Category: Vaccines

Watch: California’s Top Health Adviser on Learning to Live With Covid

KHN Senior Correspondent Samantha Young joined California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly for an engaging conversation about how California moves forward in an environment in which covid persists, but at more manageable levels.

Charts Paint a Grim Picture 2 Years Into the Coronavirus Pandemic

The on-off nature of the pandemic “has led to a lot of the confusion and grumpiness,” says one expert. Another compares it to the exhaustion of the American public when hearing body counts during the Vietnam War.

When Teens Blow Off Parents’ Pleas to Get Vaccinated, the Consequences Can Be Deadly

Kennedy Stonum, a 17-year-old high school junior, resisted getting vaccinated against covid-19, as did 20-year-old Tyler Gilreath, whose mother had nagged him for months to get the shots. Both died.

To Be One in a Million: ‘Who Thinks It’s Going to Be You?’

Stan Thomas’ wife, Monica Melkonian, was one of only nine people in the U.S. confirmed to have died from vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia, a rare side effect associated with the Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine. For the first time, Thomas shares her story of how excited she was to get the shot, how she died, and why he remains firmly pro-vaccine.

J&J-Vaxxed, mRNA-Boosted, and Pondering a Third Shot

Many of the nearly 17 million U.S. members of J&J Nation, myself included, are wondering whether to set aside the current official guidance and get a second booster. Some experts say: Chill out.

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.

Readers and Tweeters Have Mental Health Care on Their Minds

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Why Pregnant People Were Left Behind While Vaccines Moved at ‘Warp Speed’ to Help the Masses

Clinical trials of covid-19 vaccines excluded pregnant people, which left many women wondering whether to get vaccinated.

Covid Still Threatens Millions of Americans. Why Are We So Eager to Move On?

Those who are living with disabilities, chronic illnesses or are immunocompromised because of medications or cancer treatment feel that their needs are not being considered as states open back up and lift mask mandates.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: It’s Health Costs, Stupid (2022 Edition)

As the pandemic wanes, for now, the ever-rising cost of health care is again taking center stage. Meanwhile, a year into the Biden administration, the FDA finally has a Senate-confirmed commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Hannah Wesolowski of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about how the pandemic has worsened the nation’s mental health crisis and what can be done about it.