Public Health

With hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccines will be proven safe and effective soon, state and local public health authorities will play a critical role in ensuring the efficient distribution and administration of the vaccine. To assess the readiness of these local governments to take on these responsibilities, KFF…

The brief provides an overview of how vaccines are reimbursed and covered across government programs and different types of health insurance in the United States. It coverage regulations specific to COVID-19 vaccine(s).

This brief summarizes the information contained in the all available draft COVID-19 vaccination plans submitted by states to the CDC, focusing in particular in critical areas such as identifying critical/priority populations, identifying and recruiting providers to administer vaccines, the completeness of state-level vaccine data collection and reporting systems, and communication plans. States report widely varying levels of progress.

Rates of self-reported long COVID are one-quarter to one-third higher among adults who are female, transgender, Hispanic, and without a high-school degree than among all adults, according to federal survey data. In this policy watch, we consider whether long COVID could exacerbate existing disparities in health and employment.

According to a new KFF analysis assessing monkeypox (MPX) vaccine eligibility across the United States, people who are exposed or presumed exposed to MPX are generally eligible to get a vaccine across the country. However, eligibility varies across the United States for certain workers, including laboratory staff and others who…

This analysis examines jurisdictional approaches to eligibility for monkeypox (MPX) vaccine. Overall, almost all jurisdictions have, at minimum, adopted the current approach laid out by the CDC. However, there is substantial variation in how eligibility is defined. Additionally, several jurisdictions lack clear criteria or information on who is eligible or where to get vaccinated. This may impact on who gets vaccinated, lead to geographic disparities, and raises potentially equity challenges.

Long COVID has been described as our “next national health disaster” and the “pandemic after the pandemic,” but we know little about how many people are affected, how long it will last for those affected, and how it could change employment and health coverage landscapes. This policy watch reviews what we know and outlines key questions to watch for regarding employment and coverage outcomes. We continue to follow the research on who is most at risk of long COVID and whether there are interventions that can reduce its incidence, length, or severity.

This analysis examines monkeypox vaccine allocations and jurisdictional requests. It explores jurisdictional request rate (the number of vaccine does requested as a share of the jurisdiction’s allocation from HHS) for JYNNEOS, the preferred vaccine. Overall, while most jurisdictions have requested at least their full supply, some are well below that mark, raising questions about how quickly their at-risk populations can get protected.

This brief answers key questions about the U.S. monkeypox outbreak to date and identifies issues that may affect the response going forward.

This brief provides an explanation of Title 42 and its application in border regions, the impact of Title 42 on border expulsions and the health and well-being of migrants, and a discussion of the potential implications of lifting Title 42 for immigration and the health of migrants.