health care workers

Workers and patients at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site near downtown Seattle in January. "The vast majority who are coming in do appear to be meeting the eligibility criteria," says Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County's public health officer.

Health & Safety

Does Loose Enforcement Of Vaccine Eligibility Rules Encourage Line-Jumping?

6:09pm February 09, 2021

by Eilis O'Neill

Guidance from the CDC on who should be prioritized to get the COVID-19 vaccine was meant to be flexible and inclusive. But "the attempt to have equity created more inequity," says one researcher.

Carlos Reyes, a certified nursing assistant in Massachusetts, says the nursing homes where he works told him he could not get vaccinated because he is a contract worker. He has since tested positive for the coronavirus.

National

Some Health Care Workers Say They Are 'Forgotten' In COVID-19 Vaccination Plans

2:01pm January 05, 2021

by Gabrielle Emanuel

Clinicians in private practice, those who work for staffing agencies and others who are not directly employed by hospitals or long-term care facilities say they have been overlooked in the rollout.

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Political divisions over the pandemic are creating a wedge and splitting off health care workers from small communities that desperately need them.

'Toxic Individualism': Pandemic Politics Driving Health Care Workers From Small Towns

8:04pm December 28, 2020

by Frank Morris

A wave of departing medical professionals in rural areas threatens to leave gaping holes in these health care systems and local economies, triggering a death spiral that may be hard to stop.

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A health care worker prepares COVID-19 vaccine doses at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Wednesday in Portland, Ore. Hospitals across the U.S. began getting their first doses of Pfizer's vaccine this week.

Without Resources, Vaccine Rollout Could 'Fall At The Last Hurdle,' Journalist Warns

2:09pm December 17, 2020

by Terry Gross

Atlantic writer Ed Yong says the COVID-19 vaccination program will be the most complicated the U.S. has ever attempted: "It's going to be a slow process, and there are a lot of possible roadblocks."

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Nurse Melissa Valentin applies the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a health worker at the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday. The vaccine was granted emergency use authorization last week.

Health Workers 'Feeling Good As Hell' As Hospitals Begin COVID Vaccine Injections

7:51pm December 15, 2020

by Vanessa Romo

As the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine made their way across the country on Monday, hospital employees celebrated the long-awaited medicine.

Lisa Taylor got a COVID-19 vaccination in August as part of a vaccine study at Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Fla.

Health & Safety

When Might You Expect Your 1st COVID-19 Shot?

6:54pm December 10, 2020

by Pien Huang

In the U.S., front-line health care workers are likely first in line to get immunized with a COVID-19 vaccine, once the FDA says yes. But what about the rest of us? Here's what we know so far.

A nurse cares for a coronavirus patient in the intensive care unit at El Centro Regional Medical Center in California's hard-hit Imperial County on July 28.

Quarantined Health Workers Compound Staffing Shortages At California Hospitals

6:13am December 03, 2020

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

With a spike in COVID-19 infections, hospitals in California's San Joaquin Valley are suffering from a staffing shortage. It's made worse because hundreds of health care workers are quarantined.

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On average, each U.S. nursing home is connected to seven others through shared staff, a study by Yale and UCLA researchers suggests. Rigorous infection control measures can curb the spread of the coronavirus, but many workers say they still don't have suf

They Work In Several Nursing Homes To Eke Out A Living, And That May Spread The Virus

6:30pm October 26, 2020

by Jackie Fortiér

Most nursing homes are connected by shared staff to seven others. Instead of limiting workers to one facility to curb COVID-19 spread, advocates urge better pay and more PPE for nursing home staff.

A health care worker prepares to screen people for the coronavirus at a testing site in Landover, Md., in March.

Health Care Workers Ask Therapist: 'Why Aren't More People Taking This Seriously?'

6:51pm October 20, 2020

The pandemic continues to exact a heavy emotional toll on health care workers, says Kimberly Johnson, who provides them with free therapy. "I wish people knew ... what I saw," clients tell her.

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Siblings Jasmine and Josh Obra both tested positive for the coronavirus on the same day. Only one of them survived.

Health & Safety

Lives Cut Short: Remembering Health Care Workers In Their 20s Killed By COVID-19

12:31pm August 13, 2020

by Alastair Gee

While most people who die from COVID-19 are over 65, health care workers who die are often younger. Here are stories of some who died in their 20s, leaving shattered dreams and devastated families.