CDC Tells Pharmacies to Give 4th Covid Shots to Immunocompromised Patients
The health agency and the White House acted in the wake of a KHN story about pharmacists refusing to give shots to patients with moderate to severe immune suppression.
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The health agency and the White House acted in the wake of a KHN story about pharmacists refusing to give shots to patients with moderate to severe immune suppression.
Missouri has the worst covid-19 vaccination rate for nursing home health care workers in the nation. There, the federal mandate for workers to get vaccinated — upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court — reveals the problems that operators have hiring staff, keeping them, and providing decent care.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly changed its guidance to allow an extra shot in certain cases, but some pharmacy personnel are confused about who is eligible.
Anti-vaccination activists say California’s Democratic lawmakers are helping strengthen their movement nationally by pushing for tougher vaccine requirements — without exemptions for religious or personal beliefs. But a new pro-vaccine lobbying force is vowing to fight back.
Jan. 22 marks the 49th — and very likely last — anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court’s conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like.
Relatives say it is important they be allowed to go into nursing homes because staff shortages are affecting care. And many are still upset about lengthy separations from loved ones during lockdowns earlier in the pandemic.
Amid covid-related staffing shortages and testing requirements, school systems are stretched thin. And so are parents’ nerves.
Just 18% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, with rates varying significantly across the country, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations.
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated.
Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
As omicron sweeps the country, many hospitals are dealing with a flood of people hospitalized with covid — including those primarily admitted for other reasons. While often milder cases, so-called incidental covid infections still drain the beleaguered health care workforce and can put them and other patients at higher risk for contracting covid.
The court is considering whether to let the rules go into effect as opponents fight them in lower courts. Conservative justices pressed lawyers hard about whether the administration overstepped its authority, but liberal members of the high court questioned why the government shouldn’t be expected to move forcefully when facing a severe health crisis.
It’s 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden’s big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this year’s health agenda, including abortion, the state of the health care workforce, and prescription drug prices. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.
More than most schools, the country’s historically Black colleges and universities are funneling stimulus money directly to students, wiping out loans and past-due fees. But one is going a step further with its financial assistance.
In Hartford, Connecticut, public health leaders engage barbers and faith leaders to combat vaccine skepticism in the Black community.
To help relieve the stress and time strains on employees at a Park City, Utah, hospital, community leaders created a pop-up grocery store, where workers can get complimentary meals and staples to take home.
A mother’s immune response to covid can be a greater danger to the fetus than the virus itself.
Stressed vaccine communicators battle anti-vaccine propaganda while seeking to persuade Latino farmworkers to get covid boosters.
There were variants, vaccine hesitancy and messaging mix-ups. And, despite campaign promises, Biden and his administration sometimes took actions or made statements without waiting for full scientific evidence to back them up.
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.
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