As the “panic-demic” descended on the U.S. and Canada in March and April, older adults (ages 60 and up) coped better with the stress than both young adults (18–39 years old) and middle agers (40–59).

As Congress gets to work following its Independence Day break, provider lobbyists are pushing hard for a fifth relief package to stem the bleeding from widespread declines in patient visits. 

Where policy on coverage for COVID testing meets real people, the intended effect is snagging on two words: “medically appropriate.”

CEOs with the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association underscored the pandemic’s outsized impact on people of color in a letter to lawmakers sent Friday. 

Reports are arriving of filled hospitals turning away transfers, backlogged ambulances waiting hours to transport patients and shorthanded staffs appealing for relief workers.

One point of easier-than-normal entry is nonclinical employees working from home. Another is providers’ weakened state. Many are strapped for cash and, as a result, stretching resources.

It’s a painful paradox that hospitals can help COVID patients recover while helping the virus spread—and not only to non-COVID patients but also to healthcare workers, support staff and even visitors.

Once a widespread COVID outbreak is underway, encouraging personal responsibility works about as well at mitigation as mandating widespread lockdowns.