Latest KFF Health News Stories
Big Day For California: Most Covid Restrictions Now Lifted
At midnight, state orders on business capacity limits, social distancing and mask mandates ended. Meanwhile, state officials continue to push for more people to get vaccinated.
Argument Over Masks Triggers Deadly Georgia Supermarket Shooting
A grocery store cashier is dead and others injured when a customer returned to the store with a gun following words about face coverings, the DeKalb County sheriff says. Mask requirements news is reported elsewhere, as well.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Different Takes: Mixing Vaccines Could Prove More Effective; US Still Has a PPE Supply Problem
Opinion writers tackle these covid, PPE and vaccine issues.
Editorial writers weigh in on these various public health issues.
Ohio Budget Could Exempt Doctors From Procedures On Religious Grounds
Hospitals could also refuse to provide treatment and insurers could refuse to pay on moral belief grounds under a clause in the state budget bill. Separately, a bill in Washington could permanently expand telehealth services under Medicare.
England’s Reopening May Be Delayed A Month As Delta Variant Surges
In other news, Germany has reported the fewest new covid cases in nine months; Moscow enters a new lockdown amid a surge; two monkeypox cases are reported in the U.K.; and a Danish soccer star’s heart suddenly stopped during a game Saturday.
As Variant Threat Lingers, California Prepares For Reopening
Most social distancing rules will lift on Tuesday in California. The lingering threat from variants, mask rules in churches and how theme parks will check vaccine status are also in the news, as is a report noting the stricter lockdown in the state didn’t hurt the economy.
Florida Autism Service Provider Pushes Back At Medicaid Verification Failures
Positive Behavior Support alleges the electronic visit-verification system is invalidating behavior-analysis claims by changing them after submission. In other news, the Department of Health and Human Services will give $424 million to boost rural health clinic covid efforts.
More Elderly People Are Prescribed Drugs That Could Lead To Falls
The Washington Post reports on a two-decade-long rise in the use of drugs that can raise fall risks in older people. Meanwhile, rural children have greater difficulty finding health care, and a mom in Florida is demanding better labeling on marijuana edibles.
Special Report: Axios Investigates Predatory Billing At Top US Hospitals
The news group, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, takes a deeper look at rising deductibles and out-of-pocket costs that are increasingly leaving patients with bloated medical bills.
Judge Rejects Houston Medical Workers’ Anti-Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit
Houston Methodist’s requirement for employee covid vaccines is valid, a federal judge ruled. Meanwhile, reports say a shortage of physicians could top 139,000 by 2033, and a shortage of psychiatric workers is leading to long waits for children’s mental health care.
Philips Recalls Some CPAP Machines, Ventilators Over Cancer Risk
The recall centered around a foam part that might degrade and become toxic, potentially causing cancer, the company said Monday. In other pharmaceutical and biotech news, the FDA authorized IpsiHand for stroke victims, and Bayer is expanding its manufacturing of birth control.
Alzheimer’s Association Urges Biogen To Lower Price Of Aduhelm
And the continued controversy over the approval of Aduhelm has many people wondering: When will the FDA get a permanent commissioner?
Where Covid Is Still Spreading In The US — Or Could Claw Back Again
While cases drop dramatically in the U.S., experts are carefully watching trends in states with lower vaccination rates. A slight rise has already been reported in eight. And minority communities are still at critical risk.
Long-Haul Covid Shares Similarities With Alzheimer’s, Study Suggests
Other covid research news is on antigen tests, antibody treatments, smart thermometers and bickering over how to name the covid variants.
G7 Leaders Discuss Covid Lab-Leak Theory, Call For Renewed WHO Probe
President Joe Biden signed onto the communique asking for a “timely, transparent” investigation by the World Health Organization into the origins of the covid pandemic.
J&J Must Toss 60M Doses After Plant Contamination Incident
Following inspections at the Emergent BioSolutions plant in Baltimore, the Food and Drug Administration told Johnson & Johnson that 60 millions covid vaccine doses could be tainted and are unusable, The New York Times reports. No shots manufactured at the troubled facility have been administered in the U.S.
Novavax Says Trials Show Its Covid Vaccine To Be Safe And 90% Effective
The vaccine manufacturer plans to apply for FDA clearance in the third quarter of this year. If authorized, it would be the fourth vaccine available in the U.S. And another coronavirus shot option would help boost global vaccination efforts.
US Vaccine Donations Could Spike By Another 1 Billion, Biden Says At G7
“There’s a possibility over in 2022, going into 2023, that we would be able to be in a position to provide another billion U.S., but that’s not done yet,” President Joe Biden said Sunday at a news conference at the end of the Group of Seven summit.