health care

San Francisco librarian Lisa Fagundes was redeployed during the pandemic to work as a contact tracer.

Health & Safety

As California Trains 20,000 Contact Tracers, Librarians and Tax Assessors Step Up

7:00am June 14, 2020

by April Dembosky

California is paying to train a huge contingent of contact tracers by July. Many of the new recruits are librarians: they're curious, tech savvy, and great at talking to strangers.

Roger Severino, who directs the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, has long argued that "sex discrimination" protections in the Affordable Care Act aren't meant to encompass protections for transgender people.

Transgender Health Protections Reversed By Trump Administration

8:35pm June 12, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Trump has reversed Obama-era protections that prohibit discrimination in health care based on gender identity. Critics warn the rule could harm a vulnerable group — LGBTQ people — during a pandemic.

Texas Cities Experience Disparities In Access To The Coronavirus Testing

7:48pm June 12, 2020

by Bret Jaspers (KERA)

Dallas is one of the major Texas cities facing disparities in access to COVID-19 testing, resulting in less testing in black neighborhoods. A visit to the city's north and south reveals the divide.

New Government Rule Removes Non-Discrimination Protections For LGBTQ In Health Care

6:01pm June 12, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

The Trump administration has finalized a rule on Friday that would remove non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance.

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Health & Safety

Intensive Care Nurse Shares Her Experience Of Working With Newborns During Pandemic

4:09pm June 12, 2020

Claire Panke, a neonatal intensive care nurse, talks about the changes COVID-19 has brought to her unit. For example, parents must visit babies one at a time and wear masks.

The lungs of a young woman in her 20s became so damaged by COVID-19 that she could not survive without her blood being oxygenated outside her body on an ECMO machine. She received a double-lung transplant on June 5. In this photo taken before the transpla

Health & Safety

1st-Known U.S. Lung Transplant For COVID-19 Patient Performed In Chicago

10:25am June 12, 2020

by Christine Herman

A young woman in her 20s was healthy before the coronavirus struck her. After two months on a ventilator and ECMO device, her transplanted lungs are now working.

A volunteer received a shot of the experimental Moderna vaccine against COVID-19 in March as part of a safety study.

Health & Safety

Questions About How Crash Program Is Picking Coronavirus Vaccines To Back

7:13am June 12, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

As Operation Warp Speed pushes to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in record time, the number of candidates is being narrowed. The factors guiding the decisions about which projects to fund is unclear.

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Kelly Womochil, an aide at Enterprise Estates Nursing Center in Enterprise, Kan., tries on a poncho that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending to nursing homes to protect against the coronavirus.

Health & Safety

Nursing Homes Run Short Of COVID-19 Protective Gear As Federal Response Falters

7:39pm June 11, 2020

by Jordan Rau

At least 711 nursing homes reported running out of N95 masks at the end of May, and 1,963 said they had less than a week's worth. "The federal government has got to step up," says one advocate.

Health & Safety

Public Health Officials Encounter Harassment And Threats For Using Contact Tracing

4:04pm June 11, 2020

by Will Stone

Public health officials have been harassed and threatened for using contact tracing and other strategies to contain the spread of the coronavirus. They say the threats are based on misinformed fears.

Visitors to the River Walk pass a restaurant that has reopened in San Antonio, Texas, on May 27. Texas continues to reopen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Nears 2 Million Coronavirus Cases As Many States See A Surge Of Patients

11:43pm June 10, 2020

New cases are rising in at least 20 states, even as restrictions on daily life continue to ease. The U.S. total represents more than 25% of the confirmed cases worldwide.

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