Hannah Recht

Hannah Recht was a data reporter for KFF Health News until December 2023.

@hannah_recht

Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated at Lower Rates Than White Americans

KFF Health News Original

Black Americans are receiving covid vaccines at a much lower rate than their white peers due to a combination of mistrust and access issues, leaving them behind in the mission to vaccinate the nation’s population.

Pandemic Backlash Jeopardizes Public Health Powers, Leaders

KFF Health News Original

At least 181 public health leaders in 38 states have resigned, retired or been fired amid the turmoil of the pandemic. The departures come as backlash against public health is rising with threats to officials’ personal safety and legislative and legal efforts to strip their governmental public health powers.

Florida’s Cautionary Tale: How Gutting and Muzzling Public Health Fueled COVID Fire

KFF Health News Original

As the nation hollowed out its public health infrastructure for decades, staffing and funding fell faster and further in Florida. Then the coronavirus ran roughshod, infecting more than half a million people and killing thousands.

Politics Slows Flow of US Pandemic Relief Funds to Public Health Agencies

KFF Health News Original

Congress has allocated trillions of dollars to ease the coronavirus crisis. A joint KHN and AP investigation finds that many communities with big outbreaks have spent little of that federal money on local public health departments for work such as testing and contact tracing.

Hollowed-Out Public Health System Faces More Cuts Amid Virus

KFF Health News Original

The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources necessary to confront the worst health crisis in a century. An investigation by The Associated Press and KHN has found that since 2010, spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and for local health departments by 18%. At least 38,000 public health jobs have disappeared, leaving a skeletal workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world’s top public health systems. That has left the nation unprepared to deal with a virus that has sickened at least 2.6 million people and killed more than 126,000.

How We Reported ‘Underfunded And Under Threat’

KFF Health News Original

To assess the state of the public health system in the United States, KHN and The Associated Press analyzed data on government spending and staffing at national, state and local levels. Here’s what data we used and how we did it.