Category: CDC

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: All About Budget Reconciliation

Even while the Senate is busy with Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, the House has gotten down to work on a covid relief bill using the budget reconciliation process. Meanwhile, the watchword for covid this week among the public is confusion — over masks, vaccines and just about everything else science-related. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, the panelists recommend their favorite “health policy valentines” along with their favorite health policy stories they think you should read, too.

With Demand Far Exceeding Supply, It Matters That People Are Jumping the Vaccine Line

When hospital administrators and politicians’ spouses get immunized before people more at risk, it undermines confidence in the system.

As Vaccine Rollout Expands, Black Americans Still Left Behind

Covid vaccines are reaching more Americans, but Black residents are being vaccinated at dramatically lower rates in the 23 states where data is publicly available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to release national data next week.

Huge Gaps in Vaccine Data Make It Next to Impossible to Know Who Got the Shots

Details about race, ethnicity and occupation are often missing as data collected nationally is scattered across scores of digital systems that don’t connect. And the CDC doesn’t require vaccinators to report occupations of recipients, even though the order in which people get shots largely depends on their job.

When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price

Inaccurate and incomplete death certificates hurt those seeking relief, recourse and closure after a loved one dies.

Feeling Left Out: Private Practice Doctors, Patients Wonder When It’s Their Turn for Vaccine

Doctors say some patients, and even medical staff members, don’t know where to go to be vaccinated against covid-19.

COVID Vaccines Appear Safe and Effective, but Key Questions Remain

The federal government expects vaccinations to be available to everyone who wants them by summer — though glitches are inevitable. If enough of us get vaccinated, we could wave goodbye to the pandemic in 2021.

Many US Health Experts Underestimated the Coronavirus … Until It Was Too Late

Scientists learned the wrong lesson from past outbreaks, but Dr. Anthony Fauci doesn’t cast blame.

With Vaccine Delivery Imminent, Nursing Homes Must Make a Strong Pitch to Residents

More than half of long-term care residents have cognitive impairment or dementia, raising questions about whether they will understand the details about the fastest and most extensive vaccination effort in U.S. history.

Lie of the Year: The Downplay and Denial of the Coronavirus

It’s no worse than the flu, and other deadly disinformation about the coronavirus