Why the CDC Has Recommended New Covid Boosters for All
As covid-19 hospitalizations tick upward with fall approaching, the CDC says it’s time for new boosters — and not only for those at highest risk of serious disease. Here are seven things you need to know.
Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized by Medicare?
Each year, Medicare punishes hospitals that have high rates of readmissions and high rates of infections and patient injuries. Check out which hospitals have been penalized.
This Rural, Red Southern County Was a Vaccine Success Story. Not Anymore.
Meigs County in Tennessee reported one of the highest covid-19 vaccination rates in the South for much of the past year. But those reports were wrong because of a data error that has surfaced in other states, such as West Virginia and Montana, as well.
How Better Ventilation Can Help ‘Covid-Proof’ Your Home
Is someone at home sick with covid-19? One simple but effective strategy for keeping the virus from spreading is to make your indoor air as much like the outdoors as possible.
Is Paxlovid, the Covid Pill, Reaching Those Who Most Need It? The Government Won’t Say
Many public health workers are unable to see how many doses of Pfizer’s antiviral treatment are shipped to their communities and cannot tell whether vulnerable residents are filling prescriptions as often as their wealthier neighbors.
A Guide to Help You Keep Up With the Omicron Subvariants
How different are the seemingly endless stream of emerging omicron subvariants from one another and how protected are we?
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: More Covid Complications for Congress
Congress is back in session, but covid diagnoses for Vice President Kamala Harris and two Democratic senators have temporarily left the Senate without a working majority to approve continued covid funding. Meanwhile, opponents of the Affordable Care Act have filed yet another lawsuit challenging a portion of the law, and we say goodbye to the late Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who left a long legacy of health laws. Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Despite Losing Federal Money, California Is Still Testing Uninsured Residents for Covid — For Now
Federal funding that paid for covid testing, treatment, and vaccines for uninsured people has run out. While some states struggle to make up the difference, California is relying on other state and local programs to continue free testing.
Judge’s Ruling on the CDC Mask Mandate Highlights the Limits of the Agency’s Power
A recent court decision that overturns one of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s few pandemic rules — masks required on public transportation — spotlights how little power remains in federal hands to enforce public health protections.
Why Cheap, Older Drugs That Might Treat Covid Never Get Out of the Lab
The hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin fiascoes have soured many doctors on repurposing drugs for covid. A few inexpensive old drugs may be as good as some of the new antivirals, but they face complex obstacles to get to patients.
Attendance Plummets at LA Covid Vaccination Events
Across Los Angeles County, few people are showing up at covid vaccination drives even though nearly 2 million residents remain unvaccinated.
When Symptoms Linger for Weeks, Is It Long Covid?
Patients with symptoms that last three to 12 weeks after an acute covid infection should adopt a “watchful waiting” approach to recovery, an expert says. Keep in contact with a primary care doctor and take it easy.
Who Doesn’t Text in 2022? Most State Medicaid Programs
As states prepare for the end of the covid public health emergency, they are making plans to reevaluate each Medicaid enrollee’s eligibility. They will rely primarily on mail and email because not many states can text enrollees.
New Laws Let Visitors See Loved Ones in Health Care Facilities, Even in an Outbreak
To contain the spread of covid, hospitals and nursing homes barred visits. The separation and isolation took a toll on patients and families. Florida is one of the latest states to ensure access for visitors.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Finally, a Fix for the ‘Family Glitch’
President Joe Biden welcomed former President Barack Obama back to the White House this week to announce a new policy for the Affordable Care Act that would make subsidies available to more families with unaffordable employer coverage. Meanwhile, Congress struggled to find a compromise for continued federal funding of covid-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
A Shortfall of ECMO Treatment Cost Lives During the Delta Surge
About 50% of the covid-19 patients who got the last-ditch life support treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center died. Researchers wanted to know what happened to the many patients they had to turn away because ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machines and the specialized staffers needed were in short supply. The grim answer: 90% of those turned away perished.
Travel in the Time of Covid: Getting There Is Easy — It’s Getting Home That’s Hard
The part of my London visit that I didn’t plan was testing positive for the coronavirus. I couldn’t get back to the U.S., but the U.K. didn’t care what I did or where I went.
As US Nears 1 Million Covid Deaths, One Hard-Hit County Grapples With Unthinkable Loss
The United States is nearing 1 million deaths from covid — an almost incomprehensible number of lives lost that few thought possible when the pandemic began. Pennsylvania’s Mifflin County offers a snapshot into how one hard-hit community, with over 300 dead, is coping.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Funding for the Next Pandemic
In his proposed budget, President Joe Biden called for a boost in health spending that includes billions of dollars to prepare for a future pandemic. But that doesn’t include money he says is needed immediately for testing and treating covid-19. Also this week, federal regulators authorized a second booster shot for people 50 and older yet gave little guidance to consumers about who needs the shot and when. Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post, Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Julie Rovner interviews KHN’s Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a very expensive air ambulance ride.
‘The Danger Is Still There’ ― As Omicron Lurks, Native Americans Are Wary of Boosters
Federal data shows that vaccination rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives were some of the highest in the nation, but tribes say resistance has slowed efforts to boost members.
