COVID-19

Today at 1:40, President Biden visits the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to talk about measures the White House will take to fight COVID-19 this winter. His visit comes as the new omicron variant of the virus has sparked concern worldwide. SC Public Radio will carry NPR coverage, live on all stations. You can also watch a live video stream, here.

Food banks around the state are rewiring how they operate as shortages in just about everything keep supplies low.

A second set of states has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers. The suit filed in Louisiana on behalf of 12 states was dated Monday. It comes less than a week after another lawsuit challenging the rule was filed in Missouri by a coalition of 10 states. Both lawsuits say the rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services violates federal law and unconstitutionally encroaches on powers reserved to the states. In addition to Louisiana, the latest suit covers Montana, Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.

Spartanburg's W. Woodward Funeral Home has been a community mainstay for over a hundred years. During the pandemic funeral directors there have had to get creative with live streams and webcasts, what they did to help families mourn outside in tents, in newly-built open-air sites, beside gravesides — mixing grief with newer fixtures at a funeral: masks and distance.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for November 6, 2021: a look at the results of this week's elections; Gov. Henry McMaster issues an executive order rebuffing a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate; how the rollout of Pfizer's vaccine for kids will work in South Carolina; and more.

The attorneys general of 26 states have filed federal lawsuits challenging a vaccine mandate for employers issued by the Biden administration. They generally contend that the authority to compel vaccinations rests with the states, not the federal government. The new mandate applies to private employers with at least 100 workers. The Biden administration says it is confident its requirement will withstand the challenges, but legal experts are divided over which side is likely to prevail. Several businesses also joined the lawsuits filed Friday, saying they don't want to insert themselves into their employees' health care decisions.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster says he plans to issue an executive order keeping his cabinet agencies from enforcing a federal mandate requiring companies with more than 100 employees to either have their workers vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 weekly. The Republican governor says he thinks the federal order is not legal and he is stunned by the overreach of Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. The federal rules require all companies with more than 100 employees to either have their workers vaccinated or tested for COVID-19 weekly and wear masks.

This story is part of South Carolina Public Radio's continuing look at the federal eviction moratorium.

The Biden administration is threatening to revoke the authority for three Republican-controlled states to handle their own workplace safety regulations because they have refused to adopt rules to protect health care workers from COVID-19. The threats were sent to Arizona, South Carolina and Utah as the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration prepares to adopt much more far-reaching vaccination and testing rules affecting 80 million Americans.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for October 19, 2021, we look at Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) comments about his recent trip to the southern border, the future of the bipartisan infrastructure bill in Congress, and what the Virginia governor's race could mean for the 2022 midterm elections. Also in this episode: the latest on broadband expansion in the state; updates on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine boosters shots; and more.