Latest KFF Health News Stories
It’s not just equipment and gear where there are shortages: doctors and other health providers are being stretched thin, as well. To help alleviate some the strain, states and hospitals are asking for help from places that are not in crisis yet, along with calling on retirees and med students. Meanwhile, a lack of protective gear continues to endanger the workers.
Democrats Had A Battle Plan Ready Against Trump For 2020 Election. Now It’s Likely Moot.
President Donald Trump’s reelection chances are likely to rest upon his response to the pandemic, and there’s not much Democrats can do other than wait and watch. Issues like gun control, climate change, immigration and other hot-button topics are likely to fall to the wayside in face of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Trump touts his own performance to voters as he tries to sell a message that he’s handled the crisis well.
Allowing Gun Stores To Remain Open As Essential Prompts Concerns From Gun Control Advocates
The Trump administration recommended that states designate gun stores as a critical business during the pandemic. That guidance drew criticism who says that gun rights groups are sowing fears to drive up sales. “Adding more guns to more homes during a time of more anxiety could lead to more deaths. And that’s the last thing we need when our hospitals are already bursting at the seams,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a leading gun control group, told Reuters. Many states, including New Jersey are keeping the stores open.
Pandemic Opens Window Of Opportunity For Global Autocrats To Expand Their Power, Quell Any Dissent
Extraordinary times may call for extraordinary measures, but will government leaders relinquish their new power once the crisis has passed? Many fear that it will erase democratic gains made in some countries. Global news comes out of China, North Korea, Sweden, Mexico and Europe, as well.
Governors Given Free Rein By Trump, But There’s Only So Much They Can Do Without Federal Help
“That is a Darwinian approach to federalism; that is states’ rights taken to a deadly extreme,” said Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor who served for eight years on the Homeland Security Task Force of the National Governors Association. Some view President Donald Trump’s decision to let states take the lead as a way for him to avoid the worst of the criticism in the midst of the pandemic. Meanwhile, states who haven’t issued shut-down orders are facing increasing pressure to do so. And media outlets look at how states are being impacted by the crisis.
Some are wondering if it would have been smart for Americans to wear masks in the early days of the outbreak. There’s still no simple consensus on best practices, especially in the midst of mask shortages for health care workers, but the CDC is considering altering its recommendation that people cover their faces in some way. Meanwhile, WHO stands by its recommendation for healthy people not to wear masks.
Federal Judges Lift Restrictions Imposed On Abortions In Texas, Ohio And Alabama
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the state exercised proper discretion in halting the procedures because abortions are not “immediately medically necessary.” The court decisions could have repercussions for three other states as well. Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma also suspended abortions, calling them nonessential during the crisis.
With Home Deliveries Soaring, Instacart, Amazon Workers Demand Better Protections, Pay, Sick Leave
Millions of Americans are ordered to stay in place and many rely on deliveries for essential items like groceries. Many of the workers at Instacart and Amazon placing those orders are concerned about their own health and are asking for increased protection, additional pay and sick leave. Some are walking off the job.
Private companies rush to produce ventilators that hospitals and states say are desperately needed, despite President Donald Trump’s attacks on General Motors. Ford says the simplified ventilator design it will use to produce thousands of ventilators has been cleared by the FDA.
Doctors have been bracing themselves to cope with the looming threat of having to ration care because of a lack of ventilators and other medical equipment. As other New York hospitals split ventilators between two patients, NYU Langone Health has started telling doctors to “think more critically” about who gets care. In other news on equipment shortages: how taxpayer-funded low-cost ventilators ended up overseas, innovators who are rising to solve the problem, and tariffs that may be hurting the country’s efforts to fight pandemic.
Hospitals Granted ‘Unprecedented Flexibility’ As CMS Relaxes Safety Rules Around Treating Patients
CMS rule changes involve what counts as a hospital bed, how closely certain medical professionals need to be supervised and what kinds of health care can be delivered at home. The move allows hospitals to use non-medical facilities like gymnasiums and hotels without the need for FEMA to get involved. Hospitals would be allowed to offer health care providers free meals, laundry or child care services, as well.
Congress just passed a record-breaking $2.2 trillion stimulus package, but House Democrats are already planning for phase 4: “Our first bills were about addressing the emergency. The third bill was about mitigation. The fourth bill would be about recovery. Emergency, mitigation, recovery,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Republicans are less sure that another massive relief package is needed and are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Meanwhile, a top Pentagon watchdog is tapped to oversee the distribution of the trillions of dollars in stimulus.
Trump Thinks Testing Is No Longer A Problem, But Governors Beg To Disagree
President Donald Trump said in a phone call with governors that he hadn’t heard about testing concerns in weeks. “It would be shocking to me that if anyone who has had access to any newspaper, radio, social networks or any other communication would not be knowledgeable about the need for test kits,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said about the president’s comments. Meanwhile, The New York Times takes a deep dive into the lost month where testing flaws set the country back in its efforts to contain the outbreak. Meanwhile, companies race to put out a fast test, but the virus may be moving even faster.
Smart Thermometers Reveal That Social Distancing Measures Might Be Having Desired Effect
Kinsa, a maker of internet-connected thermometers, has more than 1 million in circulation and has been getting up to 162,000 daily temperature readings since COVID-19 began spreading in the country. As of noon Wednesday, the company’s live map showed fevers holding steady or dropping almost universally across the country.
The One-Two Punch That Changed Trump’s Mind On Re-Opening: Poll Numbers And Projected Deaths
President Donald Trump walked back optimistic projections that the country would start returning to normal by Easter. Reporting on what changed his mind shows that it wasn’t just the coronavirus forecasts that swayed him–voters’ opinions did as well. Meanwhile, a statistical model that the White House is consulting shows a death total that could climb past 84,000 Americans, though numbers shift daily with more information.
The number of U.S. deaths is nearing the total China has reported. Shortly after the USNS Comfort arrived in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the statewide death toll had risen by 253 in a single day. The naval ship will offer 1,000 hospital beds to help alleviate the strain for local hospitals. Meanwhile, other sites in the city, including Central Park, are being turned into field hospitals to help handle the overflow. And FEMA is sending refrigerated trucks to make up for the lack of space in the city’s morgues.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these COVID-19 topics and others.
Online Coronavirus Tests Are Just The Latest Iffy Products Marketed To Anxious Consumers
Americans are worried about the novel coronavirus, so they are turning to the internet for solutions to stem their fears. Buyer, beware. It could be dangerous.
Her Genetic Test Revealed A Microscopic Problem — And A Jumbo Price Tag
Molecular diagnostics are at the frontier of science, but insurance and billing questions create a minefield for patients.