Nina Feldman, WHYY

When Symptoms Linger for Weeks, Is It Long Covid?

KFF Health News Original

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.

Teen Traveled to Philly to Get Vaccinated Against His Parents’ Wishes

KFF Health News Original

Nicolas Montero is 16, and that’s old enough to get a vaccine on his own in Philadelphia. Vaccine regulations vary around the country and, in more than a dozen states, teens can consent to their own medical care.

Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable

KFF Health News Original

The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium has increased access to coronavirus testing in the Philadelphia region, testing more than 10,000 people. The group’s mobile unit and pop-up testing sites also offer patients an opportunity to connect with African American health care providers.

Pandemic-Stricken Cities Have Empty Hospitals, But Reopening Them Is Difficult

KFF Health News Original

In Philadelphia, New Orleans and Los Angeles, former safety-net hospitals sit empty in the middle of the city. But reopening a closed hospital, even in the midst of a pandemic when health resources are scarce, is not easy or cheap.

‘Crackhouse’ Or ‘Safehouse’? U.S. Officials Try To Block Philly’s Supervised Injection Site

KFF Health News Original

An average of three people a day died of opioid overdose in Philadelphia in 2018. But efforts to combat the crisis with a supervised injection site could be stymied by “the crackhouse statute,” a portion of federal law meant to protect neighborhoods during the crack epidemic of the 1980s.