Race and Health

Latest KFF Health News Stories

In Austin, Some Try to Address Vaccine Inequity, but a Broad Plan Is Elusive

KFF Health News Original

The east side of Austin has few of the chain stores key to the Texas vaccination plan. But local officials have done pop-up vaccination events in the community to get more shots to Blacks and Latinos.

Food Guidelines Change but Fail to Take Cultures Into Account

KFF Health News Original

For decades, the federal government has tried to guide our eating habits. They once again revised recommendations, but they didn’t incorporate ethnic and cultural differences of the American diet. Here’s why.

As Vaccine Rollout Expands, Black Americans Still Left Behind

KFF Health News Original

Covid vaccines are reaching more Americans, but Black residents are being vaccinated at dramatically lower rates in the 23 states where data is publicly available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to release national data next week.

Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated at Lower Rates Than White Americans

KFF Health News Original

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.

Even With Senate Control, Democrats Will Need Buy-In From GOP on Key Health Priorities

KFF Health News Original

With a majority too small to eliminate the filibuster, Democrats will not have enough votes in the Senate to pass many of their plans without Republicans and will also have only a razor-thin majority in the House. This combination could doom many Democratic health care proposals, like offering Americans a government-sponsored public insurance option, and complicate efforts to pass further pandemic relief.

Illinois Is First in the Nation to Extend Health Coverage to Undocumented Seniors

KFF Health News Original

As the pandemic hits Latino communities especially hard, Illinois is expanding public health insurance to all low-income noncitizen seniors. Advocates hope other states follow its lead.

Black Women Find Healing (But Sometimes Racism, Too) in the Outdoors

KFF Health News Original

A Colorado woman formed an adventure group to encourage other Black women to enjoy the outdoors, and now it has chapters across the U.S. and Canada. Yet many Black adventure seekers say they often face racism when partaking in healthy outdoor activities.

Health Officials Fear Pandemic-Related Suicide Spike Among Native Youth

KFF Health News Original

Recent deaths on a small Native American reservation in Montana have underlined the heightened risks for Indigenous youths and how suicide prevention programs are struggling to operate during the pandemic.

Trusted Messengers May Help Disenfranchised Communities Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy

KFF Health News Original

Persuading vulnerable low-income and ethnic communities hit hard by the coronavirus to take a new vaccine may be challenging. But established local health leaders, like a group in Rochester, Minnesota, may be one answer.

Voces de la comunidad para rastrear contactos de COVID entre latinos

KFF Health News Original

Las disparidades en la atención de salud de larga data, la inseguridad laboral, el estatus migratorio, las barreras del idioma, entre otros, complican la ya difícil tarea