Poll: Nearly Half of American Adults Now Want the Covid Vaccine — ASAP
Americans’ reluctance to get vaccinated for covid-19 is waning, according to a poll released Wednesday. Nearly half of adults surveyed in January said they have either already been vaccinated or want the vaccine as soon as they can, up from about a third of adults polled in December, according to the latest KFF survey. (KHN […]
Remdesivir, Given to Half of Hospitalized Covid Patients in U.S., Is Big Win for Gilead — Boosted by Taxpayers
It was the end of April — just as the U.S. confirmed its millionth covid-19 case and 50,000 deaths — when White House adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci announced “highly significant” news about a drug called remdesivir. That was surprising because the antiviral drug, owned by Gilead Sciences and developed with investment from the federal government, […]
Baby Blues: First-Time Parents Blindsided by ‘the Birthday Rule’ and a $207,455 NICU Bill
In the nine months leading up to her due date, Kayla Kjelshus and her husband, Mikkel, meticulously planned for their daughter’s arrival. Their long to-do list included mapping out their family’s health insurance plan and registering for baby gear and supplies. They even nailed down child care ahead of her birth. “We put a deposit […]
If I Have Cancer, Dementia or MS, Should I Get the Covid Vaccine?
As public demand grows for limited supplies of covid-19 vaccines, questions remain about the vaccines’ appropriateness for older adults with various illnesses. Among them are cancer patients receiving active treatment, dementia patients near the end of their lives and people with autoimmune conditions. Recently, a number of readers have asked me whether older relatives with […]
Why Even Presidential Pressure Might Not Get More Vaccine to Market Faster
Americans are dying of covid-19 by the thousands, but efforts to ramp up production of potentially lifesaving vaccines are hitting a brick wall. Vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are running their factories full tilt and are under enormous pressure to expand production or collaborate with other drug companies to set up additional assembly lines. That […]
Big Business Boosts Vaccine Effort, but It’s ‘Complex Choreography’ to Get Shots in Arms
As states await the promise of a renewed federal pandemic response and expand the number of Americans who qualify for a shot, some governors are trying to scale up their covid vaccine operations — and smooth out the kinks — with the help of the private sector. In Washington state, Starbucks, Microsoft and Costco are […]
Readers and Tweeters Fight Stigma and Salute Front-Line Workers
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. In case you need your blood to boil, read this story about a woman’s surprise medical bill for lab tests she never requested and was never informed would happen. #health #healthcare […]
‘We’re Not Controlling It in Our Schools’: Covid Safety Lapses Abound Across US
Computer science teacher Suzy Lebo saw covid-19 dangers frequently in her Indiana high school: classes with about 30 students sitting less than 18 inches apart. Students crowding teachers in hallways. Students and staff members taking off their masks around others. “I’m concerned,” said Lebo, who teaches at Avon High School in the Indianapolis suburbs. “We’re […]
Vaccine Ramp-Up Squeezes Covid Testing and Tracing
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, under growing pressure to jump-start a faltering covid-19 vaccine rollout, jetted to Los Angeles on Jan. 15 to unveil a massive new vaccination site at Dodger Stadium that is expected eventually to inoculate 12,000 people a day. The city-run venue had been the biggest covid testing site in the U.S., administering […]
Anti-Vaccine Activists Peddle Theories That Covid Shots Are Deadly, Undermining Vaccination
Anti-vaccine groups are exploiting the suffering and death of people who happen to fall ill after receiving a covid shot, threatening to undermine the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history. In some cases, anti-vaccine activists are fabricating stories of deaths that never occurred. “This is exactly what anti-vaccine groups do,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, an […]