A corporate CEO’s call for a fourth mRNA shot struck those closely watching the pandemic as self-serving. It creates public pressure for a fourth dose of vaccine before government experts have time to assess the evidence and settle on the best course forward.
The Biden administration’s request for billions more in funding to fight covid-19 hit a snag on Capitol Hill this week, as Democrats objected to Republican demands that money allocated to states but not yet spent be reclaimed. Meanwhile, the big annual spending bill about to cross the finish line addresses other health policy changes, such as giving the FDA authority to regulate “synthetic” nicotine. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Jessie Hellmann of Modern Healthcare join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
The agency’s updated recommendations lower the level of covid risk for most of the country and therefore the need to mask. But some experts question the strategy.
Doctors and scientists are debating whether a little-known measure in covid testing should be used to distinguish who is infectious from who isn’t. The NFL adopted the practice, but laboratory professionals caution against its use.
What a difference a year makes. The speech was delivered to a largely unmasked crowd of lawmakers, justices, and Cabinet members in the House chamber.
Clinical trials of covid-19 vaccines excluded pregnant people, which left many women wondering whether to get vaccinated.
Montana has yet to start spending nearly $2.5 million in federal aid to boost covid detection and mitigation in the state’s prison and jails.
Those who are living with disabilities, chronic illnesses or are immunocompromised because of medications or cancer treatment feel that their needs are not being considered as states open back up and lift mask mandates.
Many parents of children too young for vaccines are exhausted. Some feel isolated and even forgotten by those who just want to move on even as omicron continues to sweep through parts of the country.
Say you’re on Day 6 — or 8 or 10 — of a symptomatic covid infection, and a rapid antigen test comes back positive. Could the test just be detecting bits and pieces of dead virus? If you’re a petri dish, sure. But if you’re a human, chances are you’re still infectious. Virologists weigh in.
