Medical Treatments

Health & Safety

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine 89% Effective, Except Against South African Variant

8:10pm January 28, 2021

by Joe Palca

Novavax says its COVID-19 vaccine is 89% effective at preventing illness, according to an interim analysis of a U.K. study. But it was less effective against a variant first found in South Africa.

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The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine requires storage in extremely frigid temperatures before it's thawed out for use. Moderna's vaccine also must be stored in very cold temperatures.

They're A Precious Commodity, So Why Are Some COVID-19 Vaccines Going To Waste?

7:54pm January 28, 2021

Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University says strict guidelines around how to roll out the vaccine have discouraged health care providers from giving spare doses to noneligible groups.

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A Look At The Racial And Ethnic Disparities In The COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

4:32pm January 28, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Samantha Artiga, director of the Kaiser Family Foundation's Racial Equity and Health Policy Program, about racial and ethnic disparities in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

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A member of FDNY EMS gives a thumbs up while receiving Moderna's vaccine against the coronavirus in late December. By mid-January, New York City Medical Reserve Corps volunteers also were mobilized to help with the vaccine effort.

Health & Safety

Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers Deployed To Help With Vaccination

1:31pm January 28, 2021

by Michael Schulson

Cadres of volunteers, mostly medical professionals, are part of a little-known federal emergency program launched in the aftermath of 9/11. Increasingly, states are deploying them against COVID-19.

Mikkel and Kayla Kjelshus' daughter, Charlie, had a complication during delivery that caused her oxygen levels to drop and put her at risk for brain damage. Charlie needed seven days of neonatal intensive care, which resulted in a huge bill — $207,455 f

'Birthday Rule' Blindsides First-Time Parents With A Mammoth Medical Bill

6:15pm January 27, 2021

by Cara Anthony

An insurance regulation known as "the birthday rule" is tripping up couples who are putting their newborn children on the wrong policy and risk losing thousands of dollars.

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A skier ascending in Jackson, Wyo., in February. The Veterans COMPACT Act of 2020 requires the Department of Veteran Affairs to investigate outdoor recreation as a recognized form of therapy.

New VA Program Investigates Outdoor Therapy For Veterans

5:13am January 27, 2021

by Dustin Jones

The Department of Veterans Affairs will create a task force charged with researching the benefits of outdoor recreation in an effort to help reduce veteran suicides.

A health worker holds an N95 respirator in the emergency room at OakBend Medical Center in Richmond, Texas, in July. N95s are tested and approved by a federal agency as having demonstrated that they can filter out a minimum of 95% of airborne particles.

Health & Safety

Why N95 Masks Are Still In Short Supply In The U.S.

5:00am January 27, 2021

by Yuki Noguchi

Early in the pandemic, shortages of N95 respirators and other medical gear prompted panic across the world. A year later, the masks still aren't widely available to U.S. consumers.

The simplest of sentences requires a complex set of the vocal "gymnastics" of the tongue and throat that relies on timing and gives rise to a sort of music that is human speech.

A Writer Lost His Singing Voice, Then Discovered The 'Gymnastics' Of Speech

7:00pm January 26, 2021

by Dave Davies

New Yorker writer John Colapinto developed a vocal polyp when he began "wailing" with a rock group without proper warmup. His new book explores the human voice's physicality, frailty and feats .

Nursing Homes Offer Financial Incentives To Encourage Staff To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

4:22pm January 26, 2021

by Allison Aubrey

Only 30% to 60% of nursing home staff have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a recent survey finds. Some facilities are providing financial incentives to encourage more to get shots.

South Dakota has given out about 75% of the vaccine doses it's received, a high rate among states.

Health & Safety

South Dakota Health Leader On How The State Has Gotten Its Vaccine Out

7:58pm January 25, 2021

by Ailsa Chang

South Dakota has administered roughly 80,000 of the 106,000 doses it has received so far, or 75%. Dr. Shankar Kurra in Rapid City says a centralized system helped for coordination.

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