Unraveling the Mysterious Mutations That Make Delta the Most Transmissible Covid Virus Yet
Scientists are trying to piece together why the delta variant so readily infects unvaccinated Americans, spewing 1,000 times more virus particles.
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Scientists are trying to piece together why the delta variant so readily infects unvaccinated Americans, spewing 1,000 times more virus particles.
Brexanolone is a promising new treatment for postpartum depression. But one insurer's requirement that women try four other drugs and electroconvulsive therapy before the infusion means it is out-of-reach for millions of women.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) introduced a bill to do away with a health insurance rule that dictates which parent’s plan becomes a new baby’s primary insurer. This could save some parents from unexpected, sometimes massive medical bills. Davids took up the issue after a KHN/NPR Bill of the Month story on one family’s unexpected $207,455 NICU bill.
In a suburb of Denver, a doctor runs a clinic that finds creative solutions to treat a large refugee and immigrant population, sometimes to the dismay of the medical establishment.
At a pop-up vaccine clinic in a McDonald’s parking lot in the city of San Bernardino, fewer than two dozen people agreed to get a shot, offering a snapshot of the faltering vaccination effort.
Missouri is the last state to create a monitoring program to help spot the misuse of prescription drugs. But some public health experts warn that the nation’s programs are forcing people addicted to opioids to seek deadlier street options.
While covid is generally mild in children, doctors report a growing number of long-haul covid symptoms and MIS-C cases, particularly among Black and Latino children.
With covid cases on the upswing again around the country, partisan division remains over how to address the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Biden administration proposes bigger penalties for hospitals that fail to make their prices public as required. Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Tami Luhby of CNN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite stories of the week they think you should read, too.
The major sports leagues are struggling to vaccinate enough of their players to protect the clubhouse and locker room, and few stars have stepped forward to pitch vaccination to teammates or fans. WNBA players are an exception, with a 99% vaccination rate and high-profile ads urging the public to get vaccinated.
Unvaccinated Westerners are flocking to movie theaters, malls and other indoor spaces to beat the smoke and heat. Health officials worry that may fuel covid outbreaks.
Doctors in Washington state used human body bags filled with ice and water to rapidly cool the sickest patients affected by record heat last month.
At the center of the nation’s delta variant outbreak, public health efforts are mired in a political turf war.
In today’s pharmaceutical universe, a simple “safe and effective” determination by the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug can be manipulated to sell products of questionable value. And drugmakers can profit handsomely.
Black women and girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder often remain undiagnosed because their symptoms are mischaracterized by the blinders of sexism and racism. Getting treatment and finding the right medication can be even more difficult because they aren’t taken seriously or, worse, they’re racially profiled while getting their medicines.
Novavax is a vaccine company that, despite $2 billion in new federal and international funding, still hasn't come through with a licensed covid vaccine. It hopes it can still help to fight the global covid scourge, but will it deliver?
After being mostly closed to the public and the press for more than a year, California’s state Capitol is open again — masks, temperature checks, covid outbreaks and all.
A vaccine clinic came to an international soccer tournament in Denver recently. It was an attempt to reach Latino Coloradans, whose vaccination rates trail those of non-Hispanic whites.
Leaders of a regional medical school program in Montana say two proposed medical schools could create a flood of students they worry will strain the clinical faculty and resources in the state they use for training.
Statistics show that Colorado residents are much more likely than Wyoming residents to be vaccinated against covid. Yet both Wyoming and Colorado were among the top 12 states with the highest covid case rates at the beginning of July. A closer look at a pair of similarly sized counties in those states helps explain why.
Food insecurity soared during the pandemic, including among unauthorized immigrants, who are not eligible for federally funded food stamps. California’s Democratic lawmakers want to expand the benefit to that population, but opponents cite the massive ongoing cost to the state.
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