Vaccines

“Sabiduría y miedo” llevan al 90% de los adultos mayores de EE.UU. a vacunarse contra covid

KFF Health News Original

La pandemia ha sido especialmente cruel para los adultos mayores. Casi el 80% de las muertes ocurrieron entre personas de 65 años y más. Millones estuvieron aislados en residencias y en sus casas por meses.

‘Wisdom and Fear’ Lead 90% of U.S. Seniors to Covid Vaccines

KFF Health News Original

The success in getting shots to older adults is likely due to states prioritizing that effort when the vaccines became available and motivation among the elderly after the virus killed so many in their age group.

Bus Stop by Bus Stop, Denver-Area Officials Microtarget Vaccine Hesitancy

KFF Health News Original

Using detailed maps that show vaccination rates down to the ZIP code or census tract level, health departments highlight areas of greater Denver where vaccinations lag behind state or county averages, then partner with community organizations to overcome barriers. Can this be a model for President Joe Biden’s “neighborhood by neighborhood” approach?

Amid Covid Booster Debate, West Virginia to Check Immunity of Vaccinated Nursing Home Residents

KFF Health News Original

The state says it will look at the levels of disease-fighting antibodies among nursing home residents vaccinated against covid, which could help indicate whether they need a booster shot.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Hot Covid Summer

KFF Health News Original

The summer that promised to let Americans resume a relatively normal life is turning into another summer of anxiety and face masks, as the delta variant drives covid caseloads up in all 50 states. Meanwhile, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 35, and the Missouri Supreme Court orders the state to expand Medicaid after all. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Samantha Young, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about an Olympic-level athlete with an Olympic-size medical bill.

Las misteriosas mutaciones que hacen de delta la variante del virus de covid más contagiosa hasta ahora

KFF Health News Original

Delta ha mantenido algunas de las mutaciones más exitosas encontradas en variantes anteriores, pero también contiene nuevos cambios genéticos que le permiten propagarse dos veces más rápido.

Want Fries With That Vaccine? Even at a Fast-Food Restaurant, Pop-Up Clinics See Slow Traffic

KFF Health News Original

At a pop-up vaccine clinic in a McDonald’s parking lot in the city of San Bernardino, fewer than two dozen people agreed to get a shot, offering a snapshot of the faltering vaccination effort.

Big Leagues Balk at Endorsing Vaccination

KFF Health News Original

The major sports leagues are struggling to vaccinate enough of their players to protect the clubhouse and locker room, and few stars have stepped forward to pitch vaccination to teammates or fans. WNBA players are an exception, with a 99% vaccination rate and high-profile ads urging the public to get vaccinated.

Analysis: Necessary or Not, Covid Booster Shots Are Probably on the Horizon

KFF Health News Original

In today’s pharmaceutical universe, a simple “safe and effective” determination by the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug can be manipulated to sell products of questionable value. And drugmakers can profit handsomely.

Novavax’s Effort to Vaccinate the World, From Zero to Not Quite Warp Speed

KFF Health News Original

Novavax is a vaccine company that, despite $2 billion in new federal and international funding, still hasn’t come through with a licensed covid vaccine. It hopes it can still help to fight the global covid scourge, but will it deliver?

Grab Your Mask and Notepad, We’re Headed Back to California’s State Capitol

KFF Health News Original

After being mostly closed to the public and the press for more than a year, California’s state Capitol is open again — masks, temperature checks, covid outbreaks and all.

Fútbol, banderas y diversión: estrategias creativas para vacunar a los latinos en Colorado

KFF Health News Original

Colorado, y la mayor parte de la nación, han entrado ahora en una nueva fase que involucra el uso de personas influyentes y de confianza en la comunidad para persuadir a los que todavía dudan.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Here Comes Reconciliation

KFF Health News Original

Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.

Red State, Blue State, Twin Outbreak: Behind Wyoming and Colorado’s Anomalous Covid Spikes

KFF Health News Original

Statistics show that Colorado residents are much more likely than Wyoming residents to be vaccinated against covid. Yet both Wyoming and Colorado were among the top 12 states with the highest covid case rates at the beginning of July. A closer look at a pair of similarly sized counties in those states helps explain why.