In California, confusion and botched communication has caused some eligible parents and family caregivers of people with disabilities to be turned away at covid vaccination sites. Oscar Madrigal is one of those caregivers. His two sons are on the autism spectrum and his youngest requires almost constant care. As the vaccination effort began, Madrigal hoped […]

A slumber party to celebrate Delaney DePue’s 15th birthday last summer marked a new chapter — one defined by illness and uncertainty. The teen from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, tested positive for covid-19 about a week later, said her mother, Sara, leaving her bedridden with flu-like symptoms. However, her expected recovery never came. Delaney — […]

As the Biden administration accelerates a plan to use pharmacies to distribute covid-19 vaccines, significant areas of the country lack brick-and-mortar pharmacies capable of administering the protective shots. A recent analysis by the Rural Policy Research Institute found that 111 rural counties, mostly between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, have no pharmacy that […]

The plaudits have faded for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Once hailed as a paragon of pandemic governing, he’s since come under scorching criticism for undercounting the state’s covid deaths among nursing home residents by as much as half. The tallying flap drew attention to another misstep: a policy last March that directed nursing homes […]

Many parents are filled with angst as they prepare for their children to exit a year of pandemic isolation: Will it be OK to send them to school, per the recent recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? Will school feel like school if students are masked and can’t trade snacks? Will children’s […]

Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. How to Explain Vaccines to People Who Resist Them Here is an attempt to write something that might convince people who resist getting vaccinations (“Vaccine Hesitancy vs. Vaccine Refusal: Nursing Home […]

[UPDATED at 2 p.m. ET] When Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway introduced a bill in the Montana House two years ago that would have prohibited abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the Republican legislator knew it was unlikely to survive the veto pen of the Democratic governor. Sure enough, then-Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed that bill and two […]

With covid vaccines expected to remain scarce into early spring, Connecticut has scrapped its complicated plans to prioritize immunizations for people under 65 with certain chronic conditions and front-line workers. Instead, the state will primarily base eligibility on age. Gov. Ned Lamont pointed to statistics showing the risk of death and hospitalization from covid-19 rises […]

The confirmation hearing of Adam Meier, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s pick for director of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. (Montana Legislative Services) The nominee to be Montana’s next health director faced an unwieldy disease outbreak and pushed Medicaid work requirements — two issues looming in Montana — when he held a […]