Author

JoNel Aleccia

JoNel Aleccia is a Senior Correspondent focused on aging and end-of-life issues on the KHN enterprise team. Previously she was a health reporter for more than a decade, covering regional and national news at outlets including The Seattle Times, NBCNews.com, TODAY.com and MSNBC.com.

Health

Detecting Rare Blood Clots Was a Win, But U.S. Vaccine Safety System Still Has Gaps

JoNel Aleccia May 3, 2021

The nation’s vaccine surveillance system performed as expected this spring when it identified unusual cases of blood clots combined with low platelet counts in 15 people who had received Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot covid vaccine, said…

Health

The Hype Has Faded, but Don’t Count Out Convalescent Plasma in Covid Battle

JoNel Aleccia Mar 22, 2021

A patient recovered from covid-19 donated convalescent blood plasma in September at an Earth City, Missouri, site run by the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center. More than 500,000 units of the antibody-rich plasma have been collected…

Health

Organ Transplant Patient Dies After Receiving COVID-Infected Lungs

JoNel Aleccia Feb 22, 2021

Officials suggested it may be the first proven case of COVID in the U.S. in which the virus was transmitted via an organ transplant. A surgeon who handled the donor lungs was also infected with the virus and fell ill but later recovered.…

Health

Is Your COVID Vaccine Venue Prepared to Handle Rare, Life-Threatening Reactions?

JoNel Aleccia Jan 11, 2021

Of the more than 6 million people in the U.S. who have received shots of the two new covid vaccines, at least 29 have suffered anaphylaxis, a severe and dangerous reaction that can constrict airways and send the body into shock, according…

Health

Hospitals Scramble to Prioritize Which Workers Are First for COVID Shots

JoNel Aleccia Dec 14, 2020

At noon Tuesday, Dr. Taison Bell, a critical care physician, is scheduled to be one of the first health care workers at the University of Virginia Health System to roll up his sleeve for a shot to ward off the coronavirus. Photo credit:…

Health

Demand for COVID Vaccines Expected to Get Heated — And Fast

JoNel Aleccia Dec 7, 2020

Americans have made no secret of their skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines this year, but a new poll by the Pew Research Center found that by the end of November 60% of Americans said they would get a vaccine for the coronavirus. …

Health

Thousands of Minks Dead as COVID Outbreak Escalates on Utah Farms

JoNel Aleccia Oct 2, 2020

Between 7,000 and 8,000 minks have died since the disease swept through the ranches that produce the animals, valued for their luxurious pelts. So far, no animals in Utah have been euthanized because of the disease. Photo credit…

Health

With COVID Vaccine Trial, Rural Oregon Clinic Steps Onto World Stage

JoNel Aleccia Aug 17, 2020

Audrey Kuehl, a study coordinator at the Clinical Research Institute of Southern Oregon, inoculates Trish Malone with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 6. Malone had volunteered for several clinical trials before participating in…

The Color of COVID: Will Vaccine Trials Reflect America’s Diversity?

JoNel Aleccia Jul 27, 2020

Though racial minorities, older people and those with underlying medical conditions are most at risk from COVID-19, they’ve historically been the least likely to be included in clinical trials for treatments for serious diseases. Photo…

Health

‘I Couldn’t Let Her Be Alone’: A Peaceful Death Amid the COVID Scourge

JoNel Aleccia Jul 6, 2020

Patti Breed-Rabitoy had coped with lung and kidney disease for years but remained a vital, bubbly presence in the lives of her husband, Dan Rabitoy, and three grown children. Photo courtesy of Elishia Breed. LOS ANGELES, CA - As her…

Health

Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies

JoNel Aleccia Apr 24, 2020

Mallory Pease with baby Alivia and her older daughter, Emma Jean. Pease was worried about passing on the coronavirus to Alivia after getting home from the hospital. Photo courtesy of the Pease family. MARSHALL, MI - Mallory Pease’s…

Health

Desperate Scramble As COVID-19 Families Vie For Plasma Therapy

JoNel Aleccia Apr 15, 2020

In the past two weeks, blood centers across the U.S. have accelerated efforts to collect COVID-19 convalescent plasma on the theory it contains protective antibodies that can transfer immunity from a patient who had the disease…

Health

‘You Pray That You Got The Drug.’ Ailing Couple Gambles On Trial For COVID-19 Cure

JoNel Aleccia Apr 6, 2020

Josie and George Taylor stand on the porch of their home in Everett, Washington, on March 24. They are two of the first people in the U.S. to recover from novel coronavirus infections after joining a clinical trial for the antiviral drug…

Health

Blood Centers Will Collect Plasma From COVID-19 Survivors In Bid For Treatment

JoNel Aleccia Apr 1, 2020

Under guidelines released Tuesday by the AABB, an international nonprofit agency focused on transfusion medicine and cellular therapies, dozens of community blood centers nationwide could become a key source for the century-old treatment…

Health

Sheltered At Home, Families Broach End-Of-Life Planning

JoNel Aleccia Mar 31, 2020

Barbara Dreyfuss, pictured in a family photo from the 1980s, died March 1, 2020, after contracting COVID-19 at a Seattle-area nursing home. Her earlier decision to document her final wishes aided her family in her treatment. Photo courtesy…

Health

Funeral Homes, Families Ponder Deaths In The Age Of COVID-19

JoNel Aleccia Mar 19, 2020

Funeral homes — already well-versed in ways to prevent disease — are implementing even stricter protocols to handle bodies infected with the novel coronavirus. File photo. MARYLAND - As COVID-19 cases spread across the nation,…

Health

How Intrepid Lab Sleuths Ramped Up Tests As Coronavirus Closed In

JoNel Aleccia Mar 16, 2020

Dr. Keith Jerome (left), director of the UW Medicine Virology laboratory in Seattle, and Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant director of the lab, quickly ramped up a test to detect the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. As of March 11, their lab…

Nursing Home Outbreak Spotlights Coronavirus Risk In Elder Care Facilities

JoNel Aleccia Mar 4, 2020

KIRKLAND, WA - An outbreak of coronavirus disease in a nursing home near Seattle is prompting urgent calls for precautionary tactics at America’s elder care facilities, where residents are at heightened risk of serious complications…

Health

Investigation Finds Scores of Organs, Mostly Kidneys, Trashed Each Year, Many More Become Delayed…

JoNel Aleccia Feb 11, 2020

Roger Brown, who runs the Organ Center at UNOS, estimates that up to 10 organs for transplant fly commercially every day. Photo courtesy of UNOS. CALIFORNIA - When a human heart was left behind by mistake on a Southwest Airlines…

Health

Creator Of Brain Exam That Trump Aced Demands New Training For Testers

JoNel Aleccia Jul 29, 2019

US President Donald Trump with White House Physicians following his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Whitehouse Photo. WASHINGTON - Last year, Dr. Ronny Jackson, then the White…

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