley struggled in the loss to the Aggies. Linebacker Jabril Cox says the veterans on the team are doing what they can to support Finley and Max Johnson…