Latest KFF Health News Stories
Breast Cancer-Fighting Pill Helps Keep Recurrence At Bay: Study
According to promising research released by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, AstraZeneca’s drug Lynparza cut the risk of recurrence of breast cancer or death among patients with mutations in genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Lynparza carries a list price of just under $14,500 in the U.S.
California Keeps Masks Rules At Work, Unless Everyone Is Vaccinated
A California safety board voted to relax some workplace safety rules, but recommended continued mask wearing among vaccinated workers if even one colleague in a room is unvaccinated. Also in the news: vaccine and mask mandates, and LED skin care masks.
US To Boost COVAX Supply By 25M Doses In First Global Vaccine Donation
President Joe Biden announced details Thursday about the first batch of covid vaccines that the U.S. will share with other nations. The initial allotment will go to the United Nations-backed consortium COVAX that aims to get shots to the neediest places. The U.S. has pledged to share a total of 80 million doses globally.
Covid Outbreaks A Possibility For States That Miss Biden’s 70% Shot Goal
CNN reports on “sitting duck” states where the pace of vaccination is too slow to meet the White House’s July 4 goal of 70% adults with at least one covid shot. Meanwhile, Washington state tries vaccine incentives and Maine will end its mobile vaccine unit efforts.
Fauci Thinks Covid Was Animal-Sourced But Doesn’t Dismiss Lab Leak
Walking a fine line on the complex matter of a lab leak or animal source for covid, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was keeping an open mind. Separately, ex-CDC director Robert Redfield said he’d received death threats over suggesting covid was lab-sourced.
US Passes 600,000 Covid Deaths In Grim Reminder That Toll Is Still Mounting
Even as new daily infections in the U.S. stay below 20,000 for a third-straight day, covid remains a deadly disease that is still taking American lives.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on Covid, vaccines and masks.
Editorial pages tackle syringe programs, healthcare for new mothers and the full potential of nurses.
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
75% Of Adults In UK Now Vaccinated With At Least One Shot
75.2% of people aged 18 and over have been vaccinated in the U.K., and the government sees a full unlocking as a possibility soon. Other covid news includes vaccine supplies, ongoing surges, the Vietnam mutation and the spread of the Delta variant from India.
California Plans To Give Health Care Workers $10,000 ‘Hero’ Bonuses
The $7 billion plan is controversial though. Separately, California has to pay $2 million in legal fees over lawsuits related to covid church closures, and the California Senate approved legislation to decriminalize possession of psychedelic drugs.
FDA Seeks Tool To Trace Sources Of Food Illness Outbreaks
Separately, a study shows superbugs are less likely to be found in organic meat. Warnings against eating cicadas if you have seafood allergy, athlete mental health, and suicides among young people suffering schizophrenia are also in the news.
Alaska’s Health Services Still Recovering From Cyberattack
In other news, Arizona’s plans to use a poison labelled Zyklon B by the Nazis for executions draw condemnation; smokable medical marijuana is backed by Louisiana lawmakers; and a Dallas high school valedictorian spoke out over Texas’ new anti-abortion laws.
Sackler Family Set To Avoid Future Opioid Lawsuits
Meanwhile, Kentucky is suing CVS for its role in supplying and distributing opioids. Vermont has also decriminalized possession of buprenorphine–used for treating opioid dependency.
Hospital Tried To Discharge Patients Without Telling Them, Records Show
In response, Rhode Island’s Eleanor Slater Hospital says it will toughen its policies. Other health care industry news is on the Scripps ransomware attack, expensive prescriptions, a convicted VA pathologist who lacked oversight and a nursing home manager accused of endangering residents.
Popular Tool For Childbirth Risks After C-Sections Loses Race Bias
The tool for calculating vaginal birth risks after cesarean sections had reported higher risks for pregnancies in non-white patients. Elsewhere, electronic health records in rural hospitals, Chicago’s Mercy Hospital, DispatchHealth and Johns Hopkins are also in the news.
Senator Investigating AbbVie’s Taxes
Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has alleged that AbbVie “shifts profits offshore while reporting a domestic loss in the United States to avoid paying U.S. corporate income taxes.”
New Rule Would Ban Some Baby Sleep Products Tied To Accidental Deaths
The Consumer Product Safety Commission aims to close a loophole that has allowed for an explosion in untested infant sleep products that conflict with federal safe sleep guidelines, The Washington Post reports. Other Biden administration news touches on OSHA, so-called Havana syndrome, HHS migrant shelters and more.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Nationwide Moratorium On Evictions
The freeze was enacted by public health officials as a way to keep people in their homes and out of crowded homeless shelters during the pandemic.