Category: NPR

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, on the federal health response to COVID-19.

The president and others have criticized 3M, with some officials alleging profiteering during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the company says cutting exports would be a mistake.

At least 27 million Americans who lost their jobs in recent weeks also lost their health insurance, a new report finds. Others lacked a health plan even before COVID-19 hit. Here’s how to find help.

There’s still a serious shortage of testing for COVID-19 across the country. Many people who are sick and showing likely symptoms say they still can’t get tested.

NPR reached out to the public health departments serving some of the largest cities in the U.S. Most did not have their most current pandemic response plan posted publicly and many were out of date.

As the health industry focuses on COVID-19, there’s been a big drop in non-urgent visits for primary care and specialty care. Medical practices are being forced to furlough or lay off staff.

The coronavirus pandemic poses both a public health and an economic crisis. Squarely in the middle of those concerns are fears about medical bills and loss of employer-provided health insurance.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Gabrielle Mayer, who is graduating from medical school early to help the coronavirus-positive patients coming into Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

As hospitals are forced to delay or cancel certain medical procedures so they can focus resources on treatment of COVID-19, it’s disrupting ongoing care for people with other serious illnesses.

Most available coronavirus data doesn’t include ethnic or racial demographics, but public health experts say they fear the response to the pandemic will lead to predictable health care disparities.