Kristen Hwang
CalMatters ReporterKristen Hwang reports on health care and policy for CalMatters. She is passionate about humanizing data-driven stories and examining the intersection of public health and social justice. Prior to joining CalMatters, Kristen earned a master’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public health from UC Berkeley, where she researched water quality in the Central Valley. She has previously worked as a beat reporter for The Desert Sun and a stringer for the New York Times California COVID-19 team.
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California relaxed its COVID-19 isolation guidelines just as infections for the respiratory virus increased. Symptom-free people can go to work or school. -
Black women are three times more likely than any other women to die during or immediately after pregnancy. California lawmakers passed a law in 2019 requiring hospitals to train labor and delivery staff on unconscious bias in medicine. -
It’s a confusing time in the COVID pandemic. A new booster is on the way, but cases are rising and you might want more protection now. -
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to rethink how California spends its millionaire’s tax by directing more money toward housing. Some county-run mental health programs could lose out. -
Supreme Court the FDA's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone until a lower federal court hears the case. -
A ruling that suspends federal approval for medication abortion will not be easy for California abortion access advocates to overcome. Unless it’s reversed on appeal, the drug will likely be pulled from pharmacy shelves. -
Some California COVID testing sites are set to close as the state prepares to end the state of emergency in February. -
Once considered an infection nearly eradicated, congenital syphilis rates have risen dramatically in California. Community health workers fan out across communities to find and treat patients who are often homeless or battling addiction. -
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the Roe decision, here are key takeaways of what to expect for abortion in California. They include the politics, more legislation, a possible influx of out-of-state patients and changes for health care providers. -
A year after ramping up to vaccinate 6 million low-income residents, community clinics are in dire final straits waiting for state money. Some are cutting services.
