KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Protests And The Pandemic


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Following the death of George Floyd while in custody in Minneapolis, protests have mushroomed around the U.S. to decry police violence, raising concerns among public health officials about the potential for further spread of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the economic toll of the continuing pandemic is prompting some states to cancel or scale back plans to expand health coverage to more of their residents.

And President Donald Trump said he will withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. But it seems he lacks the legal authority to do that on his own.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Mary Agnes Carey of KHN and Joanne Kenen of Politico.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

Also this week, Rovner interviews Jonathan Oberlander, professor of health policy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and editor of the Journal of Health Policy, Politics and Law. The journal has released several articles examining the nexus between COVID-19, health inequities and social determinants of health. Those articles are temporarily free for the public to read, here.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:

Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “The C.D.C. Waited ‘Its Entire Existence for This Moment.’ What Went Wrong?” by Eric Lipton, Abby Goodnough, Michael D. Shear, Megan Twohey, Apoorva Mandavilli, Sheri Fink and Mark Walker

Joanne Kenen: ProPublica’s “Senior Citizens in Subsidized Housing Have Been Dying Alone at Home, Unnoticed Because of Coronavirus Distancing,” by Mick Dumke and Haru Coryne

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “States Brace for Disasters As Pandemic Collides With Hurricane Season,” by Dan Goldberg and Brianna Ehley

Mary Agnes Carey: Kaiser Health News’ “Police Using Rubber Bullets On Protesters That Can Kill, Blind Or Maim For Life,” by Liz Szabo


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This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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