Latest KFF Health News Stories
Moderna Soon Will Begin Vaccine Trials For 15 Other Diseases
The company’s efforts will include prototype vaccines against Middle East respiratory syndrome, the Ebola and Marburg viruses, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, chikungunya, and dengue. The company has already begun trials for HIV and Zika vaccines, Bloomberg reported.
Lawmakers Close In On Deal For $15 Billion More In Covid Funding
The negotiations for additional relief money is part of ongoing budget negotiations that face a looming deadline. The White House urges lawmakers to move fast, saying that current funds are running out. In other news from the Hill: Sen. Ron Johnson races the specter of Obamacare repeal again.
Economic Burden Of LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy Is $9 Billion
New research showing the direct costs of LGBTQ+ conversion therapy are around $650 million a year, but the indirect costs of covering treatment for anxiety, depression, and the drug abuse it causes total $8.58 billion. Media outlets cover more LGBTQ+ issues, abortion restrictions, and more.
Mild Covid Can Cause Brain Damage, Study Finds
The shrinkage of brain matter was equivalent in size to at least one extra year of aging and as much as a decade. However, “it is possible that it is reversible,” said the lead author of the study, Gwenaëlle Douaud of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford.
CDC Head Expects Covid To Be Seasonal Like Flu
Dr. Rochelle Walensky said she anticipates covid being s seasonal virus, and spread more during the colder months. In other pandemic news: half of the people in Houston who died of covid had diabetes, and that it may be causing more diabetes cases among younger people who had covid.
Unvaxxed Navy Seals May Be Forced To Get Shots By Supreme Court
The White House is asking the Supreme Court to overrule a federal judge who had upheld the Navy Seals’ lawsuit against a Defense Department vaccine mandate. Separately, students are suing Santa Clara University over its booster mandate, alleging they experienced side effects.
FDA Clears Way For Sale Of Gene-Edited Beef
The Food and Drug Administration says it found no safety issues with meat from genetically altered cattle. The CRISPR-edited beef could hit the markets in two years, the FDA estimates.
Defying CDC And Science, Florida Says Healthy Kids Shouldn’t Get Vaxxed
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo didn’t say when the new guidance from the state’s department of health would become official and provided few details. But health experts immediately criticized the plan as needlessly putting millions of children in harm’s way.
Exposure To Lead In Gas As Kids Dulled IQ In Half Of US Adults: Study
Over 170 million people born in the U.S. before 1996 — when the country banned leaded gas — were exposed to harmful levels of lead during their developmental years, a new study estimates. And that resulted in an average per-person drop in IQ of 2.6 points.
EPA Proposes Tougher Truck Emission Standards To Combat Health Issues
The Environmental Protection Agency released a draft rule that would kick in by 2027 and impact large vehicles like tractor-trailer trucks and buses that emit toxic pollutants. Other environmental health stories report on asthma, extreme heat, tainted water, and more.
Editorial writers delve into these public health topics.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Perspectives: As School Mask Rules Change, Here Come The Bullies Again
Opinion writers weigh in on mask-wearing and also abortion.
Investors Push Unilever To Better Report Its Foods’ Nutritional Values
In other news, a study has shown that a weekly short muscle-strengthening exercise session could add years to your lifespan. And a report details the increased risks pregnant people will experience due to climate change — including exposure to extreme temperatures.
Medical Examiners in Mass. Often Use Photos, Not Bodies, To Do Autopsies
Nearly 1,200 times last fiscal year — or roughly 1 in 7 cases — a medical examiner did not examine a body in person before identifying a cause of death, The Boston Globe reported. That nearly doubled the number of so-called chart reviews from the previous year, the newspaper said. It’s all part of an effort to work faster and reduce a backlog of cases.
Food Supplies Threatened In Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
AP reports that the invasion is threatening food supply chains to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Reuters reports on Chinese plans for aid supplies to Ukraine. Separately, Hong Kong’s covid death rate is the highest in the world, and China’s daily case rate is higher than it’s been since the pandemic began.
$55M Fine Levied On LA County Health Plan For Delayed Treatments
L.A. Care, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, is under fire for delaying care for lots of poor and at-risk members. Meanwhile, Microsoft is nearing a purchase of AI and speech recognition firm Nuance; the nursing home industry is pressing for staff agency regulations; and more.
Addiction Doctors Want Patients To Keep Easy Access To Telehealth
Temporary pandemic emergency changes have made addiction care via telehealth easier, and Medill News Service reports that there’s pressure to maintain this type of access. Also: Amazon and Teladoc, a data breach at Ascension Michigan, a rapid test for African swine fever, and more.
New Bill Would Fund Mental Health Staff In Schools
The plan by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) would cover 90% of mental health service costs to children enrolled in Medicaid. Other reports say firearms killed 12.6 million Americans between 2009 and 2018. Suicides in Kansas and mental health responses to 911 calls are also in the news.
Second Day Of Mandate Protests Will Continue Today On Capital Beltway
The plan comes after a demonstration Sunday, where the “People’s Convoy” looped the Beltway twice. In other news, the Georgia Senate on Friday passed legislation that would ban any state, local agency or school from requiring anyone to get a covid vaccination.