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Parents without paid sick days are nearly twice as likely to send a sick child to school or child care — the inevitable result of the impossible choice between caring for their children and providing for them. (Molly Weston Williamson, 12/17)

I asked Jay Varma, a professor at Weill Cornell Medical College who formerly worked for the CDC, if there are any symptoms a person just doesn’t want to mess with in terms of getting other people sick. (Caroline Mimbs Nyce, 12/16)

Now that we have vaccines and rapid tests and Paxlovid for COVID-19 — not to mention boundless supplies of KN95 face masks and toilet paper — it’s easy to forget the early days of the pandemic when we had none of those things. (12/18)

Why is the US health care system more than willing to pay for expensive hospitalizations and procedures but unable to prevent debilitating and expensive medical conditions in the first place — for example, by controlling a patient’s high blood pressure and diabetes before they lead to kidney failure? (Jeffrey L. Schnipper, 12/19)

Illegal abortion is back, and — dare I say? — it’s better than ever. Did our ultraconservative Supreme Court, so out of step with 21st century America, really think that overturning nearly 50 years of legal precedent would end elective abortion in America? (Robin Abcarian, 12/18)

Many readers vehemently disagreed with my recent column in favor of ending the coronavirus vaccine mandate for the military. As they argue, there is a key difference between the military and everyone else: Force readiness is a matter of national security, and even a small reduction in infection or severe disease is worth a mandate. (Leana S. Wen, 12/18)

Like millions of people around the world, I am processing the heartbreaking news that Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss died from suicide this week. Having lost too many people I love to mental health challenges like depression, addiction, trauma and hopelessness – all of whom died from suicide – I’m feeling so heavy with emotion right now. You might be, too. (Mel Robbins, 12/16)

Northern Maine and southern California don’t seem to have a lot in common — until you start looking for affordable, accessible dental care. In such disparate communities, and thousands in between, millions of Americans can’t access the dental care they need. (Louis W. Sullivan and Caswell A. Evans, 12/19)