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One woman’s attempt to create a festival celebrating diverse music ran up against the reality of the pandemic this year. But it also yielded lessons in how to reimagine events in the COVID era.
Experts agree that more than 70% of a population needs to be inoculated to reach “herd immunity.”
Family members and health care workers say the statistic of 300,000 lost Americans cannot capture their grief or anger at the apathy they’ve encountered from those who minimize the dangers of the coronavirus. “The numbers do not reflect that these were people,” said Brian Walter, who lost his father.
Some years from now, infants and school-aged children will probably be the mainstay of a universal vaccination program against COVID-19 in the United States. But first, doctors want to be sure that newfangled vaccines won’t harm them.
COVID infection rates in California are consistently higher in low-income neighborhoods than more affluent areas, according to an analysis by ZIP code. Our findings underscore the heightened risks borne by millions of low-wage workers whose jobs are deemed essential.
At least 181 public health leaders in 38 states have resigned, retired or been fired amid the turmoil of the pandemic. The departures come as backlash against public health is rising with threats to officials’ personal safety and legislative and legal efforts to strip their governmental public health powers.
Firefighters are often thrust into front-line health emergencies. During the COVID pandemic, they’ve paid an especially high price.
Kent Thiry, the former CEO of dialysis giant DaVita, has clear ideas about how democracy should work. By backing ballot measures in Colorado, he’s shaping the power of voters in that state.
Even as the federal Food and Drug Administration engaged in intense deliberations ahead of Friday’s authorization of the nation’s first COVID vaccine, and days before the initial doses were to be released, hospitals have been grappling with how to distribute the first scarce shots. Their plans vary broadly.
What’s a 67-year-old to do when COVID-19 shuts down the volunteering gigs that were his personal fountain of youth?
Public health officials have urged Americans to hunker down, but people are still planning trips and contemplating ways to mitigate the risk of catching or spreading the coronavirus.
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.
Hospitals and nursing homes must decide who gets the initial doses as the U.S. heads into the biggest vaccination effort in history. There’s a lot left to figure out.
Everyone — from toilet paper manufacturers to patient advocates — is lobbying state advisory boards, arguing their members are essential, vulnerable or both — and, thus, most deserving of an early vaccine.
Even as the Food and Drug Administration nears emergency authorization for the first vaccine to protect against COVID-19, Congress remains at loggerheads over a COVID relief bill that could also provide the funding to fully distribute the vaccines. Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden announced the first members of his health team. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Michael Mackert of the University of Texas-Austin, an expert on communicating public health information.
The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed that the new administration review about 2,400 regulations that affect tens of millions of Americans, on everything from Medicare benefits to prescription drug approvals. Those not analyzed within two years would become void.
Harborview Medical Center was at the epicenter of the first wave of coronavirus in the U.S. Staffers have a better understanding of the disease as cases surge, but fatigue and a lack of backup staff are big challenges.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he has already begun discussing California health care priorities with Xavier Becerra, tapped this week by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary.
Over the past four years, the dialysis industry has spent $233 million on both political offense and defense in California. Most of it went toward protecting its revenues against ballot initiatives, but the industry also strategically worked the corridors of the state Capitol.
At least two vaccines could get federal emergency use authorizations this month. Nursing home and assisted living residents will be among the first to receive inoculations. Here’s a guide on how that rollout may proceed.
