Latest KFF Health News Stories
At Risk: The Coronavirus Relief Money Belonging To Vulnerable Nursing Home Residents?
“We just don’t know,” says an advocate for elder issues. With outside visits prohibited or restricted, concerns center on potential pressure from nursing home facilities or family members to hand over the $1,200 stimulus funds. Other news from nursing home facilities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Montana and Texas is also reported.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Florida, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Georgia and Michigan.
Texas Cities – Confronting Mounting Case Counts – Worry About Hospitals’ Intensive Care Capacity
The state continues to report record highs in the number of hospitalizations, leading some officials to predict health systems could max out within the next two weeks. News outlets also report that Houston emergency room patients who have symptoms of the novel coronavirus are often sent home without being tested.
‘Windy City Is Becoming Bloody City’: Gun Violence Soars In Chicago, Targets Younger Victims
At least 336 people have been killed in Chicago through July 2 of this year, a homicide rate that is on track to hit the 2016 record of 778 deaths and comes at time when the nation debates policing. Nine children under 18 have been killed since June 20. News on spiking gun violence is also from Atlanta.
New CDC Data Reinforces Evidence That Black, Latino Americans Disproportionately Hit By Pandemic
The New York Times sued for access to the numbers that confirm drastic disparities in the impact of COVID-19 on African-American, Latino and Native American communities, while The Associated Press interviews doctors who say the inequalities and poor health outcomes are nothing new. Unemployment and mental health challenges based on race are also reported.
Study Links COVID-19 To Neanderthals
In other science news, researchers find new evidence that deepens the debate on whether a mutation helped the coronavirus spread.
School Districts Wrestle With Plans To Reopen In The Fall
The task is not easy as school officials attempt to balance the public health concerns and the need to implement steps such as temperature checks and social distancing with the imperative to bring children back to the classroom to prevent further damage to their social and educational development.
What’s Safe And What’s Not: Trying To Handicap Risks During The Coronavirus Era
Is it safe to go to bars, restaurants or — wait for it — casinos? What about protests? Are there risks — especially for seniors — in going to the doctor or dentist? What about the gym? And what happens during fire season? A range of articles attempt to explore these issues, as well as the changes COVID might bring to Americans’ personal and professional lives.
As COVID Crisis Deepens, Kids Struggle With Sleep, Anxiety, Social Isolation
Meanwhile, summer camps debate how and whether to operate. In other news affecting youths: antibiotic use; and safety risks in foster care.
More Testing Challenges Come With Surges In COVID Cases
As the U.S. works to get a handle on coronavirus testing, some health officials see pooled testing as an approach that could prove helpful. But what does that mean?
“When you’re engaging in all the correct practices, you stay safe,” said Dr. Seth Toomay, chief medical officer for UT Southwestern Health System. “Most of us [at UTSW] feel safer when we’re at work than when we’re out in the community.” News on health workers is on other essential hospital workers at hospitals and nurses face lawsuits, as well.
Study: Patients Often Rank Hospitality At Hospitals Ahead Of Health Care
The study of 50,000 patients involving more than 3,000 hospitals found a patient’s hospital recommendation had almost no correlation to the quality of medical care received or patient survival rate. Industry news is on limits on drug coupons in 2021 and lower health plan profits in Michigan, as well.
New Guidelines Released On How To Reuse N95 Respirators
Also the latest on: ventilator supplies from Britain and the Czech Republic; medical supplies from China; and the U.S. task force on hoarding and price-gouging.
About Face On Mask-Wearing: Texans, Kansans Get New Orders As Tensions Rise
Some citizens continue to view the orders as signs of governmental overreach despite the rapid rise in cases in their states. Other news on masks is on confusion surrounding them, their role in saving lives, problems with makeup, potential health risks for some and mask hostility, as well.
On Capitol Hill, Funding ‘Cliffs’ Loom For COVID-19 Aid
Now in the midst of the July recess, when lawmakers return to Washington they will face an aggressive to-do list that makes time tight to reach a compromise to address the public health and economic crises facing the nation.
Cutting-Edge RNA Research Jumps To Front Of Line In Vaccine Effort
Also: Britain closes in on a supply deal with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline; researchers are having difficulty finding healthy volunteers; and more. In other news, scientific research papers from China-based authors may have been created in a “paper mill.”
Study Finds Positive Results For Hydroxychloroquine
Whether or not the anti-malarial drug is effective has been a controversial question since President Donald Trump began hyping it in March. Now, Henry Ford Hospital researchers report a “significant reduction” in mortality rates with patients who were hospitalized between March 10 and May 2 and treated with it. But, adding to the debate around the drug’s power against the virus, the World Health Organization halts a trial using hydroxychloroquine and HIV treatment lopinavir-ritonavir in hospitalized COVID patients after interim results showed the drugs did not reduce mortality rates.
Trump’s Top Health Official Very Visible In Swing States
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has been very visible in nine key battleground states since April. Among them is New Hampshire, where President Donald Trump is planning an outdoor campaign rally in the days ahead. In other campaign news, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., a top official on Team Trump, tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the president’s Mount Rushmore address.
High Court Takes A Pass On Hearing Pending Abortion Cases
Just days after striking down a restrictive Louisiana law, the Supreme Court declined to take up several others. Meanwhile, House Democrats also take a pass on scrapping the decades-old Hyde amendment.
FDA Head Does Not Back Trump’s Unfounded Statement That 99% Of COVID Cases Are ‘Harmless’
President Donald Trump’s latest comments dismissing the severity of COVID-19 were met with criticism from mayors currently trying to manage outbreak hot spots. On the Sunday shows, FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn declined to confirm the validity of the president’s statement, while fact-checkers lay out the data that show it to be “dangerously” untrue.