California Is Overriding Its Limits on Nurse Workloads as Covid Surges
As covid patients flood California emergency rooms, hospitals are increasingly desperate to find enough staffers to care for them all. But some nurses worry hospitals will use the pandemic as an excuse to permanently roll back their hard-won nurse-patient ratios.
Biden’s Covid Challenge: 100 Million Vaccinations in the First 100 Days. It Won’t Be Easy.
But keeping campaign promises regarding the nation’s covid response will go beyond stepping up the rollout of the vaccines.
Patients Fend for Themselves to Access Highly Touted Covid Antibody Treatments
Months after President Donald Trump credited monoclonal antibody therapy for his quick recovery from covid-19, only a trickle of the product has found its way into regular people. While hundreds of thousands of vials sit unused, sick patients who might benefit from early treatment have been left on their own to vie for access.
On Trump’s Last Full Day, Nation Records 400,000 Covid Deaths
On the day before the inauguration of a new president, the country marks a once unthinkable milestone of 400,000 deaths. The winter surge of the pandemic claimed 100,000 Americans in just five weeks.
Are Public Health Ads Worth the Price? Not if They’re All About Fear
Public service announcements about drug use or other public health problems often fall short, public health marketing experts say, because they incite people’s worst fears rather than giving people solutions.
Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated at Lower Rates Than White Americans
Black Americans are receiving covid vaccines at a much lower rate than their white peers due to a combination of mistrust and access issues, leaving them behind in the mission to vaccinate the nation’s population.
Covid: 5 razones para seguir usando máscara después de vacunarse
Las vacunas se probaron en ensayos clínicos, en los mejores centros médicos, en condiciones óptimas. Pero en el mundo real, suelen ser un poco menos efectivas.
Biden Terms Vaccine Rollout ‘A Dismal Failure’ as He Unveils Pandemic Response Plan
President-elect Joe Biden has delivered two speeches within the past 24 hours focused on his ambitious plans to address the “twin crises” of the covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy.
CVS and Walgreens Under Fire for Slow Pace of Vaccination in Nursing Homes
A federal program that sends retail pharmacists into nursing homes to vaccinate residents and workers has been hindered by bureaucratic hurdles and scheduling woes.
Journalists Examine How Covid Polarizes Communities
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.
When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price
Inaccurate and incomplete death certificates hurt those seeking relief, recourse and closure after a loved one dies.
5 Reasons to Wear a Mask Even After You’re Vaccinated
Vaccination, face coverings and physical distancing are essential parts of a team effort against the coronavirus.
Geography Is Destiny: Dentists’ Access to Covid Shots Depends on Where They Live
A handful of states are making dentists a lower priority than other health professionals for inoculations, even though they have their hands in people’s mouths and are exposed to aerosols that spray germs in their faces.
Delicate Covid Vaccines Slow Rollout — Leading to Shots Given Out of Turn or, Worse, Wasted
“Thaw. Rest 15 minutes. Do not shake. Do not refreeze.”Do not shake. Do not refreeze.” Moderna’s vaccine comes with complicated instructions. And both available vaccines are good for only six hours once the vial is open. So at day’s end, health workers are left to either throw out precious doses or get shots into any arm that’s available.
In Search of a Baby, I Got Covid Instead
As the pandemic raged, I made dozens of visits to a fertility clinic. Did I catch covid on one of those visits? I’ll never know, but the guilt is still there.
Hospitals’ Rocky Rollout of Covid Vaccine Sparks Questions of Fairness
The lack of a federal strategy on how distribution should work at the local level means that states, hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies are making decisions on their own about who gets vaccinated and when.
Feeling Left Out: Private Practice Doctors, Patients Wonder When It’s Their Turn for Vaccine
Doctors say some patients, and even medical staff members, don’t know where to go to be vaccinated against covid-19.
Are You Old Enough to Get Vaccinated? In Tennessee, They’re Using the Honor System
In most Tennessean counties, residents currently eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine are health care workers, long-term care residents and people 75 and older. But don’t expect strict enforcement.
Only a Smokescreen? Big Tobacco Stands Down as Colorado and Oregon Hike Cigarette Taxes
After spending tens of millions of dollars to oppose past efforts, Altria didn’t oppose Colorado’s tobacco tax initiative and could benefit from the law’s minimum-price provision.
California Budget Reflects ‘Pandemic-Induced Reality,’ Governor Says
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the state’s vaccination effort. But he didn’t propose more funding for the state’s 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.
