Three things for February 17
1. Winter weather affects over 150 million Americans
Beginning on Monday, the extremely cold weather has put residents across multiple states in danger, leading to power outages, iced roads, wind chills and more.
The winter weather has sparked emergency declarations in at least seven states, including Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas.
In Texas, the National Guard was deployed to administer welfare checks to some communities after severe power outages that affected more than 2 million homes and businesses. Houston has implemented warming centers in available locations to help residents seeking shelter from the cold.
Tuesday, Feb. 16, blackouts began in Oklahoma City, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Southeast Texas. This took away all household sources of power, such as space heaters or furnaces. Due to the increase in electricity needs, energy company Entergy has begun blackouts intentionally, “as a last resort and in order to prevent more extensive, prolonged power outages that could severely affect the reliability of the power grid,” reports AP News.
In Fort Worth, 13 children have been treated for carbon monoxide poisoning after mishaps when families tried to warm their homes.
In West Tennessee, a child died from falling into a frozen pond.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reminded his residents to stay safe by staying off the roads and being mindful of the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning.
“Those are casualties we don’t want to see. We did not make it through almost a year of a pandemic to lose people to snow or an ice storm,” said Beshear.
2. Hamilton County Health Department expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility
Announced on Tuesday and effective next Monday, Feb. 22, Phase 1B of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan will be effective in Hamilton County.
This means Hamilton County residents 65 years or older will be able to get the COVID vaccine regardless of their previous medical conditions. This also includes most people who work with school-age students.
Childcare, pre-school and K-12 teachers, school staff and school bus drivers will now be eligible to receive the vaccine, reports the Chattanoogan.
First responder operations personnel, air traffic controllers and large commercial air cargo operations will also be eligible for the vaccine.
While this next stage in the plan includes a greater people group, stage 1C will include more specific groups such as pregnant women and caretakers for high-risk children.
The next phase of vaccination eligibility is projected to begin in March or April.
For more information on the state of Tennessee’s vaccination plan, check out Version 5.0 of the TN Department of Health website.
3. Prince Philip hospitalized
On Tuesday, Prince Philip was admitted to the private King Edward VII Hospital for a few days of “observation and rest.”
Buckingham Palace released a statement on Wednesday, confirming 99-year-old Prince Phillip was hospitalized as “a precautionary measure.”
