Latest KFF Health News Stories
Hospitals Delay Surgeries, Treat People At Home As Covid Surges
In rural Arizona, the strain on hospital staff has caused a plea for federal help. Axios reports on how some medical staff are at “breaking point.” And a KHN report covers how some paramedics are being pressed into transferring patients between overstretched hospitals instead of tackling emergencies.
Courts Deal More Setbacks To Federal Vaccine Mandates
Meanwhile, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court block on the vaccine mandate that impacts health workers in about half of the states. And members of the military are dismissed for refusing to get the shot.
Biden Warns Of Deadly Winter; Fauci Says Omicron To Be Dominant Variant
Winter is bringing the threat of “severe illness and death,” President Joe Biden warns. Dr. Anthony Fauci forecasts that it would only be a matter of weeks until omicron is the dominant covid variant in the U.S. And a small study in South Africa indicates that omicron covid can break through booster shot protections.
Main Flu Strain Has Mutated; Current Flu Vaccines May Not Prevent Infection
It’s bad news for the vaccine, said Scott Hensley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania who led the study. Flu vaccines protect against four strains: H3N2, H1N1 and two strains of influenza B. The study covers just H3N2, but that happens to be the main circulating strain.
CDC Endorses Moderna, Pfizer Covid Vaccines Over J&J Shot
Ongoing concerns over rare blood clots prompts the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to narrow the use of Johnson & Johnson’s covid vaccine in adults.
Biden Acknowledges Social Spending Bill Will Slip To 2022
Negotiations between party leaders and Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, bogged down over the cost of the package. President Joe Biden signaled that getting the bill out of the Senate will have to wait until senators return in January. The Hill reports on worries the whole package will have to be reworked. But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, says he thinks the bill is “dead.”
FDA Clears Path To Make It Easier To Access Abortion Pills
The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it will relax restrictions on medication that induces abortions, allowing doctors to prescribe it online or deliver it by the mail or directly to a pharmacy. The move is expected to open a new front in the political fights over abortion.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Reversing Roe Will Affect Miscarriage Care; Addressing The Youth Mental Health Crisis
Editorial pages tackle these public health concerns.
Different Takes: Updated Covid Prevention Strategies; Omicron Doesn’t Just Infect Unvaccinated
Opinion writers weigh in on these covid issues.
Research Roundup: From Dr. Fauci’s Team: A Promising HIV Vaccine
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
UK’s Covid Surge Tops Records Amid Warnings Of Worse Ahead
Wednesday’s new confirmed case numbers in the U.K. were the highest since the pandemic began. Moderna, meanwhile, is set to begin trials of its covid shot in Africa on an as-yet-untested population: people with HIV.
Houston Researchers Achieve Breast Cancer Treatment Breakthrough
The Houston Methodist team found triple negative breast cancer tumors regressed, and were prevented from spreading when treated with chemotherapy and a drug normally used against heart failure. Also, lead in drinking water, stuttering treatment, medical malpractice and more are in the news.
As The Pandemic Hit In 2020, Health Spending Soared Upward
Politico’s figures place the medical system as accounting for just less than a fifth of the economy at the end of 2020. Modern Healthcare says overall U.S. healthcare spending jumped 9.1% in 2020, with covid relief money as the primary driver — the biggest jump since 2002.
FDA May Reform Abortion Provision By Allowing More Pills By Mail
Reports suggest the Food and Drug Administration is poised to make it permanently easier to access abortion medication by mail. Separately, the Houston Chronicle says Harris County will be allowed to spend public money to counter Texas’ strict anti-abortion laws, including direct funding of care.
White House Plan Would Replace Every Lead Water Pipe
The ancient Romans knew lead was poisonous. Over 2,000 years later, Vice President Kamala Harris will detail the plan to replace every lead water pipe in the U.S. Meanwhile, the White House’s social spending agenda may be delayed again by Sen. Joe Manchin, who reportedly still wants to a lower price tag on the bill.
More Colleges Close As Students Catch Covid At Alarming Rates
News outlets report shuttering of in-person classes across the U.S. as covid outbreaks affect the student body. Meanwhile, a lawsuit is trying to prevent an employee vaccine and test mandate in schools in Las Vegas, and lawmakers in Louisiana are pushing against vaccine mandates for students.
Biden’s Health Worker Vax Mandate Partly Revived By Appeals Court
And a case over the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for large private companies has been punted to a smaller three judge panel. Meanwhile, the Navy is now dismissing sailors who refused to get shots, with about 5,700 active-duty service members currently unvaxxed.
CDC Panel Could Recommend Halting J&J Shot As Blood Clot Issues Continue
Advisers will meet today to review updated data from the Johnson & Johnson single-dose covid vaccine. The panel is expected to vote on whether to update its recommendation for the vaccine’s use, which could mean continuing to administer it to anyone 18 or older or even to “get rid of it, or only use it in certain populations,” said one clinician familiar with the agenda.
CDC Investigation Finds Its Own Early Covid Tests Had Design Flaw
The Wall Street Journal reports on the findings of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigation into its initial batch of covid PCR tests in 2020, and how they impacted early pandemic responses. Politico reports on worries that omicron covid will stretch supplies of current covid tests.
