Hospitals run low on nurses as they get swamped with COVID
The rapidly escalating surge in COVID-19 infections across the U.S. has caused a shortage of nurses and other front-line staff in virus hot spots that can no longer keep up with the flood of unvaccinated patients and are losing workers to burnout and lucrative out-of-state temporary gigs.
EXPLAINER: Will we need vaccine passports to do fun things?
Ready to go out on the town before summer ends? In parts of the U.S., you might have to carry your COVID-19 vaccine card or a digital copy to get into restaurants, bars, nightclubs and outdoor music festivals.
Massive changes are afoot in Medicare, and the media keeps missing the story
In late July, sponsored content appeared sandwiched between paragraphs of legitimate journalism in Politico Pulse, the outlet’s daily health care newsletter. Humana, the country’s second-largest seller of Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, told readers that “with Medicare Advantage, seniors save an average of $1,640 in annual out-of-pocket spending compared to fee-for-service Medicare.” Humana added that it was “committed to affordable quality care,” echoing that shopworn slogan from the marketing pitch used to sell Obamacare in 2009.
Nursing home to workers: Get vaccine or lose your job
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. nursing home industry’s resistance to forcing workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 for fear that too many of them might quit began to crack this week when its biggest player announced its employees must get the shot to keep their jobs.
Schools find ways to keep gardening lessons blooming
Like gardening in general, school gardening has become hugely popular during the pandemic, with families and teachers saying its hands-on lessons can be applied to many subjects.
