Child Uninsurance Rate Dropped During Pandemic, Data Show
The decrease — from 5.7% in 2019 to 5.4% in 2021 — is being called a “small but significant decline,” equating to 200,000 more children with health insurance, Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families said.
Stateline:
More Children Have Gained Health Insurance During Pandemic
The rate of children without health insurance declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely the result of a provision passed by Congress that barred states from dropping anyone from Medicaid during the public health emergency. According to an analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau data by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, the child uninsurance rate in 2021 was 5.4%, compared with 5.7% in 2019, the year before the pandemic took hold. (Ollove, 9/21)
In other pandemic news —
The Washington Post:
Nursing Home Understaffing In Pandemic Harmed Residents, House Panel Says
A special House panel investigating the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic said it has found anecdotal evidence of understaffing at nursing homes that led to patient neglect and harm. At a hearing Wednesday, the select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis discussed some of its findings, including how large nursing home chains reacted to complaints from staff and families. (Rowland, 9/21)
Becker's Hospital Review:
US Healthcare Workers More Emotionally Exhausted Amid Pandemic, Study Says
Emotional exhaustion among U.S. healthcare workers worsened over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and threatens to compromise patient care, according to a Sept. 21 analysis from JAMA Network Open. (Tucker, 9/21)
Modern Healthcare:
COVID-19 Tests In 2020 Compromised Due To FDA’s Authorization Process
A report released Wednesday by the HHS Office of the Inspector General pointed to problems with test performance and said patients may have received inaccurate results. The report said the federal government needs to solicit input from a variety of stakeholders and overhaul its strategy ahead of the next pandemic. (Goldman, 9/21)
The Atlantic:
Fauci Addresses ‘The Pandemic Is Over’
Several days after President Joe Biden declared that “the pandemic is over,” Anthony Fauci weighed in on the president’s controversial remarks during an interview at The Atlantic Festival, an annual live event in Washington, D.C.
“He was saying we’re in a much better place with regard to the fulminant stage of the pandemic,” Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, said. “It really becomes semantics and about how you want to spin it.” (Stern, 9/21)
More on the spread of covid —
Des Moines Register:
Iowa Department Of Public Health Reports State's 10,000th COVID Death
Iowa has surpassed another grim milestone. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported the state's 10,000th death in which COVID-19 was either the underlying cause or a contributing factor. The state's official death toll for the pandemic is now 10,051. (Webber, 9/21)
Fortune:
Scientists Were Worried About A Particular Variant This Fall. They Didn't Expect Its Offspring
Omicron spawn BA.2.75, dubbed “Centaurus,” seemed like the COVID variant to watch this summer—one with the potential to wreak unprecedented havoc later in the year. ... Instead, one of its children, BA.2.75.2, has outcompeted it, eliminating it as a threat—but replacing it with a more formidable one. It’s one to watch this fall, says Dr. Raj Rajnarayanan, assistant dean of research and associate professor at the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Ark., for more reasons than one. (Prater, 9/21)
AP:
Danish Queen Tests Positive After UK Monarch's Funeral
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the royal palace said Wednesday. In a statement, the royal household said that Margrethe, 82, who has been on the throne for 50 years, canceled her official duties after the Tuesday night test. (9/21)
On vaccine and mask mandates —
The Hill:
Federal Judge Strikes Down Biden Administration’s Head Start Vaccine, Mask Mandate
A federal judge in Louisiana on Wednesday struck down a mandate from the Biden administration that required staffers at Head Start child care facilities to be vaccinated and to wear masks. U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty issued a permanent injunction against federal agencies enforcing Head Start vaccine and masking requirements. (Choi, 9/21)
Los Angeles Times:
California Easing COVID-19 Mask Recommendations
In a new sign of improving coronavirus conditions, California will ease its mask-wearing recommendations for the first time in seven months. The state is largely rescinding its broad recommendation that everyone — regardless of vaccination status — mask up when in indoor public settings and businesses. That guidance had been in place since mid-February. (Lin II and Money, 9/21)
