Insight

Latest California Healthline Stories

Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers

Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.

Boost Now or Wait? Many Wonder How Best to Ride Out Covid’s Next Wave

As the country faces a rise in new infections driven by the omicron BA.5 subvariant of the coronavirus, about 70% of people 50 and older who got a first covid-19 booster shot haven’t received the recommended second one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many undervaccinated Americans have lost interest, and others aren’t sure whether to get boosted again now or wait for vaccines reformulated to target newer strains of the virus.

California’s Public Health Tax Is Dead for the Year

A ballot measure that would have taxed California millionaires to boost public health funding will not be on the November ballot. But the tech titans who bankrolled the effort say they are negotiating with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to get more money without imposing new taxes.

Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Is Killing Patients. Yet There Is a Simple Way to Stop It.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia not tied to ventilators is one of the most common infections that strike within health care facilities. But few hospitals take steps to prevent it, which can be as simple as dutifully brushing patients’ teeth.

The Search for Scarce Formula Is Worse for Rural Families on WIC

Constraints imposed by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, that prevent recipients from using benefits to buy formula across state lines weigh on families as the nationwide formula shortage drags on.