Social Media Image About Mask Efficacy Right In Sentiment, But Percentages Are ‘Bonkers’
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The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources necessary to confront the worst health crisis in a century. An investigation by The Associated Press and KHN has found that since 2010, spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and for local health departments by 18%. At least 38,000 public health jobs have disappeared, leaving a skeletal workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world’s top public health systems. That has left the nation unprepared to deal with a virus that has sickened at least 2.6 million people and killed more than 126,000.
To assess the state of the public health system in the United States, KHN and The Associated Press analyzed data on government spending and staffing at national, state and local levels. Here's what data we used and how we did it.
KHN and The Associated Press sought to understand how decades of cuts to public health departments by federal, state and local governments has affected the system meant to protect the nation’s health. Here are six key takeaways from the KHN-AP investigation.
California is cutting off funding for COVID-19 testing just when counties say they need more resources in rural and disadvantaged areas.
Carmen Quintero had symptoms of COVID-19, couldn’t get tested and ended up with a huge bill. She also was told to self-isolate and assume she had the coronavirus — which is hard when you live with elders.
For Art Ballard, the local gym was like his second home. The 91-year-old former jeweler relied on his near-daily workouts to stay healthy and for social interaction. But when California instituted its stay-at-home order, Ballard’s physical health suffered. So did his mental health.
As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear.
At $3.6 billion a year, California spends more on prison health care than other states spend to run their entire prison systems. But despite the spending, and federal court oversight, prisons across California are struggling to contain deadly outbreaks of COVID-19.
The use of the word “always” makes this claim a stretch.
The pandemic has been marked by a significant amount of misinformation — some spread on purpose — that could prove deadly.
Easy-breezy guest writer Rachel Bluth fills you in on a healthy dose of news from this past week.
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on KSDK’s “Today in St. Louis” with host Rene Knott to discuss the unwritten rules that Black teens learn to try to safely navigate other people’s racist assumptions.
KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC’s Erin O’Toole on “Colorado Edition” and appeared on WNHN’s “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” to discuss his recent story on how difficult it is to measure the full death toll from the pandemic.
On their own in dirty buildings with little guidance or support, vulnerable older residents worry about unchecked transmission of the potentially deadly virus. “We felt abandoned.”
Authorities continue to dismantle homeless encampments despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hold off during the pandemic to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
While federal and state officials continue to wrangle over coronavirus testing, the population testing positive is skewing younger. Meanwhile, the Trump administration wins a round in court over its requirements for hospitals to publicly reveal their prices, and the fight over the fate of the Affordable Care Act heats up once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews former Obama administration health aide Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who has written a new book comparing international health systems.
California Healthline’s Samantha Young helped lead a discussion about the state’s response to the novel coronavirus. Infections and hospitalizations are surging across the state.
State officials are pointing to reopened bars as a cause of local spikes in coronavirus cases. Bars are tailor-made for the spread of the virus, with a cacophony of conversations that require raised voices and alcohol, which can impede judgment.
Local governments around the country are declaring racism a public health crisis. That could be lip service, or it might lead to shifting resources from policing to health care, housing and other services, experts say.
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