Latest Morning Briefing Stories
‘Into the Covid ICU’: A New Doctor Bears Witness to the Isolation, Inequities of Pandemic
Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez graduated from medical school during the pandemic. We follow the rookie doctor for her first months working at a hospital in Fresno, California, as she grapples with isolation, anti-mask rallies and an overwhelming number of deaths.
Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines
The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness.
New California Law Makes It Easier to Get Care for Mental Health and Substance Abuse
The measure, which took effect Jan. 1, removes loopholes that made it easy for insurers to use arcane company guidelines to avoid paying for care. Patients now have an easier way to challenge those denials.
Lessons From California Prison Where Covid ‘Spread Like Wildfire’
One California county is home to the two worst clusters of covid in prisons in the country. Ninety-four percent of Avenal State Prison’s inmates contracted the virus. Physical distancing has proved impossible in a facility housing 50% more people than it should.
‘It’s a Minefield’: Biden Health Pick Must Tread Carefully on Abortion and Family Planning
President Biden vowed to reverse reproductive health restrictions enacted by President Trump. His pick to run HHS, Xavier Becerra, fought the Trump efforts but must now navigate a difficult legal and political landscape.
New Single-Payer Bill Intensifies Newsom’s Political Peril
With the introduction of a single-payer bill Friday, a group of California Democratic lawmakers set the terms of the health care debate in the Capitol this year. The move puts Gov. Gavin Newsom in a delicate political position, threatening to alienate voters as he faces a likely recall election.
Companies Pan for Marketing Gold in Vaccines
Some assisted living facilities, pharmacy chains and health care providers are luring new customers with covid shots.
California Aims to Address the ‘Urgent’ Needs of Older Residents. But Will Its Plan Work?
State officials recently unveiled a “master plan” to address the needs of California’s rapidly aging population, from housing to long-term care. Kim McCoy Wade, director of the state Department of Aging, vows it will not end up on a shelf gathering dust.
Vaccines Go Mobile to Keep Seniors From Slipping Through the Cracks
A strike team of nurses and others is vaccinating Contra Costa County’s hardest-hit populations right where they live.
California’s Smallest County Makes Big Vaccination Gains
In rural Alpine County, where snowbound mountain passes isolate small towns, distributing the covid vaccine is a community effort. Unlike in many urban areas where residents jockey for limited appointments, the pace of vaccinations here is strong and steady.
Schools Walk the Tightrope Between Ideal Safety and the Reality of Covid
Across the country, politics have muddied the question of when and how to reopen schools. Even though teachers continue to fear for their safety, lawmakers and parents are demanding that schools take advantage of declining infection rates to open safely and quickly.
Journalists Explore Inefficiency and Inequities of Vaccine Rollout
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.
California’s Rural Counties Endure a Deadly Covid Winter
In the past two months, covid-related infection and death rates have jumped exponentially in California’s least populated counties. The winter surge has scarred corners of the state that went largely unscathed for much of 2020.
A Recipe for Trouble? Reversal of California Outdoor Dining Ban Has Heads Spinning
Who knows whether banning outdoor dining was a good idea in the first place. But even the experts aren’t sure it was smart to bring it back.
Dispelling Vaccine Misinformation and Myths in California’s Breadbasket
Even though farmworkers are vulnerable to covid, many hesitate to get the vaccine, worried the shot could have severe side effects or signal their whereabouts to immigration officials. Immigrant advocates in the Coachella Valley and other farming regions are visiting workers to try to allay their fears.
Disipando información errónea y mitos sobre las vacunas en la región agrícola de California
Aunque los trabajadores agrícolas son vulnerables al covid, muchos dudan en recibir la vacuna, preocupados de que pueda tener efectos secundarios graves o que pueda revelar su paradero a los funcionarios de inmigración.
Head-Scratching Over Newsom’s Choice of Blue Shield to Lead Vaccination Push
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s surprising choice of Blue Shield to lead the state’s covid vaccination effort raised questions about the role politics played in the decision — and whether the insurer is up to the task.
Journalists Stay on Top of Rocky Vaccine Rollout
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.
Vaccination Chaos in California Fuels Push to Recall Gov. Newsom
The growing public backlash over California’s messy vaccine rollout is putting immense pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat facing a Republican-driven recall effort.
Nuevos casos de Covid caen un 25% o más a medida que cambian conductas
Expertos dicen que la caída puede estar relacionada con el creciente temor al virus después que alcanzara niveles récord, así como con la esperanza de vacunarse pronto.
