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MSNBC.com •

Opinion | It’s time to stop comparing Dianne Feinstein to John Fetterman - By Eric Garcia

Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., returned to the Senate this month after an extended period of time away as she reportedly recovered from shingles. But the American public is more concerned about whether the 89-year-old, who’s the oldest member of the Senate, has lost the cognitive ability she needs to do to represent her state. Jim Newell of Slate reported that when another reporter asked Feinstein about her long absence, she responded, “No, I haven’t been gone. You should follow the — I haven’t
GBH •

Immunocompromised patients feel unsafe as Boston hospitals drop universal masking - by Sarah Betancourt

Samantha Webster wears a mask in indoor spaces, even when she's the only one.

The 29-year-old graduate student with rheumatoid arthritis says she felt safe from COVID-19 when she went to the hospital for care, knowing she could count on medical personnel to take the same precautions. But last week, the federal government ended the public health emergency — and with it the requirement for hospital personnel and other patients to wear masks. Now Webster is scared of getting sick from a place mean
Prevention •

What Invisible Disabilities Are - and Why They Matter by Lizz Schumer

As I write this, bolts of electric pain shimmer down my right leg and up toward my shoulder as my joints throb in time with my heart. Every time I stand, my vision kaleidoscopes to black and back again. And today is a good day. To look at me, I’m just another 35-year-old white woman, about as put together as the next person. But I’m one of millions of Americans living with an invisible disability, about 10 percent of the population, according to one estimate. And there are likely far more of us
STLtoday.com •

Parents of patients at St. Louis transgender center fear privacy breaches, file complaints - by Colleen Schrappen

Parents interviewed by the Post-Dispatch have expressed shock at allegations of negligence and malpractice made by a former case manager, Jamie Reed, against Washington University’s Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. But they also say they are fearful. They don’t know who has access to their children’s information — or what will be done with it.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, regulates how a patient’s health information can be stored,
HuffPost •

New York Mayor Asks Shops To Require Customers To Remove Masks Upon Entry – By Shruti Rajkumar

“We are putting out a clear call to all of our shops: Do not allow people to enter the store without taking off their face mask. And then once they’re inside, they can continue to wear it if they so desire to do so,” Adams said on Monday during an interview on the radio station 1010 WINS.

The plan was introduced as a way to address a surge in shoplifting at New York City bodegas, grocery stores and some high-end stores. Adams said that people often wear masks not because they’re fearful of the
NPR •

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is telling stores to have customers remove their face masks – By Bill Chappell

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is telling stores to have customers remove their face masks

Worries about the safety of New York City's deli clerks and bodega workers have Mayor Eric Adams making an unusual request: Members of the public should lower their face masks to reassure store workers they're not criminals, Adams and other city leaders said on Monday.

"We are putting out a clear call to all of our shops, do not allow people to enter the store without taking off their face mask," Adams said in an
Truthout •

Republicans Pressured Walgreens Into Not Selling Abortion Pills in States Where They’re Legal - By Sharon Zhang

The move is the latest example of the vast chilling effect of abortion bans, even in states where abortion is legal.

Walgreens has said that it will not dispense abortion pills in states where the medications are legal after Republican state officials threatened to take legal action against the company if it began distributing the drugs.

In a letter riddled with disinformation about abortions, sent by Republican attorneys general in 20 states to Walgreens last month, the Republicans said they
Time •

Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19 - By Jamie Ducharme

hen it comes to avoiding COVID-19 in the U.S., it’s increasingly everyone for themselves. The Biden Administration announced it will end pandemic emergency declarations in May 2023, which will affect the availability of free tests, treatments, and vaccines.

But even now, nobody has fewer tools to protect themselves than immunocompromised people.

On Jan. 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked emergency-use authorization for Evusheld, a therapy first authorized in December 2021.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC •

What does the end of the pandemic public health emergency mean for you - By Jason Laughlin

Charlotte Schwartz, left, is checked in by Marc Ost, right, co-owner of Eric's RX Shoppe, to receive her 4th covid vaccine, at Eric's RX Shoppe Vaccine Clinic, in Horsham, PA, Wednesday, February 2, 2022. Read more

President Joe Biden on Monday announced the public and national health emergencies for COVID-19 will end May 11, nearly three years after the pandemic began.

The public health emergency dates back to January 2020 and has been renewed by the Department of Health and Human Services a
The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC •

Disabled Philadelphians fear Musk’s Twitter purchase will cost them a unique digital haven - By Jason Laughlin

Heather Kerstetter outside of her building in North Philadelphia. Read more

Fear of COVID-19 never ended for Heather Kerstetter.

She rarely leaves her home near Temple University for anything other than doctors’ appointments. Spinal muscular atrophy puts the 33-year-old at grave risk from respiratory infections, and even a cold can send her in the hospital with pneumonia for weeks. COVID could kill her.

Yet she maintains a thriving social life alongside a deep network of people facing similar
HuffPost •

Biden Urges Americans To Get Vaccinated Ahead Of Winter COVID-19 Surge - by Sanjana Karanth

Biden received the latest vaccine targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the omicron strain, the current versions of COVID-19 that are most prevalent in the country and globally. Public health officials in the U.S. recommend people over the age of 5 get the updated vaccine once a year — with the exception that the elderly and immunocompromised may need more than one shot annually.

“Get vaccinated. Update your COVID vaccine. It’s incredibly effective, but the truth is not enough people are g
In These Times •

Monkeypox Is a Workers' Rights Issue - by S.E. Smith

As of early this week, over 11,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The virus that causes the disease, which many cities and towns have now declared a public health emergency, spreads through close personal contact, but in certain cases it can reportedly also transmit through contact with surfaces infected people have touched.

While there are still many unanswered questions regarding monkeypox, some tr
Bloomberg.com •

Telehealth Has Failed ADHD Patients, But They Aren’t Giving Up - By Ike Swetlitz

Hi everyone, it’s Ike in Boston. Last week I wrote a story about troubles at an ADHD telehealth startup called Done. Patients and advocates tell me that telehealth can be hugely helpful for people with ADHD if it’s done right. But first…

A few weeks ago, I called a guy who was complaining on social media about a company called Done, an online mental-health startup that provides ADHD treatment. I reached out to him because I’d been hearing that Done was having trouble taking care of patients — a
Los Angeles Times •

This DIY box helps clear indoor air of the coronavirus. Why aren't more people using them? - by Emily Alpert Reyes

The glowing box, pulsing with rainbowy light, looks as if it was dropped into this Studio City living room from a warehouse rave.

It came, in fact, from the garage where Alex LeVine has been tinkering with fans, filters and tape, trying to bring a bit of fun to a simple tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The mesmerizing device uses fans and filters to pull contaminants — including smoke, dog dander and the unwelcome coronavirus — out of indoor air.

It can also flash in time to the sounds
STAT •

As new variant spreads, a crucial drug to protect the most vulnerable goes vastly underused - by Jason Mast

Jennifer Padgett has spent 2 1/2 years terrified for her immunocompromised daughter, Hannah. Hannah catches pneumonia like mosquito bites; what could Covid wreak? Their whole family locked down in the early days, rushed to get vaccines when they became available and kept masking and avoiding indoor dining in their small southern town even after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened restrictions.

So Padgett was shocked last month when, during a Google search on new variants, sh
NPR •

Many try to return to normal from COVID, but disabled people face a different reality - By Shruti Rajkumar

Beth Kenny is immunocompromised but found a routine that worked for their family during the pandemic, leaning into safe protocols to protect themselves from COVID-19.

Kenny's wife could pick up the groceries, and social distancing measures and vaccines allowed their family to do activities together outside safely. And the precautions helped Kenny's wife safely ride the bus and go to the library with their child Vyla without putting their family's health at risk.

The sense of safety the routine
The Atlantic •

America Is Sliding Into the Long Pandemic Defeat - By Ed Yong

In 2018, while reporting on pandemic preparedness in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I heard many people joking about the fictional 15th article of the country’s constitution: Débrouillez-vous, or “Figure it out yourself.” It was a droll and weary acknowledgment that the government won’t save you, and you must make do with the resources you’ve got. The United States is now firmly in the débrouillez-vous era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the country, almost all government efforts to curtail
POLITICO •

Biden officials to keep private the names of hospitals where patients contracted Covid - by Rachael Levy

“Not knowing what the likelihood of getting transmission in the hospital really impacts an individual’s ability to quote unquote ‘make a personal decision’ on their risk levels,” said Mia Ives-Rublee, a disability rights advocate who has a lung condition that makes her more susceptible to Covid.

Over the four weeks ending June 19, U.S. hospitals reported an average of 1,457 patients per week had caught Covid during their stay, according to a POLITICO analysis of data from the Department of Heal
Washington Post •

How long covid could change the way we think about disability - By Frances Stead Sellers

“People don’t know that they are disabled. If I hadn’t lived this myself, I wouldn’t believe it — that it’s possible to be disabled and not know it,” said Gibson, who developed arthritis in 2001 when she was 24 and was later diagnosed with the inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis. She recalled both not wanting to stigmatize or segregate herself, and also worrying about diminishing the experiences of others whose disabilities were more severe than hers.

“We feel like our responsibility is
ABC News •

No Americans should die of COVID-19 with treatments available, experts argue - By Arielle Mitropoulos

As mask mandates are lifted, and mitigation measures are increasingly dropped across the nation, a stark reality continues to hinder the nation's return to a pre-pandemic sense of normality. Hundreds of Americans are still losing their lives to COVID-19 every day.

However, with the growing availability of coronavirus vaccines and antiviral treatments, many health experts assert that, given the United States' tremendous medical advancements in the fight against the virus at this point in time, f
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