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Latest California Healthline Stories

Syphilis Cases in California Drive a Record-Setting Year for STDs Nationwide

New data released Tuesday from the CDC shows sexually transmitted infections reached an all-time high in 2019. The biggest spike was in syphilis cases, which rose 74% between 2015 and 2019. Leading the country in syphilis is California, where gay men make up half the cases.

The Gender Vaccine Gap: More Women Than Men Are Getting Covid Shots

A KHN examination of state vaccine statistics shows that more women than men have gotten covid vaccines. Experts cite demographic realities of those who were part of the initial rollout but also women’s greater likelihood to seek preventive health care.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Health Care as Infrastructure

President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal includes items not traditionally considered “infrastructure,” including a $400 billion expansion of home and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities, and a $50 billion effort to replace water pipes lined with lead. Meanwhile, the politics of covid-19 are turning to how or whether Americans will need to prove they’ve been vaccinated. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KFF’s Mollyann Brodie about the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor.

Doctor Survived Cambodia’s Killing Fields, but Not Covid

Dr. Linath Lim came to the U.S. as a refugee after slaving at work camps under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Even with little English or education when she arrived, Lim put herself through college and medical school. As an internal medicine doctor in California’s Central Valley, she treated farmworkers and other Cambodian refugees.

California Counties a Hodgepodge of Highs and Lows in Vaccinating Vulnerable Seniors

Like many states, California is seeing huge regional variations in covid vaccination rates for people 65 and older. Remote rural counties are in some cases struggling to give away doses to vulnerable seniors, while metropolitan areas often have more demand than supply.