The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
521-540 of 1,685 results
In communities across the country, the Cooperative Extension System, the same organization that supports 4-H clubs nationally, is tapping its roots in rural communities to promote vaccines. But its approach to getting people vaccinated in many communities, including Cairo, Illinois, must be nuanced.
Millions of Americans with weakened immune systems are weighing a return to workplaces as the delta variant of covid surges and while awaiting guidance about additional vaccine shots.
As pharmaceutical companies declare a need for boosters, scientists and doctors emphasize thereâs no proof yet.
The U.S. Senate worked well into its scheduled August recess to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget blueprint that outlines a much larger bill â covering key health priorities â to be written this fall. Meanwhile, the latest surge of covid is making both employers and schools rethink their opening plans. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for âextra credit,â the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
The CDC recommends that pregnant people be vaccinated against covid-19, based on new safety and effectiveness evidence on the covid vaccines.
Children under 12 canât get a vaccine, so parents are concerned about how to keep them safe as classes resume â especially as the delta variant spreads.
With schools reopening, poll finds two-thirds of parents support mandating masks for unvaccinated students, but resistance to vaccinating students remains high. âMy child is not a test dummy,â one Black parent told pollsters. Some parents deferred the decision to their teens.
The Florida governorâs order said schools couldnât mandate that students wear masks and that the state could deny funding to school districts that didnât comply.
Amid a surge in covid-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant, nearly 1,500 health systems across the nation are requiring their employees to get vaccinated. In Montana and Oregon, thatâs not an option.
A proposal breezing through the state legislature would make it illegal to obstruct someone from getting a covid-19 shot, or any other vaccine, but some free speech experts say it goes too far.
Abigail Matos-PagĂĄn, a critical care expert who has galvanized relief efforts after hurricanes and earthquakes, is on a mission to inoculate as many Puerto Rican residents as possible.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Hereâs a collection of their appearances.
As the nation confronts the delta variant, many consumers are again facing delays getting tested. The problem appears most acute in the South and Midwest, where new infections are growing the fastest.
The latest research shows that although deaths in nursing homes received enormous attention, far more older adults who perished from covid lived outside of institutions. People with dementia and other severe neurological conditions, chronic kidney disease and immune deficiencies were hit especially hard.
Covid is back with a vengeance, with some people clamoring for booster shots while others harden their resistance to getting vaccinated at all. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration is pushing hard on drugmaker Pfizerâs request to upgrade the emergency authorization for its vaccine and give it final approval. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for âextra credit,â the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
The success in getting shots to older adults is likely due to states prioritizing that effort when the vaccines became available and motivation among the elderly after the virus killed so many in their age group.
Health insurers could do more to encourage vaccination, including letting the unvaccinated foot their bills.
Relationships with people you know only superficially can help develop a sense of belonging and provide motivation to engage in activities. Research has found that older adults who have a broad array of âweakâ as well as âcloseâ ties enjoy better physical and psychological well-being and live longer than people with less diverse social networks.
Posts circulating on Facebook and Instagram incorrectly claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is withdrawing its covid test because it canât differentiate between that virus and flu viruses. These statements could be an attempt to blur the high cumulative numbers of covid cases.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a recall election in September, fueled in part by anger over his pandemic policies. The health care industry has ponied up more than $4.8 million so far to defend the first-term Democrat.
© 2026 51ÊÓÆ”