Latest KFF Health News Stories
California and Texas Took Different Routes to Vaccination. Who’s Ahead?
California stresses equity for minority groups. Texas is all about personal choice and liberty. Both are struggling to vaccinate Latinos and contending with vaccine hesitancy among conservative communities.
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.
Events of 2020 Moved Medical Students to Political Activism
The emergence of an organization for med students motivated by progressive concerns highlights the changing attitudes of some physicians in training.
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.
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.
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.
Beating the Pavement to Vaccinate the Underrepresented — And Protect Everyone
In poor neighborhoods and desert towns, community activists — some unpaid — are signing up hard-to-reach people for vaccination appointments. Experts say these campaigns are key to building the country’s immunological armor against new outbreaks.
Covid Vaccine Hesitancy Drops Among All Americans, New Survey Shows
A nationwide poll released by KFF also revealed which arguments are most compelling to persuade people to get a shot — and which ones are unlikely to work.
How One State’s Public Health Defunding Led to Vaccination Chaos
The underfunding of public health and political backlash destabilized Missouri’s vaccine rollout, creating racial inequity and forcing some residents to drive hours to get shots.
Stop Blaming Tuskegee, Critics Say. It’s Not an ‘Excuse’ for Current Medical Racism.
The Tuskegee syphilis study is often cited as a reason Black Americans might hesitate to take the covid-19 vaccine. But many people say that current racism in health care and lack of access deserve more attention to move more Black Americans toward vaccine protection.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: In Vaccinating Philadelphia, A Mix of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Covid vaccinations are ramping up, so “An Arm and a Leg” checked in on the effort in Philadelphia, where capitalism and compassion have clashed.
Journalists Analyze the Covid Relief Bill
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.
To Help Farmworkers Get Covid Tests and Vaccine, Build Trust and a Safety Net
Testing and vaccinating essential workers on commercial farms and in meatpacking plants requires more than a pop-up clinic miles away. Missing work to get a test, or to quarantine after a positive result, can be financially devastating.
Black Churches Fill a Unique Role in Combating Vaccine Fears
Churches are the keystone of a major campaign to bring good information about covid vaccines to Black communities. But pastors are finding that scarce supplies and a clumsy rollout are complicating efforts to urge vaccination.
‘Into the Covid ICU’: A New Doctor Bears Witness to the Isolation, Inequities of Pandemic
Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez graduated from medical school during the pandemic. We follow the rookie doctor for her first months working at a hospital in Fresno, California, as she grapples with isolation, anti-mask rallies and an overwhelming number of deaths.
‘It Doesn’t Feel Worth It’: Covid Is Pushing New York’s EMTs to the Brink
Struggling with low pay and high stress, New York paramedics and EMTs are reaching a breaking point.
The Do’s and Don’ts on Social Media for Vaccine Haves and Have-Nots
In the thick of a global pandemic, and with a vaccine rollout that has been less than optimal, it’s no surprise that selfies featuring the coveted covid shot surface on social media timelines. But is posting a vaccine selfie on your social media account a faux pas or a needed encouragement for others to get the shot?
Spurred by Pandemic, Little Shell Tribe Fast-Tracks Its Health Service Debut
As the newest federally recognized tribe, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is starting from scratch to deliver health care to members. While covid-19 has been devastating, it has sped up the tribe’s ability to build a clinic. Yet, lacking a reservation, the tribe faces challenges reaching its scattered members.
El discurso anti inmigrante complica la vacunación contra covid en estados del sur
Mientras el país se embarca en la abrumadora tarea de vacunar, a muchos funcionarios de salud se les dificulta la tarea de vacunar a 11 millones de indocumentados.
Anti-Immigrant Vitriol Complicates Vaccine Rollout in Southern States
Inoculating the millions of undocumented workers who produce America’s agricultural bounty will be key to achieving herd immunity against covid-19. But garnering the trust of these workers is proving complicated, particularly in the South, where the last four years have been marked by workplace raids and anti-immigrant vitriol.
