Los grupos antivacunas están explotando el sufrimiento y la muerte de las personas que se enferman después de recibir la vacuna contra covid, lo que amenaza con socavar la campaña de vacunación más grande en la historia de los Estados Unidos.

En algunos casos, están inventando historias de muertes que nunca ocurrieron.

“Esto es exactamente lo que hacen los grupos antivacunas”, dijo el doctor Peter Hotez, especialista en enfermedades infecciosas y autor de “Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science”.

Los grupos antivacunas han afirmado falsamente durante décadas que las vacunas infantiles causan autismo, tejiendo fantásticas teorías de conspiración que involucran al gobierno, las grandes empresas y los medios de comunicación.

Ahora, los mismos grupos culpan a las vacunas de problemas médicos que estos pacientes ya tienen, incluso cuando está claro que la edad o las condiciones de salud subyacentes son las responsables, … Read the rest

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Con la llegada del invierno y el brote de coronavirus en pleno apogeo en el país, la industria de los restaurantes, que espera pérdidas de $235 mil millones en 2020, se aferra a las opciones al aire libre incluso durante los gélidos meses de invierno.

Carpas, toldos, invernaderos, hasta iglús y todo tipo de estructuras parcialmente abiertas han aparecido en restaurantes de todo el país.

Los propietarios recurren a estas opciones como un salvavidas para ayudar a llenar algunas mesas, y tener al menos la posibilidad de ofrecer una experiencia gastronómica más segura.

“Estamos tratando de hacer todo lo posible para ampliar la temporada de comidas al aire libre durante el mayor tiempo posible”, dijo Mike Whatley, de la Asociación Nacional de Restaurantes.

Tiempos nefastos han obligado a la industria a encontrar formas de sobrevivir. Whatley dijo que más de 100,000 restaurantes están “completamente cerrados”.

“Va a ser un … Read the rest

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Over a month into a massive vaccination program, most older Americans report they don’t know where or when they can get inoculated for covid-19, according to a poll released Friday.

Nearly 6 in 10 people 65 and older who have not yet gotten a shot said they don’t have enough information about how to get vaccinated, according to the KFF survey. (KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF.)

Older Americans are not the only ones in the dark about  the inoculation process. About 55% of essential workers —designated by public health officials as being near the front of the line for vaccinations — also don’t know when they can get the shots, the survey found. Surprisingly, 21% of health workers said they are unsure about when they will get vaccinated.

Black and Hispanic adults, as well as those in … Read the rest

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At the last minute, President Donald Trump granted pardons to several individuals convicted in huge Medicare swindles that prosecutors alleged often harmed or endangered elderly and infirm patients while fleecing taxpayers.

“These aren’t just technical financial crimes. These were major, major crimes,” said Louis Saccoccio, chief executive officer of the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, an advocacy group.

The list of some 200 Trump pardons or commutations, most issued as he vacated the White House this week, included at least seven doctors or health care entrepreneurs who ran discredited health care enterprises, from nursing homes to pain clinics. One is a former doctor and California hospital owner embroiled in a massive workers’ compensation kickback scheme that prosecutors alleged prompted more than 14,000 dubious spinal surgeries. Another was in prison after prosecutors accused him of ripping off more than $1 billion from … Read the rest

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President Joe Biden wasted no time getting down to work. Among the raft of executive orders he signed on Inauguration Day were several aimed at curtailing the covid crisis, including one requiring mask-wearing by federal employees and anyone on federal property for the next 100 days.

Meanwhile, with the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris and the swearing-in of two new Democratic senators from Georgia, Democrats took over the majority in the Senate, albeit with a 50-50 tie. That leaves Democrats in charge of both the legislative and executive branches for the first time since 2010, but with such narrow majorities it could be difficult to advance many of Biden’s top health agenda items, starting with an expansion of the Affordable Care Act.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby … Read the rest

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Joe Biden on Wednesday took the oath to become the 46th president of the United States, vowing to bring the nation together in the midst of an ongoing pandemic that has claimed more than 400,000 lives, enormous economic dislocation and civil unrest so serious that the U.S. Capitol steps where he took his oath were surrounded not by cheering crowds, but by tens of thousands of armed police and National Guard troops.

In his inaugural address, given outside despite concerns for his physical security, Biden emphasized unity, the driving theme of his campaign. “My whole soul is in this, bringing America together, uniting our nation,” he said. “And I ask every American to join me in this cause.”

On health care, Biden made it clear that combating the covid-19 pandemic will be his top priority. “We must set aside politics and … Read the rest

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