Nina Feldman

Even if you don’t have long COVID, it can still take weeks to recover — much longer than the isolation period implies. Millions of Americans are finding that this still majorly disrupts their lives.

At 16, Nicolas Montero is old enough to get vaccinated on his own in some parts of the country. But he had to try to get the jabs without his parents knowing, since they’re opposed to the vaccine.

It’s not a matter of vaccine hesitancy, say advocates. Instead, poorly located clinics, lack of flexible appointments and other barriers to access are hampering Philadelphia’s hardest-hit communities.

City officials gave coronavirus vaccines to Philly Fighting Covid, whose brash CEO had no health care experience. After a WHYY investigation, the city cut ties with the group over alleged misconduct.

A federal appeals court ruled the effort by nonprofit Safehouse to open a “supervised injection site” to prevent overdose deaths is laudable but illegal under the so-called federal “crack house” law.

Officials may be relying on everyone to doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 at a time when the public is simply not afraid enough anymore to keep up the recommended behaviors.

Dr. Ala Stanford was frustrated by systemic barriers preventing Black residents from getting tests. She created the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, and sends mobile test units into neighborhoods.

Public officials continue to send mixed messages about the pandemic: We’re open for business, but also, stay home if you can. Without clear guidance, people feel confused or stop trying to be safe.

In Philadelphia, New Orleans and Los Angeles, former safety-net hospitals sit empty. But reopening a closed hospital, even when demand for health resources spikes, is not easy or cheap.

Efforts to combat Philadelphia’s opioid crisis with a supervised injection site could be stymied by a portion of federal law meant to protect neighborhoods during the crack epidemic of the 1980s.