Desperate for Home Care, Seniors Often Wait Months With Workers in Short Supply
CASTINE, Maine — For years, Louise Shackett has had trouble walking or standing for long periods, making it difficult for her to clean her house in southeastern Maine or do laundry. Shackett, 80, no longer drives, which makes it hard to get to the grocery store or doctor. Her low income, though, qualifies her for […]
Without Enough Boots on the Ground, California’s Vaccination Efforts Falter
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom routinely boasts that California has “one of the highest vaccination rates in the United States of America.” But Newsom, facing a recall election this fall, rarely mentions that the state’s covid vaccine uptake has largely stagnated in Black and Latino neighborhoods hardest hit by the coronavirus, and in rural outposts […]
Analysis: Why We’ll Likely Never Know Whether a Covid Lab Leak Happened in China
Early in this century, post-SARS, and in a period when China started allowing more students and scientists to study abroad, collaboration and exchange between American and Chinese scientists blossomed. Many of China’s top scientists today were educated in the West. These include George Gao, the head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who […]
A Hospital Charged $722.50 to Push Medicine Through an IV. Twice.
Claire Lang-Ree was in a lab coat taking a college chemistry class remotely in the kitchen of her Colorado Springs, Colorado, home when a profound pain twisted into her lower abdomen. She called her mom, Jen Lang-Ree, a nurse practitioner who worried it was appendicitis and found a nearby hospital in the family’s health insurance […]
Covid’s Lingering Effects Can Put the Brakes on Elective Surgeries
The week before Brian Colvin was scheduled for shoulder surgery in November, he tested positive for covid-19. What he thought at first was a head cold had morphed into shortness of breath and chest congestion coupled with profound fatigue and loss of balance. Now, seven months have passed and Colvin, 44, is still waiting to […]
Children and Covid: Journalists Explore Grief and Vaccine Side Effects
KHN senior correspondent JoNel Aleccia discussed grief among the estimated 46,000 children in the U.S. who lost a parent to covid-19 on NBC News NOW on Tuesday. Click here to watch Aleccia on NBC News NOW Read Aleccia’s “Thousands of Young Children Lost Parents to Covid. Where’s Help for Them?” KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney […]
No Vacancy: How a Shortage of Mental Health Beds Keeps Kids Trapped Inside ERs
One evening in late March, a mom called 911. Her daughter, she said, was threatening to kill herself. EMTs arrived at the home north of Boston, helped calm the 13-year-old, and took her to an emergency room. Melinda, like a growing number of children during the covid-19 pandemic, had become increasingly anxious and depressed as […]
The WHO Didn’t Reverse Its Position on Kids and Covid Vaccines
“The WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION recently reversed its stance on children getting the Covid vaccine.” Instagram post, June 22, 2021 A social media post circulating on Facebook and Instagram claims that the World Health Organization recently flipped its policy recommendation about children receiving a covid-19 vaccine. “The WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION recently reversed its stance on children […]
Calming Computer Jitters: Help for Seniors Who Aren’t Tech-Savvy
Six months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a computer so she could learn how to email and have Zoom chats with her great-grandchildren. It’s still sitting in a box, unopened. “I didn’t know how to set it up or how to get help,” said Sanders, who lives in Philadelphia and has been extremely careful during […]
Black and Hispanic Americans Suffer Most in Biggest US Decline in Life Expectancy Since WWII
Although James Toussaint has never had covid, the pandemic is taking a profound toll on his health. First, the 57-year-old lost his job delivering parts for a New Orleans auto dealership in spring 2020, when the local economy shut down. Then, he fell behind on his rent. Last month, Toussaint was forced out of his […]