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The alerts came from federal officials, covering other sectors as well as health care — but the strain of the pandemic may mean hospitals are particularly vulnerable. Separately, Stat reports that health tech companies are joining a call for nationwide patient data privacy standards.
A separate pair of studies from Israel also showed that one or more Pfizer/BioNTech covid shots offer durable protection against recurring infection. Media outlets report on the ongoing vaccine rollout across the states, and both Pfizer and Merck's covid pills are in the news again.
The updated Face ID feature, part of iOS 15.4, is expected to be released in early March, Bloomberg and other news outlets reported. Meanwhile, states, cities and schools across the U.S. continue to lift mask mandates, and big companies are reconsidering their vaccine mandates.
New research suggests that the omicron subvariant may cause more severe illness than its parent and more along the lines of the delta variant. Even so, many Americans are moving on, virus or not, and are shutting their ears to anyone who says different.
Going forward, California's covid policy measures will move more toward prevention and outbreak response, instead of requirements around masks and shutdowns, Gov. Gavin Newsom says: "We are moving past the crisis phase into a phase where we will work to live with this virus."
HHS documents obtained by Bloomberg reveal that all approved funding has already been allocated to combat the covid pandemic, leaving nothing to protect against future developments like new variants or vaccine stockpiling. But congressional lawmakers may not have the appetite to appropriate much more, Politico reports.
A congressional provision prevents states from disenrolling children during a public health emergency. That emergency declaration could be revoked by July, although the Department of Health and Human Services has promised to give states 60 days notice, CNN reports.
The FDA is investigating the cases of four babies hospitalized with bacterial infections. One of the children died. The agency is warning parents against using three powdered infant formulas produced by Abbott at a Michigan plant. The company has voluntarily recalled the products.
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations. Note to readers: KHN's First Edition will not be published Monday, Feb. 21, in celebration of Presidents Day. See you Tuesday!
Opinion writers tackle these public health issues.
Editorial pages discuss these covid topics.
Stat says BioNTech's plan for making covid and other shots in Africa, shipping preconstructed factory elements in shipping containers, snubs efforts by the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, the WHO is also cautioning that a global slide in covid cases may be linked to lower testing rates.
The Florida House vote approving an abortion ban was achieved along party lines, driven by Republican lawmakers. Next it will go before the state Senate. But in Arkansas, efforts to pass a Texas-style abortion ban seem to have been stymied, at least for this year's Senate session.
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
This was the first year the U.S. ever exceeded 40,000 transplants. Researchers, separately, found altering the blood type of lungs could lead to universal transplants. And Axios reports on the awful situation where "bionic" eye transplants go obsolete as the company behind them faltered.
The record figure is double that reported by Gallup in 2012, and up on 2021's 5.6% figure. The opioid epidemic in North Carolina, mild flu season in Dallas County, a study linking being attractive and a better immune system, and a Victoria's Secret model with Down syndrome are also in the news.
The AP reports on a new state probe into wait times for patients needing to see some medical specialists, with waits averaging 61 days during the pandemic. Meanwhile, in Chicago, nine hospitals' eating facilities failed food inspections last year.
The Trump-era program allows private companies to participate in Medicare in an attempt to limit government costs. Progressive Democrats are said to be pressuring the White House to overhaul it. In Montana, federal inspectors placed the state psychiatric facility under serious sanctions.
Seven in 10 physicians questioned as part of the new US Pharmacopeia survey said the pandemic has worsened drug supply chain problems. Separately, an AHIP survey found some specialty pharmacy drugs can cost twice as much in hospitals for the same product.
Moderna says an omicron-specific booster may be ready by August, but it was still gathering data to see if the shots actually provide better protection for omicron. Pfizer and BioNTech said slow data-gathering delayed their plans for an omicron-specific shot and also said it may not be necessary.
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