The rapid spread of omicron across the nation — and the finding that vaccines continue to provide strong protection against severe disease — brings covid-19 one step closer, perhaps, to truly earning its place on the list of diseases that have been tamed by vaccines. These include polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, all of […]

Nurse Heather Gatchet’s shift in the emergency department at Salem Health’s Salem Hospital in Oregon typically starts at 6 a.m. Before that, she packs her daughter’s lunch, drinks tea, and — to stave off her panic — calls her mom on the way to work. “My mom’s like my cup of coffee,” Gatchet said, her […]

The federal government has penalized 764 hospitals — including more than three dozen it simultaneously rates as among the best in the country — for having the highest numbers of patient infections and potentially avoidable complications. The penalties — a 1% reduction in Medicare payments over 12 months — are based on the experiences of […]

ST. LOUIS — Republican Missouri state Sen. Mike Moon believes that covid-19 vaccinations, especially among children, should cease until the long-term effects are known. He points to the research of sources of covid misinformation like America’s Frontline Doctors and Dr. Robert Malone, a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast. He himself is not vaccinated. So, on […]

La mayoría de nosotros hemos sentido el agotamiento al tomar decisiones en la era de la pandemia. ¿Debo viajar para ver a un pariente mayor? ¿Puedo ver a mis amigos y, si es así, está bien en un lugar cerrado? ¿Con máscara o sin máscara? ¿Prueba o no prueba? ¿Qué día? ¿Cuál marca? ¿Es seguro […]

Most all of us have felt the exhaustion of pandemic-era decision-making. Should I travel to see an elderly relative? Can I see my friends and, if so, is inside OK? Mask or no mask? Test or no test? What day? Which brand? Is it safe to send my child to day care? Questions that once […]

MADISON, Wis. — Tucked inside a residential neighborhood, and surrounded by a wooden fence and greenery, are nine little houses. With multicolored siding and roofs, they look like people-sized birdhouses. And they fit right in. So does Gene Cox, 48. He hasn’t been homeless in more than seven years. That’s the point of this little […]

MADISON, Wisconsin.- Escondidas dentro de un vecindario residencial y rodeadas por una cerca de madera y plantas, hay nueve casitas. Con revestimientos y techos multicolores, parecen casas para pájaros del tamaño de una persona. Y encajan perfectamente. Así como Gene Cox, de 48 años. Ya hace más de siete que dejó de vivir en la […]

SAN FRANCISCO — In early January, one of the country’s top public health officials went on national television and delivered what she called “really encouraging news” on covid-19: A recent study showed that more than three-fourths of fatalities from the omicron variant of the virus occurred among people with several other medical conditions. “These are […]