Latest KFF Health News Stories
Media outlets report on global news from Singapore, Russia, China, Iran, New Zealand, St. Maarteen, and Chile.
As Most Surgeries Are Put On Hold, Organ Transplants See Steep Drop In New York, Northeast
After the year started off with more than 200 transplants a month, only 23 have been performed in April. “My fear is that we will see an increase in deaths on the waitlist because of the lack of availability for an organ right now,” said the director of an organ-procurement service. Other public health news reports on another rise in anti-semitic sentiment, more home births, rising anxiety, tips on communicating with your 24/7 partner and pleas to remember dangers of climate change on Earth Day, as well.
Even as health-worker shortages undermine efforts to battle the pandemic, providers who aren’t dealing directly with the pandemic are getting swept up into the economic downturn in a way that’s rarely been seen before. Meanwhile, medical staffing companies cut pay for ER workers at the same time as they spent millions in political ads. And media outlets offer glimpses from the front lines as workers tell their stories.
Abortion, Guns, Church, Voting: Flattening The Curve Limits Inflame Cultural Agendas On The Right
The New York Times explores how the government’s stay-at-home order is creating a rising restlessness on the right. News on abortion is on an a Texas court’s decision to limit medication-induced abortions.
Media outlets report on news from New York, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
Midwest Governors Work To Keep Meatpacking Plants Open As Infections Spread In Close Quarters
Meat processing workers are particularly susceptible to the virus because they typically work shoulder-to-shoulder and congregate in crowded locker rooms and cafeterias. More news on the food industry reports on the spread of COVID-19 among farm workers and at packaged-food companies.
As hospitals and health systems direct their full attention to the pandemic, patients with cancer, chronic illnesses and other health conditions are put into limbo. And when it comes to fast-moving diseases, that delay can have dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, hospitals start considering how to restart non-emergency surgeries and care.
As information floods in about COVID-19, experts struggle with making sure the best, more accurate rises to the top. But in a time when what is “best” and “accurate” remains murky, how do scientists approach their role in disseminating research? In other science and innovation news: why fit patients still get hit hard with the illness; why coronavirus infects some but not others; a look at how the virus interacts with water as summer nears; a skin condition that could give hints about who has COVID-19; and more.
“We haven’t known the true extent of COVID-19 infections in our community because we have only tested people with symptoms and the availability of tests has been limited,” Neeraj Sood, a professor of public policy at USC and lead researcher on the study. The numbers back up what public health experts have been saying about the confirmed cases being only the tip of the iceberg.
Advocates Worry Disabled Voters Could Fall Through The Cracks In Mail-In-Voting Movement
While lawmakers and election officials across the country push for more mail-in-voting, advocates worry the special needs of certain groups aren’t being taken into account amid all the rush.
As Small Business Loans Distributed, Questions Are Raised About Which Companies Gets Help And Why
Big chains are getting millions of dollars ahead of small companies who are hurting from the closures. The uproar over the distribution was so great that Shake Shack actually announced it will return its loan.
Republicans and Democrats have agreed to allocate $25 billion for testing in the newest stimulus funding legislation. But Democrats want a national system put into place, while Republicans think the money should be given to the states. The deal is also set to include $75 billion in assistance for hospitals. Meanwhile, banks say the new $500 billion plan still won’t be enough to meet the demand from small businesses.
Trump’s Effusive Praise Of Malaria Drug Has Diminished In Recent Days
President Donald Trump had touted hydroxychloroquine as a “game-changer” in the fight against the virus, alarming scientists who have not run full-scale trials on the drug that can have dangerous side effects in patients. But in recent days, Trump has mostly stayed away from talking about it. In other news from the administration: a fact check on Trump’s claims that then-President Barack Obama’s Swine Flu response was a failure; a look at how the surgeon general has been sidelined; and more.
Daunting Number Of Health Care Workers Needed To Launch Contact Tracing Program Crucial To Reopening
The National Association of State and Territorial Health Organizations estimates that the country may need to hire as many as 100,000 such “disease intervention specialists,” at a cost of $3.6 billion. Other experts predict that number could be as high as 300,000.
An intense and chaotic scramble that involves cloak-and-dagger tactics continues to unfold as hospitals, cities and states go out on their own to compete for masks and gowns, with uneven and shifting coordination by the federal government. Meanwhile, to understand the medical shortage currently happening, experts look at what happened with the lithium battery. And nurses in New York sue hospital systems over a lack of protective gear.
In terms of political vulnerabilities, sometimes a simple statement can balloon into a defining issue of a campaign. For President Donald Trump, the administration’s missteps on testing in the early days of the outbreak may do just that. Meanwhile, as some governors and the president continue to trade accusations over testing, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced that he has obtained 500,000 kits from South Korea, crediting his wife Yumi Hogan in helping lock down the deal.
Facebook says it is not only trying to combat misinformation about the coronavirus online but also trying to mitigate efforts for protesters to gather in large groups against public health experts’ guidance. But Republicans have been quick to call the company’s actions a “chilling and disturbing” infringement of free speech.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) put the state on an aggressive course toward reopening, saying that he was prioritizing his residents’ need to put food on the table for their kids. But health experts have been vocal about the dangers of lifting stay-at-home orders too quickly as states that do so will likely be overwhelmed with a second surge of cases. Tennessee and South Carolina announced similar steps to relax social distancing guidelines following Kemp’s announcement.
Administration officials said the order wouldn’t make substantial changes to current U.S. policy–even without an executive order, the administration has already all but ceased nearly every form of immigration. But some of President Donald Trump’s vocal supporters want assurances when it comes to job scarcity.
Opinion writers weigh in on these pandemic issues and others.