Latest Morning Briefing Stories
A Quarter of US Hospitals, and Counting, Demand Workers Get Vaccinated. But Not Here.
Amid a surge in covid-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant, nearly 1,500 health systems across the nation are requiring their employees to get vaccinated. In Montana and Oregon, that’s not an option.
‘The Vaccination Queen’: Nurse Practitioner Takes Covid Shots House to House in Puerto Rico
Abigail Matos-Pagán, a critical care expert who has galvanized relief efforts after hurricanes and earthquakes, is on a mission to inoculate as many Puerto Rican residents as possible.
“La reina de la vacunación”: enfermera lleva las dosis contra covid de casa en casa en Puerto Rico
Abigail Matos-Pagán, experta en cuidados críticos que ha impulsado tareas de ayuda tras huracanes y terremotos, se ha propuesto vacunar al mayor número posible de residentes de Puerto Rico.
Journalists Assess the Latest Covid Surge and the Nation’s Vaccination Effort
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.
Déjà Vu? Consumers Scramble for Covid Tests in Hard-Hit Areas
As the nation confronts the delta variant, many consumers are again facing delays getting tested. The problem appears most acute in the South and Midwest, where new infections are growing the fastest, but Californians are also encountering bottlenecks.
Hard Lessons From a City That Tried to Privatize Public Health
Facing bankruptcy, Detroit largely dismantled its public health department in 2012, and the city essentially went two years without a government-run public health system. Five years later, this major American city offers a grim cautionary tale.
Clarity on Covid Count: Pandemic’s Toll on Seniors Extended Well Beyond Nursing Homes
The latest research shows that although deaths in nursing homes received enormous attention, far more older adults who perished from covid lived outside of institutions. People with dementia and other severe neurological conditions, chronic kidney disease and immune deficiencies were hit especially hard.
A California Bill Would Limit Protests at Vaccination Sites. Does It Violate the First Amendment?
A proposal breezing through the state legislature would make it illegal to obstruct someone from getting a covid-19 shot, or any other vaccine, but some free speech experts say it goes too far.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Delta Blues
Covid is back with a vengeance, with some people clamoring for booster shots while others harden their resistance to getting vaccinated at all. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration is pushing hard on drugmaker Pfizer’s request to upgrade the emergency authorization for its vaccine and give it final approval. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
“Sabiduría y miedo” llevan al 90% de los adultos mayores de EE.UU. a vacunarse contra covid
La pandemia ha sido especialmente cruel para los adultos mayores. Casi el 80% de las muertes ocurrieron entre personas de 65 años y más. Millones estuvieron aislados en residencias y en sus casas por meses.