June 27 is National HIV Testing Day, but beginning June 1, testing and treating HIV/AIDS in Tennessee will become more challenging for residents. Gov. Bill Lee has rejected a multi-million-dollar federal grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a…
As immigration advocates suspected, Title 42 originated with White House, not with CDC
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official has confirmed what immigration rights advocates have suspected all along: Implementation of Title 42 to rapidly expel asylum seekers due to COVID-19 had little to do with the pandemic. Martin Cetron, director…
The church needs to do better on monkeypox than it did on HIV, faith leaders say
This story has been updated to include comments from Leland Allen, an infectious disease doctor in Birmingham, Ala. In one social media meme, a happy young woman and man are shown walking down a wedding aisle with friends applauding them….
Why have so few U.S. congregations experienced even a single COVID death?
With more than 800,000 lives lost to COVID-19 in America alone, observers might wonder why some U.S. congregations have taken a seemingly cavalier approach to fighting the pandemic. One possible answer emerged this week from new survey data released by…
COVID wars: Lament over a broken, divided nation
I was talking with a senior Mercer University colleague yesterday about the divisions engulfing our nation over COVID vaccines and masks. Carl has served as a pastor, professor and politician. He’s a very wise man. I said: “Carl, two years…
Get ready for more claims of ‘religious exemptions’ to vaccine mandates
As children return to school and adults return to offices this fall amid a severe surge in coronavirus cases, expect to hear more talk about “religious exemptions” to vaccine requirements. Even before COVID-19, sincerely held religious beliefs have provided a…
Rapid spread of Delta variant throws some churches into reverse on their newfound ‘normal’
Will churches stop in-person worship once again as the Delta variant of COVID-19 roars across the country? Will those churches that continue to meet in person return to requiring masks and social distancing? These are the urgent questions facing church…
Anatomy of a lie: How one private school amplified a persistent COVID vaccine myth
The misinformed but determined founder of a private school in Miami has been identified as a key link in perpetuating one of the most convincing lies about the COVID-19 vaccines. In an analysis that demonstrates the power of one institution…
Tennessee officials ask for help tracing possible COVID cluster to SBC annual meeting
Participants in the Southern Baptist Convention’s in-person annual meeting in Nashville in mid-June are asked to notify Tennessee health officials if they came down with COVID-19 after attending the enormous gathering. A small but notable cluster of coronavirus infections has…