health care

In Idaho, a record number of people are hospitalized with COVID-19, raising the possibility of rationing medical care. Many states are grappling with the fallout of the delta variant's surge in cases.

Health & Safety

A COVID Surge Is Overwhelming U.S. Hospitals, Raising Fears Of Rationed Care

7:00am September 05, 2021

by Will Stone

The delta variant is pummeling America's hospitals, taxing an already-depleted health care workforce. Once again, some states are facing the prospect of rationing medical care.

Health experts and medical groups are pushing to stamp out the growing use of ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug, to treat COVID-19, amid warnings that it can cause harmful side effects and that there's little evidence it helps.

Poison Control Centers Are Fielding A Surge Of Ivermectin Overdose Calls

11:47am September 04, 2021

by Vanessa Romo

The nation's poison control centers saw a 245% jump in reported exposure cases from July to August as more people take the anti-parasite drug that some falsely claim treats COVID-19.

Nurses work at a COVID-19 testing day for students and school faculty at Brandeis Elementary School on in Louisville, Ky.

Caught Between Parents And Politicians, Nurses Fear Another School Year With COVID-19

6:10pm September 03, 2021

As kids head back to class, school nurses are stretched thin as they manage increased workloads and delta-variant surges. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with three school nurses about this year's concerns.

Allie Henderson with her sister Claire (left) and her mom, LeAnn, outside their home recently in Terry, Miss. "I want people to get vaccinated — because I know what it feels like," Allie says of her near-fatal encounter with COVID-19 this year.

Health & Safety

This Teen's Community Rallied As She Fought COVID. But Many Still Shun The Vaccine

5:41pm September 03, 2021

by Sarah Varney

Allie Henderson's friends, extended family, church and the community prayed for the popular young athlete and then celebrated her recovery. So why won't they follow her plea and get vaccinated?

Leaders at two dating-app giants in Texas — Match Group and Bumble — have moved to set up funds to aid people affected by the state's new abortion ban. Here, abortion-rights supporters march near the Texas Capitol in Austin this year.

Bumble And Match Leaders Set Up Funds For People Affected By The Texas Abortion Ban

3:19pm September 03, 2021

by Bill Chappell

"I am shocked that I now live in a state where women's reproductive laws are more regressive than most of the world, including India," says Shar Dubey, CEO of the Dallas-based Match Group.

Inmates do a deep cleaning in a cell pod to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at the San Diego County Jail in April 2020. A new study says crowded jails may have contributed to millions of COVID-19 cases across the United States.

Crowded U.S. Jails Drove Millions Of COVID-19 Cases, A New Study Says

1:55pm September 02, 2021

by Bill Chappell

The U.S. jail population has a 55% weekly turnover rate, raising the risk of infections passing between communities, according to the study.

Health care providers who administer a COVID-19 vaccine "off-label" face legal liability, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.

CDC Warns Against Off-Label Use Of COVID Vaccine

5:00am September 02, 2021

Using the COVID vaccine "off-label" — whether that's for booster shots or young children — may be tempting to some vaccine providers, but the CDC warns it could get them into trouble.

A third shot of the Moderna vaccine boosts protection across age groups, notably in older adults, the company says.

Moderna Has Asked The FDA To Authorize A Booster Of Its COVID-19 Vaccine

9:43pm September 01, 2021

by Jane Greenhalgh

Moderna submitted data from 344 volunteers who got a third shot of the vaccine six months after their first two doses. The additional shot significantly boosted immunity, the company said.

A 21-year-old Romanian woman says she had no one to turn to for help when she got pregnant in 2019.

Activists Say Romania Has Been Quietly Phasing Out Abortion

8:48am September 01, 2021

by Lucía Benavides

Doctors are using conscientious objection to turn down patients. Religious anti-abortion clinics are springing up. Advocates say abortion rights are under threat again in Romania.

Attorney Marc Scanlon meets with client Kimberly Ledezma at Salud Family Health Centers' clinic in Commerce City, Colo. Every day in this Denver suburb, four lawyers join the clinic's physicians, psychiatrists and social workers to consult on cases, as pa

Health & Safety

Sometimes Lawyers Can Improve A Patient's Health When Doctors Can't

7:05pm August 31, 2021

by Jakob Rodgers

Putting lawyers in medical clinics — sometimes funded by Medicaid — is based on the idea that fixing some legal woes can be vital to good medical care. Emerging evidence suggests that works.