High Obesity Rates in Southern States Magnify Covid Threat
By Sarah Varney
In the American South — home to nine of the nation’s 12 heaviest states — obesity is playing a role not only in covid outcomes, but in the calculus of the vaccination rollout.
Anti-Immigrant Vitriol Complicates Vaccine Rollout in Southern States
By Sarah Varney
Inoculating the millions of undocumented workers who produce America’s agricultural bounty will be key to achieving herd immunity against covid-19. But garnering the trust of these workers is proving complicated, particularly in the South, where the last four years have been marked by workplace raids and anti-immigrant vitriol.
El discurso anti inmigrante complica la vacunación contra covid en estados del sur
By Sarah Varney
Mientras el país se embarca en la abrumadora tarea de vacunar, a muchos funcionarios de salud se les dificulta la tarea de vacunar a 11 millones de indocumentados.
Trump’s Anti-Abortion Zeal Shook Fragile Health Systems Around the World
By Sarah Varney
President-elect Joe Biden inherits a global health landscape changed by the Trump administration more than under any Republican president since Ronald Reagan.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Transition Interrupted
Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the president-elect nearly everywhere but inside the Trump administration, where the president refuses to concede and has ordered officials not to begin a formal transition. That is a particular problem for health care as the COVID-19 pandemic surges. Meanwhile, there’s good news on the vaccine front, but it’s unlikely one will arrive by winter. And the ACA was back before the Supreme Court — again. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Shefali Luthra of the 19th News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.
America’s Obesity Epidemic Threatens Effectiveness of Any COVID Vaccine
By Sarah Varney
Vaccines engineered to protect the public from influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus and rabies are less effective for obese people, leaving them more vulnerable to serious illness. As scientists race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, experts say obesity could prove an impediment — a sobering prospect for a nation in which nearly half of all adults are obese.
Essential Worker Shoulders $1,840 Pandemic Debt Due To COVID Cost Loophole
By Sarah Varney
Carmen Quintero had symptoms of COVID-19, couldn’t get tested and ended up with a huge bill. She also was told to self-isolate and assume she had the coronavirus — which is hard when you live with elders.
Trabajadora esencial recibe una factura pandémica de $1,840 por COVID
By Sarah Varney
Ten cuidado si tu médico te envía a la sala de emergencias para una prueba de COVID, porque cualquier atención adicional que recibas allí podría tener un alto precio.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: ‘Open The Schools, Close The Bars’
While COVID-19 cases continue to surge in more than half the country, the Trump administration has decided its top priority is for schools to open for in-person learning this fall. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hands Trump a victory in a case to limit the reach of the birth control benefit under the Affordable Care Act. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Sarah Varney about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month.”
Watch: Behind The Troubling Rise Of Uninsured American Kids
By Sarah Varney
Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Sarah Varney and PBS NewsHour producer Jason Kane report from Tennessee, where the rate of uninsured kids has soared.
