KHN

Many undocumented immigrants are essential workers at high risk of exposure to the virus — and the pandemic’s economic crash — with no direct access to federal financial lifelines available to U.S. citizens.

Experts say the two-year expansion of subsidies for most people who buy insurance through the government exchanges would be among the most significant changes to the affordability of private insurance since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Dozens of open appointment slots in the three Southern states last week stood in sharp contrast to states such as Delaware, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, where spots generally were claimed by midmorning or earlier.

Grappling with stagnant pay and a lack of personal protective equipment, firefighters are even more frustrated to find they are lower down the vaccine priority list than health care workers despite serving on the front lines of the medical system.

Experts give poor usability ratings to My Turn, the new statewide sign-up app for covid vaccination. But with so many problems plaguing the vaccination effort, it seems unreasonable to have expected this one to work perfectly.

When considering whether to meet up with someone who is vaccinated versus unvaccinated, vaccinated sounds somewhat safer. But before you give pandemic dating a shot, heed these warnings from experts.

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. had agreed to buy at least 1 billion doses of covid vaccine, enough to vaccinate 550 million people. Those agreements, though, applied to vaccines that were authorized as well as those still in development. And the Biden team had the advantage of 20/20, experts say.

Relatives and advocates are calling for federal authorities to relax restrictions in long-term care institutions and grant special status to “essential caregivers” — family members or friends who provide critically important hands-on care — so they have the opportunity to tend to relatives in need.

Older patients in several states where the California-based managed care giant operates complain they’ve had difficulty scheduling appointments and spotty communication from the health system. Some report it’s getting better, though.

Researchers are testing treatments to overcome autoimmune reactions that begin when the body’s defenses respond to the coronavirus.

California officials have been leery of reopening schools without tight protocols, a position favored by teachers unions that has met growing flak from local officials and parents. In Roseville, a suburb of Sacramento, the struggle has come to a head.

Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Legislatures in conservative-leaning states across the country are pushing bills that would restrict abortion and, with a conservative Supreme Court in place, could erode abortion protections under Roe v. Wade.

Churches are the keystone of a major campaign to bring good information about covid vaccines to Black communities. But pastors are finding that scarce supplies and a clumsy rollout are complicating efforts to urge vaccination.

Montana’s pick for health director has garnered both praise and criticism for his past in Kentucky, where he sought to add work requirements to the state’s Medicaid program and was a top health official amid a hepatitis A outbreak.