New data from the height of New York state’s omicron surge suggests Pfizer’s vaccine offers significantly less protection against infection in children ages 5 to 11 compared to older kids and adults.
Category: Public Health
Live animal markets likely source of pandemic, new research indicates
A large market in Wuhan, China, where food and live animals were sold in late 2019, is likely the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, a pair of new studies suggest.
COVID-19 cases to fall 46% by March 12: 3 forecasts to know
The U.S. will continue to see steep declines in COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations through mid-March, according to forecasts from the CDC and Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.
From Alabama to Utah, Efforts to Vaccinate Medicaid Enrollees Against Covid Run Into Obstacles
Inoculation rates remain low despite massive outreach efforts and incentives from federal and state programs and Medicaid plan operators, leaving many low-income people vulnerable to the virus.
US COVID-19 deaths drop for 3rd week + 9 other CDC findings
COVID-19 deaths fell nationally for the third week in a row, while hospitalizations declined for the fourth straight week and cases dropped for the fifth, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published Feb. 25.
CDC debuts new mask guidelines
The CDC eased indoor mask guidance Feb. 25, now relying on how COVID-19 is affecting a community’s healthcare system — rather than transmission rates alone — as a guide for mask recommendations.
5 states report moderate, low flu activity: 7 CDC notes
Two states are reporting moderate flu activity and three are reporting low levels of activity, according to the CDC’s FluView report published Feb. 25.
Florida governor issues new COVID-19 guidance to ‘buck CDC’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, updated the state’s COVID-19 guidance Feb. 24, which shortens isolation periods, advises against masks in community settings and grants healthcare practitioners flexibility to tre…
Health Care Firms Were Pushed to Confront Racism. Now Some Are Investing in Black Startups.
A new investment fund launched by one of the few Black venture capitalists in health care is focused on backing Black entrepreneurs. And the investors include some of the biggest names in for-profit health care.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contemplating a Post-‘Roe’ World
In anticipation of the Supreme Court rolling back abortion rights this year, both Democrats and Republicans are arguing among themselves over how best to proceed to either protect or restrict the procedure. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance when the federal government declares an end to the current “public health emergency.” Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Jay Hancock, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a couple whose insurance company deemed their twins’ stay in intensive care not an emergency.
