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āThaw. Rest 15 minutes. Do not shake. Do not refreeze.āDo not shake. Do not refreeze.ā Modernaās vaccine comes with complicated instructions. And both available vaccines are good for only six hours once the vial is open. So at dayās end, health workers are left to either throw out precious doses or get shots into any arm thatās available.
In most Tennessean counties, residents currently eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine are health care workers, long-term care residents and people 75 and older. But don't expect strict enforcement.
The lack of a federal strategy on how distribution should work at the local level means that states, hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies are making decisions on their own about who gets vaccinated and when.
Doctors say some patients, and even medical staff members, donāt know where to go to be vaccinated against covid-19.
California Gov. Gavin Newsomās 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the stateās vaccination effort. But he didnāt propose more funding for the state's 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.
More than two dozen people who have received the new covid vaccines in U.S. hospitals and health centers suffered anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction. While such severe reactions are rare, experts warn that the drugstores and drive-thru clinics considered integral to the vaccine rollout must be prepared.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
Spouses of governors and federal leaders are getting early access to scarce doses of covid-19 vaccines. Some officials have argued their inoculation sets an example for the public and shows the vaccines to be safe and effective. But critics say those doses should go to more vulnerable people first.
How two effective vaccines on the market make it so much harder to quickly test any competing vaccines.
There are already signs that the distribution of the COVID vaccines will be messy, confusing and chaotic.
At least 2,900 health workers have died since the pandemic began. Many were minorities with the highest levels of patient contact.
Months before federal officials authorized experimental vaccines to ward off the coronavirus in humans, scientists tried a veterinary vaccine in endangered ferrets. Drugmakers are researching similar efforts for other animals proving vulnerable to the virus, such as farmed minks, in part to guard against virus mutations that could pose new risks to people.
The federal government expects vaccinations to be available to everyone who wants them by summer ā though glitches are inevitable. If enough of us get vaccinated, we could wave goodbye to the pandemic in 2021.
After missteps in Washington, each state and county is left to juggle where to send vaccines first and how to get them to each nursing home, hospital local health department and even school.
Howard University Hospital officials are eager to get their 1,900 employees vaccinated, but so far few are showing up.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Hereās a collection of their appearances.
Congress seems on the verge of finishing a long-delayed COVID-19 relief bill, which will reportedly include neither of the things each party wanted most ā for Republicans, liability protections; for Democrats, funding for states and localities. That bill is likely to be tied to a package to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year and, possibly, include a fix for āsurpriseā medical bills that patients receive when they inadvertently receive care outside their insurance network. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHNās Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner talks to Elizabeth Mitchell, president and CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health, about the future of employer-provided health insurance.
Persuading vulnerable low-income and ethnic communities hit hard by the coronavirus to take a new vaccine may be challenging. But established local health leaders, like a group in Rochester, Minnesota, may be one answer.
More than half of long-term care residents have cognitive impairment or dementia, raising questions about whether they will understand the details about the fastest and most extensive vaccination effort in U.S. history.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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