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The CDC says everyone over 6 months old should get the new covid booster. But the emergency response mechanisms that supported earlier vaccine campaigns are gone. As one expert wonders: How to get boosters to people beyond Democrats, college graduates, and those with high incomes?
The percentage of working-age adults with health insurance went up and the uninsured rate dropped last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. There isn’t much suspense about which way the uninsured rate is now trending, as states continue efforts to strip ineligible beneficiaries from their Medicaid rolls. But is the focus on the uninsured obscuring the struggles of the underinsured? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these issues and more.
As covid-19 hospitalizations tick upward with fall approaching, the CDC says it’s time for new boosters — and not only for those at highest risk of serious disease. Here are seven things you need to know.
Chances are, if you aren’t older, chronically ill, or obese, you don’t need a forthcoming covid vaccine to stay out of the hospital. But it probably wouldn’t hurt.
Republicans in Congress have proposed substantial cuts to the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, taking aim at one of former President Donald Trump’s major health programs: a push to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.
Excessive heat contributed to 1,670 deaths nationwide last year, according to federal data — the highest rate in at least two decades. An increase in drug use and homelessness, along with hotter temperatures, were among the reasons.
Congress returns from its summer recess with a long list of tasks and only a few work days to get them done. On top of the annual spending bills needed to keep the government operating, on the list are bills to renew the global HIV/AIDS program, PEPFAR, and the community health centers program. Meanwhile, over the recess, the Biden administration released the names of the first 10 drugs selected for the Medicare price negotiation program.
Federal research linking “forever chemicals” to testicular cancer confirms what U.S. military personnel long suspected. But as they seek testing for PFAS exposure, many wonder what to do with the results. There’s no medical treatment yet.
Unsafe sleep environments are among the main reasons accidental suffocation or strangulation is a hard-to-solve public health problem.
Regina G. Barber from NPR’s “Shortwave” podcast speaks with physician-epidemiologist Céline Gounder about two men who were among the public health heroes who helped wipe out a 3,000-year-old virus, and the lessons that victory offers for the next public health emergency.
Studies suggest official numbers vastly underestimate heat-related injuries and illness on the job. To institute protections, the government must calculate their cost — and the cost of inaction.
Anti-vaccine tech entrepreneur Steve Kirsch, whose wild assertions have been repeatedly debunked, wrongly attributes deaths following vaccination to the vaccines themselves. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which runs the database, calls that inaccurate and irresponsible.
The medical dangers of heat are real. But people often ignore public heat alerts or don't realize how vulnerable they are. A new alert system prompts clinicians to talk about heat with patients.
Montana has earmarked $3.7 million to address widespread high levels of lead in school drinking water. But it likely isn’t enough to solve the problem.
In Bangladesh, smallpox eradication workers went to great lengths to vaccinate even one person, sometimes traveling by speedboat, crossing rickety bamboo bridges or leech-infested paddy fields. Episode 4 of the “Eradicating Smallpox” podcast is about what it takes to bring care directly to people where they are.
Where trees are growing — and who has access to their shade — affects health and well-being, especially in one of the hottest states in the country.
Teens share photos or videos of themselves with guns and stacks of cash, sometimes calling out rivals, on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. When posts go viral, fueled by “likes” and comments, the danger is hard to contain.
As chatter and images about guns and violence slip into the social media feeds of more teens, viral messages fueled by “likes” can lead to real-world conflict and loss.
Though health policies in general got little airtime, the discussion of whether candidates support a federal abortion ban underscored how Republicans, in a post-Roe environment, face political challenges on the issue.
Flu. Covid. RSV. When and how to get vaccinated against them can be confusing. Here are some of the most important things to know.
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