Public Health
The Advice to Vaccinate and Test Isn’t Much Help to Parents With Kids Under 5
Just before my son’s 9-month checkup, my wife and I debated whether to postpone it. It was a “well baby visit,” but the potential threats to his health felt real. The last time he went to the pediatrician, in November, the air inside the office was stuffy, and the waiting room was crowded with children […]
Universidades no consiguen terapeutas para el creciente número de estudiantes en crisis
Al principio de su primer trimestre en la Universidad de California-Davis, Ryan Manríquez se dio cuenta que necesitaba ayuda. Una suma de presiones —evitar covid-19, superar una ruptura afectiva, lidiar con una discapacidad, tratar de mantenerse al día con un exigente calendario de clases— lo golpeó duro. “Sentí el impacto de inmediato”, dijo Manríquez, de […]
‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 2: Reclaiming Native Food Traditions to Nourish Indigenous People
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SimpleCast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here for a transcript of the episode. Episode 2: Decolonizing the Diet Reagan Wytsalucy was looking for a lost orchard. Martin Reinhardt wanted to know more about and better understand the taste of Indigenous foods before […]
Colleges Struggle to Recruit Therapists for Students in Crisis
Early in his first quarter at the University of California-Davis, Ryan Manriquez realized he needed help. A combination of pressures — avoiding covid-19, enduring a breakup, dealing with a disability, trying to keep up with a tough slate of classes — hit him hard. “I felt the impact right away,” said Manriquez, 21. After learning […]
States Were Sharing Covid Test Kits. Then Omicron Hit.
In a few short months, states have gone from donating surplus rapid covid-19 tests to states with shortages to hoarding them as demand driven by the spike in cases strains supplies. Last January, North Dakota had amassed 2.7 million Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW rapid covid tests from the federal government — roughly 3½ tests for each […]
In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, but So Is the Isolation
Dina Halperin had been cooped up alone for three weeks in her nursing home room after her two unvaccinated roommates were moved out at the onset of the omicron surge. “I’m frustrated,” she said, “and so many of the nursing staff are burned out or just plain tired.” The situation wasn’t terrifying, as it was […]
It’s Day 6 of Covid, and a Rapid Antigen Test Comes Back Positive. Stay Home, Say Virologists.
What does it mean if a person’s rapid antigen test result comes back positive after five days of isolation due to covid-19? According to the experts, that person is most likely still carrying a viral load high enough to infect others. “Anytime you’re positive by one of these rapid at-home covid tests, it means that […]
In Super-Vaxxed Vermont, Covid Strikes — But Packs Far Less Punch
Even Eden, a snow-covered paradise in northern Vermont, is poisoned by omicron. The nearly vertical ascent of new coronavirus cases in recent weeks, before peaking in mid-January, affected nearly every mountain hamlet, every shuttered factory town, every frozen bucolic college campus in this state despite its near-perfect vaccination record. Of all the states, Vermont appeared […]
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Record ACA Enrollment Puts Pressure on Congress
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on PRX. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here for a transcript of this episode. The Biden administration announced that 14.5 million Americans have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act […]
Readers and Tweeters: Give Nurse Practitioners Their Due
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. https://twitter.com/racheljpat/status/1485620441175711745 — Rachel Patterson, Washington, D.C. In Respect to Nurse Practitioners My dispute with this story (“Bill of the Month: The Doctor Didn’t Show Up, but the Hospital ER Still Charged […]