Public Health

In North Carolina, the nation’s leading tobacco producer, any adult who has smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime can now be vaccinated against covid. In Florida, people under 50 with underlying health conditions can get vaccinated only if they have written permission from their doctor. In Mississippi, more than 30,000 covid vaccine appointments […]

As you surely know, this country’s covid vaccination effort has been plagued by major birth pangs: registration snafus, poor communication, faulty data and a scant supply of vaccine — all exacerbated by inequitable allocation, alleged political favoritism and unseemly jockeying for shots. Still, as of Friday, over 118 million shots had gone into arms, and […]

SACRAMENTO — Gavin Newsom was just making a name for himself as mayor of San Francisco in 2005 when Blue Shield of California wrote him its first major check. The young, business-friendly Democrat had exploded onto the national scene the year before by issuing same-sex marriage licenses in San Francisco, and he was pushing his […]

A Senate committee grilled federal officials about the shortage of vaccines to protect Americans against a pandemic virus. Two months later, the U.S. public had lost interest in the virus, and millions of vaccines were sitting in warehouses — although poor countries still needed them. This happened during the 2009-10 swine flu pandemic. One official […]

Acknowledging that chronic underfunding of public health contributed significantly to the nation’s fragmented response to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats included more than $100 billion in the recently enacted relief package to address urgent needs and enhance future efforts. “The pandemic has given us possibly the best chance we’ve ever had of getting on the right […]

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Cristina Davila wasn’t used to being happy about waiting in line. As a server at the Navy Proof Restaurant and Bar, the specter of covid has weighed heavily on her mind for the past several months. Davila has been especially worried about the possibility of bringing the virus home to her […]

Nearly all women who deliver babies through cesarean section at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City receive injections of the blood thinner heparin for weeks after the procedure, to prevent potentially life-threatening blood clots. Obstetric leaders there say that’s good medical practice because the formation of those clots, called venous thromboembolism or […]

LONG BEACH — On a recent Thursday afternoon, Rhianna Alvarado struggled to don her protective gloves, which were too big for her petite hands.  With her mom coaching her every move, she edged close to her father and gently removed the plastic tube from his throat that allows him to breathe. She then cautiously inserted a new […]

LONG BEACH — Era un jueves por la tarde y Rhianna Alvarado se ponía con dificultad los guantes protectores, que eran demasiado grandes para sus pequeñas manos. Con su madre guiándola en cada movimiento, se acercó a su padre y suavemente le quitó el tubo de plástico de la garganta que le permite respirar. Luego […]