Latest KFF Health News Stories
School Districts Grapple With Quarantines, Face Masks And Fear
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, school districts, especially those with large Chinese student populations, are in uncharted territory as they apply new federal travel rules to their students. Some also are weighing requests from parents that are more about fear than science, such as whether to allow students with no travel history to stay home from school.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Facts Vs. Fears: Five Things To Help Weigh Your Coronavirus Risk
As the numbers of coronavirus fatalities and infections rise, the threat posed by the outbreak in China can seem frightening. But public health officials say the risk in the United States is low. Experts discuss some important issues that can help U.S. residents understand how the epidemic is unfolding.
Coronavirus Tests Public Health Infrastructure In The Heartland
While Missouri has yet to have a confirmed case of coronavirus, the threat of the disease is siphoning resources from an already stretched-thin public health system.
To Fight Chinese Outbreak, Doctors Deploy Drugs Targeting HIV, Malaria And Ebola
Chinese doctors and public health officials are turning to a variety of drugs as they seek an effective treatment for patients sickened by the novel coronavirus. The evidence behind some of these medicines is flimsy, researchers acknowledge, but human trials are the only way to know whether these drugs work.
When It Comes To The New Coronavirus, Just Who Is A ‘Close Contact’?
Health officials stress that the new coronavirus devastating mainland China continues to pose minimal risk in the United States. The exception involves people who have had “close contact” with someone infected with the virus. So what exactly is close contact?
Listen: Updates On Coronavirus Outbreak And How It Affects Chinese Immigrants
California Healthline reporters Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Anna Almendrala spoke with WNHN’s “The Attitude w/ Arnie Arnesen” about the novel coronavirus and its impact on Asian immigrants in the United States.
Listen: Which Is The Greater Threat — The Coronavirus Or The Flu?
Kaiser Health News reporter Liz Szabo talked to Connecticut Public Radio about the risks of the novel coronavirus compared with influenza.
Public Health Officials Offer Scant Details On U.S. Coronavirus Patients
To date, the U.S. has multiple confirmed cases of the viral infection that originated in Wuhan, China. That includes cases in which the virus passed from person to person within this country. So why don’t health officials share more information with the public?
No Masking The Best Way To Avoid The Scary Coronavirus: Wash Your Hands
While covering the SARS outbreak as a reporter in China, KHN’s editor-in-chief saw that common sense is the best defense against viral illness.
Masks Reveal Cultural Disconnect As L.A.’s Chinese Community Braces For Coronavirus
Since two cases of the mysterious new coronavirus were reported in Southern California, Chinese immigrants have begun donning face masks. The practice is common in China but goes against official guidance in the U.S., and that’s causing conflict in local schools.
Response To Nation’s 1st Coronavirus Case Draws On Lessons From Measles Outbreak
When the first confirmed U.S. patient was pinpointed in Washington state, health clinic workers there weren’t rattled. They were prepped by new statewide protocols on contagion containment, in the wake of last year’s measles scare.
Something Far Deadlier Than The Wuhan Virus Lurks Near You
There is a virus that has already sickened at least 13 million Americans this winter, hospitalizing 120,000 and killing 6,600 people. You may even know of it.
