Category: Health Industry

With COVID Vaccine Trial, Rural Oregon Clinic Steps Onto World Stage

A small allergy clinic in Medford, Oregon, might seem an unlikely place to recruit hundreds of volunteers to test the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19. But its steward has a record of leading hundreds of clinical trials.

PPE Shortage Could Last Years Without Strategic Plan, Experts Warn

The rolling shortages of personal protective gear continue even in hospitals, as buyers look directly for manufacturers — often through a maze of companies that have sprung up overnight.

COVID Data Failures Create Pressure for Public Health System Overhaul

Poor information-sharing between hospitals and public health agencies has hurt the response to the pandemic. Some health care systems and IT companies are making inroads, but an overhaul would cost billions.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kamala Harris on Health

The Democratic presidential ticket is complete, with Joe Biden’s selection of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Health has not been a major issue for Harris, whose career priority has been the criminal justice system. But expect Republicans to pounce on her on-again, off-again support for “Medicare for All.” Meanwhile, with Congress still in a stalemate over another round of COVID-19 relief, President Donald Trump is trying to use his executive power to do what lawmakers have not — with mixed success. Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Dying Young: The Health Care Workers in Their 20s Killed by COVID-19

A database of deaths compiled by KHN and The Guardian includes a significant minority under 30, leaving shattered dreams and devastated families.

Primary Care Doctors Look at Payment Overhaul After Pandemic Disruption

Many physicians were forced to close their offices — or at least see only emergency cases — when the pandemic struck. Because they are generally paid piecemeal for every service, they suffered big losses, leading to layoffs and pay cuts. Some doctors say they now are looking to overhaul the way they get paid.

Nurses and Doctors Sick With COVID Feel Pressured to Get Back to Work

Hospital employees say they must choose between their paychecks and their health or that of their families. Returning to work with symptoms also risks infection among the patients they are meant to heal.

Public Health Officials Are Quitting or Getting Fired in Throes of Pandemic

A review by KHN and the Associated Press finds at least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states. One of the latest departures came Sunday, when California’s public health director was ousted.

Public Health Officials Are Quitting or Getting Fired in Throes of Pandemic

A review by KHN and the Associated Press finds at least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states. One of the latest departures came Sunday, when California’s public health director was ousted.

Exclusive: Over 900 Health Workers Have Died of COVID-19. And the Toll Is Rising.

KHN and The Guardian unveil an interactive database documenting front-line health care worker deaths. The majority of them are people of color — and nurses face the highest toll.