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Chicago doctor talks new COVID-19 vaccine requirements

Chicago doctor talks new COVID-19 vaccine requirements

Yahoo21-05-2025

President Donald Trump's administration has set new requirements for COVID-19 vaccines in healthy adults and children.
In a significant new policy shift by the White House, the annual shots will no longer be routinely approved but will face a more stringent set of guidelines, which require more evidence for new shots for healthy adults and kids.
More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch
Dr. Emily Landon, the executive medical director for infection prevention and control at the University of Chicago, joined WGN's Evening News at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. She said the annual booster will still be available for those with medical problems that put them at higher risk of COVID or a medical outcome.
Landon said that the new policy may make it harder for 'healthy' Americans to get the booster shots covered by their insurance, however.
Watch the entire interview in the video player above.
Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team, including, the latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments, as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Medicaid churn: How working Americans could mistakenly lose coverage under Trump tax bill
Medicaid churn: How working Americans could mistakenly lose coverage under Trump tax bill

USA Today

time41 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Medicaid churn: How working Americans could mistakenly lose coverage under Trump tax bill

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"People are going to have to document work status or exemption status multiple times a year, and at each point there's a risk that someone who is eligible could lose coverage," Tolbert said. Thousands lost coverage under Arkansas work requirement During the first Trump administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gave states the option of implementing a work requirement for nondisabled adults on Medicaid. Arkansas' work requirement cut more than 18,000 residents from Medicaid within the first seven months of the program. People were removed often because people were unaware of paperwork requirements to keep their coverage, research shows and analysts said. In April, a study by researchers from the Urban Institute and Loyola University Chicago found the Arkansas uninsured rate jumped 7.4 percentage points among low-income adults age 30 to 49 after the state's work requirement began. 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In a June 4 interview with Fox Business, Dr. Oz challenged Medicaid recipients who would face work requirements should "prove that you matter." Oz, the Trump-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the work requirement asks "able-bodied individuals who are able to go back to work at least try to get a job or volunteer or take care of a loved one who needs help or go back into school. Do something to show you have agency over your future." In a Fox News interview posted on the social media site X, Oz said Medicaid spending has surged 50% since 2019, a pace that is "crippling the system." However, some Republicans have pushed back on the proposed cuts. In a May opinion piece in the New York Times, Sen. Josh Hawley, R- Missouri, said "slashing health insurance for the working poor" is "morally wrong and politically suicidal." Survey: Americans worried about Medicaid cuts The public is paying attention to the proposed Medicaid cuts. Slightly more than half of adults said they're worried significant cuts in Medicaid spending would negatively affect their family's ability to obtain and afford health care, according to a KFF health tracking poll released June 6. The survey this survey of 2,539 U.S. adults was conducted online and by telephone over three weeks in May. The survey said nearly 6 in 10 adults said the Trump administration's policies would weaken Medicaid, but there is a stark divide based on party affiliation. Nine in 10 Democrats but just 2 in 10 Republicans expect the administration's policies would weaken Medicaid. Republicans also were far more likely than Democrats to say that the Trump's policies would strengthen Medicaid. Still, while the survey suggests people are tracking the news, many likely wouldn't know whether their coverage has changed until they try to get medical care. 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Americans Are Suffering From 'Time Poverty'
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Ron Goetzel, senior scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an expert in employee well-being, told Newsweek that the issue of time poverty "takes a toll on individuals, businesses and the larger society." "Although all of us are given 24 hours in a day, people feel they need to cram in as much activity into that time as possible—without sitting back and asking whether the activity enhances their quality of life, happiness and a sense of accomplishment, or not." The mental health implications have already become clear. According to a 2020 study, time poverty is linked to lower mental well-being, productivity and even physical health. Researchers also found that "subjective feelings of time poverty had a stronger negative effect on well-being than being unemployed." Despite this, they noted that the issue was one that had long gone underappreciated by either policymakers or employers. 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"Burnout is a complex, multi-factorial problem, but we know for sure that chronic exposure to work-related stress, without the ability to recover, leads inevitably to mental and emotional exhaustion, detachment and decreased productivity and effectiveness," wellness expert Dr. Susan Biali Haas told Newsweek. Yasemin Besen-Cassino, a sociologist at Montclair State University, said the current climate in the U.S. labor had added to this troubling status quo, which she described as "overwork culture," with mass layoffs and broader economic uncertainty weighing on employees' minds. In addition, she told Newsweek that new technologies permitting workers to be ever-present made many feel they must contribute to work via emails or zoom calls even during off days. She added that many workers choose to use their paid time off to provide child care because of lack of affordable alternatives. 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Novavax Stock (NVAX) Gets a Boost from ‘Robust Immune Responses'
Novavax Stock (NVAX) Gets a Boost from ‘Robust Immune Responses'

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