Blake Farmer

As Community Health Systems has downsized, what remain are like zombie hospitals – little more than legal entities still taking patients to court even though the new owners don't sue.

Republican legislators in Tennessee pushed to limit marketing COVID-19 vaccines to youth, and to restrict access. Some doctors worry it will have a chilling effect on vaccinations.

Vermont and Massachusetts lead the nation, with more than 70% of adults having had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Southern states such as Tennessee lag far behind.

Congregations are figuring out how to safely meet in person now that the COVID-19 vaccine is more widely available. But vaccination remains divisive even as it allows them to come together again.

Some immigrant groups are closing the ethnic gap on COVID-19 shots. For many Kurdish Americans, their fears about vaccination are entangled with their experiences in refugee camps after fleeing Iraq.

A majority of white, rural conservatives in Tennessee are open to getting the vaccine at some point, but at least 45% won't consider it. Rates in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi are also lagging.

An NPR/Marist poll found that rural, white Republicans — especially supporters of former President Trump — are among the least likely to get a vaccine. In rural Tennessee, we hear from some of them.

Hospitalizations are down 62% for childhood respiratory illnesses, a study shows. Masking and physical distancing are keeping a variety of viruses in check, but will these behaviors last?

As the pace of vaccination picks up, so do reports of spoiled doses. In Tennessee, close to 5,000 doses have been lost, prompting more oversight from state and federal officials.

Black Americans are getting vaccinated at lower rates than whites. A new push to send vaccines to community health centers is intended to help quickly bridge that gap.