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    <title>Shots - Health News : NPR</title>
    <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/</link>
    <description>NPR's online health program.</description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:22:00 -0500</lastBuildDate>
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      <title>Shots - Health News</title>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Federal Data Reveal Which Hospitals Are Dangerously Full This Week. Is Yours?</title>
      <description>COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to skyrocket in the U.S. NPR built a tool to explore the latest trends around the country. Look up your local hospital to see how it's faring.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:22:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/09/944379919/new-data-reveal-which-hospitals-are-dangerously-full-is-yours</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/09/944379919/new-data-reveal-which-hospitals-are-dangerously-full-is-yours</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/21/screen-shot-2020-12-21-at-11.41.52-am_wide-ee95bd461943e96636935928bb7e9df2a8073c1d.png?s=600' alt='Map of county hospital use as of week of Dec. 11'/><p>COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to skyrocket in the U.S. NPR built a tool to explore the latest trends around the country. Look up your local hospital to see how it's faring.</p><p>(Image credit: Sean McMinn/NPR)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=944379919&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Sean McMinn</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Is It Time For A Race Reckoning In Kidney Medicine?</title>
      <description>A movement sparked by medical students is pushing to eliminate the use of race to estimate kidney function, saying it reinforces racist thinking. Some argue the change could cause unintended harm.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2020 10:03:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/28/949408943/is-it-time-for-a-race-reckoning-in-kidney-medicine</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/28/949408943/is-it-time-for-a-race-reckoning-in-kidney-medicine</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/24/kidney_wide-4f58d3a765191325892ae3d59fa9bcf4fb5bd57b.jpg?s=600' alt='Some in the medical community now question the use of race in kidney care. They argue it could exacerbate health disparities.'/><p>A movement sparked by medical students is pushing to eliminate the use of race to estimate kidney function, saying it reinforces racist thinking. Some argue the change could cause unintended harm.</p><p>(Image credit: FG Trade/Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=949408943&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Maria Godoy</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Coronavirus Is Surging: How Severe Is Your State's Outbreak?</title>
      <description>View NPR's maps and graphics to see where COVID-19 is hitting hardest in the U.S., which state outbreaks are growing and which are leveling off.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2020 07:08:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/01/816707182/map-tracking-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-in-the-u-s</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/01/816707182/map-tracking-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-in-the-u-s</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/21/seamus-coronavirus-d3-us-map-20200312_wide-e327c198300d37dd7549b6ffd87e9942b1cbb9c5.png?s=600' alt='Chart: Trend in U.S. COVID-19 cases, as of Dec. 20'/><p>View NPR's maps and graphics to see where COVID-19 is hitting hardest in the U.S., which state outbreaks are growing and which are leveling off.</p><p>(Image credit: NPR)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=816707182&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Stephanie Adeline</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Still Disinfecting Surfaces? It Might Not Be Worth It</title>
      <description>Early in the pandemic, people were advised to disinfect everything they touched. But now that scientists understand more about how COVID-19 spreads, all that scrubbing down may have been overkill.</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/28/948936133/still-disinfecting-surfaces-it-might-not-be-worth-it</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/28/948936133/still-disinfecting-surfaces-it-might-not-be-worth-it</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/26/gettyimages-1287509444_wide-c81f1f1c36a17a65208bdb42ab837bcfea015023.jpg?s=600' alt='Health researchers say wearing masks and washing your hands often is more important than wiping down surfaces when it comes to protecting yourself from the coronavirus.'/><p>Early in the pandemic, people were advised to disinfect everything they touched. But now that scientists understand more about how COVID-19 spreads, all that scrubbing down may have been overkill.</p><p>(Image credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=948936133&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Patti Neighmond</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Do-It-Yourself Contact Tracing Is A 'Last Resort' In Communities Besieged By COVID-19</title>
      <description>The coronavirus is spreading so fast that cases are outpacing the contact-tracing capacities of some local health departments. Some have asked people who test positive to do their own contact tracing.</description>
      <pubDate>Sun, 27 Dec 2020 07:01:02 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/27/949246298/do-it-yourself-contact-tracing-is-a-last-resort-in-communities-besieged-by-covid</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/27/949246298/do-it-yourself-contact-tracing-is-a-last-resort-in-communities-besieged-by-covid</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/24/ap_20351774868131-rotate_wide-005fc6c9189b9ac2ec3921fc3a8d8f55f5f30a73.jpg?s=600' alt='Eileen Carroll, left, sits for a portrait as her daughter, Lily, 11, attends school remotely from their home in Warwick, R.I. on Dec. 16. When Carroll's other daughter tested positive for the coronavirus, state health officials told her to notify anyone her daughter might have been around. Contact tracers, she was told, were simply too overwhelmed to do it.'/><p>The coronavirus is spreading so fast that cases are outpacing the contact-tracing capacities of some local health departments. Some have asked people who test positive to do their own contact tracing.</p><p>(Image credit: David Goldman/AP)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=949246298&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Brett Dahlberg</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>For Scientists Who Study Virus Transmission, 2020 Was A Watershed Year</title>
      <description>The emergence of COVID-19 started scientists on a yearlong crash course to learn how the coronavirus might travel through the air and how to stop it. They learned a lot, and quickly.</description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 26 Dec 2020 07:01:03 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/26/946901965/for-scientists-who-study-virus-transmission-2020-was-a-watershed-year</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/26/946901965/for-scientists-who-study-virus-transmission-2020-was-a-watershed-year</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/22/gettyimages-1213639368_wide-d406f18aabddbe6c4cfdf5052684b2881a6bc6b1.jpg?s=600' alt='Researches have learned a lot in 2020 about how the coronavirus spreads through the air.'/><p>The emergence of COVID-19 started scientists on a yearlong crash course to learn how the coronavirus might travel through the air and how to stop it. They learned a lot, and quickly.</p><p>(Image credit: Francesco Carta fotografo/Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=946901965&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Nell Greenfieldboyce</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Fishermen Team Up With Food Banks To Help Hungry Families</title>
      <description>The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated food insecurity and stretched an already-strained fishing industry. New partnerships with food banks give fisherman income and provide food for those in need.</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 25 Dec 2020 05:02:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/25/949643418/fishermen-team-up-with-food-banks-to-help-hungry-families</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/25/949643418/fishermen-team-up-with-food-banks-to-help-hungry-families</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/23/fishermen-foodbank-1_wide-908568e08e18e3904cc650066bbc1dce75a95df0.jpg?s=600' alt='Fishermen sell freshly caught seafood at the Saturday Fishermen's Market in Santa Barbara, Calif. When the pandemic began, fishermen watched their markets dry up overnight. Now, as well as public markets like this, some are selling to food assistance programs.'/><p>The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated food insecurity and stretched an already-strained fishing industry. New partnerships with food banks give fisherman income and provide food for those in need.</p><p>(Image credit: April Fulton for NPR)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=949643418&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>April Fulton</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>'It's So Much Worse Than Before.' Dread And Despair Haunt Nurses Inside LA's ICUs </title>
      <description>As hospitals struggle with the patient surge in Los Angeles County, their ICU nurses are overwhelmed by the physical demands and emotional toll of caring for the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. </description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 24 Dec 2020 07:01:01 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/24/945027680/its-so-much-worse-than-before-dread-and-despair-haunt-nurses-inside-las-icus</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/24/945027680/its-so-much-worse-than-before-dread-and-despair-haunt-nurses-inside-las-icus</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/22/providence-holy-cross-medical-center-in-la_wide-ec963fdc66bbe640e28e7e753456016740c60550.jpg?s=600' alt='Hospital workers move a patient into the prone (face down) position, which can help increase the lung capacity of some COVID-19 patients. The medical team was photographed Nov. 19 at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles.'/><p>As hospitals struggle with the patient surge in Los Angeles County, their ICU nurses are overwhelmed by the physical demands and emotional toll of caring for the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. </p><p>(Image credit: Jae C. Hong/AP)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=945027680&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Jackie Fortier</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>'Trusted Messengers, Trusted Messages': How To Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy</title>
      <description>As the first COVID-19 vaccines begin to be rolled out across the U.S., community leaders in diverse groups already are working hard to dispel misinformation and reach skeptics with truth.</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 24 Dec 2020 05:00:01 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/24/948776228/trusted-messengers-trusted-messages-how-to-overcome-vaccine-hesitancy</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/24/948776228/trusted-messengers-trusted-messages-how-to-overcome-vaccine-hesitancy</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/21/gettyimages-1287323694_wide-8a82f497341acb0e19023899fdb59fa8fa12511f.jpg?s=600' alt='A Hasidic man and medical workers cross paths near the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November. When public health messaging comes from community leaders, it's much more likely to be adopted, research on diverse groups finds.'/><p>As the first COVID-19 vaccines begin to be rolled out across the U.S., community leaders in diverse groups already are working hard to dispel misinformation and reach skeptics with truth.</p><p>(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=948776228&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Fran Kritz</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>For Overwhelmed And Burnt Out COVID-19 Contact Tracers, Help Is (Hopefully) Coming</title>
      <description>NPR's latest survey finds the contact tracing workforce now tops 70,000, a dramatic increase in the last two months. But to meet the growing demand, new federal funding will be key.</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2020 14:24:28 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/23/949580432/for-overwhelmed-and-burnt-out-covid-19-contact-tracers-help-is-hopefully-coming</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/23/949580432/for-overwhelmed-and-burnt-out-covid-19-contact-tracers-help-is-hopefully-coming</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/23/gettyimages-1292628583_wide-2a6c86298dfb346e64c9b24bbf98da29c1808149.jpg?s=600' alt='Contact tracer Toni Parlanti of Stamford, Conn., calls a person identified as having been potentially exposed to the coronavirus this week. States and territories report they have more than 70,000 people working on contact tracing as of December.'/><p>NPR's latest survey finds the contact tracing workforce now tops 70,000, a dramatic increase in the last two months. But to meet the growing demand, new federal funding will be key.</p><p>(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=949580432&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Selena Simmons-Duffin</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Retiree Living The RV Dream, Fights A Nightmare $12,387 Lab Fee</title>
      <description>A gynecologist in Carlsbad, N.M., tested the 60-year-old grandmother for various sexually transmitted infections without her knowledge, she says. Her share of the lab fee was more than $3,000.</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/23/949287668/retiree-living-the-rv-dream-fights-a-nightmare-12-387-lab-fee</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/23/949287668/retiree-living-the-rv-dream-fights-a-nightmare-12-387-lab-fee</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/22/botm-rogge-2_wide-e6f07e2a79590f56208a1bfd57a61ef7010fa0e6.jpg?s=600' alt='Michael and Lorraine Rogge sit outside their recreational vehicle in El Cajon, Calif. The latter received a bill for more than $12,000 for a bundled lab test from Carlsbad Medical Center; her share was over $3,000.'/><p>A gynecologist in Carlsbad, N.M., tested the 60-year-old grandmother for various sexually transmitted infections without her knowledge, she says. Her share of the lab fee was more than $3,000.</p><p>(Image credit: Heidi de Marco/Kaiser Health News)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=949287668&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Victoria Knight</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Tennessee Hospitals Are Disturbingly Close To Their Breaking Point</title>
      <description>Many U.S. hospitals are struggling to find enough space and staff to treat COVID-19 patients. The surge in new cases has forced them to rethink how they use space, manage staff, and handle treatment. </description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2020 20:58:46 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/948908168/tennessee-hospitals-are-disturbingly-close-to-their-breaking-point</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/948908168/tennessee-hospitals-are-disturbingly-close-to-their-breaking-point</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/22/1222-tenn-hospitals_wide-fee12fdff730680194f417409a34b7848d060020.jpg?s=600' alt='Ambulances fill the loading area at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The hospital has tried to adjust to the surge of new infections by dedicating three floors for treatment of COVID-19 patients, and creating two COVID-only intensive care units for the most seriously ill. Still, the hospital has had to deny patient-transfer requests from smaller hospitals.'/><p>Many U.S. hospitals are struggling to find enough space and staff to treat COVID-19 patients. The surge in new cases has forced them to rethink how they use space, manage staff, and handle treatment. </p><p>(Image credit: Blake Farmer/WPLN )</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=948908168&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Blake Farmer</dc:creator>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Low Demand For Antibody Drugs Against COVID-19</title>
      <description>Monoclonal antibodies to prevent severe COVID-19 aren't being used as widely as expected. Medical staff shortages and patient transportation problems are two of the reasons.</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2020 05:15:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/948874701/low-demand-for-antibody-drugs-against-covid-19</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/948874701/low-demand-for-antibody-drugs-against-covid-19</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/21/trump_whitehouse_reed_wide-0df06888f019e4628e40506b18d72a7c0ab04d35.jpg?s=600' alt='President Trump boards Marine One for a trip from the White House to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment in early October. Trump received Regeneron's antibody cocktail during his illness.'/><p>Monoclonal antibodies to prevent severe COVID-19 aren't being used as widely as expected. Medical staff shortages and patient transportation problems are two of the reasons.</p><p>(Image credit: Alex Brandon/AP)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=948874701&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Richard Harris</dc:creator>
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    <item>
      <title>Congress Acts To Spare Consumers From Costly Surprise Medical Bills</title>
      <description>Congress has passed a long-debated measure to stop health care providers from billing patients for charges not covered by their insurance. Here's how the new protection works.</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2020 05:01:56 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/949047358/congress-acts-to-spare-consumers-from-costly-surprise-medical-bills</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/949047358/congress-acts-to-spare-consumers-from-costly-surprise-medical-bills</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/21/gettyimages-1230247679_wide-4587005ce49a29e5d1eb6dd3206719d8cbdeec96.jpg?s=600' alt='Congress passed a measure to curb surprise medical bills as part of the pandemic stimulus deal.'/><p>Congress has passed a long-debated measure to stop health care providers from billing patients for charges not covered by their insurance. Here's how the new protection works.</p><p>(Image credit: Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=949047358&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Julie Appleby</dc:creator>
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    <item>
      <title>Is Your State Doing Enough Coronavirus Testing? Use Our Tool To Find Out</title>
      <description>The U.S. conducts nearly 2 million coronavirus tests daily. A new analysis shows millions more are needed to protect the most vulnerable. Use our tool to see how your state is doing.</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2020 05:01:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/948085513/vaccines-are-coming-but-the-u-s-still-needs-more-testing-to-stop-the-surge</link>
      <guid>https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/22/948085513/vaccines-are-coming-but-the-u-s-still-needs-more-testing-to-stop-the-surge</guid>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src='https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/12/21/gettyimages-1288760991_wide-10889ecbb11fdcd456ff16077ebe11525df1d355.jpg?s=600' alt='Cars are lined up at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for coronavirus testing. Nearly 2 million people are getting tested a day in the U.S. A new analysis shows millions more are needed to protect the most vulnerable.'/><p>The U.S. conducts nearly 2 million coronavirus tests daily. A new analysis shows millions more are needed to protect the most vulnerable. Use our tool to see how your state is doing.</p><p>(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=948085513&p=103537970' />]]></content:encoded>
      <dc:creator>Rob Stein</dc:creator>
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