JoNel Aleccia is a Senior Correspondent focused on aging and end-of-life issues on the KHN enterprise team. Before joining KHN in November 2016, 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. Before that, she was a reporter, editor and columnist at newspapers in the Northwest. JoNel was a member of reporting teams that won National Press Club Awards for digital journalism focused on the Great Recession and on amputees in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
JoNel Aleccia
From this contributor
Despite measles outbreaks, vaccine exemptions easy to obtain in U.S. states
As measles outbreaks continue across the United States, newly revealed health records from Oregon suggest it’s surprisingly easy to opt out of required vaccinations in that state — as in several others.

Despite measles outbreaks, vaccine exemptions easy to obtain in U.S. states
U.S. measles outbreak sends hesitant families scrambling for vaccines
Demand for measles vaccine has surged in the Washington county where the highly contagious virus is linked to more than 50 confirmed illnesses this year — including among people who had previously shunned the shots.

U.S. measles outbreak sends hesitant families scrambling for vaccines
Explore more from The Transmitter
Astrocyte networks span large swaths of brain
The networks are plastic, connect brain regions that aren’t connected by neurons and may enable long-distance communication between astrocytes, a new preprint shows.
Astrocyte networks span large swaths of brain
The networks are plastic, connect brain regions that aren’t connected by neurons and may enable long-distance communication between astrocytes, a new preprint shows.
New findings on Phelan-McDermid syndrome; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 1 September.

New findings on Phelan-McDermid syndrome; and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 1 September.
From bench to bot: Why AI-powered writing may not deliver on its promise
Efficiency isn’t everything. The cognitive work of struggling with prose may be a crucial part of what drives scientific progress.

From bench to bot: Why AI-powered writing may not deliver on its promise
Efficiency isn’t everything. The cognitive work of struggling with prose may be a crucial part of what drives scientific progress.