Poor and Minority Children With Food Allergies Overlooked and in Danger

Having a child with a food allergy is terrifying for any parent, but for low-income families such allergies can be especially deadly. Food assistance programs and food pantries rarely take allergies into account. And access to specialists, support groups and lifesaving epinephrine can be hard to attain. This especially hurts low-income Black children, who have higher incidences of allergies to corn, wheat and soy than white kids.

Lions and Tigers and Anteaters? US Scientists Scan the Menagerie for COVID

Thousands of animals in the U.S. have been tested for the coronavirus, as researchers work to understand its transmission and which other species might be at risk. So far, dozens have tested positive, mostly cats and dogs exposed to sick owners.

Seniors Form COVID Pods to Ward Off Isolation This Winter

Older adults are deliberating what to do as days and nights turn chilly and coronavirus cases rise across the country. Some are forming “bubbles” with small groups of friends who agree on pandemic precautions and will see one another in person. Others are planning to go it alone.

The Best COVID Warning System? Poop and Pooled Spit, Says One Colorado School

About 6% of large universities with in-person classes are routinely testing all students. For many institutions, that strategy is out of reach. To get ahead of the virus, Colorado State University is experimenting with a combination of sewage monitoring and a lesser-known approach to pool testing.

They Work in Several Nursing Homes to Eke Out a Living, Possibly Spreading the Virus

An analysis of location data from 30 million smartphones found that facilities across the country that share the most workers also had the most COVID-19 infections. The “Kevin Bacon of nursing homes” in each state — the one with the most staffers working at other nursing homes — was likely to have the worst outbreaks of coronavirus contagion.

California’s Progressive — and Expensive — Health Care Ambitions Rely on Biden Win

There couldn’t be more at stake for California’s Democratic health care agenda in the presidential race. State lawmakers are already penning big-ticket legislation they hope to pursue should Democrat Joe Biden win, from single-payer to a new wealth tax.

Why State Mask Stockpiling Orders Are Hurting Nursing Homes, Small Providers

More than eight months into the pandemic, stockpiling of masks and other protective equipment by wealthy hospital systems is straining nursing homes and smaller providers who also need precious protective gear to keep front-line workers safe from COVID-19.

Democrats Link GOP Challengers to Trump’s COVID Record, Efforts to Undo Obamacare

Democratic congressional candidates in California and beyond are linking their Republican opponents to the COVID-19 crisis and the survival of the Affordable Care Act, betting that health care could be a decisive issue for voters, especially in toss-up districts.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: As Cases Spike, White House Declares Pandemic Over

Former President Barack Obama says President Donald Trump is “jealous of COVID’s media coverage.” Indeed, Trump has complained at his rallies, attended by mostly maskless supporters, about how the media covers the pandemic — at a time when cases are rising rapidly across the nation. Meanwhile, open enrollment is about to begin for the Affordable Care Act in a year when many people need coverage, but the law’s future is not secure. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Anna Almendrala about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.