When Covid Deaths Are Dismissed or Stigmatized, Grief Is Mixed With Shame and Anger
After their brother died, two sisters faced a barrage of misinformation, pandemic denialism and blaming questions. Grief experts say that makes covid-19 the newest kind of “disenfranchising death.”
Why At-Home Rapid Covid Tests Cost So Much, Even After Biden’s Push for Lower Prices
Germans pay less than $1 per test. Brits get them free. Why do Americans pay so much more? Because companies can still demand it.
To Quarantine or Not: The Hard Choices Schools Are Leaving to Parents and Staff
Back-to-school season has fueled immediate covid outbreaks. Instead of beefing up protections, some districts are letting students go without masks, physical distancing and quarantines. And parents are left to make impossibly tough decisions.
Delta Cutting ‘Like a Buzzsaw’ Through Oregon-California Border Counties
Zoom in on states with overall good vaccination rates and you see a checkerboard effect, with rural areas far lagging urban zones. That’s allowed the pandemic to rage in places like Jackson County, Oregon, overwhelming hospitals.
Lack of a Vaccine Mandate Becomes Competitive Advantage in Hospital Staffing Wars
After months of burnout from the pandemic, hospitals are scrambling to fill nursing and other jobs. Some administrators, particularly in rural areas, are afraid to implement vaccine mandates that alienate their short-handed staffs.
States Pull Back on Covid Data Even Amid Delta Surge
As covid case numbers rise nationwide, Georgia and some other states have restricted the case count data they share publicly.
Medicaid Vaccination Rates Founder as States Struggle to Immunize Their Poorest Residents
Efforts by states and the private health plans that many states pay to cover low-income Americans has been scattershot and hampered by a lack of data.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Vaccine Approval Moves the Needle on Covid
The FDA’s formal approval of the first vaccine to prevent covid-19 may or may not prompt doubters to go out and get shots, but it has clearly prompted employers to make vaccination a work requirement. Meanwhile, moderates and liberals in the U.S. House put aside their differences long enough to keep a giant social-spending bill on track, at least for now. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
New Montana Law Sows Confusion, Defiance Over School Quarantines
Some counties are changing their covid quarantine policies in line with a law that bans discrimination based on a person’s vaccine status. But one county has decided to defy the rule.
Restoring a Sense of Belonging: The Unsung Importance of Casual Relationships for Older Adults
Relationships with people you know only superficially can help develop a sense of belonging and provide motivation to engage in activities. Research has found that older adults who have a broad array of “weak” as well as “close” ties enjoy better physical and psychological well-being and live longer than people with less diverse social networks.
Doctors Weigh Pros and Cons of Prescribing Hot-Button Alzheimer’s Drug
The potential benefits of Aduhelm are small, its effectiveness is not certain, and even the FDA Thursday shifted its guidance on who should get the drug. But physicians are dealing with an onslaught of interest from patients and their families, and figuring out which patients are best positioned to be helped by the drug will be difficult.
Companies Pan for Marketing Gold in Vaccines
Some assisted living facilities, pharmacy chains and health care providers are luring new customers with covid shots.
Hospitals Scramble to Prioritize Which Workers Are First for COVID Shots
Even as the federal Food and Drug Administration engaged in intense deliberations ahead of Friday’s authorization of the nation’s first COVID vaccine, and days before the initial doses were to be released, hospitals have been grappling with how to distribute the first scarce shots. Their plans vary broadly.
How Pharma Money Colors Operation Warp Speed’s Quest to Defeat COVID
A Trump administration maneuver allows executives who are leading the federal effort to keep investments in drug companies that would benefit from the pandemic response.
Time to Discuss Potentially Unpleasant Side Effects of COVID Shots? Scientists Say Yes.
From the likelihood of achy, flu-like side effects to the need for two doses, weeks apart, consumers need to know now what to expect when vaccines to prevent COVID-19 roll out.
Five Important Questions About Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine
The drugmaker says its mRNA vaccine worked in 90% of patients in its trial, but some observers question how long immunity will last and who will benefit.
The Best COVID Warning System? Poop and Pooled Spit, Says One Colorado School
About 6% of large universities with in-person classes are routinely testing all students. For many institutions, that strategy is out of reach. To get ahead of the virus, Colorado State University is experimenting with a combination of sewage monitoring and a lesser-known approach to pool testing.
Scientists Warn Americans Are Expecting Too Much From a Vaccine
Some argue that vaccines capable of preventing any COVID-19 symptoms should qualify for widespread use, but others want much larger trials to prove the vaccines can reduce hospitalizations or deaths.
Health on Wheels: Tricked-Out RVs Deliver Addiction Treatment to Rural Communities
Even when COVID-19 forced many addiction treatment clinics to scale back, Colorado continued to serve patients with addiction problems through an innovative program that married low-tech with high-tech. The state brought clinics on wheels to remote, underserved towns and used telehealth to connect patients with doctors.
New Dental Treatment Helps Fill Cavities and Insurance Gaps for Seniors
A new treatment for tooth decay is cheaper, quicker and less painful than getting a filling. Originally touted as a solution for kids, silver diamine fluoride is poised to become a game changer for treating cavities in older adults or those with disabilities that make oral care difficult.
