Latest California Healthline Stories
Gene Screenings Hold Disease Clues, but Unexplained Anomalies Often Raise Fears
Multiple-gene panel tests are frequently offered to patients at risk for diseases such as cancer that can assess more than 80 genes. But in screening a wide variety of genes, doctors might see a variant that hasn’t yet been deciphered and be unable to explain its significance, leaving patients with concerns and no answers.
Vaccine Hesitancy vs. Vaccine Refusal: Nursing Home Staffers Say There’s a Difference
It’s becoming increasingly clear that decision-making about the covid vaccine is complicated and multifaceted, which means persuading people to say yes will be, too.
Native Americans Use Technology to Keep Traditions, Language Alive During Pandemic
Tribes across the U.S. have turned to social media and the internet as leaders worry about covid-19’s threat to their culture and elders.
Pandemic-Fueled Alcohol Abuse Creates Wave of Hospitalizations for Liver Disease
Hospitals across the country are seeing rising admissions for alcoholic liver disease, which encompasses hepatitis, cirrhosis and other conditions.
Scalise’s Claim That Unauthorized Immigrants Are Getting Priority for Vaccination Misses the Point
Congressman Steve Scalise claimed during a Fox News interview that President Joe Biden was allowing immigrants to “jump the line” ahead of Americans for vaccination. But the administration merely has said everyone should have access to the vaccine, regardless of immigration status, and get vaccinated when eligible.
Community Health Workers, Often Overlooked, Bring Trust to the Pandemic Fight
As the pandemic brings long-standing health disparities into sharper view, community health workers are being asked to help the public health response. This fast-growing workforce helps fill the gaps between health care providers and low-income communities by offering education, advocacy and outreach.
Why the U.S. Is Underestimating Covid Reinfection
Hundreds of Americans suspect they contracted covid early in the pandemic and recovered, only to get infected again months later. But because the U.S. does so little genetic sequencing of covid samples, we don’t know much about reinfection rates.
Schools Walk the Tightrope Between Ideal Safety and the Reality of Covid
Across the country, politics have muddied the question of when and how to reopen schools. Even though teachers continue to fear for their safety, lawmakers and parents are demanding that schools take advantage of declining infection rates to open safely and quickly.
After Nearly 60 Years of Marriage, This Missouri Couple Stayed Together to the End
Arthur and Maggie Kelley of St. Louis died 30 days apart. Maggie died of complications of dementia in November. Arthur, who had moved into her nursing home to be with her, died a month later of covid. Their family held a double funeral.
As Demand for Mental Health Care Spikes, Budget Ax Set to Strike
Legislators in statehouses across the U.S. face the dual challenge of budgeting in a covid-crippled economy while planning for the pandemic’s long-term effects on mental health and substance abuse services.