Congressman Off-Base in Ad Claiming Fauci Shipped Covid to Montana Before the Pandemic
By Katheryn Houghton
February 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Facts don’t support claims by a likely Republican Senate candidate that a federal research laboratory in Montana infected bats with a coronavirus from China before the covid-19 outbreak.
How the Mixed Messaging of Vaccine Skeptics Sows Seeds of Doubt
By Darius Tahir
June 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Some GOP members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic have two-stepped around vaccine skepticism, proclaiming themselves to be pro-vaccine while also validating the beliefs of people who oppose vaccine mandates. The result could have serious public health consequences.
Health Workers Warn Loosening Mask Advice in Hospitals Would Harm Patients and Providers
By Amy Maxmen
September 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Clinicians, researchers, and workplace safety officers worry new guidelines on face masks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might reduce protection against the coronavirus and other airborne pathogens in hospitals.
Is Novavax, the Latecomer Covid Vaccine, Worth the Wait?
By Amy Maxmen
November 20, 2023
KFF Health News Original
People with special medical considerations are hoping the Novavax shot will bring fewer headaches, fevers, and less fatigue than have been reported by those taking mRNA vaccines.
Nikki Haley (And Her Opponents) Struggle With a Vaccine Message
By Darius Tahir
November 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley portrays herself as a voice of reason in the Republican Party. “Let’s find consensus,” she said about abortion during the first GOP primary debate. “Let’s treat this like a respectful issue.” It’s talk like that — and strong polling in a hypothetical matchup against President Biden — that has […]
California Says It Can No Longer Afford Aid for Covid Testing, Vaccinations for Migrants
By Don Thompson
February 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Gov. Gavin Newsom is winding down state assistance for health care services to migrants seeking asylum. He’s lobbying the Biden administration to increase aid along the state’s southern border.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Covid Response Coordinator Speaks
December 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, talks with host Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, about where we are in the pandemic and how we should transition out of the public health emergency. This episode was taped on Dec. 20.
California dice que ya no puede costear las pruebas de covid ni las vacunas para los migrantes
By Don Thompson
February 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
El estado mantiene tres centros de recursos sanitarios —dos en el condado de San Diego y uno en el condado de Imperial— que realizan pruebas y vacunaciones contra covid y otros exámenes de salud, y han atendido a más de 300,000 migrantes desde abril de 2021.
Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission
By Amy Maxmen
March 19, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.
Rural Americans Are Way More Likely To Die Young. Why?
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
April 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Three words are commonly repeated to describe rural America and its residents: older, sicker and poorer. Obviously, there’s a lot more going on in the nation’s towns than that tired stereotype suggests. But a new report from the Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service gives credence to the “sicker” part of the trope. Rural Americans ages […]
A State-Sanctioned Hospital Monopoly Raises Concerns
By Brett Kelman and Samantha Liss
March 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Federal Trade Commission has long argued that competition makes the economy better. But some states have stopped the agency from blocking hospital mergers that create local or regional monopolies, and the results have been messy. Two dozen states have at some point passed controversial legislation waiving anti-monopoly laws, allowing rival hospitals to merge and replacing competition […]
Charts Paint a Grim Picture 2 Years Into the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
March 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The on-off nature of the pandemic “has led to a lot of the confusion and grumpiness,” says one expert. Another compares it to the exhaustion of the American public when hearing body counts during the Vietnam War.
Four Years After Shelter-in-Place, Covid-19 Misinformation Persists
By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, PolitiFact
April 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
False claims that covid vaccines cause deaths and other diseases are still prevalent despite multiple studies showing the vaccines are safe and saved lives.
How Fringe Anti-Science Views Infiltrated Mainstream Politics — And What It Means in 2024
By Amy Maxmen
January 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Opposition to vaccines and other public health measures backed by science has become politically charged. That makes dangerous misinformation much harder to fight.
‘Emergency’ or Not, Covid Is Still Killing People. Here’s What Doctors Advise to Stay Safe.
By Amy Maxmen
January 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Thousands of people are still dying of covid, but government has mostly handed over responsibility to the people to weather the seasonal surges with their own strategies.
Colorado Moves Toward Statewide Coverage of Wastewater Surveillance
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio
April 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Colorado was among the first states to embrace wastewater testing to track the coronavirus, an important public heath intervention that can give early warning of outbreaks.
How Better Ventilation Can Help ‘Covid-Proof’ Your Home
By Liz Szabo
May 18, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Is someone at home sick with covid-19? One simple but effective strategy for keeping the virus from spreading is to make your indoor air as much like the outdoors as possible.
Journalists Recap Coverage of the Ongoing Pandemic and Lead Risks in Schools’ Drinking Water
March 26, 2022
KFF Health News Original
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.
Utah Survey Shows Why So Many People Were Dumped From Medicaid
By Phil Galewitz
January 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
It’s one of the biggest mysteries in health policy: What happened to millions of Americans kicked out of Medicaid last year? A survey conducted for state officials in Utah, obtained by KFF Health News, holds some clues. Like many states, Utah terminated Medicaid coverage for a large share of enrollees whose eligibility was reevaluated in […]
Halfway Through ‘Unwinding,’ Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million
By Phil Galewitz
February 6, 2024
KFF Health News Original
We’re halfway through the Medicaid “unwinding,” in which states are dropping people from the government health insurance program for the first time since the pandemic began. Millions of people have been dumped from the rolls since April, often for procedural issues like failing to respond to notices or return paperwork. But at the same time, […]