Health News Roundup

Study says vaccinations prevent deaths, and more in this week’s roundup

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Study says vaccinations prevent deaths in Connecticut
Christine Stuart, CT News Junkie, Oct. 6
COVID-19 vaccinations may have helped prevent thousands of infections and nearly 500 deaths among Connecticut seniors in the first half of 2021, according to a recent federal study. The study reaffirms that vaccines save lives, prevent hospitalizations, and reduce infection.

1 in 7 people are ‘some other race’ on the U.S. Census. That’s a big data problem
Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, Sept. 30
Many people who identify as Latinx opted to select “other race” when completing the 2020 Census, causing the data to reflect this category as the second-largest race in the country. This has been a growing concern among advocates, who believe this may obscure the identities of Latinx people and hinder progress related to racial equity.

Community health workers to address childhood asthma in CT
Emily Scott, Public News Service, Oct. 5
Research has demonstrated that community health workers are critical to addressing public health issues, like asthma. Asthma is one of the major reasons why children miss school in Connecticut and disproportionately impacts children of color. A new grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation awarded to Charter Oak Health Center will use community health workers to help manage and address asthma in children.

Major insurers running billions of dollars behind on payments to hospitals and doctors
Jay Hancock, Kaiser Health News, Oct. 6
Hospitals and insurers are locked in a dispute about delays in payments during the pandemic. Disputes between insurers and hospitals are nothing new. But this fight sticks more patients in the middle, worried they’ll have to pay unresolved claims.

Opinion: Why U.S. pandemic management has failed: lack of attention to America’s epidemic engines
Eric Reinhart, STAT News, Oct. 5
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the impact of the United States’ chronic underinvestment in its public health, health care, and broader welfare systems. Genuine public health requires robust and well-funded systems that are designed to meet the needs of all members of society.