Latest KFF Health News Stories
More Evidence Of Health Care Cost Barriers
Delayed care and lack of regulation of urgent-care clinics are examined. In other health industry news, billions of dollars in investment continue to flow into health care startups.
States Stumble Over Vaccine Rollouts As Wisconsin Drops Mask Mandate
Wisconsin’s high court has stuck down the governor’s statewide mask mandate, and Georgia is poised to lower its remaining covid restrictions. Meanwhile, reports explain why vaccine rollouts in D.C., Maryland and elsewhere are bollixed.
Maternal Health Suffered In Pandemic, But US Deaths Were Rising Before
A study covering 17 countries shows that maternal health complications, deaths and stillbirths rose during the pandemic. A separate CDC report shows that maternal mortality was up 15% in the U.S. in 2019 before the coronavirus had a major impact.
Vaccines Vs. Variants: New Studies Show How The Shots Fare
News outlets cover the latest research on how effective the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are in protecting against the variants first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Relief For Long-Haul Covid Patients May Come From Vaccines
In other covid research news, separate studies show covid variants can also infect mice, and that breathing activities like shouting do produce more aerosols, potentially spreading illnesses like covid.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
France Locks Down, Hit By Covid Surge; Few Infected Britons Took Covid Tests
In covid news from around the world, only 20% of covid sufferers with symptoms took tests in the U.K.; Poland unexpectedly rolls out widespread covid vaccines for the over 40s; and India opens vaccine eligibility to over 45s, which will impact global vaccine exports.
Probe Of The Origins Of Covid Roils Nations
Bat or pangolin? Yunnan or somewhere in Southeast Asia? The initial source of the coronavirus remains a mystery as China tries to deflect the focus to other places.
Contagious Covid Variant Spreading As Cases Rise Across U.S.
Worries rise that the more contagious B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. will cause another surge, as the CDC notes it’s the most prevalent strain found in five states. Meanwhile an uptick in infection numbers is reported.
CDC: Covid Officially The Third Biggest Cause of Death in 2020
U.S. Deaths in 2020: 3.3 million. Covid was the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. “Continued messaging and training for professionals who complete death certificates remains important as the pandemic progresses,” researchers said.
Dramática baja de enfermedades por virus comunes, ¿significa máscaras para siempre?
Algunos expertos, como los investigadores que intentan mejorar las máscaras, argumentan que más sociedades deberían adoptarlas, como lo han hecho algunos países asiáticos.
Opinion writers weigh in on vaccines, long haulers, covid-19 and vaccine passports.
Different Takes: Endometriosis Must Be Diagnosed Earlier; Health Fallout Of Microaggressions
Editorial pages tackle these public health issues.
Covid Herd Immunity Can Be Reached–And Then Lost
In other news of covid, pandemic research, Cleveland Clinic partners with IBM, T cells fight covid variants, and socio-economic disparities made clearer.
New York State Moves Toward Legalized Recreational Marijuana
In other news from across the states, a report highlights dangerous lead in a Florida factory; lines are reportedly short at Florida’s covid vaccination sites; Colorado battles vaccine hesitancy; and the Baltimore Sun reports on Maryland’s efforts to assure vaccine equity.
Covid Deaths At This Stage Of Pandemic Hit Families Especially Hard
In other public health news, retailers are pressured on toxic chemicals in products and will mask wearing never go away?
WHO: Health Workers Face Mental Health Challenges
The World Health Organization warned that doctors, nurses and medical staff report higher levels of anxiety and depression. Meanwhile health care workers deaths reach 3,605, according to a KHN and Guardian investigation.
Manhattan Hospital Criticized For Near $3,000 Covid Test Insurance Bills
A report highlights Lenox Hill Hospital charging health insurers nearly 30 times the typical cost of covid tests. Elsewhere the FCC plans to update its telehealth program, and Blue Cross North Carolina is set to be one of the first insurers to end covid cost-sharing protections.
Safety-Net Hospitals Worry About New Medicaid Cuts
Medicaid reimbursement reductions loom in many states which could endanger safety-net hospitals that did not fare well during the pandemic. News on Medicaid is also reported from Missouri, Arkansas, South Carolina and Mississippi.
White House Reverses Trump’s Global Anti-Reproductive Rights Policy
In other reproductive health news, Texas lawmakers approve six anti-abortion bills; Kentucky passes a constitutional amendment denying the right to abortion in the state; and Delaware begins to erase its 19th-Century law making abortion a felony.