Public Health
How One Indie Artist Used Her Pandemic Lockdown to Create an Album With Global Collaborators
When the pandemic hit, Debórah Bond, like many artists, was caught off guard. “I thought I’d be juggling gigs and touring,” said the independent R&B/soul musician. A full-time artist, Bond, 44, made a living through a patchwork of vocal gigs — performing live at weddings, bars and theaters, recording jingles, teaching vocal lessons and hosting […]
Colleges and Universities Plan for Normal-ish Campus Life in the Fall
Dr. Sarah Van Orman treads carefully around the word “normal” when she describes what the fall 2021 term will look like at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and other colleges nationwide. In the era of covid, the word conjures up images of campus life that university administrators know won’t exist again for […]
For This Hospice Nurse, the Covid Shot Came Too Late
CORONA, Calif. — Antonio Espinoza loved the Los Angeles Dodgers. He loved them so much that he was laid to rest in his favorite Dodgers jersey. His family and friends, including his 3-year-old son, donned a sea of blue-and-white baseball shirts and caps in his honor. Espinoza died at age 36 of covid-19, just days […]
Montana Sticks to Its Patchwork Covid Vaccine Rollout as Eligibility Expands
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana’s covid-19 vaccine distribution is among the most efficient in the nation, but closer examination reveals a patchwork of systems among counties and tribal governments that will be put to the test as the state opens vaccine eligibility to all people 16 and older starting this month. KHN, Montana Free Press and […]
Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout
Last May, Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, laid off 1,200 employees and furloughed others as it braced for the then-novel coronavirus to spread. The cancellation of lucrative elective procedures as the hospital pivoted to treat a new and less profitable infectious disease presaged financial distress, if not ruin. […]
Vermont to Give Minority Residents Vaccine Priority
[UPDATED at 5 p.m. ET] States have tried with limited success to get covid vaccines to people of color, who have been disproportionately killed and hospitalized by the virus. Starting Thursday, Vermont explicitly gave Black adults and people from other minority communities priority status for vaccinations. It follows Montana, which in January announced that Native […]
Journalists Dive Deep Into Roots of Vaccine Distrust in Prisons and Covid’s Toll on Public Health
Reporter Eric Berger discussed vaccine hesitancy among inmates at a Missouri correctional center with Newsy on Thursday. Click here to watch Berger on Newsy Read Berger’s “Inmates’ Distrust of Prison Health Care Fuels Distrust of Covid Vaccines” KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal discussed how the U.S. has focused on international terrorism at the expense of public […]
Battle Brews Over Neutral Zone Where Border-Crossing Parties Rendezvous, Risking Infection
BLAINE, Wash. — In the shadows of covid travel restrictions, a 42-acre park on the far western edge of the U.S.-Canadian dividing line has become a popular opening in an otherwise closed border, a place where Americans and Canadians can gather without needing permission to go through an official border crossing. What is known as […]
Beating the Pavement to Vaccinate the Underrepresented — And Protect Everyone
Leonor Garcia held her clipboard close to her chest and rapped on the car window with her knuckles. The driver was in one of dozens of cars lined up on a quiet stretch of road in Adelanto, California, a small city near the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert. He was waiting for the food […]
Backed by Millions in Public and Private Cash, Rapid Covid Tests Are Coming to Stores Near You
Scientists and lawmakers agree that over-the-counter covid tests could allow desk workers to settle back into their cubicles and make it easier to reopen schools and travel. But even as entrepreneurs race their products to market, armed with millions of dollars in venture capital and government investment, the demand for covid testing has waned. Manufacturing […]