Public Health Archives - Page 54 of 186

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Boosting Confusion

Federal health officials appear poised to extend a recommendation for covid boosters to all adults, following moves by some governors and mayors to broaden the eligible booster pool as caseloads rise. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration finally has a nominee to head the agency: former FDA chief Robert Califf. And Medicare premiums for consumers will likely rise substantially in 2022, partly due to the approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann, host of the “An Arm and a Leg” podcast.

Nov. 18, 2021

Quarantine and Tracing Rules Are All Over the Map for Students

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers guidance but calls for localities to set quarantine rules for unvaccinated children exposed to someone with covid-19. That's led to a pandemic patchwork of rules.

By Sheila Mulrooney Eldred

Nov. 16, 2021

Live Performers Find Red State Rules a Tough Act to Follow

Theater companies and musical ensembles are restarting live performances after a crippling pandemic pause. In some conservative states, artists find creative ways to get around state laws that go against public health recommendations.

By Bruce Alpert

Nov. 15, 2021

KHN On Air

Journalists Offer Primers on Medicare Open Enrollment and Death Benefits Amid Covid

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.

Nov. 13, 2021

How Low Can They Go? Rural Hospitals Weigh Keeping Obstetric Units When Births Decline

Many small hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery units as births decline. For those who resist the trend, some studies suggest that hospitals with low deliveries are more likely to see complications for patients. Doctors and public health experts say there is no magic number to determine when it is best to close an obstetrics unit.

By Charlotte Huff

Nov. 12, 2021

Letters to the Editor

Readers and Tweeters Find Disadvantages in Medicare Advantage

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Nov. 12, 2021

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Why Health Care Is So Expensive, Chapter $22K

Congress is making slow progress toward completing its ambitious social spending bill, although its Thanksgiving deadline looks optimistic. Meanwhile, a new survey finds the average cost of an employer-provided family plan has risen to more than $22,000. That’s about the cost of a new Toyota Corolla. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Rebecca Love, a nurse academic and entrepreneur, about the impending crisis in nursing.

Nov. 11, 2021

Western Boom Cities See Spike in Harmful Ozone

Vehicle emissions, oil and gas drilling and climate change have combined to create more days with unhealthy levels of the colorless, odorless gas from Denver to Phoenix.

By Jim Robbins

Nov. 10, 2021

Postcard From a Clinic

How One Health Center Is Leading Chicago on Kid Covid Shots

A health center with clinics on Chicago’s southwest side that serves mostly Hispanic patients has provided the most covid shots to kids in the city by being accessible, (literally) speaking the language of the community and setting up pop-up clinics at schools and parks. It provides a few lessons as the nation gears up to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds.

By Giles Bruce

Nov. 10, 2021

As Overdose Deaths Soar, DEA-Wary Pharmacies Shy From Dispensing Addiction Medication

A West Virginia pharmacy cleared a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation. But it shut down anyway, highlighting how the agency’s policies reduce the availability of buprenorphine, an important tool for recovery from opioid addiction.

By Aneri Pattani

Nov. 9, 2021

‘Drinking Through a Lead Straw’ — $15B Approved to Fix Dangerous Water Pipes

The infrastructure bill passed Friday funnels $15 billion into lead pipe remediation. Water quality experts say the cost of getting rid of all lead pipes could ultimately cost $60 billion. Still, some health advocates say the new funding will be transformative in allowing communities such as Houston’s Fifth Ward to fix its pipes.

By Sandy West

Nov. 8, 2021

COVID-19

As Constituents Clamor for Ivermectin, Republican Politicians Embrace the Cause

Hospitals and doctors are facing more demands for ivermectin as a covid-19 treatment, despite a lack of proof it works. In some Republican-dominated states, pushing for ivermectin interventions has become a conservative rallying cry.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Nov. 8, 2021

Texas Providers See Increased Interest in Birth Control Since Near-Total Abortion Ban

But providers do not expect contraception to blunt the law’s effects.

By Amanda Michelle Gomez

Nov. 8, 2021

KHN On Air

Journalists Follow Leads on Curbing Violence, Improving Psych Care and Crowdsourcing Covid Safety

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.

Nov. 6, 2021

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Compromise Is Coming — Maybe

Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill appear to be nearing a compromise on President Joe Biden’s social spending agenda, spurred partly by Democratic losses on Election Day in Virginia. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hints it might allow abortion providers to sue Texas over its restrictive new ban. But the relief, if it comes, could be short-lived if the court uses a second case, challenging a law in Mississippi, to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about an emergency bill for a nonemergency birth.

Nov. 4, 2021

Covid Risk in Hospitals

Patients Went Into the Hospital for Care. After Testing Positive There for Covid, Some Never Came Out.

About 21% of patients diagnosed with covid during a hospital stay died, according to data analyzed for KHN. In-hospital rates of spread varied widely and patients had no way of checking them.

By Christina Jewett

Nov. 4, 2021

COVID-19

Montana’s Governor Nixed a Kids’ Vaccine Campaign, So Health Officials Plan Their Own

A former Montana health department leader said Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration killed a public service campaign planned for last summer that promoted covid vaccines for teens. Health organizations want to fill the void with information on vaccines for children 5 and up.

By Aaron Bolton, MTPR

Nov. 3, 2021

Labs With No One to Run Them: Why Public Health Workers Are Fleeing the Field

Across California, public health departments are losing experienced staffers to exhaustion, partisan politics and jobs that pay more for less work. The public health nurses, epidemiologists and microbiologists who work to keep our communities healthy are abandoning the field.

By Anna Maria Barry-Jester

Nov. 2, 2021

What Do We Really Know About Vaccine Effectiveness?

Reports of waning effectiveness and mixed messages about booster shots fuel the politicization of vaccination.

By Julie Appleby

Nov. 2, 2021

‘Not Quite on Board’: Parents Proving a Tough Sell on Covid Vax for Teens

California offers a lens on the challenges officials face in persuading parents to embrace covid shots for young children. While the state has a strong showing in overall vaccination rates, just 59% of kids 12 to 17 — eligible for a shot since May — are fully vaccinated.

By Jenny Gold and Samantha Young

Nov. 2, 2021

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