Covid Precautions Are Part of Hispanic Community’s Efforts to Tend to Community Good
By Sarah True
Among many Latinos, especially recent immigrants, there is a cultural emphasis on living in harmony within one’s community — called “convivir” in Spanish. That notion may have helped drive improvements in covid vaccination and testing rates.
Journalists Discuss Cracks in the Health Care System and Roadblocks to Covid Booster Shots
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, February 11, 2022
Is California Really Ready To Lift Mandates? When California lifts its universal indoor mask mandate on Feb. 16, it will be the first time since June 15 that the Golden State has relaxed rules on moving about freely without face coverings. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
What Are Taxpayers Spending for Those ‘Free’ Covid Tests? The Government Won’t Say.
By Christine Spolar
Inquiries lead from one federal office to the next, with no clear answers. At one Army Contracting Command, a protocol office employee says that “voicemail has been down for months.” And the email address listed for fielding media inquiries? “The army stopped using the email address about eight years ago.”
Don’t Nurse That Moscow Mule — It Could Be a Health Hazard
By Jim Robbins
Researchers in Montana have found that unsafe levels of copper can leach into the cocktail in less than half an hour.
Cuidado con este cóctel, puede ser peligroso para la salud
By Jim Robbins
El Moscow Mule se toma en una jarra de cobre, lo que lo vuelve fascinante, y tal vez peligroso.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: FDA Takes Center Stage
Congress is set to start its once-every-five-years review of the law that authorizes user fees to finance the hiring of personnel to speed the FDA review of drugs. The periodic renewals of “PDUFA” also give lawmakers a chance to make other changes to the agency at the hub of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FDA could also find itself at the center of the abortion debate and a controversial new medication to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Daily Edition for Thursday, February 10, 2022
California Looks To Change Approach To Covid: California health officials next week will outline a new approach to dealing with the coronavirus that assumes it’s here to stay, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday, while condemning organized disinformation efforts that limit vaccinations critical to California entering the next stage. Read more from AP.
Skirmish Between Biden and Red States Over Medicaid Leaves Enrollees in the Balance
By Phil Galewitz and Andy Miller
The Biden administration is getting rid of several policies implemented by Trump-era appointees that restricted enrollment. Federal officials now say states can no longer charge premiums to low-income residents enrolled in Medicaid and have ruled out work requirements.
Montana Mice May Hold the Secret to Virus Spillover
By Jim Robbins
Researchers in Montana are working to figure out how climate change and biodiversity affect viruses’ jump from animals to people.
