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Misleading Approach From RFK Jr. on mRNA Vaccines

Local Columns

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made numerous misleading statements about the efficacy and safety of mRNA COVID vaccines and mRNA technology in general. His comments have stirred unease among many and reduced trust in mRNA vaccines. He has alleged that the COVID vaccines were not adequately tested prior to marketing and that long term adverse effects have not been determined. Moreover, adverse effects caused by the vaccine additives were not communicated to the public. In truth, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were tested on 33,000 and 44,000 volunteers, respectively. One half of ...

From Steel to Code: Region’s Next Innovation Frontier

Local Columns

The Northern Panhandle has always demonstrated resilience. From steel mills to manufacturing, this region has reinvented itself time and again. Today, the next economic frontier is digital — blockchain, decentralized networks, and digital assets are no longer abstract technologies. They are ...

First-Degree Murder With Mercy Must Mean More Than 15 Years

Local Columns

The brutal slaying of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte sent shockwaves across the United States. The murder shed light on a broken criminal justice system that seemingly cares more about criminals than crime victims. That’s particularly true in West Virginia, where a person convicted of first-degree murder with mercy is eligible for parole in a meager 15 years. Fifteen years. That is the same amount of time many of us spend raising a child from kindergarten through high school. It is not even the length of the most common home mortgage loan. It ...

Keep Eye Out for Lone Star Ticks

Editorials

If you consider yourself to be a carnivore, the West Virginia Department of Health has given you yet another reason to be vigilant about avoiding ticks. Earlier this month, the agency reported multiple cases of the tick-borne Alpha-gal Syndrome, which can cause a variety of symptoms as a result of allergies to meat and meat products caused by the disease. This one is carried by lone star ticks — larger than deer ticks and with white spots on their backs. Worry over the disease is severe enough that the state health department issued an advisory Sept. 11, making AGS a reportable ...

A Good Reason To Smile

Editorials

In the Buckeye State, particularly in rural or lower-income regions, not all kids are able to get regular care from a dentist. It’s a generations-old problem, but between 2022 and 2024 CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and Oral Health Ohio tried a pilot program to do something about it. Through Medical Oral Expanded Care, the project incorporated oral health checks into kids’ annual well child visits with their pediatricians, according to a report by the Statehouse News Bureau. The pilot involved more than 1,000 children. Rebekah Mathews, vice president of health ...