Med Students ‘Feel Very Behind’ Because of COVID-Induced Disruptions in Training

COVID-19 is disrupting just about every student’s 2020 education, but medical students have it particularly hard right now.“It’s a nightmare scenario for the class of 2021,” said Jake Berg, a fourth-year student at the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pikeville. In March, students were abruptly pulled out of hospitals and medical offices, where they normally work with professionals to learn about treating patients. Over the space of less than two weeks, he said, medical students in “pretty much the entire country” transitioned from seeing patients in person to learning online.“Everyone goes along with the idea that we’re all in the same boat together,” he said. “But, really, it’s like we’re all on the Titanic and it’s sinking.”...

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For Kids With Special Needs, Online Schooling Divides Haves and Have-Nots

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). ALHAMBRA, Calif. — It’s Tuesday morning, and teacher Tamya Daly has her online class playing an alphabet game. The students are writing quickly and intently, with occasional whoops of excitement, on the little whiteboards she dropped off at their homes the day before along with coloring books, markers, Silly Putty and other learning props — all of which she created or paid for with her own money.Two of the seven children in her combined third and fifth grade class weren’t home when Daly came by with the gift bags. One of the two managed to find her own writing tablet, thanks to an older brother, but the other can’t find a piece of paper in her dad’s house. She sits quietly...

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COVID + Influenza: éste es un buen año para vacunarse, aconsejan expertos

SOBRE NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOLNoticias en español es una sección de Kaiser Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos. Use Nuestro Contenido Este contenido puede usarse de manera gratuita (detalles). La temporada de influenza se verá diferente este año, ya que los Estados Unidos se enfrentan a una pandemia de coronavirus que ya ha matado a más de 176.000 personas.Muchos estadounidenses son reacios a ir al médico y los funcionarios de salud pública temen que las personas eviten vacunarse. Aunque a veces se considera incorrectamente como un resfriado, la gripe también mata a decenas de miles de personas...

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Republican Convention, Day 4: Fireworks … and Shining a Light on Trump’s Claims

This story was produced in partnership with PolitiFact. This story can be republished for free (details). President Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president in a 70-minute speech from the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday night.Speaking to a friendly crowd that didn’t appear to be observing social distancing conventions, and with few participants wearing masks, he touched on a range of topics, including many related to the COVID pandemic and health care in general.Throughout, the partisan crowd applauded and chanted “Four more years!” And, even as the nation’s COVID-19 death toll exceeded 180,000, Trump was upbeat. “In recent months, our nation and the entire planet has been struck by a new and powerful...

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Opposition to Obamacare Becomes Political Liability for GOP Incumbents

In the 2014 elections, Republicans rode a wave of anti-Affordable Care Act sentiment to pick up nine Senate seats, the largest gain for either party since 1980. Newly elected Republicans such as Cory Gardner in Colorado and Steve Daines in Montana had hammered their Democratic opponents over the health care law during the campaign and promised to repeal it.Six years later, those senators are up for reelection. Not only is the law still around, but it’s gaining in popularity. What was once a winning strategy has become a political liability.Public sentiment about the ACA, also known as Obamacare, has shifted considerably during the Trump administration after Republicans tried but failed to repeal it. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic...

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How to Weigh Evacuation Options With Both Wildfires and COVID at Your Door

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). As the smoke thickened near her home in Santa Cruz, California, last week, Amanda Smith kept asking herself the same questions: Should we leave? And where would we go?The wildfire evacuation zone, at the time, ended a few blocks from her house. But she worried about what the air quality — which had reached the second-highest warning level, purple for “very unhealthy” — would do to her children’s lungs. Her 4-year-old twins had spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit; one was later diagnosed with asthma, and last year was hospitalized with pneumonia.By Tuesday, said Smith, “we all had headaches, the kids were coughing a little bit, and it was raining ash.” The family...

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COVID + Influenza: This Is a Good Year to Get a Flu Shot, Experts Advise

This story also ran on CNN. This story can be republished for free (details). Flu season will look different this year, as the country grapples with a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 172,000 people. Many Americans are reluctant to visit a doctor’s office and public health officials worry people will shy away from being immunized.Although sometimes incorrectly regarded as just another bad cold, flu also kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. each year, with the very young, the elderly and those with underlying conditions the most vulnerable. When coupled with the effects of COVID-19, public health experts say it’s more important than ever to get a flu shot.If enough of the U.S. population gets vaccinated — more than...

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5 Things to Know About Convalescent Blood Plasma

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). President Donald Trump told the American people this week that convalescent plasma is a potential new treatment for COVID-19. His announcement followed the Food and Drug Administration’s decision Sunday to grant fast-track authorization for its emergency use as a treatment for hospitalized COVID patients.This “emergency use authorization” triggered an outcry from scientists and doctors, who said the decision was not supported by adequate clinical evidence and criticized the FDA for what many perceived as bowing to political pressure.With all the news swirling around convalescent plasma this week, we thought we’d break it down for you.1. Convalescent plasma contains antibodies...

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