Latest KFF Health News Stories
Democratic Convention, Night 1: Hitting Trump Team on Pandemic Preparedness
The coronavirus was a critical theme throughout the evening.
Editorial writers focus on these public health issues and others.
Media outlets report on news from Japan, Australia, Panama, South Korea, France, Spain and South Africa.
Opinion writers express views on these pandemic issues and others.
Study: People With High Levels Of BPA Have Higher Risk Of Death
In other public health news: red cabbage is suspected in a Cyclospora outbreak; less than half of U.S. kids are aerobically fit; companies are adjusting their benefits packages to help with fertility treatments; and more.
In Midwest Tour, Birx Urges People To Protect One Another
Media outlets report on news from Oklahoma, New York, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Iowa and elsewhere.
Children With Special Needs Face Greater Challenges As Schools Reopen
The mask requirement alone can be problematic, many parents say. In other news: parents struggle to balance work needs with school needs; one Kansas teacher has tracked COVID’s effects in K-12 schools; a new study cautions reliance on fever checks; and more.
Number Of Kids With Type 1 Diabetes Soared During Pandemic, Study Finds
Researchers in the U.K. are investigating a possible link to COVID after they learned that some of the children “had active coronavirus or had previously been exposed to the virus,” Reuters has reported.
‘A Disconnect’: Insurer Sees Loophole In Trump Policy On Pooled Tests
Cigna initially said it wouldn’t cover any pooled COVID-19 testing in a coverage policy that went into effect on Aug. 1. Heath industry news is on refunds, telehealth, remote working at Mass General, and more.
UNC Slams Brakes On Classes; Other Colleges Can’t Seem To Rev Up, Either
Meanwhile, videos of college students having parties are still cropping up. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s top coronavirus adviser, say the parties are driving the spread of COVID.
Doctors On Front Lines Fight Social Media Misinformation — And Often Lose
For example, thousands of people have died or been hospitalized for drinking highly concentrated doses of alcohol, a social media rumor said to kill the virus. News on health care personnel is also on the resignations of public health officials and more.
Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Might Be Easier Than Thought, Researchers Say
Scientists are now suggesting that herd immunity is achievable if 50%, not 70%, of a given population becomes immune through vaccination or surviving the infection. In other scientific news: is there a weekly COVID pattern?; a new mutation may be less deadly; and more.
Common COVID Test Can Provide False Results, FDA Warns
The FDA has alerted doctors and labs that they must use updated instructions with Thermo Fisher’s TaqPath or the test could yield inaccurate results. In other testing and tracing news: rapid tests, an Iowa data glitch, long wait times for results and more.
One Vaccine Begins Phase 2 Trials; Oleandrin Treatment Is ‘Remote’
Novavax tests will be done in South Africa, which is experiencing a winter surge of COVID.
White House Aide Slams Kodak For ‘Dumbest Decisions … In Corporate History’
Kodak is accused of violating insider-trading laws for disclosing a $765 million loan it won from the federal government to make pharmaceutical ingredients.
Trump Ad Blitz Touts Efforts To Tackle High Drug Prices
With health care a top issue of the 2020 presidential contest, the social media ads signal how President Donald Trump will position his record. And the Trump campaign unveils branded face masks.
House Democrats Push Bill To Provide $25 Billion To Postal Service
Meanwhile, Republican Senate leaders are putting together an alternative coronavirus relief package that would also include funds for the U.S. Postal Service. Mail-in voting during the pandemic continues to be a hot-button issue.
Medicare Inspections Of Nursing Homes Halted By Pandemic To Resume
Onsite inspections of by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of providers and suppliers will resume for the first time since March 23.
‘He Cannot Meet This Moment’: Convention Speakers Excoriate Trump’s Ability To Handle Pandemic
“He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,” said former first lady Michelle Obama in the keynote speech of the first night of the virtual Democratic National Convention. Other speakers who made waves are Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.) and Andrew Cuomo (N.Y.), as well as a woman who’s father died from COVID-19: His “only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump.”
Trump’s Transgender Health Rule Paused By Federal Judge
U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block issued a temporary injunction against an HHS regulation, scheduled to take effect Tuesday, that would roll back Obama-era protections for transgender people seeking health care.