KHN

The federal government has extended the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to preteens and young adolescents, adding nearly 17 million more Americans to the pool of those eligible to be immunized against covid-19.

KHN’s Julie Rovner joins The Atlantic’s “Social Distance” podcast, hosted by Dr. James Hamblin and Maeve Higgins, to talk about President Joe Biden’s support for an initiative to waive patent protection for covid vaccines and the politics of drug policy in the United States.

Patients often fork over payments comparable to valet rates to park while receiving care. A recent study found that some of the country’s most prestigious cancer centers charge nearly $1,700 over the course of treatment for some types of the disease.

A bill in the California legislature would require state-regulated health plans to cover policyholders’ dependent parents. Advocates say the measure would reduce the number of uninsured people, while business groups warn of premium increases.

A new survey shows that unvaccinated Hispanics are almost twice as likely as unvaccinated Blacks or whites to want a covid vaccination. But many still face a variety of access problems, ranging from fear to time squeeze.

Check out KHN’s video series — Behind The Byline: How the Story Got Made. Come along as journalists and producers offer an insider’s view of health care coverage that does not quit.

An exclusive Montana ski resort frequented by the likes of Bill Gates and Justin Timberlake says it can safely turn wastewater into snow to the benefit of skiers and the local watershed.

Struggling to keep up with a covid-19 surge in Michigan, overwhelmed health departments relied on an unlikely new crew of contact tracers: school principals.

There is no public national data source that tracks vaccination rates based on a combination of race or ethnicity as well as age. Most state-level data shows that disparities exist in vaccine rates between white people and people of color.

Lack of access and infrastructure, stigma and isolation intensify a mental health crisis in agricultural communities.

The covid pandemic drove major changes to Montana health policies, including the permanent expansion of telehealth regulations, a pullback on local public health officials’ authority and the easing of vaccination requirements for workers and students.

When they were 6, Hallel told their parents they are a boy-girl. At 9, they are helping their parents, grandparents and friends understand what it means to be nonbinary.

In 2015, Houston police officers stepped into Alan Pean’s hospital room, closed the door and shot him through the chest. Nearly six years later, his survival has brought the Pean family a wrenching legacy and conflicted sense of purpose.

The pandemic has been stressful for millions of children. Schools are trying to meet children’s emotional needs in big and small ways as in-person classes resume.

In one northwestern Montana county where demand for covid vaccines is dropping well before widespread immunity is reached, people are split on whether the virus is a threat.

Some immigrant groups are closing the ethnic gap on COVID-19 shots. For many Kurdish Americans, their fears about vaccination are entangled with their experiences in refugee camps after fleeing Iraq.

All agree that covid vaccines are urgently needed to stop the pandemic, but simply waiving patents fails to provide technological know-how and address supply chain challenges.