Kaiser Health News

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN./GAGE SKIDMORE/WIKI COMMONS

Biden Releases New Plan To Combat COVID, Experts Say There’s A Ways To Go

Critics say the plan should have been released months ago and does not go far enough to help areas lagging behind in vaccination rates.

Sep 16, 2021

PEOPLE CELEBRATE ON AUG. 12, AFTER THE SALT LAKE COUNTY COUNCIL VOTED TO OVERTURN A SCHOOL MASK ORDER./AP PHOTO/RICK BOWMER

Over Half Of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic

A KHN investigation has found at least 26 states pushed through laws that permanently weaken government authority to protect public health.

Sep 16, 2021

COVID-19 TESTS./HANNAH NORMAN/KAISER HEALTH NEWS

Why At-Home Rapid COVID Tests Cost So Much, Even After Biden’s Push for Lower Prices

Shortages, little competition and sticky high prices mean routine rapid testing remains out of reach for most Americans, even if prices drop 35%.

Sep 14, 2021

A RECALL GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM SIGN IN BURBANK, CALIFORNIA./CORY DOCTOROW/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

It’s Not Just COVID: Recall Candidates Represent Different Health Care Choices

Sep 14, 2021

IMAGE BY SSPIEHS3/PIXABAY

‘Religious’ Exemptions Add Legal Thorns To Looming Vaccine Mandates

With vaccine mandates in the offing, opponents turn to the claim that vaccination interferes with religious beliefs.

Sep 9, 2021

SHUTTERSTOCK

Lack of a Vaccine Mandate Becomes Competitive Advantage In Hospital Staffing Wars

Rural hospitals in areas of the U.S. where vaccination rates are already low are avoiding vaccine mandates for staff in order to attract workers.

Sep 2, 2021

LEXIE HEARING

Apple, Bose, Others Pump Up Volume On Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA

Consumers’ options have expanded with more hearing devices entering the market and alternative ways to get them and at lower prices.

Aug 26, 2021

Latinos were among the patients at an OHSU vaccination clinic in Hillsboro in May. | JOSH ANDERSEN/OHSU

The White House Says Boosters for All. Here’s What You Need to Know.

The rollout would begin the week of Sept. 20 for U.S. residents 18 and older who received their second shot of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at least eight months previously.

Aug 18, 2021

SHUTTERSTOCK

Science Shows Mask-Wearing Is Largely Safe For Children

Two studies on children used N95 masks, which are more sophisticated than the masks most schoolchildren will use, but even these found no significant effect on breathing.

Aug 18, 2021