Category: COVID-19

The Boom in Out-of-State Telehealth Threatens In-State Providers

Health provider conflicts, fraud and access disparity temper the covid telehealth revolution.

A Year Into the Pandemic, Three Huge Losses in One Family

The Aldaco family of Phoenix suffered more than most in this year of unfathomable losses. Three brothers perished in the pandemic: Jose in July, Heriberto in December and Gonzalo in February.

Did CDC Delays in Up-To-Date Masking Advice Cost Health Workers’ Lives?

Researchers say “very low”-quality research from the 2003 SARS outbreak drove guidelines on who got the best PPE, leaving those most at risk exposed.

To Extract More Doses per Vial, Vaccinators Put Squeeze on FDA to Relax Vaccine Handling Advice

Although vaccine supply is ramping up, the supply gap puts pressure on vaccinating teams to extract every drop they can. Some are asking the FDA to waive guidance against extracting vaccine from two vials with the same needle. It’s worth a shot.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Expanding the ACA in an Unpredicted Way

Beyond the billions of dollars aimed squarely at the pandemic, the covid relief bill cleared by Congress this week includes significant changes to health policy. Among them are the first major expansions to the Affordable Care Act since its enactment 11 years ago and changes that could expand coverage for the Medicaid program. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Rachel Cohrs of Stat 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.

Meet the Retired Nurse Who Could Give Covid Shots But Couldn’t Get One

She followed up on every possible avenue that would allow her to register for a vaccination appointment. Ultimately, it took a 40-minute drive and someone else’s cancellation to make it happen.

In a Year of Zoom Memorials, Art Exhibit Makes Space for Grief

After his father died, artist Taiji Terasaki created a ritual to memorialize him. Now, Terasaki honors front-line health care workers who succumbed to covid with an exhibit inspired by “Lost on the Frontline,” the investigation by KHN and The Guardian.

One Year In: How Covid’s Toll Compares With Other Causes of Death

Covid-19 has become the country’s third-leading cause of death, and isn’t far behind cancer.

High Obesity Rates in Southern States Magnify Covid Threat

In the American South — home to nine of the nation’s 12 heaviest states — obesity is playing a role not only in covid outcomes, but in the calculus of the vaccination rollout.

Vaccine Altruists Find Appointments for Those Who Can’t

An army of volunteers help people who otherwise would have had difficulty securing a covid vaccination because of cumbersome computer or telephone registration systems.