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Readers and Tweeters Shed Light on Vaccine Trials and Bias in Health Care
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Public Health
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Scientists Warn Americans Are Expecting Too Much From a Vaccine
Some argue that vaccines capable of preventing any COVID-19 symptoms should qualify for widespread use, but others want much larger trials to prove the vaccines can reduce hospitalizations or deaths.
By Liz Szabo and JoNel Aleccia -
Picture of Health
As Anxieties Rise, Californians Buy Hundreds of Thousands More Guns
Gun sales are surging in California, where handgun-related FBI background checks this spring and summer were up 83% over 2019. Whether pro or con on gun control, experts agree the trend has been fueled by pandemic-related unrest.
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鈥楴o Mercy鈥 Chapter 5: With Rural Hospital Gone, Cancer Care Means a Daylong Trek
The hunt for good cancer treatment often means miles on the road, time spent waiting and exhaustion from treatment and transit. 鈥淭he further you have to travel to get care, the less likely that you are going to take that effort to do that,鈥 said Boban Mathew, an oncologist in southeastern Kansas.
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Verily鈥檚 COVID Testing Program Halted in San Francisco and Oakland
Health officials in San Francisco and Alameda counties have cut ties with Verily鈥檚 state-funded COVID testing sites amid concerns about data collection and privacy.
By Jenny Gold and Rachana Pradhan -
In Tamer Debate, Trump and Biden Clash (Again) on President’s Pandemic Response
Trump claims the U.S. is "rounding the corner" on COVID, while Biden predicts a "dark winter." On another front, Trump warns Biden's health care plan will lead to socialized medicine; Biden promises private insurance isn't going anywhere.
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Travel on Thanksgiving? Pass the COVID
Staying home in your bubble is the safest advice, but family get-togethers, especially at the holidays, mean an awful lot. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci has gone back and forth on whether to have his daughters fly in for Thanksgiving.
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Workers Fired, Penalized for Reporting COVID Safety Violations
Many workers are resisting what they feel are unsafe, unhealthy conditions as companies restart. A few states have passed laws specifically aimed at protecting workers who face COVID-related safety risks and retaliation for speaking up, but advocates say stronger federal protections are needed.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: A Little Good News and Some Bad on COVID-19
Glimmers of hope are beginning to appear in the fight against the coronavirus, such as a decreasing death rate. But there鈥檚 not-so-good news, too, including a push for 鈥渉erd immunity,鈥 which could result in millions more deaths. Meanwhile, the Trump administration doubles down on work requirements for Medicaid. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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Analysis: Winter Is Coming for Bars. Here鈥檚 How to Save Them. And Us.
To stop the coronavirus, we need to stop super-spreader events.
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Trump Says He Saved 2 Million Lives From COVID. Really?
The number is taken from a hypothetical modeling scenario that doesn鈥檛 offer a realistic comparison.
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‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care
One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?
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Despite Pandemic Threat, Gubernatorial Hopefuls Avoid COVID Nitty-Gritty
As the pandemic continues to cast shadows on everyday life, some candidates for governor are talking about everything except the specifics of how they would manage COVID-19 into the future.
By Katheryn Houghton and Matt Volz -
Can Ordinary COVID Patients Get the Trump Treatment? It鈥檚 OK to Ask
If you or a loved one has COVID-19, here鈥檚 what to consider before seeking experimental treatments.
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鈥楴o Mercy鈥 Chapter 4: So, 2 Nuns Step Off a Train in Kansas 鈥 A Hospital’s Origin Story
Mercy Hospital and the people of Fort Scott, Kansas, have a long, tangled history. To understand what the town lost when the hospital shut its doors, we rewind the story to 1886.
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Health Care Groups Dive Into Property Tax Ballot Fight, Eyeing Public Health Money
Health care leaders say Proposition 15, a ballot initiative that would raise property taxes for large-business owners, could help boost revenue for chronically underfunded public health departments.
By Angela Hart -
Most Home Health Aides 鈥楥an鈥檛 Afford Not to Work鈥 鈥 Even When Lacking PPE
Home health aides flattened the curve by keeping the most vulnerable patients 鈥 seniors, the disabled, the infirm 鈥 out of hospitals. But they鈥檝e done it mostly at poverty wages and without overtime pay, hazard pay, sick leave or health insurance.
By Eli Cahan -
Musicians Improvise Masks for Wind Instruments to Keep the Band Together
Instrumentalists in ensembles, marching bands and other groups are getting creative with pantyhose, air filters, fabric and sewing machines to reduce the risk of COVID without silencing the music.
By Laura Ungar -
No, the WHO Didn鈥檛 Change Its Lockdown Stance or 鈥楢dmit鈥 Trump Was Right
The World Health Organization has been consistent throughout the pandemic in communicating that lockdowns should be employed only when COVID-19 cases are high 鈥 to give governments and health systems time to redouble efforts. Forced closures should not be the primary strategy to combat coronavirus transmission.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Democrats May Lose on SCOTUS, But Hope to Win on ACA
Barring something unexpected, Democrats in the Senate appear to lack the votes to block the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. So, instead they used the high-profile confirmation hearings to hammer on Republicans for again putting the Affordable Care Act in peril. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, about public health challenges in dealing with COVID-19.