Will the US Overcome Its Covid Complacency Even as the Threat Returns?
One million Americans have died from covid-19 — far more per capita than in any other developed country. A new variant is doubling case rates in some states, and more than 300 people are dying a day. But our nation’s pandemic response has become mild-mannered and performative, backed by neither money, urgency, nor enforcement.
Covid Funding Pries Open a Door to Improving Air Quality in Schools
Researchers say the billions in pandemic funding available for ventilation upgrades in U.S. schools provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat covid-19, as well as making air more breathable for students living with allergies, asthma, and chronic wildfire smoke.
Journalists Delve Into Vaccine Mandates and Surprise Billing
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.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Taking a Shot at Gun Control
The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare’s trustees board.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Washington’s Slow Churn
Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but it’s hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums. Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the Affordable Care Act.
Readers and Tweeters Go to the Mat on Abortion Rights and Perceived Wrongs
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
‘Desperate Situation’: States Are Housing High-Needs Foster Kids in Offices and Hotels
Some foster children with complex mental, behavioral, and physical health needs without a foster placement are having to stay in hotel rooms and even office buildings, a practice called “hoteling.”
Got Long Covid? Medical Expertise Is Vital, and Seniors Should Prepare to Go Slow
Although identifying long covid in older adults can be tricky, experts say there are good strategies for getting medical advice and fighting the impact of the virus.
¿Eres mayor y tienes síntomas de covid persistente? Esto es lo que deberías hacer
Pero hay que tener en cuenta que muchos médicos de atención primaria no saben cómo identificar y tratar covid persistente. Si tu médico no puede ayudarte, considera que te remita a un especialista que atienda a pacientes con covid a largo plazo. Además, ármate de paciencia: las esperas para las citas son largas.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A(nother) Very Sad Week
Two mass shootings in two weeks — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers — have reignited the “guns-as-public-health-problem” debate. But political consensus seems as far away as ever. Meanwhile, the FDA is in the congressional hot seat over its handling of the infant formula shortage. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Richard Baron, head of the American Board of Internal Medicine, about how doctors should discipline colleagues who spread medical misinformation.
Novavax Missed Its Global Moonshot but Is Angling to Win Over mRNA Defectors
After years of failure, the Maryland company aims to attract the vaccine-hesitant with an alternative to mRNA shots. But will it find a market?
Watch: UVA Doctor Talks About the State of the Pandemic and Health Equity
KHN checks back in with Dr. Taison Bell to pinpoint changes in health care equity since the rollout of the covid-19 vaccines.
California Schools Try to Outrace Covid Outbreaks
A covid outbreak on a field trip. Another at prom. Yet administrators are reluctant to expose their schools to legal challenges by again requiring masks for students and staffers. That leaves parents fretful and confused.
High-Tech’s Business Model Hasn’t Worked for the Cue Covid Test
Cue got attention with a Super Bowl ad for a stylish high-tech covid-testing machine to use at home. But the product is expensive, which has limited the San Diego company’s market.
Watch: Going Beyond the Script of ‘The G Word’ and How Government Responds to Disease (Or Not)
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins comedian Adam Conover to discuss his new Netflix series, “The G Word,” which examines the federal government’s role in Americans’ lives, and how it plays out in the covid era.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Waking Up to Baby Formula Shortage
The nationwide shortage of baby formula, which has been simmering for months, finally burst into public consciousness as more parents become less able to find food for their babies, prompting a belated federal response. Meanwhile, covid-19 cases rise but prevention activities don’t, and abortion-rights backers ready their legal arsenal for a post-Roe world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
This Rural, Red Southern County Was a Vaccine Success Story. Not Anymore.
Meigs County in Tennessee reported one of the highest covid-19 vaccination rates in the South for much of the past year. But those reports were wrong because of a data error that has surfaced in other states, such as West Virginia and Montana, as well.
Cómo una mejor ventilación puede ayudar a que tu hogar sea “a prueba de covid”
Para las personas que no viven en casas grandes con varias habitaciones y baños, un familiar con covid genera riesgos extra. Mejorar la ventilación puede cambiar los resultados.
‘That’s Just Part of Aging’: Long Covid Symptoms Are Often Overlooked in Seniors
Millions of older adults are grappling with long covid, yet the impact on them has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.
How Better Ventilation Can Help ‘Covid-Proof’ Your Home
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.
