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Even as the federal Food and Drug Administration engaged in intense deliberations ahead of Friday's authorization of the nation鈥檚 first COVID vaccine, and days before the initial doses were to be released, hospitals have been grappling with how to distribute the first scarce shots. Their plans vary broadly.
Public health officials have urged Americans to hunker down, but people are still planning trips and contemplating ways to mitigate the risk of catching or spreading the coronavirus.
With two vaccines against coronavirus disease poised for release within weeks, experts say they expect attitudes to shift dramatically from hesitancy to 鈥淏eanie Baby鈥-level urgency.
Widespread COVID testing has revealed uncomfortable truths about medical tests: A test result is rarely a definitive answer, but instead a single clue. A result may be falsely positive or negative, or it may show an abnormality that doesn鈥檛 matter. And as COVID testing has made too clear, even an accurate, meaningful result is useless unless it鈥檚 acted on appropriately.
As coronavirus cases take off across the U.S., airlines promote holiday deals and encourage travel. But are flyers throwing caution to the wind?
It typically takes months to install new leadership, but with COVID deaths set to surge through the winter, many Democrats say Biden doesn鈥檛 have that sort of time.
Experts say President Trump鈥檚 claim that COVID deaths are being overcounted is inaccurate. Most agree they are undercounted. Here鈥檚 what we know about COVID death numbers so far.
Amid a surge of college coronavirus cases, some local and state health departments have been scrambling to properly trace contacts and assign cases across state and county lines.
A survey of 17 cities found more than 50,000 pandemic-related eviction filings. Housing advocates worry that increased housing instability will lead to more COVID-19 and other illnesses.
COVID-19 is killing minks. So far, it appears infections likely spread from people to minks, not from minks to people.
When in public, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence join crowded rallies where many do not wear masks. Behind the scenes, the White House is recommending states adopt mask mandates and even fines 鈥 leaving it up to local officials to handle the consequences.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has gone back-and-forth on this issue. One thing remains clear: Though science is evolving, indications do point toward the potential for airborne transmission.
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is giving new life to the latest constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act. It also places anti-abortion activists on the cusp of a court majority large enough to ensure the rollback of the right to abortion and, possibly, some types of birth control. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tries to centralize power at the sprawling department plagued by miscommunications and scandals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Sarah Jane Tribble about her new podcast, 鈥淲here It Hurts,鈥 debuting Sept. 29.
President Donald Trump this week issued a prescription drug pricing order unlikely to lower drug prices, and he contradicted comments by his director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the need for mask-wearing and predictions for vaccine availability. Meanwhile, scandals erupted at the CDC, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration. And the number of people without health insurance grew in 2019, reported the Census Bureau, even while the economy soared. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Inspections for lead hazards and blood testing for lead have dropped significantly just as kids are spending more time in the places where their exposure to the poisonous metal is highest: their homes.
Republicans have all but abandoned the Affordable Care Act as a campaign cudgel, judging from their national convention, at least. Meanwhile, career scientists at the federal government鈥檚 preeminent health agencies 鈥 the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health 鈥 are all coming under increasing political pressure as the pandemic drags on. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Elizabeth Lawrence about the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 installment.
COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.
About 60% of poll respondents are worried that federal regulators will rush to allow a vaccine because of political pressure. Opposition to getting a vaccine that might be authorized before the November election is strongest among Republicans.
Older Blacks are perishing quietly, out of sight, victims of the pandemic and a lifetime of racism and its attendant adverse health effects.
As the nation awaits a vaccine to end the pandemic, local health departments say they lack the staff, money, tools 鈥 and a unified plan 鈥 to distribute, administer and track millions of vaccines, most of which will require two doses. Dozens of doctors, nurses and health officials interviewed by KHN and The Associated Press expressed their concern and frustration over federal shortcomings.
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