Here’s a look at some of Georgia’s latest health headlines to keep you informed about what’s happening around the state.
House mental health bill runs into Senate turbulence
March 18, 2022
Broad consensus is apparent among state lawmakers that more should be done to ensure health insurance companies are following a federal law requiring behavioral health benefits to be on par with physical coverage. But one high-profile proposal to ramp up enforcement of the 14-year-old federal law is already running into questions in the Senate over whether it is too far reaching.
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Georgia Recorder
Research shows new reasons to watch for ticks in Georgia
March 17, 2022
A virus unknown until a little more than a decade ago is circulating among lone star ticks in Georgia, Emory University scientists say. Heartland virus was first identified in Missouri in 2009 in two severely ill individuals. More than 50 cases of Heartland virus have been identified in people from 11 states in the Midwest and the Southeast, the CDC says. Many required hospitalization and a few people who had pre-existing medical problems have died.
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Now Habersham
Medical marijuana production bill passes state Senate
March 15, 2022
Lawmakers tried to revive Georgia’s medical marijuana program Tuesday as the state Senate unanimously passed a bill to quickly issue business licenses this spring. The Senate voted 52-0 to approve a measure that would jump-start cannabis oil production by authorizing six companies to manufacture and sell the medicine to registered patients. Licenses would be issued by May 31, according to an amendment approved on the Senate floor.
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AJC.com
Trucking industry the hardest-hit by pandemic in Georgia
March 8, 2022
Nearly 8,000 employees in the Georgia trucking industry have died of COVID-19, making it the hardest-hit industry in the state during the pandemic. New data assembled by the Georgia Department of Health for WSB-TV shows that 7,707 employees identified as having jobs in the transportation or moving materials occupation had died of COVID-19 as of Sept. 2021.
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wsbtv.com