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Epidemiologists and disease modelers tried to predict what would happen when students moved back to campus. Although some universities listened to their advice, that didn鈥檛 stop outbreaks from happening.
Rural hospitals have been closing at a quickening pace in recent years, but a number of inner-city hospitals now face a similar fate. Experts fear that the economic damage inflicted by the COVID pandemic is helping push some of these urban hospitals over the edge at the very time their services are most needed.
Midwifery was a tradition among slaves from Africa, but in more recent decades, pregnant Black women have generally shunned the approach. Now, home births and midwives are making a comeback in the Black community.
A KHN review found more than 20 states either don鈥檛 count or have incomplete data on the use of COVID-19 antigen tests, leaving the public in the dark about the true scope of the pandemic.
Respiratory symptoms stemming from coronavirus infection and smoke inhalation are too similar to distinguish without a full workup. This is complicating the jobs of health care workers as wildfires rage up and down the West Coast.
The National Institutes of Health has suggested minorities should be overrepresented in COVID-19 vaccine trials 鈥 perhaps at rates that are聽double their percentage of the U.S. population. But efforts to recruit patients from racial minority groups are just beginning, while some trials have already advanced to phase 3.
Many actors, directors, backstage workers and others in the entertainment industry are often eligible for health coverage through their unions, a model that some experts promote for other gig workers. But coverage is determined by past employment, and many of these professionals aren鈥檛 working because of the coronavirus.
As people leave COVID-stricken cities to settle semi-permanently in vacation communities, locals assess how these new residents are changing demands on medical services.
A new treatment for tooth decay is cheaper, quicker and less painful than getting a filling. Originally touted as a solution for kids, silver diamine fluoride is poised to become a game changer for treating cavities in older adults or those with disabilities that make oral care difficult.
The AstraZeneca trial is on hold in the U.S. as scientists try to unravel whether a rare neurological condition is linked to the vaccine. But regulators are frustrated by a lack of information from the drugmaker.
In the most comprehensive tally of such injuries to date, the Physicians for Human Rights scoured publicly available data 鈥 including social media, news accounts and lawsuits 鈥 to document and name victims of summer protests. Still, the group cautions, it’s likely an undercount.
As California workers and schoolchildren struggled to work from home, state lawmakers met in person. And as their legislative session came to a close in late August, they broke COVID rules: They huddled, let their masks slip below their noses, removed their masks to drink coffee 鈥 and required a new mom to vote in person while toting her hungry newborn.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Studies show that at least half of ground ambulance rides across the nation leave patients with 鈥渟urprise鈥 medical bills. And a $300-a-mile ride is not unusual. Yet federal legislation to stem what鈥檚 known as balance billing has largely ignored ambulance costs.
Gyms are reopening with fewer people and more protocols, and they want to rehabilitate their pandemic-battered image. Although there’s not much evidence, they say science is on their side.
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.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says airplanes are not vectors for the spread of COVID-19 and that flying is “something that is safe for people to do.” Is the evidence really so clear?
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.
