Latest KFF Health News Stories
Biden’s Straight-Talking CDC Director Has Long Used Data to Save Lives
Dr. Rochelle Walensky said scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were “muzzled” and “diminished” by the Trump team, especially during the pandemic. She aims to fix that.
Have a Case of a Covid Variant? No One Is Going to Tell You
As experts race to get an approved test for covid variants, officials are severely restricted from sharing information about the cases. That makes it harder to protect others.
It’s Time to Get Back to Normal? Not According to Science.
With covid, and its newly emerging variants, still circulating throughout the nation and the world, experts say it is definitely not the time to abandon efforts to control the virus’s spread.
Prominent Scientists Call on CDC to Better Protect Workers From Covid
The academics insist that more workers should get top-rated N95 masks, the best defense against airborne coronavirus particles.
Lack of Covid Data on People With Intellectual Disabilities ‘Comes With a Body Count’
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to have medical conditions that make covid especially dangerous. But a lack of federal tracking means no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: All About Budget Reconciliation
Even while the Senate is busy with Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, the House has gotten down to work on a covid relief bill using the budget reconciliation process. Meanwhile, the watchword for covid this week among the public is confusion — over masks, vaccines and just about everything else science-related. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, the panelists recommend their favorite “health policy valentines” along with their favorite health policy stories they think you should read, too.
With Demand Far Exceeding Supply, It Matters That People Are Jumping the Vaccine Line
When hospital administrators and politicians’ spouses get immunized before people more at risk, it undermines confidence in the system.
As Vaccine Rollout Expands, Black Americans Still Left Behind
Covid vaccines are reaching more Americans, but Black residents are being vaccinated at dramatically lower rates in the 23 states where data is publicly available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to release national data next week.
Huge Gaps in Vaccine Data Make It Next to Impossible to Know Who Got the Shots
Details about race, ethnicity and occupation are often missing as data collected nationally is scattered across scores of digital systems that don’t connect. And the CDC doesn’t require vaccinators to report occupations of recipients, even though the order in which people get shots largely depends on their job.
When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price
Inaccurate and incomplete death certificates hurt those seeking relief, recourse and closure after a loved one dies.
Feeling Left Out: Private Practice Doctors, Patients Wonder When It’s Their Turn for Vaccine
Doctors say some patients, and even medical staff members, don’t know where to go to be vaccinated against covid-19.
As the Terror of COVID Struck, Health Care Workers Struggled to Survive. Thousands Lost the Fight.
At least 2,900 health workers have died since the pandemic began. Many were minorities with the highest levels of patient contact.
COVID Vaccines Appear Safe and Effective, but Key Questions Remain
The federal government expects vaccinations to be available to everyone who wants them by summer — though glitches are inevitable. If enough of us get vaccinated, we could wave goodbye to the pandemic in 2021.
Las vacunas de COVID parecen ser seguras y efectivas, pero todavía hay preguntas
Una encuesta publicada en diciembre mostró que el 45% de los encuestados están adoptando un enfoque de “esperar y ver qué pasa” con la vacunación.
Análisis: expertos desestimaron al coronavirus, hasta que fue demasiado tarde
Muchos de los principales especialistas en enfermedades infecciosas subestimaron el veloz brote en sus primeras semanas y meses, asumiendo que Estados Unidos, otra vez, saldría ileso.
Many US Health Experts Underestimated the Coronavirus … Until It Was Too Late
Scientists learned the wrong lesson from past outbreaks, but Dr. Anthony Fauci doesn’t cast blame.
With Vaccine Delivery Imminent, Nursing Homes Must Make a Strong Pitch to Residents
More than half of long-term care residents have cognitive impairment or dementia, raising questions about whether they will understand the details about the fastest and most extensive vaccination effort in U.S. history.
Lie of the Year: The Downplay and Denial of the Coronavirus
It’s no worse than the flu, and other deadly disinformation about the coronavirus
Desafío en hospitales: a qué trabajadores de salud vacunar primero contra COVID
Se aconseja a los hospitales que cubran a los miembros de su fuerza laboral con mayor riesgo, pero deben decidir exactamente quiénes serán mientras no haya dosis suficientes.
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.
