Latest KFF Health News Stories
Different Takes: Are Masks Still Necessary?; Should Kansans Be Paid To Remain Unvaccinated?
Opinion writers weigh in on these covid issues.
About Half Of November’s Covid Deaths So Far Were In Europe
Figures reported in the New York Times say global covid deaths for the first week of November were mainly concentrated in Europe, accounting for over half of all cases. Reports say that the case count is falling in the U.K., but other nations still struggle. Portugal tries to protect at-home workers.
Spending Package Could Mean Coverage For 2 Million Uninsured In Southeast
Georgia Health News notes about 2.2 million low-income adults would be eligible for government-funded health insurance under the $1.75 trillion spending package. Meanwhile, more North Carolinians die of traumatic brain injuries than the national average.
Maine reaches out to its farmers and, in Kansas City, schools offer help to those facing mental health struggles.
Johnson & Johnson Splitting Itself Into Two Companies
The health care giant announced that in the next 18 to 24 months it will spin off its consumer division — with brands like Band-Aid, Tylenol and Listerine — into a yet-to-be-named company. Its pharmaceutical and medical-devices businesses will be retained under Johnson & Johnson.
Infrastructure Bill Offers Hospitals Big Subsidies
Hospitals in states that didn’t expand Medicaid would receive more than $6.8 billion of new funds in 2022, according to an analysis by the Urban Institute. In other news, ProPublica investigates St. Jude’s financial pledge to patients’ families while rural hospitals caught in a dilemma over obstetrics units.
Florida’s Order for Kids’ Vaccine Dwarfed By Other Large States
In other news about children and covid, a Virginia pharmacy was providing the wrong-sized doses to children.
White House Tries To Tackle Health Issues Of Vets Exposed To Burn Pits
News outlets focus Veterans Day coverage on a host of health issues that current and former members of the U.S. military face, including chemical exposure, digital health records and suicide.
Short-Lived Covid Cases Decrease Reverses In Southwest, Western States
With Arizona and New Mexico reporting the worst influx, the number of covid patients hospitalized in intensive care units rose over the last two weeks in at least 12 states. And even highly vaccinated Massachusetts is watching worrying numbers.
Moderna Says Vaccine Benefits Outweigh Risk Of Rare Heart Conditions
A Moderna executive answered questions about the company’s vaccine. In other vaccine news, AstraZeneca is now pricing its vaccines to make a profit. And an at-home covid test is recalled by the FDA for too many false positive results.
California, Colorado Leapfrog Feds And Allow Boosters For Any Adult
Health officials in both states say that all who are 18 or over are eligible to get an additional booster dose of the covid vaccine, though the CDC and FDA have not yet authorized those broader guidelines.
First Edition: November 12, 2021
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Data Shows Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug Also Tackles A Second Protein
The drug maker said its recent controversially-approved drug Aduhelm also lowers levels of a second protein that accumulates in the brains of people suffering Alzheimer’s. A separate Alzheimer’s drug from Cortexyme is moving forward in trials under a new regime.
Long Covid Begins To Be Understood; Covid Shots Safe For Cancer Patients
Scientists say they’re beginning to understand that long covid is not caused by one thing, but that there are multiple diseases happening. A different study has shown that covid vaccines are safe for people undergoing cancer treatments, and produce immune responses, albeit moderately.
Editorial writers tackle these public health matters.
Opinion writers weigh in on vaccines and covid’s effect on British health care.
Germany Hit With Record Covid Cases; Worries About Europe’s Uptick
More than 50,000 new covid cases were reported by German authorities. The government plans new measures to try to control the outbreak. Separately, worries emerge about a covid winter in Europe, and the Netherlands and Cayman Islands are added to the CDC’s travel warning list.
World Record For Premature Birth Goes To Alabama Baby Born 19 Weeks Early
Curtis Means, now 16 months old, was awarded the Guinness World Record for youngest surviving premature birth, after only 132 days of gestation. Meanwhile, a judge approves a Flint water settlement, medical marijuana in Georgia is delayed and Texas is in the news for its abortion law and the governor’s war on “pornography.”
Hospitals Expect Higher Revenue And Expansions
In other industry news, covid immunity appears to be waning among health workers, telemedicine expands and patient safety declines.
Promising Alzheimer’s Drug Research Hits Snag In Clinical Trials
Genentech’s semorinemab drug confused researchers by showing a slower rate of cognitive decline for some patients, but it didn’t improve patients’ functions compared with a placebo. Separately, reports say Google is aiming to use artificial intelligence to boost breast cancer screening.
