Coronavirus (COVID-19)

In this Axios column, Drew Altman says full FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccines can provide a big boost to vaccination efforts if treated as an opportunity for updated messaging from government officials at all levels and public health experts and new actions from employers.

Drug overdose deaths rose during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest jumps occurring among people of color, a new KFF analysis finds. The analysis breaks out drug overdose deaths by race and ethnicity for the first nine months of 2020, when the pandemic triggered…

Drug overdose deaths rose during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the biggest jumps occurring among people of color. This analysis breaks out drug overdose deaths by race and ethnicity for the first nine months of 2020, to the same period in each of the two prior years. It also looks at access to care issues and recent and pending legislation aimed at addressing the nation’s substance use and mental health challenges.

Worries about Long-Term and Serious Side Effects are Parents’ Top Concern; Hispanic and Black Parents Are More Likely than White Parents to Cite Access and Cost Issues As schools around the country prepare to reopen, a majority of parents of school-age children say they do not want their children’s schools…

This report examines attitudes and views of parents as children head back to school amidst the rise in COVID-19 cases due to the delta variant. Nearly half of parents of children ages 12-17, who are currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, say their child has already been vaccinated or will get the vaccine right away. The report examines parents’ vaccine concerns and attitudes towards vaccine and mask mandates in schools.

During the pandemic many states have experienced worsening direct care workforce shortages that have affected providers of home- and community-based long-term care services (HCBS), according to early findings of a new KFF survey of Medicaid HCBS programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Most states reported workforce…

This issue brief presents early findings from the most recent KFF survey of Medicaid HCBS programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It focuses on state policies adopted in response to challenges posed by the pandemic, the pandemic’s impact on Medicaid HCBS enrollees and providers, and states’ initial plans for the new American Rescue Plan Act 10 percentage point temporary increase in federal Medicaid matching funds for HCBS available from April 2021 through March 2022.

This Vaccine Monitor report finds little change since June in the share of adults who either received a COVID-19 vaccine or say they will as soon as they can. A quarter of unvaccinated adults say they likely will get a shot by the end of the year. Unvaccinated adults are much less worried than vaccinated ones about the Delta variant.

Vaccinated Adults Are Nearly Twice as Likely as Unvaccinated Ones to Worry that New Variants Like Delta Will Worsen the Pandemic Nationally and Locally As public health officials struggle to boost vaccination rates nationally, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor reports that a narrow majority (53%) of unvaccinated adults believe…

This fact sheet reviews what employers can and cannot do under current rules and guidance to require or encourage their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.