Latest KFF Health News Stories
Global news is from Brazil, Serbia, India, France, Greece, China, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, and more.
J&J Urged To Stop Selling Talc-Based Baby Powder Worldwide
Also in the news: Botox, Roundup, mitochondrial research and a Q&A with a disease detective.
Transcripts Show George Floyd Told Arresting Officers Over 20 Times That He Could Not Breathe
“You’re going to kill me, man,” George Floyd said, according to a transcript of video from a police body camera. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd’s neck, responded: “Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.”
Ivy League Halts Sports Until January; Will Other Schools Follow?
In a statement, the Ivy League Council of Presidents said it didn’t think it could maintain “acceptable levels of risk” for student athletes. Also: Stanford eliminates 11 varsity sports; the UIL mandates masks in its summer workouts for anyone over 10.
Media outlets report on news from California, Texas, Nebraska, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland and Puerto Rico, as well.
Study Confirms Race, Age, Gender Play Big Roles In Dying From COVID-19
Other coronavirus news includes updates on silent transmission, testing, mental health, telehealth, prisons and more. Also: a shot for HIV and creating safe havens for opioid addicts.
Back To School Rules Aren’t Clear Cut
School districts across the country struggle with establishing guidelines and procedures that would allow children to return to classes but still protect the students, the school staff and parents from coronavirus infections. Few are opening all the way.
Calif. Security Guard Accused Of Killing Man Who Didn’t Wear Mask
As tensions rise across the nation over mask-wearing mandates, New Jersey and Atlanta expand their rules on wearing them in public. Also: news on the manufacturing and shortages of PPE.
Study Points To Possible Link Between COVID-19 And Brain Damage
Findings from a small study were published in the journal Brain. Researchers from the University College of London suggested that COVID-19 patients may be at increased risk for neurological conditions such as delirium, brain inflammation and stroke, among other things.
‘Ethical Heartburn’: FDA Official Pauses Over Safety Of Exposing Vaccine Trial Patients To COVID
In human challenge studies, people are exposed to the disease. But no cures exist for COVID-19, lethal to vulnerable patients. “If something bad happens, you don’t have a perfect fix for it,” said the FDA’s Peter Marks. News on vaccines is on how to volunteer, how it will get to market and more.
China Hits Back At U.S. Decision To Exit The World Health Organization
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the State Department will work with Congress on funding already earmarked for the international health organization.
Walgreens To Expand Into The Primary Care Business In Partnership With VillageMD
The drugstore chain announced that it would redesign 700 of its existing stores to add in small doctor-led primary care clinics. The operations would also include nurses and social workers.
Initial guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to safely reopen schools was the target of a critical tweet from President Donald Trump. Shortly after, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the agency would release additional guidance. And the CDC’s director weighed in on the role kids may play in virus transmission.
Supreme Court Rules Some Employers Can Opt Out Of Health Law’s Birth Control Mandate
The Supreme Court settled — at least for now — a decade’s worth of litigation over the women’s health provisions of the Affordable Care Act, ruling 7-2 that employers with a “religious or moral objection” to providing contraceptive coverage to their employees may opt out without penalty.
Trump Administration May Use Infectious-Disease Risk As Reason To Deny Asylum To More Immigrants
A proposed rule would allow federal agencies to block people from countries with widespread communicable disease from seeking asylum in the U.S. “It is difficult to predict the impact that another emerging or re-emerging communicable disease would have on the United States public health system,” reads the regulation notice.
Trump Tulsa Rally Now Eyed As Possible Trigger For Virus Surge
In other news at the intersection of political campaigning and public health, flexibility becomes the buzz word for planners of the Republican National Convention while the Texas state GOP convention — scheduled for this week in hot-spot Houston — has been cancelled.
Nearly 60,000 Cases In One Day: U.S. Sets Another Daily COVID-19 Record
Over 3.1 million cases have now been confirmed in the U.S. and the death toll is nearing 135,000. By Election Day, that number could grow to 200,000, according to a new projection. Florida and Texas continue to be two hot-spot states in the latest surge. Worldwide, known coronavirus infections pass the 12 million mark.
As COVID Testing Soars, Wait Times For Results Jump To A Week — Or More
The delays can be excruciating, with some extreme cases running more than 20 days. People getting tested at urgent care centers, community health centers, pharmacies and state-run drive-thru or walk-up sites are often waiting a week or more to find out if they tested positive for the coronavirus.
Amid Surge, Hospitals Hesitate To Cancel Nonemergency Surgeries
Unlike earlier in the year, most hospitals are not proactively canceling elective surgeries, even in some places seeing spikes in coronavirus patients.
When It Comes To Coronavirus, The U.S. Leads The World … But Not In A Good Way
The United States is in first place in the number of COVID-19 deaths and cases, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo maintains the U.S. is also leading in terms of its response. His position highlights the tensions between some administration officials — including the president — and public health experts.