Category: Kaiser Health News

Getting a Prescription to Die Remains Tricky Even as Aid-in-Dying Bills Gain Momentum

Access to physician-assisted death is expanding across the U.S., but the procedure remains in Montana’s legal gray zone more than a decade after the state Supreme Court ruled physicians could use a dying patient’s consent as a defense.

Covid Vaccine Hesitancy Drops Among All Americans, New Survey Shows

A nationwide poll released by KFF also revealed which arguments are most compelling to persuade people to get a shot — and which ones are unlikely to work.

Ask KHN-PolitiFact: How Can Covid Vaccines Be Safe When They Were Developed So Fast?

Experts say there’s nothing new about the research underpinning the covid vaccines and that they were tested in more participants than many other approved vaccines.

Analysis: How the US Invested in the War on Terrorism at the Cost of Public Health

After 9/11, as our defenses against international and bioterrorism hardened, our defenses against infectious diseases shrank. By the time a deadly virus arrived on our shores last year, nearly two-thirds of Americans were living in counties that spend more than twice as much on policing as they spend on public health.

Scientists Seek Covid Treatment Answers in Cheap, Older Drugs

Philanthropies are funding studies of cheap, existing medications like the antidepressant fluvoxamine as covid treatments. But early hype about hydroxychloroquine and other repurposed drugs leaves researchers leery of hasty conclusions.

It’s Not Just QAnon. Democrats and Independents Also Want to Recall California’s Governor.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is painting the effort to remove him from office as a partisan power grab. But among the tens of thousands of Californians who signed the recall petition are Democrats and independent voters frustrated by his pandemic policies, from school closures to vaccine distribution.

In His Continued Sparring With Fauci, Sen. Rand Paul Oversimplified the Science

The Kentucky lawmaker was right that a recent study offered evidence that vaccination and previous infection appear to neutralize covid-19. But experts say that doesn’t mean people should be complacent.

Military Exposed to Toxic Fumes From Burn Pits Set to Get Bipartisan Boost

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio were set to roll out a bill Friday that could help unknown thousands of service members who are sick from toxic substances they were exposed to from burning garbage in Afghanistan, Iraq and other war zones.

How One State’s Public Health Defunding Led to Vaccination Chaos

The underfunding of public health and political backlash destabilized Missouri’s vaccine rollout, creating racial inequity and forcing some residents to drive hours to get shots.

‘Incredibly Concerning’ Lawsuit Threatens No-Charge Preventive Care for Millions

A Texas federal judge, who previously ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional, has signaled his openness to ending the law’s popular coverage requirement for preventive services.