Public Health Archives - Page 39 of 183

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Future of Public Health, 2022 Edition

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a National Public Health System calls for a major overhaul of the way the U.S. organizes, funds, and communicates about public health, particularly in the harsh spotlight of the covid-19 pandemic. In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner and KHN’s correspondent Lauren Weber interview the commission’s chair, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, about how to fix what ails public health.

Aug. 25, 2022

COVID-19

Wastewater Surveillance Has Become a Critical Covid Tracking Tool, but Funding Is Inconsistent

Dashboards that rely on positive covid test results reported to local health departments no longer paint a reliable picture of how covid is spreading in an area. Some experts say wastewater surveillance is the most accurate way to measure viral activity. Meanwhile, some wastewater labs face funding shortfalls.

By Lauren Sausser

Aug. 25, 2022

A photo shows a library worker pushing a cart filled with books.

From Book Stacks to Psychosis and Food Stamps, Librarians Confront a New Workplace

As public libraries morph into support hubs for homeless people with mental illness or addiction, librarians are struggling to reconcile their shifting roles.

By Rachel Scheier

Aug. 23, 2022

A photo shows a medical professional signing a covid vaccine card.

COVID-19

Grassroots Work Leads to Vaccination Success in Georgia Refugee Community

Public health officials and resettlement groups across the U.S. have used community organizers to encourage newly arrived refugees and other vulnerable people to get vaccinated against covid-19. In a Georgia city that is home to many refugees, the vaccination rate is higher than in the state, county, and surrounding communities of similar socioeconomic status.

By Alander Rocha

Aug. 22, 2022

Policies to Roll Back Abortion Rights Will Hit Incarcerated People Particularly Hard

People in jails and prisons are particularly vulnerable to the fallout from the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.

By Carly Graf

Aug. 22, 2022

Local Health Officials to Feds: Where’s the Rest of Our Monkeypox Vaccine?

Los Angeles County is getting 60% fewer doses of monkeypox vaccine than officials expected, after the FDA said every vial could be split into five shots.

By Jackie Fortiér, LAist

Aug. 18, 2022

Public Health Agencies Adapt Covid Lessons to Curb Overdoses, STDs, and Gun Violence

Know-how gained through the covid pandemic is seeping into other public health areas. But in a nation that has chronically underfunded its public health system, it’s hard to know which changes will stick.

By Katheryn Houghton

Aug. 17, 2022

a man in a yellow shirt walks toward a white wood building where a woman in a red tank top is standing at a window speaking to someone inside the building

Community Health Centers’ Big Profits Raise Questions About Federal Oversight

Nonprofit federally funded health centers are a linchpin in the nation’s health care safety net because they treat the medically underserved. The average profit margin is 5%, but some have recorded margins of 20% or more in three of the past four years.

By Phil Galewitz and Bram Sable-Smith

Aug. 15, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Big Week for Biden

Congress is leaving for its annual summer break having accomplished far more than many expected, including, barring unforeseen snags, a bill to address the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and extend the enhanced subsidies for insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the abortion issue continues to roil the nation as Indiana becomes the first state to ban the procedure in almost all cases since the Supreme Court overruled the constitutional right to abortion in June. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Aug. 11, 2022

A photo shows Kyle approaching a pop-up harm reduction unit table.

They Call It ‘Tranq’ — And It’s Making Street Drugs Even More Dangerous

Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, has made it into the illegal drug supply of opioids and cocaine. It is changing the way outreach workers treat overdoses and may be responsible for grisly injuries and infections among people who unknowingly inject it.

By Martha Bebinger

Aug. 11, 2022

An employee collects a wastewater sample from an open manhole. A plastic bottle at the end of a long, yellow pole contains the water sample as it's lifted from the manhole.

Covid Sewage Surveillance Labs Join the Hunt for Monkeypox

Wastewater testing has proved a reliable early alarm bell for covid outbreaks. U.S. researchers are now adapting the approach to track the explosive spread of monkeypox.

By Mark Kreidler

Aug. 9, 2022

Tribe Embraces Recreational Marijuana Sales on Reservation Where Alcohol Is Banned

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota allows people to buy and use recreational marijuana but not alcohol. Some tribal citizens say cannabis is safer than alcohol, meth, and opioids — which have wreaked havoc on the state’s Indigenous communities.

By Arielle Zionts

Aug. 8, 2022

KHN On Air

Journalists Put Polio, Price Transparency, and a Personal Covid Battle in Perspective

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.

Aug. 6, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kansas Makes a Statement

In the first official test vote since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, voters in Kansas’ primary said in no uncertain terms they want to keep a right to abortion in their state constitution. Meanwhile, the Senate is still working to reach a vote before summer recess on its health care-climate-tax measure, but progress is slow. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Bram Sable-Smith, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about a very expensive ambulance trip.

Aug. 4, 2022

A California Man’s ‘Painful and Terrifying’ Road to a Monkeypox Diagnosis

A Bay Area man described himself as “delirious” from the pain of a quickly spreading rash, but it took six telehealth appointments, one urgent care visit, and two emergency room trips before he was finally diagnosed and treated for monkeypox.

By Jackie Fortiér, LAist

Aug. 4, 2022

Music Festivals Embrace Overdose Reversal Drugs, but Fentanyl Testing Kits Remain Taboo

Music festival promoters are allowing distribution of overdose reversal medication as fentanyl deaths continue to surge. But nonprofits and volunteers are often left to do the work, and more controversial forms of harm reduction aren’t openly allowed.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Aug. 3, 2022

A woman a black face mask rolls a suitcase beside her. A sign behind her reads "To trains & bus plaza".

Asking Never Hurts

The Time Has Come for DIY Mandates on Covid

Yes, lots of us suffer from pandemic fatigue and have been getting sloppy about precautions in recent months. But with covid an ongoing menace — and governments reluctant to return to sweeping mandates — it’s time for all of us to step up our game.

By Bernard J. Wolfson

Aug. 2, 2022

KHN On Air

Journalists Detail the Scope of the Abortion Ruling, Monkeypox, and Public Health Powers

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.

July 30, 2022

A 3D graphic shows models of the polio virus against a pale background.

What the Polio Case in New York Tells Us About the End of Polio

The Rockland County case isn’t expected to cause a major outbreak, but it shows how even this rare disease can pop up in undervaccinated communities.

By Arthur Allen

July 29, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin Makes a Deal

In a rare surprise for official Washington, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced a deal to expand the planned health bill in the Senate to include provisions raising taxes and addressing climate change. The measure would include a third year of expanded subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, but not health care coverage for people left out of Medicaid in states that failed to expand the program. Meanwhile, the ACA goes back to court, and the Biden administration restores anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people that were rolled back by the Trump administration. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Céline Gounder of KHN about the latest on the monkeypox outbreak.

July 28, 2022

Trump 2.0

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