Omicron and Other Coronavirus Variants: What You Need to Know
This new variant has set off alarm bells in the public health community, but much remains to be learned about it.
Public Health
1,061-1,080 of 3,722 results
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With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work
National paid sick leave provisions for covid expired, and an uncertain covid winter is around the corner. Colorado, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are among the places trying to fill the gap, but many employees still face financial pressure to go to work while sick.
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It Takes a Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies on a Close-Knit Group in Her Final Days
Dr. Susan Massad created a “health team” after learning she had metastatic breast cancer. These friends and family members help her make difficult decisions and lead the most fulfilling life possible.
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KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes the House
President Joe Biden’s social spending budget is on its way to the U.S. Senate, where Democratic leaders are (optimistically) hoping to complete work by the end of the year. Meanwhile, covid is surging again in parts of the country, along with the political divides it continues to cause. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner previews next week’s Supreme Court abortion oral arguments with Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler.
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Postcard From the Nation’s Capital
Lifting DC’s Strict Indoor Mask Mandate Triggers Mix of Confusion, Anxiety and Relief
Some business owners, wondering whether it’s too soon to ease the requirement, long for more guidance and support from the mayor.
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Why You Can’t Find Cheap At-Home Covid Tests
You probably won’t be testing everyone at your Thanksgiving table for covid because the tests are expensive and hard to find. Why? The federal government is partly to blame.
By Rachana Pradhan and Hannah Norman -
A Covid Head-Scratcher: Why Lice Lurk Despite Physical Distancing
With kids back in school, business is picking back up for professional nitpickers. But how are kids getting head lice if they’re physically distancing in the classroom?
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What Happens After a Campus Suicide Is a Form of Prevention, Too
The scientific term is “postvention,” and it informs how to navigate the emotional challenges that follow such a tragedy.
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Vaccine-or-Test Requirements Increase Work and Costs for Governments
But state and local officials embrace the requirement because it creates a safer workplace while allowing employees to continue working.
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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.
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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.
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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 -
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.
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Readers and Tweeters Find Disadvantages in Medicare Advantage
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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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.
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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.
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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 -
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 -
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.
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‘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