Listen: Healthbeat staff talk vaccinations, bird flu and other public health stories on ‘What the Health’

Healthbeat Staff

| November 26, 2024, 8:34pm UTC

Healthbeat staff dropped in on the “What the Health” podcast with Julie Rovner at KFF Health News in Washington, D.C., to talk about our work on public health and what stories to be watching.

Healthbeat Editor in Chief Charlene Pacenti, national reporter Amy Maxmen, and New York reporter Eliza Fawcett discuss vaccination rates - from Covid to childhood shots - bird flu, the importance of community trust in the public health system, and changes expected under a new administration in Washington.

The episode, “Public Health and the Dairy Cow in the Room,” was released Tuesday.

KFF Health News is Healthbeat’s national reporting partner.

Sign up for Healthbeat’s newsletters here.

The Latest

The door that changed everything: A diplomat recalls how a small project led to big change for women's health

The British Consul General to the Southeast U.S., based in Atlanta, shares a story from her global health work in the Balkans, where a program to install doors on toilets in schools grew into other projects that became a lifeline for women.

Rachel Galloway

| December 8

Georgia doctors report flu and RSV on the rise as Covid stays low heading into holidays

They urge vaccinations, masking in crowds, and prompt treatment to prevent complications as the winter virus season picks up.

Rebecca Grapevine

| December 5

Citing parental ‘choice,’ vaccine panel drops guidance that all newborns get hepatitis B shot

Universal infant and childhood vaccination against hepatitis B, recommended since 1991, has reduced by 99% the number of reported cases among U.S. children, adolescents, and young adults.

Alison Young

| December 5

New York state to require insurers to cover inhalers. NYC life expectancy rises.

Meanwhile, flu and RSV cases are increasing across the city and state.

Marisa Donnelly, Your Local Epidemiologist New York

| December 5

While scientists race to study spread of measles in U.S., Kennedy unravels hard-won gains

Losing its measles-free status could be expensive for the U.S. A new study estimates that an outbreak the size of the one in West Texas earlier this year, with 762 cases and 99 hospitalizations, costs about $12.6 million.

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News

| December 5

In tense meeting, vaccine panel delays votes on hepatitis B shot

The ACIP is also expected Friday to be briefed on the childhood immunization schedule by a vaccine critic, drawing outrage from U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy. "The ACIP is totally discredited," Cassidy said.

Alison Young

| December 4