Kaiser Health News

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Demand for COVID Vaccines Expected to Get Heated — And Fast

Dec 7, 2020

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Oregon Health & Science University staff collect samples of 600 people a day at two mobile testing sites in the Portland area. | OHSU

How COVID-19 Highlights the Uncertainty of Medical Testing

The emerging information about COVID-19 and a political environment that has sown misinformation and rendered science partisan have added to the difficulting of testing for the disease.

Dec 2, 2020

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SHUTTERSTOCK

As Hospitals Fill With COVID Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard to Find

Hospitals are worried staffing levels won’t be able to keep up with demand as doctors, nurses and specialists such as respiratory therapists become exhausted or, worse, infected and sick themselves.

Dec 2, 2020

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Need a COVID-19 Nurse? That’ll Be $8,000 a Week

As cases surge, the demand for hospital beds increases and the supply of qualified nurses shrinks which means that traveling nurses employed by agencies are now about to command top dollar.

Nov 30, 2020

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Anthony Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases./National Institutes of Health

Take It From an Expert: Fauci’s Hierarchy of Safety During COVID

The nation's top infectious disease expert says he's reluctant to support a national mask mandate because that would mean that authorities would have to enforce it and that would be difficult to do.

Nov 19, 2020

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SHUTTERSTOCK

What Doctors Aren’t Always Taught: How to Spot Racism in Health Care

Drawing a multiracial student body isn't enough: Medical schools need to change their curriculums to improve treatment of minorities and build an inclusive environment.

Nov 17, 2020

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CREATIVE COMMONS

Nursing Homes Still Find Dangerously Long Waits For COVID-19 Tests

Many nursing homes are not using the on-site antigen tests the Trump administration has distributed even though they report test results in minutes because they are considered to be less reliable than tests sent to a lab.

Nov 13, 2020

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NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

Time to Discuss Potentially Unpleasant Side Effects of COVID Shots? Scientists Say Yes.

Pfizer is expected to seek the release of its vaccine by the end of the month. Like most others, it will require two doses and injections must be given weeks apart, company protocols show.

Nov 12, 2020

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Photo by Dimitri Houtteman on Unsplash

Five Important Questions About Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine

Though the vaccine appears to offer a high level of protection, it's not clear how long immunity would last and whether the vaccine might cause any health problems. No serious side effects have been noted but it's early days yet.

Nov 11, 2020

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KHN ILLUSTRATION

Search for a Snakebite Drug Might Lead to a COVID Treatment, Too

An oral drug that fits in a pocket and is stable, easy to use and affordable could treat acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with COVID-19.

Nov 10, 2020