Weekly Edition: April 16, 2021

Ask KHN-PolitiFact: I’ve Recovered From Covid. Why Do I Still Have to Mask Up?
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez The simple answer is that enough remains unknown about covid transmission, post-infection immunity and the threat of emerging variants that masks are still advisable.

Mysterious Ailment, Mysterious Relief: Vaccines Help Some Covid Long Haulers
By Will Stone Scientists who study the post-illness syndrome are taking a close look at patients' reports of this unexpected benefit of the vaccine.

Pandemic Highlights Need for Urgent Care Clinics for Women
By Rachel Scheier For years, women with painful gynecological issues have faced long waits in ERs or longer waits to see their doctors. During the pandemic, women have increasingly turned to women’s clinics that handle urgent issues like miscarriage or serious urinary tract infections.

FDA Seeks a New Way to Review Old Drugs Without Causing Prices to Soar
By Harris Meyer A misguided federal program called the Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which put the FDA’s stamp of approval on old drugs, led to higher prices. It’s scrapped. So now what?

Airports Step Up Mental Health Assistance as Passenger Anxiety Soars
By Katja Ridderbusch As more people return to air travel, tension is mounting in airports nationwide. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson is among those that have responded to the pandemic-related stress and fear among passengers and employees by offering services such as meditation, chaplains and other help in their terminals.

Biden Moves to Overturn Trump Birth Control Rules
By Julie Rovner Return to pre-Trump policy is second win of the week for abortion-rights backers.

4 Things to Know About the J&J Covid Vaccine Pause
By Phil Galewitz The messaging surrounding vaccine safety and efficacy may mean as much as the science.

Analysis: I Was a Teenage Rifle Owner, Then an ER Doctor. Assault Weapons Shouldn’t Count as ‘Guns.’
By Elisabeth Rosenthal The United States has undergone a cultural, definitional, practical shift on guns and what they are for.

A Year Into Pandemic, Federal Officials Move to Better Protect Front-Line Workers
By Christina Jewett Changes would allow N95 sales for industries other than health care and signal an end to the hospital practice of reusing the masks considered essential for worker safety.

Syphilis Cases in California Drive a Record-Setting Year for STDs Nationwide
By April Dembosky, KQED New data released Tuesday from the CDC shows sexually transmitted infections reached an all-time high in 2019. The biggest spike was in syphilis cases, which rose 74% between 2015 and 2019. Leading the country in syphilis is California, where men who have sex with men make up half the cases.

Covid Spawns ‘Completely New Category’ of Organ Transplants
By JoNel Aleccia Nearly 60 organ transplants have been performed after the coronavirus “basically destroyed” patients’ hearts and lungs.

Orange County Hospital Seeks Divorce From Large Catholic Health System
By Bernard J. Wolfson Frustration with the standardization of care across 51 hospitals, loss of local control and restrictions on reproductive health care have pitted Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian against the Providence chain.

Redfield Joins Big Ass Fans, Which Promotes Controversial Covid-Killing Technology
By Christina Jewett and Lauren Weber Dr. Robert Redfield, Trump’s CDC director, lends his scientific credibility to its Clean Air Systems subsidiary, which touts a “virus-killing ion technology” added to its fans. But indoor air quality experts question whether some of its technology works in the real world.

Readers and Tweeters Give Tips on Treating Diabetes and Long Covid
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Biden Seeks $400 Billion to Buttress Long-Term Care. A Look at What’s at Stake.
By Judith Graham Long-term care options are expensive and often out of reach for seniors and people with disabilities. The president has proposed a massive infusion of federal funding for home and community-based health services that advocates say will go a long way toward helping individuals and families.

The Gender Vaccine Gap: More Women Than Men Are Getting Covid Shots
By Laura Ungar A KHN examination of state vaccine statistics shows that more women than men have gotten covid vaccines. Experts cite demographic realities of those who were part of the initial rollout but also women’s greater likelihood to seek preventive health care.

‘Explained by KHN’: Health Insurance Help in Covid Relief Law
By Emmarie Huetteman In this edition of “Explained by KHN” Emmarie Huetteman covers how the $1.9 trillion covid relief law will make health insurance coverage significantly more affordable for millions of people.

Journalists Document True Toll of Covid on Health Care’s Front-Line Force
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.