COVID-19 vaccine-or-test requirements increase work and costs for governments
Amanda Kostroski, a 911 dispatcher in Madison, Wisconsin, leaves her busy job once a week to go to a county health clinic to be tested for COVID-19. She’s been making…
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Why you can’t find cheap at-home COVID-19 tests
WHILE developing a rapid test that detects the coronavirus in someone’s saliva, Blink Science, a Florida-based startup, heard something startling: The Food and Drug Administration had more than 3,000 emergency…
Your out-of-pocket health care costs need not be a mystery
IF you’ve ever had a serious illness or cared for someone who has, you know how quickly the medical bills can pile up: from labs, radiology clinics, pharmacies, doctors, different…
‘Not quite on board’: Parents proving a tough sell on COVID vax for teens
EVEN as the U.S. prepares to roll out a covid-19 vaccine to elementary school-aged kids, its efforts to inoculate teenagers — who have been eligible for the shot since May…
California law aims to strengthen access to mental health services
THE number of people with symptoms of depression and anxiety has nearly quadrupled during the covid pandemic, which has made it even more maddeningly difficult to get timely mental health…
Children with disabilities face special back-to-school challenges
LOS ANGELES — Christopher Manzo, a boy with curly brown hair and bright-blue-and-yellow glasses, has lived a third of his five years at home because of the pandemic. And he…
Q&A: How will California’s new 988 mental health line actually work?
By Jenny Gold/California Healthline IN September 2020, Congress passed bipartisan legislation creating a three-digit national suicide hotline: 988. Think of it as an alternative to 911 for mental health emergencies….
California vaccine mandate extends to aides for people with disabilities
WORKERS in adult and senior care facilities and in-home aides have been added to the list of California health workers who must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Those who…
A daily pill to treat COVID could be just months away, scientists say
WITHIN a day of testing positive for COVID-19 in June, Miranda Kelly was sick enough to be scared. At 44, with diabetes and high blood pressure, Kelly, a certified nursing…
Is my cloth mask good enough to face the Delta variant?
IN recent months, some European airlines have banned the use of cloth face coverings to control the spread of the coronavirus during air travel, instead favoring surgical masks — sometimes…
Why at-home rapid COVID tests cost so much, even after Pres. Biden’s push for lower prices
By Hannah Norman/Kaiser Health News RAPID at-home covid tests are flying off store shelves across the nation and are largely sold out online as the delta variant complicates a return…
Medicaid vaccination rates founder as states struggle to immunize their poorest residents
MEDICAID enrollees are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at far lower rates than the general population as states search for the best strategies to improve access to the shots and persuade…
Headed away to school? Here’s what students with health issues need to know
COLLEGE is a time of transition, but for those managing chronic medical conditions, it may also be the first time they will be wholly responsible for their own health: setting…
‘Wisdom and fear’ lead 90% of US seniors to COVID vaccines
AMID the latest surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the United States hit a milestone that some thought was unattainable: 90% of people 65 and older are at least partly…
Clarity on COVID count: Pandemic’s toll on seniors extended well beyond nursing homes
As COVID resurges across the country, driven by the highly infectious delta variant, experts are extending our understanding of the pandemic’s toll on older adults — the age group hit…
Debunking claims that CDC’s PCR test can’t tell COVID from flu
Posts circulating on Facebook and Instagram claim the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will stop using its covid-19 test because it cannot differentiate between the covid virus and…
California makes it easier for low-income residents to get and keep free health coverage
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Getting clean drinking water cost Ignacio Padilla his health insurance. The World War II veteran needed to repay the loan for the water pump installed on his…
Want fries with that vaccine? Even at a fast-food restaurant, pop-up clinics see slow traffic
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A few months ago, the boxy, teal truck parked outside a McDonald’s in this Inland Empire city might have drawn hundreds of people willing to stand…
Necessary or not, COVID booster shots are probably on the horizon
By Elisabeth Rosenthal / Kaiser Health News The drugmaker Pfizer recently announced that vaccinated people are likely to need a booster shot to be effectively protected against new variants of…
California takes a nibble at offering food stamps to undocumented immigrants
SANTA ANA, Calif. — One week the food pantry had frozen crabmeat; other weeks, deli meat or plant-based “meat.” The week before the Fourth of July, there was no meat…
A family wellness check: California invests in treating parents and children together
By Samantha Young/Kaiser Health News When a parent takes an infant to the Children’s Health Center in San Francisco for a routine checkup, a pediatrician will check the baby’s vitals…
New research finds J&J vaccine has muscle against COVID’s Delta variant
IN the past two weeks, many medical experts started to question whether the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is administered in a single dose, would be as effective as the…
Supreme Court declines to overturn ACA — again
THE Supreme Court on Thursday, June 17 turned back its third chance to upend the Affordable Care Act, rejecting a lawsuit filed by a group of Republican state attorneys general…
Being vaccinated doesn’t mean you must go maskless
By Bernard J. Wolfson / Kaiser Health News FOR more than a year, public health officials have repeatedly told us that masks save lives. They’ve warned us to keep our…
Labor Department issues emergency rules to protect health care workers from COVID
LABOR Department officials on Thursday, June 10 announced a temporary emergency standard to protect health care workers, saying they face “grave danger” in the workplace from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic….
From racial justice to dirty air, California’s new AG plots a progressive health care agenda
By Angela Hart / California Healthline California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime Democratic state lawmaker, comes to his new role well known for pursuing an unabashedly progressive agenda on criminal justice…
What does approval of the Pfizer vaccine for teens and preteens mean for my child?
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez/Kaiser Health News Q: THE federal government approved the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds. What does this mean for my child? Extending the emergency use of…
Homicides surge in California amid COVID shutdowns of schools, youth programs
By Philip Reese, Kaiser Health News Amid a pandemic that left law enforcement agencies stretched thin and forced shutdowns that left young men with little to do, California registered a…
I’ve recovered from COVID. Why do I still have to mask up?
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez MORE than 120 million Americans have joined arguably the most sought-after club on Earth: those immunized against the coronavirus. Fully vaccinated people were given the green light…
More than 3,600 US health workers died in COVID’s first year
By Jane Spencer/The Guardian and Christina Jewett/Kaiser Health News More than 3,600 U.S. health care workers perished in the first year of the pandemic, according to “Lost on the Frontline,”…