Social behavior

When Hospital Cyberattacks Compromise Care, Not Just Data - KFF Health News When hospitals are hit by cyberattacks that compromise crucial technology systems for managing patient care, the stakes are staggering. “We’ve started to think about these as public health issues and disasters on the scale of earthquakes or hurricanes,” said Jeff Tully, a co-director of the Center for Healthcare Cybersecurity at the University of California at […] khnerich KFF Health News

...

Jury fines BlueCross for firing worker over COVID-19 vaccine mandate | Chattanooga Times Free Press

A Tennessee jury has awarded a former research scientist at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee $687,000 in back pay and damages after she was fired in 2021 for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Following a three-day jury trial in Chattanooga last week, a federal jury decided BlueCross failed to provide reasonable accommodation for Tanja Benton, who did most of her work from home and claimed a religious exemption to the company's vaccine mandate.

...

Reminders—but not free rides—boost COVID-19 booster uptake Text messages increased 30-day COVID-19 booster uptake by 21%. CIDRAP

Nature has published a large study showing that text message reminders to receive a COVID-19 booster worked to increase vaccine uptake, but that offering free rides to pharmacies did not.