Category: COVID-19

As Broad Shutdowns Return, Weary Californians Ask ‘Is This the Best We Can Do?’

California’s ping-ponging approach to managing the pandemic — twice reopening large portions of the service sector economy only to shut them again — has residents and business owners on edge. But experts say the push and pull on businesses may be what success looks like in much of the U.S. for months to come, given COVID-19’s pervasive spread.

Anger After North Dakota Governor Asks COVID-Positive Health Staff to Stay on Job

Doctors and nurses say order puts lives in danger, amid a COVID surge and a statewide shortage of health care workers.

Homeless Shelters Grapple With COVID Safety as Cold Creeps In

During the pandemic, shelters are having to change the way they do things to prevent the virus from spreading among the vulnerable homeless population. Now, as winter weather moves in, there’s less room at the shelters for those in need — threatening to leave many, literally, out in the cold.

Long-Term Care Workers, Grieving and Under Siege, Brace for COVID’s Next Round

As the coronavirus surges around the country, workers in nursing homes and assisted living centers are watching cases rise in long-term care facilities with a sense of dread. Many of these workers struggle with grief over the suffering they’ve witnessed.

‘Breakthrough Finding’ Reveals Why Certain COVID Patients Die

Scientists have found that some people have antibodies against parts of their own immune system, allowing viruses to multiply rapidly.

‘Breakthrough Finding’ Reveals Why Certain COVID Patients Die

Scientists have found that some people have antibodies against parts of their own immune system, allowing viruses to multiply rapidly.

Stanford vs. Harvard: Two Famous Biz Schools’ Opposing Tactics on COVID

While the Harvard Business School gently chided returnees to be on their best behavior, Stanford deployed green-vested enforcers and campus police who sometimes threatened students if they violated the rules. Both, apparently, succeeded.

Clots, Strokes and Rashes: Is COVID a Disease of the Blood Vessels?

COVID-19 can cause symptoms that go well beyond the lungs, from strokes to organ failure. To explain these widespread injuries, researchers are studying how the virus affects the vascular system.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Transition Interrupted

Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the president-elect nearly everywhere but inside the Trump administration, where the president refuses to concede and has ordered officials not to begin a formal transition. That is a particular problem for health care as the COVID-19 pandemic surges. Meanwhile, there’s good news on the vaccine front, but it’s unlikely one will arrive by winter. And the ACA was back before the Supreme Court — again. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Shefali Luthra of the 19th News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Workers Who Lost Jobs Due to COVID May Need Help Getting Coverage This Fall

Millions of people have lost their jobs and health insurance since March, and experts say many of those looking for a plan on the ACA marketplace may not be able to get the assistance they need.