Pfizer’s Newest Vaccine Plant Has Persistent Mold Issues, History of Recalls
Pfizer’s management knew last year there was “a mold issue” at the Kansas facility now slated to produce the drugmaker’s urgently needed covid-19 vaccine, according to a Food and Drug Administration inspection report. The McPherson, Kansas, facility, which FDA inspectors wrote is the nation’s largest manufacturer of sterile injectable controlled substances, has a long, troubled […]
Texas Winter Storm Exposes Gaps in Senior Living Oversight
HOUSTON — When the big, red and extremely loud fire alarm went off in Maria Skladzien’s apartment, the 74-year-old ventured into the hallway with fellow residents of her Houston-area senior living community. The brutal winter storm that swept through Texas had knocked out power, which, in turn, disrupted water to the four-story building. The blaring […]
What Childhood Vaccine Rates Can, and Can’t, Teach Us About Covid Vaccines
Polls show Americans are increasingly interested in getting vaccinated against covid-19, but such surveys are largely national, leaving a big question: When the vaccines become available to the general public, will enough people get it in your county, city or neighborhood to keep your community safe? Data on childhood vaccines, such as the one that […]
In Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana, CVS Vaccine Appointments Go Unfilled
Last week, as covid vaccine appointment slots were snapped up within an hour at CVS stores in 20 states, slots remained open all day at CVS pharmacies in Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana. The dozens of open appointment slots in the three Southern states stood in sharp contrast to the availability in states such as […]
Behind The Byline: Reporting Road Trip
KHN has never been busier ― and health coverage has never been more vital. The Behind The Byline series on YouTube and Instagram TV offers an insider’s view. Journalists and producers from across KHN’s newsrooms take you behind the scenes in these bite-size videos to show the ways they are following the story, connecting with […]
Ouch! Needle-Phobic People Scarred by So Many Images of Covid Shots
Each night it’s the same. Story after story on the TV news is about the covid vaccination effort, and they are all illustrated with footage of needles sinking into exposed upper arms. Could those visuals, ostensibly making this all seem routine, backfire? More than causing squeamish people to look away or change the channel, researchers […]
Without a Pandemic Safety Net, Immigrants Living Illegally in US Fall Through the Cracks
Ana’s 9-year-old son was the first in the family to come down with symptoms that looked like covid-19 last March. Soon after, the 37-year-old unauthorized immigrant and three of her other children, including a daughter with asthma, struggled to breathe. For the next three weeks, the family fought the illness in isolation — Ana clutching […]
Pandemic Aid Package Includes Relief From High Premiums
As President Joe Biden’s pandemic relief package steams through Congress, Democrats have hitched a ride for a top health care priority: strengthening the Affordable Care Act with some of the most significant changes to insurance affordability in more than a decade. The bill would spend $34 billion to help Americans who buy insurance on the […]
Biden’s Criticism of Trump Team’s Vaccine Contracts Is a Stretch
“When I came into office, the prior administration had contracted for not nearly enough vaccine to cover adults in America. We rectified that.” — President Joe Biden, March 2 news conference During a March 2 news conference on the covid-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden claimed that former President Donald Trump’s administration did not ensure there […]
On Vacci-Dating: Singles Seem Enamored of Sharing Vaccination Status Online. Is That Wise?
As cold weather descended upon Washington, D.C., last fall, I deleted my dating apps. I had tried a few video-chat dates when the pandemic was new last spring. They were fun and novel at the time, and felt like a “quarantine experience.” By summer, I went on several physically distant dates in the park. But […]