Sarah Varney

Anti-Immigrant Vitriol Complicates Vaccine Rollout in Southern States

KFF Health News Original

Inoculating the millions of undocumented workers who produce America’s agricultural bounty will be key to achieving herd immunity against covid-19. But garnering the trust of these workers is proving complicated, particularly in the South, where the last four years have been marked by workplace raids and anti-immigrant vitriol.

Lost on the Frontline

KFF Health News Original

“Lost on the Frontline” is an ongoing project by Kaiser Health News and The Guardian that aims to document the lives of health care workers in the U.S. who died from COVID 19, and to investigate why so many are victims of the disease.

America’s Obesity Epidemic Threatens Effectiveness of Any COVID Vaccine

KFF Health News Original

Vaccines engineered to protect the public from influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus and rabies are less effective for obese people, leaving them more vulnerable to serious illness. As scientists race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, experts say obesity could prove an impediment — a sobering prospect for a nation in which nearly half of all adults are obese.

Dr. J. Ronald Verrier Was Busy Saving Lives Before The Pandemic

KFF Health News Original

Dr. J. Ronald Verrier, a surgeon at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, spent the final weeks of his audacious, unfinished life tending to a torrent of patients inflicted with COVID-19. He died April 8 at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, New York, at age 59, after falling ill from the novel coronavirus.

One-On-One With Trump’s Medicare And Medicaid Chief: Seema Verma

KFF Health News Original

Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sat down for a rare interview with KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney. They discuss her views on President Donald Trump’s plan for sustaining public health insurance programs, how the administration would respond if Obamacare is struck down by the courts in the future and her thoughts on how the latest “Medicare for All” proposals would affect innovation and access to care.

Federally Funded Obria Prescribes Abstinence To Stop The Spread Of STDs

KFF Health News Original

Obria, a Christian medical chain, was awarded federal family planning funds for its California clinics for the first time this year. Clinics receiving Title X funds are expected to treat and prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Obria’s prohibition against condoms means its prevention efforts rest on abstinence, even as STD rates surge.