Category: CDC

Quarantine and Tracing Rules Are All Over the Map for Students

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers guidance but calls for localities to set quarantine rules for unvaccinated children exposed to someone with covid-19. That’s led to a pandemic patchwork of rules.

Live Performers Find Red State Rules a Tough Act to Follow

Theater companies and musical ensembles are restarting live performances after a crippling pandemic pause. In some conservative states, artists find creative ways to get around state laws that go against public health recommendations.

Who Qualifies for a Covid Booster? The List Is Growing Longer

KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble and Arthur Allen join Science Friday host Ira Flatow to recap the evolving news in the run-up to offering booster shots for the covid vaccine.

Mounting Covid Deaths Fuel School Bus Drivers’ Fears

Since August, school bus drivers and monitors have died of covid-19 in at least 10 states, including Georgia and Florida. Masks are required on school buses, but enforcing the rules in districts without school mask mandates is especially hard to do.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Autumn of Democrats’ Discontent

Congress is back in session with a short time to finish a long to-do list, including keeping the government operating and paying its bills. Hanging in the balance is President Joe Biden’s entire domestic agenda, including major changes proposed for Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the new Texas abortion law that bans the procedure early in pregnancy is prompting action in Washington. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb about his new book on the covid-19 pandemic.

Ask KHN-PolitiFact: Is My Cloth Mask Good Enough to Face the Delta Variant?

Public health experts increasingly urge people to upgrade to surgical masks, but also maintain that cloth masks still offer protection.

Scientists Examine Kids’ Unique Immune Systems as More Fall Victim to Covid

Doctors are trying to figure out why some kids become much sicker than others and, in rare cases, don’t survive.

How Fauci and the NIH Got Ahead of the FDA and CDC in Backing Boosters

With real-time data streaming in from highly specialized researchers in the U.S. and abroad, NIH scientists became convinced that boosting the covid-19 vaccine was needed to save lives, prompting the president to announce a plan with a Sept. 20 start date. Scientists at the regulatory agencies weren’t yet convinced. A meeting Friday will determine what happens next. Here’s the story from behind the scenes.

V-Safe: How Everyday People Help the CDC Track Covid Vaccine Safety With Their Phones

V-safe is a new safety monitoring system that lets anyone who has been vaccinated against covid-19 report possible side effects directly to federal health officials. Experts believe the smartphone tool has so far helped demonstrate the vaccines are safe.

To Quarantine or Not: The Hard Choices Schools Are Leaving to Parents and Staff

Back-to-school season has fueled immediate covid outbreaks. Instead of beefing up protections, some districts are letting students go without masks, physical distancing and quarantines. And parents are left to make impossibly tough decisions.