KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID
Hospitals across the country are struggling as staffers get infected with the coronavirus. It’s especially tough for small, rural hospitals, where even one doctor out sick can upend patient capacity.
After a Deadly COVID Outbreak, Maryland County Takes Steps to Protect Health Workers
Prince George’s County in Maryland is taking action after a coronavirus outbreak left veteran public health worker Chantee Mack dead and several colleagues with lasting medical problems. But some staffers say more still needs to be done to keep public health workers on the front lines of the COVID fight safe.
Nueva York enfrenta la segunda ola de COVID con disparidades y controversia
El personal médico de Nueva York sabe exactamente lo difíciles y peligrosos que pueden ser los hospitales abrumados y se preparan con cautela cuando las infecciones aumentan.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Who Will Run the Biden Health Effort?
The official transition to a Joe Biden administration has finally begun, and he is expected to announce his health care team soon, including a new secretary of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the U.S., officials are preparing for the effort to get Americans vaccinated as soon as vaccines are approved by the FDA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.
Limpieza dental, gafas nuevas… y la vacuna contra COVID-19
Con múltiples vacunas de COVID-19 en camino, optometristas y dentistas presionan para que se autorice vacunar a los pacientes durante los exámenes oculares de rutina y las limpiezas dentales.
Durante la inscripción de ACA, elegir un plan genera nuevas complicaciones de COVID
Las personas que compran su propio seguro médico enfrentan desafíos, en particular los pacientes que tuvieron COVID-19 y que presentan problemas de salud persistentes.
NYC Hospital Workers, Knowing How Bad It Can Get, Brace for COVID 2nd Wave
Hospitals are in better shape now than in the spring, with more knowledge of how to handle COVID-19 and bigger stockpiles of protective equipment. Still, nurses worry about staffing shortages and unfilled jobs.
As LA County Sets New Infection Record, State Leaders’ Behavior Sends Mixed Messages
Even as L.A.’s stay-at-home restrictions began, leaders across California took heat for their do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do pandemic behavior.
Come for Your Eye Exam, Leave With a Band-Aid on Your Arm
Dentists and optometrists across the country are trying to join in the fight to get everyone vaccinated against COVID-19, the flu and other diseases.
During ACA Open Enrollment, Picking a Plan Invites New COVID Complications
COVID-19’s “long haulers” — patients with lingering effects of the disease — have joined the ranks of Americans with preexisting conditions. For those shopping for health coverage on the individual market, here’s help navigating an uncharted insurance landscape.
Con récord de internaciones por COVID, la crisis ahora es la falta de personal médico
Los hospitales en gran parte del país están tratando de hacer frente a un número sin precedentes de pacientes con COVID-19 con una creciente escasez de personal médico.
As Hospitals Fill With COVID Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard to Find
More than 93,000 COVID patients are hospitalized across the country. But beds and space aren’t the main concern for hospital administrators — It’s the health care workforce.
COVID en restaurantes, el fallido rastreo de contactos deja a comensales sin saber qué hacer
Con el invierno y la gente se reúne cada vez más en interiores, muchos gobiernos locales se mueven a ciegas, al carecer de datos para crear y ajustar las políticas de restricción por COVID.
Cómo COVID-19 resalta la incertidumbre de las pruebas médicas
Según estimaciones, estas pruebas tienen una tasa de falsos negativos de hasta el 30%, es decir que 3 de cada 10 personas que realmente tienen la infección darán negativo.
How COVID-19 Highlights the Uncertainty of Medical Testing
Widespread COVID testing has revealed uncomfortable truths about medical tests: A test result is rarely a definitive answer, but instead a single clue. A result may be falsely positive or negative, or it may show an abnormality that doesn’t matter. And as COVID testing has made too clear, even an accurate, meaningful result is useless unless it’s acted on appropriately.
Where COVID Is on the Menu: Failed Contact Tracing Leaves Diners in the Dark
State and local public health officials are sure that bars and restaurants are spreading COVID. But they don’t always have much concrete evidence to support their convictions.
OSHA Let Employers Decide Whether to Report Health Care Worker Deaths. Many Didn’t.
Four workers died at a facility with one of the largest U.S. outbreaks, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration never conducted an inspection. It’s a pattern that’s played out across the nation, a KHN investigation finds.
Thousands of Doctors’ Offices Buckle Under Financial Stress of COVID
Across the nation, primary care practices that were already struggling are closing, victims of the pandemic’s financial fallout. And this is reducing access to health care, especially in rural and other regions already short on doctors.
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.
