Fauci Thanks US Health Workers for Sacrifices but Admits PPE Shortages Drove Up Death Toll

Exclusive: The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says health workers ‘have lived up to the oath they take’ but says shortages of protective gear have contributed to excess deaths.

‘My Children Were Priceless Jewels’: Three Families Reflect on the Health Workers They Lost

The daughter of an internist in the Bronx, the father of a nurse practitioner in Southern California and the son of a nurse in McAllen, Texas, share how grief over their loved ones’ deaths from covid has affected them.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Health Care as Infrastructure

President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal includes items not traditionally considered “infrastructure,” including a $400 billion expansion of home and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities, and a $50 billion effort to replace water pipes lined with lead. Meanwhile, the politics of covid-19 are turning to how or whether Americans will need to prove they’ve been vaccinated. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KFF’s Mollyann Brodie about the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor.

12 Months of Trauma: More Than 3,600 US Health Workers Died in Covid’s First Year

Lost on the Frontline, a yearlong investigation by The Guardian and KHN to count health care worker deaths, ends today. This is what we learned in a year of tracing the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Doctor Survived Cambodia’s Killing Fields, but Not Covid

Dr. Linath Lim came to the U.S. as a refugee after slaving at work camps under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Even with little English or education when she arrived, Lim put herself through college and medical school. As an internal medicine doctor in California’s Central Valley, she treated farmworkers and other Cambodian refugees.

California Counties a Hodgepodge of Highs and Lows in Vaccinating Vulnerable Seniors

Like many states, California is seeing huge regional variations in covid vaccination rates for people 65 and older. Remote rural counties are in some cases struggling to give away doses to vulnerable seniors, while metropolitan areas often have more demand than supply.

Para este enfermero de cuidados paliativos, la vacuna de covid llegó demasiado tarde

Cuando comenzó la pandemia, Antonio Espinoza, de 36 años, se dedicó a ayudar a los pacientes terminales. Hasta que él mismo cayó enfermo a cinco días de haberse dado la primera dosis de la vacuna contra covid.

How One Indie Artist Used Her Pandemic Lockdown to Create an Album With Global Collaborators

The pandemic-induced lockdowns have only increased the demand for music-streaming services. This independent singer wrote, recorded and produced an album with musicians around the world during the pandemic’s rolling stay-at-home mandates.

Colleges and Universities Plan for Normal-ish Campus Life in the Fall

Universities need full dorms and dining halls to make back some of the estimated $183 billion in losses they’ve suffered over a year of remote education. The hope is widespread vaccination will keep covid chaos to a minimum.

For This Hospice Nurse, the Covid Shot Came Too Late

Antonio Espinoza, a hospice nurse in Southern California, ministered to terminally ill patients, including those with covid. He tested positive for covid five days after getting his first dose of vaccine and died a few weeks later.

Montana Sticks to Its Patchwork Covid Vaccine Rollout as Eligibility Expands

Montana’s overstretched counties and tribal governments have developed a mishmash of policies and plans that require ingenuity and mutual support to work. A reporting project by KHN, Montana Free Press and the University of Montana School of Journalism finds the biggest test of that disparate system looms as vaccine eligibility expands. Plus: a county-by-county guide to vaccine availability in Montana.

Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout

As the crisis crushed smaller providers, some of the nation’s richest health systems thrived, reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in surpluses after accepting huge grants for pandemic relief. But poorer hospitals — many serving rural and minority populations — got a smaller slice of the pie and limped through the year with deficits and a bleak fiscal future.

Vermont to Give Minority Residents Vaccine Priority

Covid cases have disproportionately affected the state’s Black residents, so officials are moving them to the front of the line for vaccinations before the state expands eligibility to all adults.

Tras un año mortal en las carreteras, los estados dicen sí a la seguridad y no a la velocidad

Legisladores de California y otros estados se replantean cómo establecer y hacer cumplir los límites de velocidad, y proponen darle más poder a las jurisdicciones locales para frenar a los conductores en sus comunidades.

De auto en auto y de puerta en puerta para vacunar a los más desprotegidos

El 15 de abril, todos los adultos de California serán elegibles para inscribirse para recibir una vacuna y, a principios del verano, el objetivo es tener suficientes dosis para cualquier adulto que la quiera.