Lauren Weber | Kaiser Health News

More than 650 people have been employed as community health workers in Illinois. Congress authorized $55 million for community health programs nationally during the pandemic. That funding will run out in June and neither the workers nor the communities they assist know what will happen next.

Over half of states have rolled back public health powers during the pandemic, which experts say permanently weakens states’ abilities to protect their constituents’ health.

The market for health care labor continues to be pinched. Rural hospitals are finding they can attract staff by not requiring staff to get the COVID vaccine.

Divisions abound in Missouri, where vaccines are widely available but only 40% of the state has been vaccinated.

Across Missouri, more than 100 schools have spent over $3.5 million — often at taxpayers’ expense — snapping up ionization and other air-purifying devices in an attempt to keep kids safe from COVID-19. But experts warn the largely unregulated technology hasn’t been thoroughly tested in classroom settings and is “often unproven.”