Journalists Discuss the Nation’s Suicide Prevention Hotline, Abortion, and ‘Forever Chemicals’
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Daily Edition for Friday, August 26, 2022
Friday’s roundup covers the state surgeon general, prison health, MPX, covid deaths, vaccines, KP strike, heat dangers, and more.
Unraveling the Interplay of Omicron, Reinfections, and Long Covid
By Liz Szabo
The omicron variant has proved adept at finding hosts, often by reinfecting people who recovered from earlier bouts of covid. But whether omicron triggers long covid as often and severe as previous variants is a matter of heated study.
‘He Stood His Ground’: State Senator Will Leave Office as Champion of Tough Vaccine Laws
By Angela Hart
California state Sen. Richard Pan, who spearheaded some of the country’s most ambitious vaccine mandate legislation, is leaving office this year because of term limits. A pediatrician, he plans to practice medicine full time but has not ruled out a future run for office.
With More Sizzling Summers, Colorado Changes How Heat Advisories Are Issued
By Markian Hawryluk
The National Weather Service is now gauging heat risk in a way that better suits Colorado as summers in the Centennial State get hotter and longer.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Future of Public Health, 2022 Edition
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a National Public Health System calls for a major overhaul of the way the U.S. organizes, funds, and communicates about public health, particularly in the harsh spotlight of the covid-19 pandemic. In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner and KHN’s correspondent Lauren Weber interview the commission’s chair, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, about how to fix what ails public health.
Daily Edition for Thursday, August 25, 2022
MPX Appears To Be Slowing In San Francisco: After about two months of rapid spread, San Francisco appears to be turning a corner on MPX, with early data showing a downward trajectory of cases. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Keep scrolling for more on the MPX outbreak.
Wastewater Surveillance Has Become a Critical Covid Tracking Tool, but Funding Is Inconsistent
By Lauren Sausser
Dashboards that rely on positive covid test results reported to local health departments no longer paint a reliable picture of how covid is spreading in an area. Some experts say wastewater surveillance is the most accurate way to measure viral activity. Meanwhile, some wastewater labs face funding shortfalls.
Rural Americans Have Difficulty Accessing a Promising Cancer Treatment
By Debby Waldman
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy has eliminated tumors in some late-stage cancer patients, but the cost and complexity of care mean rural Americans have trouble accessing the treatment.
Congressman’s Wife Died After Taking Herbal Remedy Marketed for Diabetes and Weight Loss
By Samantha Young
Lori McClintock, the wife of U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock of California, died after ingesting white mulberry leaf, according to the Sacramento County coroner. The plant is generally considered safe and is used in herbal remedies that claim to lower blood sugar, boost weight loss, and combat high cholesterol. Her death highlights the potential dangers of dietary supplements.
