health care

Blood collection tubes sit in a rack on the first day of a free COVID-19 antibody testing event at the Volusia County Fairgrounds in DeLand, Fla., on May 4.

Health & Safety

Getting An Antibody Test For The Coronavirus? Here's What It Won't Tell You

3:50pm May 21, 2020

by Rob Stein

As more and more people get tested for antibodies to the coronavirus, infectious disease specialists worry that those tested — and their employers — may not understand the limits of the results.

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Health & Safety

What Happened Today: American Cities Struggle As Tax Revenues Bottom Out

10:22pm May 20, 2020

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Many people have lost their health insurance along with their jobs during the pandemic. NPR's health policy correspondent answers listener questions on how to navigate the health care system now.

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Freeways in Oakland, as in much of California, saw much lighter traffic — and fewer fatal traffic collisions — in the early weeks of the pandemic's stay-at-home rules.

Health & Safety

Organ Transplants Down As Stay-At-Home Rules Reduce Fatal Traffic Collisions

3:49pm May 20, 2020

by April Dembosky

Motor vehicle deaths are typically the biggest source of donor organs nationwide. But as the coronavirus forced most Californians indoors, traffic crashes and other lethal mishaps declined.

Health & Safety

A Doctor And 2 Patients Talk About The Recovery From COVID-19

10:47pm May 19, 2020

COVID-19 survivors share their stories of recovery, and Dr. Charles Vega, a family medicine doctor and clinical professor at the University of California, talks about treating patients.

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Health & Safety

A Doctor And 2 Patients Share Their Perspectives On The Recovery From COVID-19

10:44pm May 19, 2020

COVID-19 survivors share their stories of recovery, and Dr. Charles Vega, a family medicine doctor and clinical professor at the University of California, talks about treating patients.

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Dozens have died of COVID-19 at the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Brighton Township, Pa., pictured on May 12. Pennsylvania's health secretary defended the state's plan to test every resident and staffer at every nursing home.

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Defends 'Universal' Nursing Home Testing Plan

5:27pm May 19, 2020

by James Doubek

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine responded to critics who say there are holes in the state's plan to test all residents and staff at nursing homes: "The plan is an evolution."

A sign instructs those entering the lobby of the Paul Reed Smith Guitars plant to be screened as the facility prepared to reopen last week in Stevensville, Md.

Maryland Reports Largest Rise Yet In Coronavirus Cases 4 Days After Reopening

3:45pm May 19, 2020

by Bill Chappell

Roughly 25% of the 7,152 tests in the most recent 24-hour period resulted in positive coronavirus diagnoses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused routine and life-saving procedures for patients with cancer to be sidelined and delayed. Postponed chemotherapy is sometimes part of the hold-up, with clinics able to handle fewer patients safely each day.

Health & Safety

For Cancer Patients, Anguish Grows Over Deferred Surgery As Risk Rises

3:45pm May 19, 2020

by Yuki Noguchi

With states starting to reopen, bans on "nonessential" surgeries are beginning to lift, too. But there's a huge backlog of cases that have only gotten more urgent and heartbreaking for many patients.

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Health & Safety

How Hospitals Are Laying Off Workers During The Pandemic

3:13pm May 19, 2020

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with reporter Will Stone and emergency room nurse Shawn Reed about hospitals and other health care providers losing money and laying off workers during the pandemic.

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Health & Safety

How Hospitals Are Laying Off Workers During The Pandemic, Continued

3:13pm May 19, 2020

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with reporter Will Stone and emergency room nurse Shawn Reed about hospitals and other health care providers losing money and laying off workers during the pandemic.

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