Covid-19

‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 1: On the Navajo Nation, Root Causes Complicated the Covid Fight

Explore what made the Navajo people ― also known as the Diné ― so vulnerable to the first surges of the covid-19 pandemic. The first episode of “Rezilience,” Season 4 of the “American Diagnosis” podcast, begins in the forests outside the Grand Canyon.

As Omicron Surges, Effort to Vaccinate Young Children Stalls

Just 18% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, with rates varying significantly across the country, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations.

Justices Block Broad Worker Vaccine Requirement, Allow Health Worker Mandate to Proceed

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing With Drug Prices

Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Hospitales enfrentan más casos de covid en personas ya hospitalizadas, con menos personal

Las infecciones están exacerbando algunas condiciones médicas y dificultando la reducción de la propagación de covid dentro de las paredes del hospital, especialmente porque los pacientes se presentan en etapas más tempranas y más infecciosas de la enfermedad.

Incidental Cases and Staff Shortages Make Covid’s Next Act Tough for Hospitals

As omicron sweeps the country, many hospitals are dealing with a flood of people hospitalized with covid — including those primarily admitted for other reasons. While often milder cases, so-called incidental covid infections still drain the beleaguered health care workforce and can put them and other patients at higher risk for contracting covid.