Category: CDC
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. So, you’re American, you have a lousy health insurance plan, you get cancer. You survive cancer. But can you survive your massive medical $$$ debt?https://t.co/e6Jzw9W4SR — Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) June 17, […]
A few months ago, it seemed as though the country was poised to finally tame the pandemic, after two years of restrictions and tens of billions in government spending. The Biden administration in March released the first national covid-19 preparedness plan to help Americans safely “return to normal,” a strategy to live with the continued […]
Many U.S. schools were in dire need of upgrades — burdened by leaking pipes, mold, and antiquated heating systems — long before the covid-19 pandemic drew attention to the importance of indoor ventilation in reducing the spread of infectious disease. The average U.S. school building is 50 years old, and many schools date back more […]
The number of monkeypox cases in non-endemic countries is continuing to rise, but health authorities say the outbreak is containable and poses a low risk to the general public. As of this week, over 1,300 monkeypox cases have been detected in countries where the virus is not endemic. In the U.S., 45 cases have been […]
Increasing monkeypox cases are casting a bit of a shadow on celebrations across the country recognizing Pride Month, though experts generally said people should exercise care but not change their plans over the virus. As of Friday, only around 45 monkeypox cases have been identified in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control […]
The Biden administration announced Friday that it is ending a requirement that international travelers test negative for the coronavirus before coming to the United States. “CDC has determined based on the science and data that this requirement is no longer necessary at this time,” a senior administration official said. The requirement ends starting at 12:01 […]
AURORA, Colo. — As Britney Taylor toured the Mama Bird Maternity Wellness Spa during its grand opening this spring, she reflected on the birth of her first child: a confusing and lonely experience that resulted in an unplanned cesarean section and an extended period of postpartum depression. But here in this city abutting Denver, local […]
Jessica Oberoi, de 13 años, no puede recordar exactamente cuándo su vista comenzó a ser borrosa. Todo lo que sabe es que tenía que entrecerrar los ojos para ver el pizzarón en la escuela. No fue sino hasta el otoño pasado, cuando su clase de octavo grado en Bloomington, Indiana, se sometió a exámenes de […]
Jessica Oberoi, 13, can’t exactly remember when her eyesight started getting blurry. All she knows is that she had to squint to see the whiteboard at school. It wasn’t until last fall when her eighth grade class in Bloomington, Indiana, got vision screenings that Jessica’s extreme nearsightedness and amblyopia, or lazy eye, were discovered. She’s […]
COVID-19 cases have risen in the U.S. to around 100,000 per day, and the real number could be as much as five times that, given many go unreported. But the situation is far different from the early months of the pandemic. There are now vaccines and booster shots, and new treatments that dramatically cut the […]
The number of monkeypox cases identified in the U.S. have doubled in the past week to 20, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the risk to the public remains low and the strain causing these causes is believed to be a less severe version of the disease. During a press briefing […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the wake of three high-profile mass shootings in less than a month, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have renewed negotiations over legislation that could stem gun violence. […]
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Pulling No Punches on Abortion Reading the leaked draft opinion felt like a punch in the uterus (“Historic ‘Breach’ Puts Abortion Rights Supporters and Opponents on Alert for Upcoming Earthquake,” May […]
As the US marks Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer, the seven-day average for COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are more than six times what they were a year ago. The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center showed a seven-day average of 119,725 cases as of Saturday. That figure held at 17,887 cases […]
Welcome to Thursday’s Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here: K-pop superstars BTS are heading to the White House next week to help spotlight anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination, as well as discuss “the importance of diversity and inclusion.” Food and Drug Administration […]
Nine monkeypox cases across seven states in the U.S. have been confirmed as of this week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During a press briefing, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that nine cases of monkeypox in seven states have been identified. “These cases were suspected by local clinicians. They were […]
COVID-19 vaccinations may only offer limited protection against long COVID symptoms, according to a study published this week in the peer-reviewed Nature science journal. Researchers for the VA St. Louis Healthcare System reviewed data from the Department of Veterans Affairs national healthcare databases to compare people with breakthrough cases of COVID-19 to individuals with no […]
Officials for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday said the agency is releasing doses of a smallpox vaccine in response to the few recent cases of monkeypox that have been detected in the U.S. Jennifer McQuiston, the deputy director for the CDC’s Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said during […]
The Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating a presumptive case of monkeypox that has been identified in Broward County. In a statement on Sunday, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County said the presumptive case was related to international travel and the person involved is […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday confirmed one possible new death from the unexplained cases of pediatric hepatitis that have been detected throughout the U.S. and Europe. The latest death, reported on Thursday, brings the potential death toll in the U.S. up to six from the five that were reported by […]
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joined comedian Adam Conover to discuss his new Netflix series, “The G Word With Adam Conover,” created in partnership with Barack and Michelle Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions. In the hybrid docu-comedy series, Conover pulls back the curtain on the surprising ways the federal government affects our everyday lives, from the mundane […]
The vaccine advisory board for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday voted in favor of recommending COVID-19 vaccine boosters for children aged 5 to 11. Out of 15 members on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 11 voted in favor of recommending a third vaccine dose for children in the […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now looking into 180 cases of pediatric hepatitis that have been reported over the past seven months, 71 more cases than what it reported earlier this month. In a statement, the CDC stressed that while this may appear to be a large increase in cases, most […]
A senior official for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday said she was concerned over the outbreak of monkeypox in the United Kingdom and the possibility that it might spread beyond the country. Jennifer McQuiston, a veterinarian and epidemiologist with the CDC, told Stat that there appears to be undetected transmission […]
Durante dos años, las personas usaron máscaras, mantuvieron la distancia física, recibieron sus vacunas. Y ahora, a pesar de todo el esfuerzo, alguien de la familia, o toda, terminó teniendo COVID-19. ¿Cómo evitar que el virus circule cuando vives en espacios reducidos? Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) recomiendan aislar […]
For two years, you beat the odds. You masked, kept your distance, got your shots. Now, despite those efforts, you, your child, or someone else in your home has come down with covid-19. And the last thing you want is for the virus to spread to everyone in the family or household. But how do […]
Nearly 18 months after getting covid-19 and spending weeks in the hospital, Terry Bell struggles with hanging up his shirts and pants after doing the laundry. Lifting his clothes, raising his arms, arranging items in his closet leave Bell short of breath and often trigger severe fatigue. He walks with a cane, only short distances. […]
La administración Biden anunció en marzo de 2021 que invertiría $2,250 millones para hacer frente a las disparidades de salud por covid, la mayor iniciativa de financiación federal diseñada específicamente para ayudar a las comunidades desatendidas más afectadas por el virus. Dos meses después, los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) […]
The Biden administration in March 2021 announced it was investing $2.25 billion to address covid health disparities, the largest federal funding initiative designed specifically to help underserved communities hardest hit by the virus. Two months later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded grants to every state health department and 58 large city and […]
Incluso cuando los principales funcionarios de salud de los Estados Unidos dicen que es hora de aprender a vivir con el coronavirus, un coro de destacados investigadores aseguran que mensajes confusos sobre los refuerzos de las vacunas han puesto en grave riesgo a millones de personas mayores. Según los Centros para el Control y la […]
Even as top U.S. health officials say it’s time America learns to live with the coronavirus, a chorus of leading researchers say faulty messaging on booster shots has left millions of older people at serious risk. Approximately 1 in 3 Americans 65 and older who completed their initial vaccination round still have not received a […]
As the nation largely abandons mask mandates, physical distancing, and other covid-19 prevention strategies, elected officials and health departments alike are now championing antiviral pills. But the federal government isn’t saying how many people have received these potentially lifesaving drugs or whether they’re being distributed equitably. Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill, along with Merck’s molnupiravir, are aimed […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing new guidance to clinicians on testing for adenovirus in children as the cause behind the recent cases of pediatric hepatitis around the world remains uncertain. During a press briefing on Friday, CDC Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases Jay Butler shared an update on the hepatitis […]
The definition of “sanitation.” An old court case that involves an underwear manufacturer. Whether people had a fair chance to express their opinions about wearing masks on planes. These disparate factors are in the spotlight as the Biden administration challenges a U.S. District Court ruling that overturned a federal mask mandate on public transportation. The […]
A man in Colorado has tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, becoming the first person in the U.S. to have a confirmed human case of bird flu stemming from the current outbreak that has impacted commercial and backyard birds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the man who tested […]
The House subcommittee investigating the U.S. coronavirus response released new evidence on Friday detailing how Trump administration officials involved themselves in COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) related to faith-based communities. The CDC had sent guidance for faith-based communities to the White House in May 2020. In an email exchange […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. The week that Dr. Anthony Fauci declared the pandemic part of covid-19 over was also the week Vice President Kamala Harris and two Democratic members of the […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health alert regarding a cluster of children in Alabama found to have hepatitis and adenovirus infections, with the cause of their conditions currently unknown. According to the CDC’s health advisory, all of the children found to have hepatitis were healthy beforehand and none of […]
Employees from four agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said they did not report possible political interference in their work due to fear of retaliation and a lack of framework to report it, according to a study released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). For its study, the GAO’s conducted “semistructured […]
The role that the federal government plays in containing future epidemics will hinge on the outcome of an appeal of this week’s court ruling that overturned the mask mandate for travelers on airlines, trains, and the nation’s mass transit systems. A federal court judge in Florida said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had […]
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport will continue to enforce masking despite multiple airlines dropping their requirements following a federal judge’s ruling. “The safety and security of passengers and employees is the highest priority for the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA),” the airport said in a tweeted statement. “The CDA will continue to follow, observe and enforce […]
A federal judge in Florida on Monday struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) mask mandate for travel on planes, trains and buses. Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, an appointee of former President Trump, wrote that the CDC exceeded its statutory authority with the order. The CDC had recently extended the order for 15 […]
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Nursing on Trial It’s about time that nurses are held accountable for their jobs (“As a Nurse Faces Prison for a Deadly Error, Her Colleagues Worry: Could I Be Next?” March […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s been extra busy on the health policy beat lately, so a congressional recess provides a chance to explore some of the important stories that people might […]
For a decade, the number of babies born with syphilis in the U.S. has surged, undeterred. Data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows just how dire the outbreak has become. In 2012, 332 babies were born infected with the disease. In 2021, that number had climbed nearly sevenfold, to at […]
On a Sunday morning in March 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, an article in Popular Mechanics caught engineer Pieter Van Ry’s eye. It had a catchy title: “How Poop Offers Hints About the Spread of Coronavirus.” “At the end of that article, it said, ‘If you have a wastewater facility and you’re […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health warning about an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Florida, which the agency said is mainly affecting gay and bisexual men, including those living with HIV. The CDC urged gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men to get the MenACWY […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. The Biden administration this week moved to fix the so-called family glitch in the Affordable Care Act, which has prevented dependents from getting federal subsidies to buy […]
En Whitman-Walker Health, el doctor David Fessler y su personal administran dosis altas de vacunas contra la influenza a todos los pacientes VIH positivos y adultos mayores. Aunque la vacuna es cerca de tres veces más cara que la vacuna estándar contra la gripe, parece proteger más a las personas con sistemas inmunes debilitados, algo […]
At Whitman-Walker Health, Dr. David Fessler and his staff administer high-dose influenza vaccine to all HIV-positive and senior patients. Although the vaccine is roughly three times as expensive as standard flu vaccine, it seems to do a better job at protecting those with weakened immune systems — a major focus of the nonprofit’s Washington, D.C., […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday announced in an internal email a sweeping review of the agency. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told employees that Jim Macrae, associate administrator for primary health care at the Health Resources and Services Administration, would be conducting a one-month review of the organization that has been […]
Wylie James Prescott, de 3 años, tuvo que esperar más de un año después de su diagnóstico de autismo para comenzar la terapia conductual, a pesar de que las investigaciones demuestran que el tratamiento temprano del autismo puede ser crucial para el desarrollo de los niños. Su madre, Brandie Kurtz, dijo que Medicaid de Georgia […]
Wylie James Prescott, 3, had to wait more than a year after his autism diagnosis to begin behavioral therapy, even though research shows early treatment of autism can be crucial for children’s long-term development. His mother, Brandie Kurtz, said his therapy wasn’t approved through Georgia’s Medicaid program until recently, despite her continued requests. “I know […]
CELINA, Tenn. — It was about 1 a.m. on April 19, 2016, when a burglary alarm sounded at Dale Hollow Pharmacy in Celina, a tiny town in the rolling, wooded hills near the Kentucky border. Two cops responded. As their flashlights bobbed in the darkness, shining through the pharmacy windows, they spotted a sign of […]
When Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said March 13 that all Americans would need a second booster shot, it struck many covid experts as a self-serving remark without scientific merit. It also set off spasms of doubt over the country’s objectives in its fight against the coronavirus. The decision on how often and widely to vaccinate […]
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Can’t Mask the Worry I am a nursing student writing in response to a recent article by Colleen DeGuzman about new guidelines on masking from the Centers for Disease Control and […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Congress is moving toward completion of its annual spending bills for the fiscal year that started last October, but a last-minute snag jettisoned from the bill the […]
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month unveiled updated covid-19 guidelines that relaxed masking recommendations, some people no doubt sighed in relief and thought it was about time. People have become increasingly comfortable being out shopping, attending live events, or meeting up with friends at restaurants. And many are ready to cast […]
Two months before the Super Bowl, the omicron surge was decimating NFL rosters as players tested positive for covid-19. In mid-December, the NFL postponed a game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks because the Rams, who would go on to win the Super Bowl, had 29 players out with covid. The number […]
President Joe Biden argued forcefully for the power of democracy while calling out Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a March 1 State of the Union address that soon turned to the domestic concerns of the economy, inflation, and covid-19. Biden’s one-hour speech was given to a largely unmasked crowd of lawmakers, Supreme Court justices, and […]
Cuando su hijo vino al mundo, el pasado mes de mayo, Kia Slade estaba embarazada de siete meses, no vacunada, y luchaba por respirar mientras sus niveles de oxígeno caían en picada. Un caso grave de neumonía por covid había dejado a Slade delirando. Recordó que cuando el equipo de terapia intensiva trató de colocarle […]
Last summer, Montana created a list of more than a dozen upgrades for its state prison facilities to protect inmates and staffers from covid-19 infections, all of which would be paid for with nearly $2.5 million in federal covid relief money. But the money, part of $700 million in aid to states to detect and […]
Kia Slade was seven months pregnant, unvaccinated, and fighting for breath, her oxygen levels plummeting, when her son came into the world last May. A severe case of covid pneumonia had left Slade delirious. When the intensive care team tried to place an oxygen mask on her face, she snatched it away, she recalled. Her […]
Iesha White está tan harta de la respuesta de Estados Unidos a covid-19 que ha pensado en mudarse a Europa. “Estoy indignada. La falta de consideración hacia los demás, para mí, es demasiado”, dijo White, de 30 años, que vive en Los Angeles. Padece esclerosis múltiple y toma un medicamento que suprime su sistema inmunitario. […]
Iesha White is so fed up with the U.S. response to covid-19 that she’s seriously considering moving to Europe. “I’m that disgusted. The lack of care for each other, to me, it’s too much,” said White, 30, of Los Angeles. She has multiple sclerosis and takes a medicine that suppresses her immune system. “As a […]
Just before my son’s 9-month checkup, my wife and I debated whether to postpone it. It was a “well baby visit,” but the potential threats to his health felt real. The last time he went to the pediatrician, in November, the air inside the office was stuffy, and the waiting room was crowded with children […]
In a few short months, states have gone from donating surplus rapid covid-19 tests to states with shortages to hoarding them as demand driven by the spike in cases strains supplies. Last January, North Dakota had amassed 2.7 million Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW rapid covid tests from the federal government — roughly 3½ tests for each […]
What does it mean if a person’s rapid antigen test result comes back positive after five days of isolation due to covid-19? According to the experts, that person is most likely still carrying a viral load high enough to infect others. “Anytime you’re positive by one of these rapid at-home covid tests, it means that […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. The Biden administration announced that 14.5 million Americans have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act for 2022. That’s a record, and several states […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reached out to pharmacists Wednesday to reinforce the message that people with moderate to severe immune suppression are eligible for fourth covid shots. The conference call came a day after KHN reported that immunocompromised people were being turned away by pharmacy employees unfamiliar with the latest CDC guidelines. […]
Los pacientes con sistemas inmunes debilitados, que tienen un riesgo mayor de covid-19 y sus complicaciones, dicen que las farmacias los rechazan cuando buscan dosis adicionales de las vacunas recomendadas por los funcionarios federales de salud. Alyson Smith se convirtió en elegible en enero para una cuarta dosis de la vacuna contra covid porque sus […]
Patients with weakened immune systems — who are at high risk from covid-19 — say pharmacies are turning them away when they seek additional vaccine doses recommended by federal health officials. Alyson Smith became eligible this month for a fourth vaccine dose because her medications leave her immunocompromised. Although the Centers for Disease Control and […]
Two months after Pfizer’s covid vaccine was authorized for children ages 5 to 11, just 27% have received at least one shot, according to Jan. 12 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only 18%, or 5 million kids, have both doses. The national effort to vaccinate children has stalled even as the […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Medicare officials have preliminarily decided to restrict reimbursement for Aduhelm, the controversial Alzheimer’s drug, to only patients participating in approved clinical trials. The FDA approved the drug […]
Tammy Kaminski can still recall the taste of benzene, a carcinogenic byproduct of burning jet fuel. For nine months after the 9/11 attacks, she volunteered for eight hours every Saturday at St. Paul’s Chapel, just around the corner from ground zero in New York City. She breathed in cancer-causing toxic substances, like fuel fumes and […]
La super contagiosa variante omicron se está extendiendo por los Estados Unidos, provocando un dramático aumento de casos y saturando muchos sistemas hospitalarios. Además de instar a los estadounidenses a vacunarse y recibir el refuerzo, funcionarios de salud pública recomiendan que las personas cambien sus máscaras de tela por máscaras médicas de mayor calidad. ¿Qué […]
The highly transmissible omicron variant is sweeping the U.S., causing a huge spike in covid-19 cases and overwhelming many hospital systems. Besides urging Americans to get vaccinated and boosted, public health officials are recommending that people upgrade from their cloth masks to higher-quality medical-grade masks. But what does this even mean? At a recent Senate […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. The covid-19 pandemic is now entering its third year, and the ever-evolving health advice to combat an ever-evolving virus is leaving Americans more cranky and confused than […]
Sacramento, California. – California se ha convertido en el primer estado en exigir que los seguros médicos cubran las pruebas caseras para infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS) como el VIH, la clamidia y la sífilis. Esto podría ayudar a controlar la epidemia de ITS que se ha extendido casi sin control, con los departamentos de […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has become the first state to require health insurance plans to cover at-home tests for sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, chlamydia and syphilis — which could help quell the STI epidemic that has raged nearly unchecked as public health departments have focused on covid-19. The rule, part of a broader […]
The pandemic has created a hostile environment for pregnant people and their babies. Stress levels among expectant mothers have soared. Pregnant women with covid are five times as likely as uninfected pregnant people to require intensive care and 22 times as likely to die. Infected moms are four times as likely to have a stillborn […]
Johnson & Johnson’s also-ran COVID-19 vaccine has been cleared in the EU as a booster shot, although its role in the US could be impacted by new data on rare blood clots. A Centres for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) advisory committee is scheduled to meet today to discuss the new results, according to a […]
For nearly a month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s online vaccine tracker has shown that virtually everyone 65 and older in the United States — 99.9% — has received at least one covid vaccine dose. That would be remarkable — if true. But health experts and state officials say it’s certainly not. They […]
A medida que aumenta el número de lugares que exigen una prueba de vacunación para entrar, y ante la llegada del invierno y de omicron, la nueva variante del coronavirus, científicos y funcionarios de salud pública debaten cuándo será el momento de cambiar la definición de “totalmente vacunado” para que incluya una vacuna de refuerzo. […]
As more indoor venues require proof of vaccination for entrance and with winter — as well as omicron, a new covid variant — looming, scientists and public health officials are debating when it will be time to change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include a booster shot. It’s been more than six months since […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” social spending bill passed the House last week, but the legislation faces a new and different set of hurdles in the […]
Three hurdles to allowing booster COVID-19 vaccinations for all adults in the US fell in swift succession on Friday, clearing the way for wider use of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots. The FDA cleared emergency use of the two vaccines on Friday, which was swiftly followed by a recommendation from a Centres for Disease Control […]
WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Melissa Blatzer was determined to get her three children caught up on their routine immunizations on a recent Saturday morning at a walk-in clinic in this Denver suburb. It had been about a year since the kids’ last shots, a delay Blatzer chalked up to the pandemic. Two-year-old Lincoln Blatzer, in his […]
At this point in the pandemic, most parents are familiar with “covid notification” letters. But the letters’ instruction on whether your kid must quarantine or not varies wildly from school to school. In Minneapolis, students exposed to covid-19 at school are supposed to quarantine for 10 days. In the suburban Anoka-Hennepin school district, a single […]
MISSOULA, Mont. — There was something a little different on stage at a recent performance of the musical “Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree,” the first production for the Missoula Community Theatre since the beginning of the pandemic. All the actors wore clear face masks. That way, the audience could better see the actors’ expressions, […]
The US is now pressing ahead with plans to extend its COVID-19 vaccination campaign to younger children aged five and over, prompting a debate about the policy in other countries. It follows the decision by Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky to back a widening of vaccination shot from the current […]
A US study has found that the immunity afforded by COVID-19 vaccines is much stronger than that stimulated by infection with SARS-CoV-2 in unvaccinated individuals. The report by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based on an analysis of dozens of research studies and its own data, suggests that both vaccination and infection […]
The US looks set to see a big expansion of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination drive, with shots looking likely for children aged five to 11 as well as a fourth dose for adults who are immunocompromised. FDA advisors gave a green light to Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty for children in that younger age […]
Shots: The CDC’s ACIP has voted to recommend Prevnar 20 (Pneumococcal 20-valent Conjugate Vaccine) to protect adults against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by the 20 S. pneumoniae serotypes The ACIP has recommended one dose of Prevnar 20 for adults aged ≥65 & for ≥19yrs. with risk conditions who have not previously received a pneumococcal […]
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed how hospitals are dealing with covid-19 on WOSU’s “All Sides With Ann Fisher” on Tuesday. Weber also discussed the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a covid vaccine booster on WAMU’s “1A” on Sept. 24. Click here to hear Weber on WOSU Read Weber’s “Covid Is Killing Rural Americans […]
On Friday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said people whose jobs put them at risk of coronavirus infection qualify for a shot to boost the protection of their covid-19 vaccination. That step to include people with “institutional and occupational exposure” overrules the recommendation of her agency’s advisory panel, and the move […]
KHN correspondent Rachana Pradhan discussed why President Joe Biden hasn’t yet nominated a permanent leader for the Food and Drug Administration on Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on Thursday. Click here to hear Pradhan on “Morning Rush“ Read Pradhan’s “Public Health Experts ‘Flabbergasted’ That Biden Still Hasn’t Picked an FDA Chief” KHN freelancer Nick Ehli discussed Montana’s […]
GRIFFIN, Ga. — Natalia D’Angelo got sick right after school started in August. She was driving a school bus for special education students in Griffin-Spalding County School System about 40 miles south of Atlanta and contracted covid-19. One of her three sons, Julian Rodriguez-D’Angelo, said his mother, who was not vaccinated against the covid virus, […]
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US has backed booster doses of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty in line with its recent FDA approval, overruling the advice of its own expert advisors. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously yesterday to recommend a third dose of Comirnaty […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Democrats in Congress and the White House are feverishly negotiating to pass as much of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda as they can agree on, even as […]
En los últimos meses, algunas compañías aéreas europeas han prohibido el uso de máscaras de tela para controlar la propagación del coronavirus durante los vuelos, en favor de las quirúrgicas y los respiradores N95. Se trata de un nuevo debate sobre la eficacia del popular cubrebocas de tela, cuyo uso se extendió desde los […]
In recent months, some European airlines have banned the use of cloth face coverings to control the spread of the coronavirus during air travel, instead favoring surgical masks — sometimes referred to as medical or disposable — and N95 respirators. It’s another salvo in the debate over the effectiveness of the ubiquitous cloth mask, which […]
Eighteen months into the covid-19 pandemic, with the delta variant fueling a massive resurgence of disease, many hospitals are hitting a heartbreaking new low. They’re now losing babies to the coronavirus. The first reported covid-related death of a newborn occurred in Orange County, Florida, and an infant has died in Mississippi. Merced County in California […]
In January — long before the first jabs of covid-19 vaccine were even available to most Americans — scientists working under Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases were already thinking about potential booster shots. A month later, they organized an international group of epidemiologists, virologists and biostatisticians to track […]
Of the 203 million people who have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine, more than 9 million have enrolled in a program to share information about their health since getting the shot. The initiative was created for the covid-19 vaccines to complement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine safety monitoring […]
On the second day of high school in Texas, Natosha Daniels’ 14-year-old daughter went all day without eating because she did not want to remove her mask. The teen’s school has a couple of thousand students, and the cafeteria was crowded. Plus Round Rock Independent School District outside Austin didn’t require masks, so some students […]
The report, released by Kaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center on Healthcare, details the high cost of Covid care for the unvaccinated. In fact, the analysis indicates the figure could be even higher than $2.3 billion, as the authors did not take into account the cost of outpatient treatment for Covid-19.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new emergency regulation Wednesday requiring staff COVID-19 vaccinations within all nursing homes reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid. Up until now, health care providers in many states have been left to develop their own in-house vaccination policies for workers. In some instances, however, health care providers […]
La administración de Biden anunció el miércoles 18 de agosto planes para ofrecer refuerzos de la vacuna contra covid-19 a todos los adultos estadounidenses a partir del próximo mes, y dijo que los datos recientes, incluidos algunos disponibles solo en los últimos días, jugaron un papel en esa decisión. “Si esperan a que suceda algo […]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is one of a handful of Republican governors trying to block school districts from requiring masks in the classroom. Under DeSantis’ direction, the state health department adopted a rule that lets families opt out of locally ordered school mask mandates. The State Board of Education approved another rule that allows parents to secure vouchers for their […]
Desde la reapertura del campus de la Universidad de California-San Diego, el pasado verano, la institución ha recurrido a estrategias de salud pública de probada eficacia, como las pruebas y el rastreo de contactos. Pero también ha añadido una herramienta a su arsenal: excrementos. Esta herramienta alertó a los investigadores de un 85% de los […]
Since reopening campus at the University of California-San Diego last summer, university officials have relied on the tried-and-true public health strategies of testing and contact tracing. But they have also added a new tool to their arsenal: excrement. That tool alerted researchers to about 85% of cases in dorms before they were diagnosed, according to […]
El CEO de Pfizer, Albert Bourla, confiaba en junio en la capacidad de la vacuna de su empresa para proteger contra la variante delta, altamente contagiosa, mientras se diseminaba por el mundo y llenaba de pacientes los hospitales estadounidenses. Apenas unas semanas después, Pfizer comunicó que solicitaría autorización para una vacuna de refuerzo, después que […]
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was confident in June about the ability of his company’s vaccine to protect against the highly contagious delta variant, as it marched across the globe and filled U.S. hospitals with patients. “I feel quite comfortable that we cover it,” Bourla said. Just weeks later, Pfizer said it would seek authorization for […]
Los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) están duplicando su recomendación de que las mujeres embarazadas reciban la vacuna contra covid-19, a la luz de nuevos datos que subrayan su seguridad y eficacia durante el embarazo. Esta recomendación llega en un momento en que los médicos de todo el país informan de […]
When kids head back to school this fall, for some it will be the first time they’ve been in a real classroom with other students since the pandemic began. Even if they attended classes in person last year, the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant of covid-19 will require a new safety calculation, particularly […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is doubling down on its recommendation that people who are pregnant get the covid-19 vaccine, in light of new data underscoring its safety and effectiveness throughout pregnancy. This recommendation comes at a time when doctors across the country are reporting an uptick in the number of unvaccinated pregnant […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent guidance on students and masking “lacks a well-grounded scientific justification.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a July 30 executive order On July 30, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order stating that schools couldn’t mandate that their students wear masks, and that it should be up […]
Since the onset of the COVID-19 emergency in early 2020, home-based care providers have had to navigate seemingly countless challenges around keeping both patients and staff safe. Providers are now gearing up to face a new and more aggressive strain of the coronavirus: the Delta variant. Among its major distinctions, the Delta variant is more […]
As covid-19 resurges across the country, driven by the highly infectious delta variant, experts are extending our understanding of the pandemic’s toll on older adults — the age group hit hardest by the pandemic. New research offers unexpected insights. Older adults living in their own homes and apartments had a significantly heightened risk of dying […]
En medio del último aumento de casos de covid-19 y hospitalizaciones, Estados Unidos alcanzó el martes 3 de agosto un hito que algunos pensaban que era inalcanzable: el 90% de las personas de 65 años o más están al menos parcialmente vacunadas contra la enfermedad. Esto es más de 49 millones de adultos mayores vacunados. […]
Amid the latest surge in covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, the United States on Tuesday hit a milestone that some thought was unattainable: 90% of people 65 and older are at least partly vaccinated against the disease. That’s more than 49 million seniors vaccinated. Overall, 70% of adults have been inoculated, at least partly, and nearly […]
Claim: “CDC has just announced they will revoke the emergency use authorization of the RT-PCR tests first introduced in 2/20. … Translation: They’ve been adding flu cases to Covid cases when using that test.” Facebook post, July 25, 2021 Posts circulating on Facebook and Instagram claim the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Predictions of a “hot vax summer” that would let Americans who had their covid immunizations celebrate the waning of the pandemic are turning out to have been […]
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Dr. Rachel LaCount grasped a metal hoop at a playground and spun in circles with her 7-year-old son, turning the distant mesas of the Colorado National Monument into a red-tinged blur. LaCount has lived in this western Colorado city of 64,000 nearly her whole life. As a hospital pathologist, she knows […]
Lucien Wiggins, 12, arrived at Tufts Children’s Hospital by ambulance June 7 with chest pains, dizziness and high levels of a protein in his blood that indicated inflammation of his heart. The symptoms had begun a day earlier, the morning after his second vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA shot. For Dr. Sara Ross, chief of […]
For more than a year, public health officials have repeatedly told us that masks save lives. They’ve warned us to keep our distance from our neighbors, who’ve morphed into disease vectors before our eyes. Now they are telling us that if we’re vaccinated, we no longer need to wear masks or physically distance ourselves in […]
The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in which the maternal death rate has been rising. Each year, about 700 deaths are due to pregnancy, childbirth or subsequent complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This story also ran on NPR. It can be republished for free. When someone dies while pregnant or within a […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case next term that could result in a significant modification or overturn of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide. At issue is a Mississippi law that would ban the procedure after 15 weeks of […]
Black Americans’ covid-19 vaccination rates are still lagging months into the nation’s campaign, while Hispanics are closing the gap and Native Americans show the highest rates overall, according to federal data obtained by KHN. This story also ran on CNN. It can be republished for free. The data, provided by the Centers for Disease Control […]
[Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is in a crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. In Colorado, you can also contact Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-TALK (8255) or text TALK to 38255.] KIOWA, Colo. — The yellow-and-green […]
Two national pharmacy chains that the federal government entrusted to inoculate people against covid-19 account for the lion’s share of wasted vaccine doses, according to government data obtained by KHN. This story also ran on NBC News. It can be republished for free. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 182,874 wasted doses as […]
The quick detection of an ultra-rare blood clotting reaction in some covid-19 vaccine recipients showed the power of a federal warning system for vaccine safety issues, but experts worry that blind spots in the program could hamper detection of other unexpected side effects. This story also ran on NBC News. It can be republished for […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. It’s been a busy 100 days for the Biden administration on health policy. The promise Joe Biden made as president-elect to get 100 million covid vaccinations in arms was doubled, healthcare.gov reopened to those without insurance, and steps were taken to undo a raft of […]
En respuesta a la pandemia de covid-19, el Congreso ha invertido decenas de miles de millones de dólares en los departamentos de salud pública estatales y locales, pagando por máscaras, rastreadores de contactos y campañas educativas para persuadir a las personas de que se vacunen. Sus funcionarios, que han manejado presupuestos famélicos durante años, están […]
Congress has poured tens of billions of dollars into state and local public health departments in response to the covid-19 pandemic, paying for masks, contact tracers and education campaigns to persuade people to get vaccinated. This story also ran on The Associated Press. It can be republished for free. Public health officials who have juggled […]
Robin Hauser, a pediatrician in Tampa, Fla., got covid in February. What separates her from the vast majority of the tens of millions of other Americans who have come down with the virus is this: She got sick seven weeks after her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Use Our Content It can be republished […]
More than 120 million Americans have joined arguably the most sought-after club on Earth: those immunized against the coronavirus. Fully vaccinated people were given the green light in March by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to gather with other fully vaccinated people or with low-risk unvaccinated people from one other household without a […]
President Joe Biden has submitted his discretionary budget for 2022 to Congress. Among its healthcare provisions are funding requests for the CDC, mental health and social determinants of health programs. But there are some unusual requests as well, such as funding for an Office of Climate Change and Health Equity.
Federal officials announced new measures to help get fresh, new N95 masks to health care workers and expand their use in other industries after scientists argued that the highly protective masks are essential to keep workers safe from covid-19. Use Our Content It can be republished for free. The changes come as U.S. mask-makers say […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. Health care makes some surprising appearances in President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan, even though more health proposals are expected in a second proposal later this month. The bill that would help rebuild roads, bridges and broadband capabilities also includes $400 billion to help […]
This story also ran on Los Angeles Times. It can be republished for free. Here’s one big takeaway from our country’s disastrous 2020 covid response: For 20 years, we’ve lavished attention and money on fighting human terrorism and forgot that the terrorism of nature is equally deadly, deserving equal preparation. Today, with more than 545,000 […]
ST. LOUIS — Missourians have driven hours to find vaccines in rural counties — at least those with cars and the time. Tens of thousands of doses are waiting to be distributed, slowly being rolled out in a federal long-term care program. Waitlists are hundreds of thousands of people long. Black residents are getting left […]
The former top White House coronavirus adviser under President Donald Trump, Dr. Deborah Birx, has joined an air-cleaning company that built its business, in part, on technology that is now banned in California due to health hazards. This story also ran on NBC News. It can be republished for free. The company is one of […]
El esfuerzo de vacunación contra covid en este país ha sido un parto doloroso: problemas de registro, mala comunicación, datos incorrectos y un escaso suministro de vacunas; todo ello exacerbado por una asignación desigual, un supuesto favoritismo político y una indecorosa competencia por las vacunas. Aun sí, ya se han administrado 129 millones de dosis, […]
As you surely know, this country’s covid vaccination effort has been plagued by major birth pangs: registration snafus, poor communication, faulty data and a scant supply of vaccine — all exacerbated by inequitable allocation, alleged political favoritism and unseemly jockeying for shots. Use Our Content It can be republished for free. Still, as of Friday, […]
This story also ran on USA Today. It can be republished for free. This spring, high school senior Nathan Kassis will play baseball in the shadow of covid-19 — wearing a neck gaiter under his catcher’s mask, sitting 6 feet from teammates in the dugout and trading elbow bumps for hugs after wins. “We’re looking […]
In an address on Thursday, President Joe Biden directed states to make all adults eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine no later than May 1. To get there, the Administration is buying more doses, and ramping up more vaccination sites in partnership with local clinics and pharmacies.
Since the start of the pandemic, the most terrifying task in health care was thought to be when a doctor put a breathing tube down the trachea of a critically ill covid patient. This story also ran on The Guardian. It can be republished for free. Those performing such “aerosol-generating” procedures, often in an intensive […]
This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and KHN. It can be republished for free. In early December, Dr. Katy Stephenson was watching TV with her family and scrolling through Twitter when she saw a tweet that made her shout. “I said ‘Oh, my God!’” she recalled. “Super loud. My kids […]
This story also ran on NBC News. It can be republished for free. Covid-19 infections from variant strains are quickly spreading across the U.S., but there’s one big problem: Lab officials say they can’t tell patients or their doctors whether someone has been infected by a variant. Federal rules around who can be told about […]
The science says “open the schools, stop wearing masks outside, and everyone at low risk should start living normal lives.” — Blog post by conservative talk show host Buck Sexton posted on Facebook, Feb. 8. This story was produced in partnership with PolitiFact. It can be republished for free. A popular Facebook and blog post by […]
A prominent group of academics is pressing the Biden administration to move faster and take stronger action to protect high-risk workers from airborne exposure to the coronavirus, urging enforceable standards to help safeguard risky workplaces including health care, food processing and prisons. The researchers say that even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. President Joe Biden has said he still wants a bipartisan bill to provide the next round of covid relief. But in case that doesn’t happen, House committees this week got down to work on a budget reconciliation bill that could pass the Senate with a […]
This story also ran on The New York Times. It can be republished for free. The Biden administration’s much-needed national strategy to end the covid-19 pandemic includes plans to remedy the chaotic vaccination effort with “more people, more places, more supply.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency will open more vaccination sites, the government will buy […]
Black Americans are still receiving covid vaccinations at dramatically lower rates than white Americans even as the chaotic rollout reaches more people, according to a new KHN analysis. Almost seven weeks into the vaccine rollout, states have expanded eligibility beyond front-line health care workers to more of the public — in some states to more […]
As they rush to vaccinate millions of Americans, health officials are struggling to collect critically important information — such as race, ethnicity and occupation — of every person they jab. The data being collected is so scattered that there’s little insight into which health care workers, or first responders, have been among the people getting […]
This story also ran on The Guardian. It can be republished for free. On Sundays, Bishop Bruce Davis preached love. Through his Pentecostal ministry, he organized youth parades and gave computers, bicycles and food to families in need. During the week, Bruce practiced what he preached, caring for prisoners at a Georgia hospital. On March […]
Dr. Andrew Carroll — a family doctor in Chandler, Arizona — wants to help his patients get immunized against covid, so he paid more than $4,000 to buy an ultra-low-temperature freezer from eBay needed to store the Pfizer vaccine. But he’s not sure he’ll get a chance to use it, given health officials have so […]
The CDC has engaged the California-based health system’s Vaccine Study Center to conduct an analysis of its Covid-19 vaccine data with the aim of pinpointing adverse events and reactions. The collaboration will continue for the next three years.
States will get some much needed support to roll out a coronavirus vaccine. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services shared it would roll out $22 billion in funding to support state testing and vaccination efforts.
This story also ran on The Guardian. It can be republished for free. Workers at Garfield Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles were on edge as the pandemic ramped up in March and April. Staffers in a 30-patient unit were rationing a single tub of sanitizing wipes all day. A May memo from the CEO […]
Use Our Content It can be republished for free. The recent rollout of two newly authorized COVID-19 vaccines is a bright ray of hope at the pandemic’s darkest hour. We now have a path that can lead us to happier times — even as we watch and suffer from the horrible onslaught of new infections, […]
Use Our Content It can be republished for free. A year ago, while many Americans were finishing their holiday shopping and finalizing travel plans, doctors in Wuhan, China, were battling a mysterious outbreak of pneumonia with no known cause. Chinese doctors began to fear they were witnessing the return of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or […]
Imagine this: Your elderly mother, who has dementia, is in a nursing home and COVID-19 vaccines are due to arrive in a week or two. You think she should be vaccinated, having heard the vaccine is effective in generating an immune response in older adults. Your brother disagrees. He worries that development of the vaccine […]
This story was produced in partnership with PolitiFact. It can be republished for free. A Florida taxi driver and his wife had seen enough conspiracy theories online to believe the virus was overblown, maybe even a hoax. So no masks for them. Then they got sick. She died. A college lecturer had trouble refilling her […]
Si existe una cita con el destino, está escrita en el calendario del doctor Taison Bell. Al mediodía del martes 15 de diciembre, Bell, especialista en cuidados intensivos del Sistema de Salud de la Universidad de Virginia será uno de los primeros en arremangarse para recibir la vacuna que lo protegerá del coronavirus. Bell, de […]
This story also ran on NBC News. It can be republished for free. If there’s such a thing as a date with destiny, it’s marked on Dr. Taison Bell’s calendar. At noon Tuesday, Bell, a critical care physician, is scheduled to be one of the first health care workers at the University of Virginia Health […]
Vivek Kaliraman, que vive en Los Angeles, ha celebrado todas las navidades desde 2002 con su mejor amigo, que vive en Houston. Pero, este año, por el riesgo de COVID, en lugar de ir en avión, manejó y piensa quedarse varias semanas. El viaje, que le llevaría 24 horas, era demasiado largo para hacerlo en […]
Vivek Kaliraman, who lives in Los Angeles, has celebrated every Christmas since 2002 with his best friend, who lives in Houston. But, this year, instead of boarding an airplane, which felt too risky during the COVID pandemic, he took a car and plans to stay with his friend for several weeks. The trip — a […]
Americans have made no secret of their skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines this year, with fears of political interference and a “warp speed” timeline blunting confidence in the shots. As recently as September, nearly half of U.S. adults said they didn’t intend to be inoculated. But with two promising vaccines primed for release, likely within weeks, […]
A number of national home-based care advocacy organizations have come together to address the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). In a new letter penned to ACIP Chairman Dr. José Romero, the group called for the inclusion of in-home caregivers when it comes to priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The letter was born […]
Dr. Jacqueline Chu considered the man with a negative coronavirus test on the other end of the phone, and knew, her heart dropping, that the test result was not enough to clear him for work. The man was a grocery store clerk — an essential worker — and the sole earner for his family. A […]
Don’t expect any turkey recipes from the CDC, but the do advise a fair amount of caution during this Thanksgiving holiday. More than 1 million COVID-19 cases were reported in the United States over the last 7 days.As cases continue to increase rapidly across the United States, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to […]
Pfizer, Moderna and the University of Oxford are among the organizations to tout highly effective COVID-19 vaccines this month. With “the cavalry coming,” the focus is now shifting to how, when and where vaccines should be distributed. In September, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) urged state leaders […]
The holidays are approaching just as COVID-19 case rates nationwide are increasing at a record-breaking pace, leading to dire warnings from public health experts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued cautions and updated guidelines related to family gatherings. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a White House coronavirus adviser and director of the National Institute […]
The company is the second this month to report promising results for a Covid-19 vaccine even as the virus rages across the U.S.
President-elect Joe Biden made COVID-19 a linchpin of his campaign, criticizing President Donald Trump’s leadership on everything from masks and packed campaign rallies to vaccines. That was the easy part. Biden now has the urgent job of filling top health care positions in his administration to help restore public trust in science-driven institutions Trump repeatedly […]
In the waning days of the campaign, President Donald Trump complained repeatedly about how the United States tracks the number of people who have died from COVID-19, claiming, “This country and its reporting systems are just not doing it right.” He went on to blame those reporting systems for inflating the number of deaths, pointing […]
In August, Robert Pettigrew was working a series of odd jobs. While washing the windows of a cellphone store he saw a sign, one that he believes the “good Lord” placed there for him. “Facing eviction?” the sign read. “You could be eligible for up to $3,000 in rent assistance. Apply today.” It seemed a […]
Thousands of minks at Utah fur farms have died because of the coronavirus in the past 10 days, forcing nine sites in three counties to quarantine, but the state veterinarian said people don’t appear to be at risk from the outbreak. The COVID-19 infections likely were spread from workers at the mink ranches to the […]
“Children in approximately 4 million households in the United States are being exposed to high levels of lead.” As I discuss in my video The Effects of Low-Level Lead Exposure in Adults, “Despite the dramatic decline in children’s blood-lead concentrations over the decades, lead toxicity remains a major public health problem”—and not just for children. […]
La temporada de influenza se verá diferente este año, ya que los Estados Unidos se enfrentan a una pandemia de coronavirus que ya ha matado a más de 176.000 personas. Muchos estadounidenses son reacios a ir al médico y los funcionarios de salud pública temen que las personas eviten vacunarse. Aunque a veces se considera […]
Flu season will look different this year, as the country grapples with a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 172,000 people. Many Americans are reluctant to visit a doctor’s office and public health officials worry people will shy away from being immunized. Although sometimes incorrectly regarded as just another bad cold, flu also kills […]
New rules by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services would penalize hospitals and laboratories that report Covid-19 data. Hospitals would be required to report the number of confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patient, occupied beds, and availability of ventilators and other critical supplies.
Detective Ryan Holets, whose personal story includes the adoption of an infant born to a drug-addicted mother, addressed the Republican National Convention on its second night. He praised President Donald Trump’s efforts in addressing drug and opioid abuse and noted “drug overdose deaths decreased in 2018 for the first time in 30 years.” […]
Even as his state is a hotbed for COVID-19, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been pushing schools to reopen so parents have the choice of sending children back to the classroom or keeping them home to learn virtually. The Republican governor has said children without any underlying health conditions would benefit from in-person learning and […]
The third night of the Democratic National Convention was all about one thing: Sen. Kamala Harris of California becoming the first Black and Indian American woman to accept a major political party’s vice presidential nomination. But key Democratic criticisms — many rooted in health care issues and the COVID-19 pandemic — were repeated throughout the […]
We have known for thousands of years that lead can be toxic and for more than a century that children could be poisoned by lead paint. Since those first cases, the “lead industry has mobilized against the advances of science,” as I discuss in my video How the Lead Paint Industry Got Away with It. […]
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee.- Es una época de mucho trabajo para las granjas productoras de tomate en esta parte del estado. Estas plantaciones cuentan con cientos de trabajadores, la mayoría latinos. Algunos viven allí. Otros son migrantes que viajan de granja en granja, para recoger las cosechas de verano. Otros vienen de México o Centroamérica con visas […]
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It’s a busy time for the tomato-producing farms in this part of the state. Farms have staffed up with hundreds of workers, most of whom are Latino. Some live locally. Others are migrant workers who travel from farm to farm, chasing the summer growing seasons. Still others come from Mexico or Central […]
Millions of people, including the president of the United States, have seen or shared a video in which a doctor falsely claims there is a cure for the coronavirus, and it’s a medley starring hydroxychloroquine. The video shows several doctors in white coats giving a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. It persists on social media despite […]
Physical fitness authorities seem to have fallen into the same trap as the nutrition authorities, recommending what they think may be achievable, rather than simply informing us of what the science says and letting us make up our own minds. Researchers who accept grants from The Coca-Cola Company may call physical inactivity “the biggest public […]
The Friday Breeze Want to read the best and most provocative stories from the week? Welcome to the Friday Breeze, where we compile them all — so you’re set with your weekend reading. While you, loyal reader, wait for a wonderful new permanent Friday Breeze writer to start breezing, welcome to this week’s rundown brought […]
What The Health? · The Trump Administration’s War on Fauci Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud. Julie Rovner Kaiser Health News @jrovner Read Julie’s Stories Erin Mershon STAT @eemershon Read Erin’s Stories Alice Miranda Ollstein Politico @AliceOllstein Read Alice’s Stories Paige Winfield Cunningham The Washington Post @pw_cunningham Read Paige’s Stories Not […]
Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, on Wednesday joined Rob Ferrett, host of “Central Time” on Wisconsin Public Radio, to discuss the Trump administration’s announcement that hospital data on coronavirus cases will no longer be routed to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention and instead will go to the Department of Health and […]
The Friday Breeze Want to read the best and most provocative stories from the week? Welcome to the Friday Breeze, where we compile them all — so you’re set with your weekend reading. Another week has gone by, and the biggest news remains that COVID numbers aren’t looking much better as the disease spreads quickly […]
When famed surgeon Michael DeBakey was asked why his studies published back in the 1930s linking smoking and lung cancer were ignored, he had to remind people about what it was like back then. We were a smoking society. Smoking was in the movies, on airplanes. Medical meetings were held in “a heavy haze of […]
On December 30, 2019, Dr. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital in the Hubei province of China, messaged his fellow physicians, alerting them to the appearance of what he thought as SARS. Thirty-nine days later, after becoming infected with the very virus he tried to warn his colleagues about, he was dead at […]