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Counting deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic is easier said than done. Without widespread testing, officials must sort through presumed COVID deaths and those who died with infections rather than from them. Then there are the indirect deaths of people who died from circumstances created by the pandemic.
Public health officials are confronting growing pressure ā and threats ā across the country as the backlash to the coronavirus response continues. At least 27 state and local health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 13 states.
Off-duty medical professionals joined protests in Denver and elsewhere sparked by George Floydās death to treat injured protesters, risking injury themselves.
Some of Montanaās Native American nations are holding firm on coronavirus protections even as the rest of Montana reopens. Theyāve got more at stake, they say, in protecting their elders who preserve their endangered culture.
Some communities considered community antibody testing as a way out of lockdown. But they've pulled back as they realized antibody testing is the Wild West in an oversight vacuum.
A dad in Denver tried to do everything right when COVID symptoms surfaced. Still, he ended up with a huge bill from an insurer that had said it waived cost sharing for coronavirus treatment. What gives?
As an electron microscopist at the National Institutes of Healthās Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, Elizabeth Fischer has captured stunning images of emerging pathogens such as Ebola, the MERS coronavirus and now SARS-CoV-2.
A rural Montana county of 5,000 people lays claim to the state's highest COVID-19 infection rate. The community risks additional spread, though, because of a private prison situated there. If the virus infiltrates the prison and just a fraction of inmates get sick, the areaās limited health resources may not endure.
The Indian Health Service hospital at Montana's Fort Belknap reservation has put out a call for applicants for two traditional practitioner positions, part of a new recognition of Native American ethnobotany expertise that was pushed underground for decades. The openings are already making waves in the state.
As Colorado gradually reopens, a beauty salon in Loveland is swamped as its clients clamor for haircuts, trims and color. But business isnāt exactly back to normal as new precautions slow every step.
In one conservative pocket of Montana, a local health board member who opposes vaccinations helped fight the stateās stay-at-home rules. But now, as the state slowly reopens, she faces a backlash of her own.
With hospitals struggling to get more ventilators, they must ensure every ventilator they have is ready for service. But manufacturers limit who can repair them.
A couple decided to donate a new test from their company to enable coronavirus testing for everyone in their ski resort community. It was an experiment that promised to show what widespread testing could do to fight the spread of COVID-19. But even the best-intended plans run into problems during this pandemic.
Most of the attention in the COVID-19 pandemic has been on how the virus affects the lungs. But evidence shows that up to 1 in 5 hospitalized patients have signs of heart damage and many are dying due to heart problems.
U.S. pandemic planning envisioned the possibility of using CPAP machines for milder cases of COVID-19 when ventilators are in short supply. But evidence suggests that the machines, commonly used by people with sleep apnea, can aerosolize and possibly spread the virus. That leaves hospitals with few good alternatives if the demand for ventilators exceeds the supply.
As a national movement for better access to menstrual products gains steam, āperiod equityā activists in Colorado are finding the path to change isnāt straight. Although Denver last summer repealed sales taxes on menstrual products and the state now requires supplies to be provided in prisons, an effort to repeal the statewide sales tax on the products failed. So, activists assemble supply kits to donate to those who need them.
The suicide rate for children ages 10 to 14 almost tripled in a decade and is still rising. As parents grapple with loss, some turn to activism.
A Colorado lawmaker giving birth near the start of the stateās four-month legislative session highlighted the lack of comprehensive paid family leave. Yet a bill to add a statewide system that once seemed a sure thing is getting bogged down.
If a coronavirus pandemic were to hit the U.S., only 36 states have blueprints for ācrisis standards of careā to sort out who gets what kind of medical care amid scarce resources. And not all the plans are of high quality. That means health care providers in some states will be better prepared for a crisis than others ā but all could face tough decisions.
Since gaining control of the House, Senate and governorās office, Colorado Democrats are pushing an aggressive health care agenda. With measures to create a public insurance option, welcome drug importation, lower drug prices, curtail surprise billing and cap insulin copays, the state is becoming a likely model for health policies at the federal level.
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