Vaccines

What Does Approval of the Pfizer Vaccine for Teens and Preteens Mean for My Child?

KFF Health News Original

The federal government has extended the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to preteens and young adolescents, adding nearly 17 million more Americans to the pool of those eligible to be immunized against covid-19.

Vacuna de Pfizer para adolescentes: lo que tienes que saber

KFF Health News Original

El gobierno federal aprobó para uso de emergencia la vacuna de Pfizer para adolescentes de 12 a 15 años. ¿Qué significa esto para tu hijo? La ampliación del uso de emergencia de la vacuna de Pfizer-BioNTech para preadolescentes y adolescentes jóvenes añade casi 17 millones de estadounidenses más al grupo de personas elegibles para ser […]

Listen: Exploring Controversial Efforts to Waive Drugmakers’ Vaccine Patent Rights

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Julie Rovner joins The Atlantic’s “Social Distance” podcast, hosted by Dr. James Hamblin and Maeve Higgins, to talk about President Joe Biden’s support for an initiative to waive patent protection for covid vaccines and the politics of drug policy in the United States.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Drug Price Effort Hits a Snag

KFF Health News Original

Democratic leaders in Congress have vowed to pass legislation to address high prescription drug prices this year, but some moderates in their own party appear to be balking. Meanwhile, younger teens are now eligible for a covid-19 vaccine and the Biden administration reinstated anti-discrimination policy for LGBTQ people in health care. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Latinos Are the Most Eager to Get Vaccinated, Survey Shows — But Face Obstacles

KFF Health News Original

A new survey shows that unvaccinated Hispanics are almost twice as likely as unvaccinated Blacks or whites to want a covid vaccination. But many still face a variety of access problems, ranging from fear to time squeeze.

Covid Fears Keep Many Latino Kids out of Classrooms

KFF Health News Original

Latinos got hit disproportionately hard by covid-19. When faced with the choice of sending their kids back to school or keeping them in online classes, many Latino parents say their kids are safer at home.

Biden Boasts About Equitable Senior Vaccination Rate by Race Without Data to Back It Up

KFF Health News Original

There is no public national data source that tracks vaccination rates based on a combination of race or ethnicity as well as age. Most state-level data shows that disparities exist in vaccine rates between white people and people of color.

El miedo a covid mantiene a muchos niños latinos fuera de las aulas

KFF Health News Original

En California, los latinos constituyen el 39% de la población del estado, pero representan el 47% de las muertes por covid, según el Departamento de Salud Pública estatal. A nivel nacional, su riesgo de morir por covid es 2,3 veces mayor que el de los blancos no hispanos.

5 Things to Know About Health Care Changes in Montana

KFF Health News Original

The covid pandemic drove major changes to Montana health policies, including the permanent expansion of telehealth regulations, a pullback on local public health officials’ authority and the easing of vaccination requirements for workers and students.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Sharing Vaccines With the World

KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration is bucking the drug industry and backing a waiver of covid-19 vaccine patent protections to help the rest of the world vaccinate its populations. Here at home, the Food and Drug Administration wants to ban menthol flavorings for cigarettes, setting off a fight with the tobacco industry. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Salesforce, Google, Facebook. How Big Tech Undermines California’s Public Health System.

KFF Health News Original

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has outsourced his way through the covid-19 pandemic, tasking his private-sector allies in Silicon Valley and the health care industry with fundamental public health duties such as testing, tracing and vaccination. Among the losers: the state’s weakened public health system.

Covid no discrimina por edad: dramático aumento de casos en adultos jóvenes

KFF Health News Original

Es tanto una señal del éxito del país en la protección de los adultos mayores con la vacunación como un recordatorio urgente de que las generaciones más jóvenes pagarán un alto precio si se permite que siga habiendo brotes en todo el país.