Quick hits: pharmacists could administer kids' vaccinations; what post-pandemic food supply chains could look like

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

The federal government will allow pharmacists to administer routine immunizations to children as young as three. Read more here.

Residents of Alabama's Lowndes County lack adequate wastewater systems and must regularly deal with sewage backing up into their yards and homes. Environmental activist Catherine Coleman Flowers, who has spent the past 20 years bringing attention to the issue, says it's only one of many such rural areas. Read more here.

A California lawsuit alleges that kids are falling behind because of distance learning, and that the state hasn't done enough to provide students with technology like computers or hotspots so they can learn. Read more here.

A policy expert discussed what post-pandemic food supply chains could look like. Read more here.

In rural areas, Covid-19 is an obstacle to healthy development for children of color. Read more here.

The Department of Health and Human Services has published new hospital-capacity data that it says is more accurate than previous estimates. Read more here. A scientific probe in November found that HHS data varied wildly from state-aggregated data. Read more here.

Nearly one in four North Dakotans know someone who has died from Covid-19. Read more here.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development is seeking applications for Rural Energy for America program. Read more here.

An editorial in the Las Vegas Sun cites rural issues the Biden administration and other Democrats must address, including reducing the power of large agri-businesses. Read more here.