Category: Vaccines

The Delta Variant Thrives in a State of Political and Public Health Discord

At the center of the nation’s delta variant outbreak, public health efforts are mired in a political turf war.

Grab Your Mask and Notepad, We’re Headed Back to California’s State Capitol

After being mostly closed to the public and the press for more than a year, California’s state Capitol is open again — masks, temperature checks, covid outbreaks and all.

Novavax’s Effort to Vaccinate the World, From Zero to Not Quite Warp Speed

Novavax is a vaccine company that, despite $2 billion in new federal and international funding, still hasn’t come through with a licensed covid vaccine. It hopes it can still help to fight the global covid scourge, but will it deliver?

Fútbol, Flags and Fun: Getting Creative to Reach Unvaccinated Latinos in Colorado

A vaccine clinic came to an international soccer tournament in Denver recently. It was an attempt to reach Latino Coloradans, whose vaccination rates trail those of non-Hispanic whites.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Here Comes Reconciliation

Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.

Red State, Blue State, Twin Outbreak: Behind Wyoming and Colorado’s Anomalous Covid Spikes

Statistics show that Colorado residents are much more likely than Wyoming residents to be vaccinated against covid. Yet both Wyoming and Colorado were among the top 12 states with the highest covid case rates at the beginning of July. A closer look at a pair of similarly sized counties in those states helps explain why.

Most Inmates Have Had Their Covid Shots — But Their Guards Likely Haven’t

Hesitancy about the vaccines among prison staffers has led to a striking disparity: Inmates are better protected than corrections officials.

As Covid Vaccinations Slow, Parts of the US Remain Far Behind 70% Goal

Vermont and Massachusetts lead the nation, with more than 70% of adults having had at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. Southern states like Tennessee lag far behind.

California’s Highest Covid Infection Rates Shift to Rural Counties

As vaccination rates rise across the state, the overall numbers of covid cases and deaths have plunged. But health officials are still reporting nearly 1,000 new cases and more than two dozen deaths a day. So, where does covid continue to simmer in California? And why?

New Research Finds J&J Vaccine Has Muscle Against Covid’s Delta Variant

The data is reassuring to people who got this shot.