Latest KFF Health News Stories
NIH Director Calls School Anti-Mask Mandates ‘Heartbreaking’
Dr. Francis Collins pointed out half-masked classrooms make no sense and data doesn’t support not having to “worry about kids.” Separately, an Axios-Ipsos poll shows most Americans support school and workplace mask mandates and oppose anti-mandate rules.
Covid Quarantines Hit Thousands Of Students In Florida, Elsewhere
Almost 6,000 students and more than 300 staff members are quarantined in Florida over a covid surge, while more than 3,000 students and staff are quarantining in New Orleans. A Kentucky school district had to cancel classes, and a 16-year-old student died of covid in South Carolina as school reopened. News outlets also report on delta covid and children.
After Quietly Fading Into Background, Covid Testing Roars Back
Cities in California, Texas, Florida and elsewhere are reopening sites that had closed or are adding more. In Hawaii and Kentucky, people are waiting hours or are being turned away.
Turn Back The Calendar: Covid Cases Soaring To Levels Seen 6 Months Ago
Five states — Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Oregon and Mississippi — broke records for new cases over the weekend. Meanwhile, hospitalizations of people younger than 50 have hit pandemic highs.
Biden Administration Will Recommend Covid Booster Shot After 8 Months
All previously vaccinated Americans, regardless of age or which shot they received, should get an extra jab, said sources who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an expected announcement.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers weigh in on these public health issues.
Perspectives: Ideas For Vaccinating The Hesitant; US Has Long History Of Anti-Vaccination Rhetoric
Opinion writers weigh in on these covid and vaccine topics.
Flying To Canada? You’ll Have To Prove You’re Covid-Vaccinated
The new travel policy, due to be implemented soon, will apply to all passengers and workers in the federally regulated air sector, plus rail and cruise ships. Meanwhile, reports say rich nations are “dipping into” the COVAX vaccine supply set up to help developing nations fight covid.
California Boy Dies From Rare Brain Amoeba After Lake Swim
The 7-year-old died Aug. 7, suffering from the rare condition called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. In other news, 650,000 Georgians in the State Health Benefit Plan will see no health insurance increase next year; a rare bourbon collection is raffled for cystic fibrosis; and a Mississippi city tries to collect on $1.8 million in ambulance fees.
Philadelphia Tries $20,000 Signing Bonuses To Tempt Nurses
Meanwhile, the New York branch of the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a New York Presbyterian hospital wrongfully fired a nurse over union activity. Separately, CareMax and Anthem will build 50 value-based medical facilities, and Forbes reports on health care’s richest self-made women.
Philips’ Recall Of Sleep Apnea Equipment Causes Trouble For Sufferers
The Wall Street Journal reports on how a recall of some CPAP and BiPaP machines is affecting sufferers of sleep apnea. An antiviral treatment for influenza, an alternative to Pfizer’s recalled anti-smoking treatment and the future of pharma company Viatris are also in the news.
Federal Water Cuts For West Inbound; Lake Mead Sinks To Record Low
Officials are expected to announce the first-ever federal water shortage today for the Colorado River, which serves the water needs of 40 million people in Western states. News outlets report on how the severe drought in the West may affect farmers, small towns and power supplies.
There’s More Time To Work Out Kinks In Medicaid Eligibility, Pricing Rules
In a letter Friday, CMS said it is giving states a full year after the covid-19 public health emergency ends to finish redetermining eligibility for Medicaid beneficiaries. Also, CMS is so far refraining from penalizing providers who haven’t adjusted their price transparency rules, Bloomberg Law reports.
Texas Supreme Court Upholds School Mask Mandate Ban
The decision made on Sunday supports Gov. Greg Abbott’s order banning mask mandates, after some school districts said they’d contravene it. Dallas Independent School District has said it will ignore the decision. News outlets report on masking, vaccines and mandates in schools.
Record 1,900 US Children Were Hospitalized With Covid On Saturday
News outlets report on “skyrocketing” cases of covid among children, blamed on the surging delta variant. Bloomberg reports on the potential for high MIS-C incidence in children, also. Meanwhile, a report ties being born during the pandemic with a chance of having lower IQ, for unknown reasons.
Florida’s Covid Surge Worsens; 3 Local Educators Die Inside 24 Hours
The news comes less than a week before Florida’s schools reopen in Broward County, where the deaths happened. Separately, reports say Florida’s surge worsens, one school board is defying Gov. Ron DeSantis’ masking mandate ban, and the University of Florida reverses its plans for online school just hours after announcing it.
Man Stabbed, Journalist Attacked At LA Anti-Vaccination Rally
Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez denounced the weekend’s violence, which happened as people rallied outside City Hall. Separately, an anti-vaccine mandate rally of more than 1,000 people happened at Oklahoma’s State Capitol. News outlets elsewhere report on vaccine mandates and uptake.
NIH Director Warns Peak In Delta Covid Infections Is Still To Come
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said the trend is “steeply upward” with no sign of having peaked yet and warned of a return to the pandemic’s worst days. Meanwhile, the outbreak in the U.S. means it accounts for over 1 in 5 cases globally for the first time since mid-February.
Agreeing With FDA, CDC Says Yes To Boosters — Which May Come Soon
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Sunday the U.S. could decide in the next couple weeks whether to offer covid booster shots to Americans this fall, AP reported. Health care workers and the elderly would likely be the first to receive them.
