Latest KFF Health News Stories
Commencement Canceled, Booster Shots Mandated: Covid Hits Schools
The University of Maryland has had to cancel its winter commencement after over 100 covid cases hit its campus. Meanwhile, Emory University and Stanford University are mandating booster shots as omicron looms. Other covid news in education is also reported.
NFL, NBA Revise Covid Protocols As Infections Rise
The professional basketball league enhanced its safeguards through the holiday season with more testing and a return of masks for many situation. And the football league is making it easier for fully vaccinated players who test positive but are asymptomatic to return to the field.
Courts Deal More Setbacks To Federal Vaccine Mandates
Meanwhile, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court block on the vaccine mandate that impacts health workers in about half of the states. And members of the military are dismissed for refusing to get the shot.
Hospitals Delay Surgeries, Treat People At Home As Covid Surges
In rural Arizona, the strain on hospital staff has caused a plea for federal help. Axios reports on how some medical staff are at “breaking point.” And a KHN report covers how some paramedics are being pressed into transferring patients between overstretched hospitals instead of tackling emergencies.
Severe Covid More Than Doubles Patient’s Risk Of Dying Inside A Year
In other sobering covid research news, scientists have found infections can cause long-term impacts to the brain. But AstraZeneca announced a lab study of its antibody drug Evusheld worked against the omicron variant of covid, and a separate study suggests shark antibodies may be useful in the battle against the virus.
Main Flu Strain Has Mutated; Current Flu Vaccines May Not Prevent Infection
It’s bad news for the vaccine, said Scott Hensley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania who led the study. Flu vaccines protect against four strains: H3N2, H1N1 and two strains of influenza B. The study covers just H3N2, but that happens to be the main circulating strain.
Biden Warns Of Deadly Winter; Fauci Says Omicron To Be Dominant Variant
Winter is bringing the threat of “severe illness and death,” President Joe Biden warns. Dr. Anthony Fauci forecasts that it would only be a matter of weeks until omicron is the dominant covid variant in the U.S. And a small study in South Africa indicates that omicron covid can break through booster shot protections.
FDA Clears Path To Make It Easier To Access Abortion Pills
The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it will relax restrictions on medication that induces abortions, allowing doctors to prescribe it online or deliver it by the mail or directly to a pharmacy. The move is expected to open a new front in the political fights over abortion.
Biden Acknowledges Social Spending Bill Will Slip To 2022
Negotiations between party leaders and Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, bogged down over the cost of the package. President Joe Biden signaled that getting the bill out of the Senate will have to wait until senators return in January. The Hill reports on worries the whole package will have to be reworked. But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, says he thinks the bill is “dead.”
CDC Endorses Moderna, Pfizer Covid Vaccines Over J&J Shot
Ongoing concerns over rare blood clots prompts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to narrow the use of Johnson & Johnson’s covid vaccine in adults.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Research Roundup: From Dr. Fauci’s Team: A Promising HIV Vaccine
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Different Takes: Updated Covid Prevention Strategies; Omicron Doesn’t Just Infect Unvaccinated
Opinion writers weigh in on these covid issues.
Viewpoints: Reversing Roe Will Affect Miscarriage Care; Addressing The Youth Mental Health Crisis
Editorial pages tackle these public health concerns.
As The Pandemic Hit In 2020, Health Spending Soared Upward
Politico’s figures place the medical system as accounting for just less than a fifth of the economy at the end of 2020. Modern Healthcare says overall U.S. healthcare spending jumped 9.1% in 2020, with covid relief money as the primary driver — the biggest jump since 2002.
Houston Researchers Achieve Breast Cancer Treatment Breakthrough
The Houston Methodist team found triple negative breast cancer tumors regressed, and were prevented from spreading when treated with chemotherapy and a drug normally used against heart failure. Also, lead in drinking water, stuttering treatment, medical malpractice and more are in the news.
UK’s Covid Surge Tops Records Amid Warnings Of Worse Ahead
Wednesday’s new confirmed case numbers in the U.K. were the highest since the pandemic began. Moderna, meanwhile, is set to begin trials of its covid shot in Africa on an as-yet-untested population: people with HIV.
White House Plan Would Replace Every Lead Water Pipe
The ancient Romans knew lead was poisonous. Over 2,000 years later, Vice President Kamala Harris will detail the plan to replace every lead water pipe in the U.S. Meanwhile, the White House’s social spending agenda may be delayed again by Sen. Joe Manchin, who reportedly still wants to a lower price tag on the bill.
FDA May Reform Abortion Provision By Allowing More Pills By Mail
Reports suggest the Food and Drug Administration is poised to make it permanently easier to access abortion medication by mail. Separately, the Houston Chronicle says Harris County will be allowed to spend public money to counter Texas’ strict anti-abortion laws, including direct funding of care.
CDC Panel Could Recommend Halting J&J Shot As Blood Clot Issues Continue
Advisers will meet today to review updated data from the Johnson & Johnson single-dose covid vaccine. The panel is expected to vote on whether to update its recommendation for the vaccine’s use, which could mean continuing to administer it to anyone 18 or older or even to “get rid of it, or only use it in certain populations,” said one clinician familiar with the agenda.