Author

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, Reporter, recently graduated from Indiana University with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science. Her interest in health care during her collegiate years led her to volunteer in Panama and translate for patients at a local nonprofit clinic in Bloomington, Ind. Prior to becoming a Kaiser Health News reporter, Heredia Rodriguez also worked as an intern for South Bend Tribune and KHN, where her work was featured in KQED, Miami Herald and The Washington Post.

Health

Can Vaccination and Infection Rates Add Up to Reach Covid Herd Immunity?

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez Mar 17, 2021

Herd immunity, also known as community or population immunity, is a term used to describe the point at which enough people are sufficiently resistant — or have an immune response — to an infectious agent that it has difficulty spreading to…

Education

Adjunct Professors: Jobs Are Low on Pay and Health Benefits With High COVID Risk

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez Jul 23, 2020

Some colleges and universities are allowing faculty members to request accommodations if they feel uncomfortable returning to the classroom. But adjunct professors, cognizant of the poor job market and sometimes working on…

Health

For EMTs, There’s No ‘Rule Book’ For Facing Pandemic, Protests At Once

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez Jun 9, 2020

EMT members from Ohio arrived to help with COVID-19 emergency in New York City stand next to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn. Photo credit: Lev Radin / Shutterstock.com DENVER, CO - Emergency medical services across the…

Health

COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They’re Not

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez Apr 29, 2020

Her doctor worried she had COVID-19 but couldn’t test her for it until she ruled out other things. That test cost a bundle. Anna Davis Abel, a graduate student studying creative writing at West Virginia University, stands outside her home…

Health

After COVID-19: Doctors Ponder Best Advice As Patients Recover From Coronavirus

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez Apr 6, 2020

As with so many other aspects of this novel coronavirus, determining when a patient has recovered is still fraught with uncertainties. Early research has suggested that patients who have recovered from COVID-19 may also continue to spread…