Latest KFF Health News Stories
Missouri Governor Signs Bill Creating Drug Database To Fight Opioid Abuse
Missouri is the last state to establish the monitoring tool. It will collect data on controlled substances, such as opioid painkillers and some anti-anxiety drugs. In other state news, Alaska notes a surge in heroin overdoses, New Jersey closes a troubled women’s prison and New York City plans for a post-covid concert in Central Park.
Airlines Lose Or Mishandle 29 Wheelchairs A Day
But that’s 1.5 percent of wheelchairs and scooters they ship. (The Washington Post article doesn’t say what percentage of luggage they lose and mishandle.) Also, the possible dangers of the TikTok practice of “dry scooping” and a strange sound connected to vision problems.
Google, Apple Move Deeper Into Health Data
Apple makes it easier to share medical data collected by its phone and watch; a unit of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, hires a a physician data expert from Duke. In other industry news, doctors question why race factors in calculations for delivering kidney treatments, emergency room visits dropped during the pandemic and more Native Americans are applying to medical schools.
Telehealth Company Valued At $1 Billion
A virtual health care startup is valued at $1 billion; LetsGetChecked allows customers order home-health tests and medications and receive telehealth follow-ups. And One Medical buys Iora Health and its Medicare Advantage business.
New Moms, Other Parents Cope With Pandemic’s Mental Health Challenges
A Canadian study has found a 30% increase in the number of postpartum mothers who sought mental health treatment nine months into the pandemic. Meanwhile, parents of newborns are confused about how to handle visitors right now, and some people are using color-coded bracelets to inform others of their physical boundaries.
Wuhan Lab Theory Deemed Plausible By Government Lab
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory report says the hypothesis that the coronavirus escaped from a Chinese lab is plausible. Also, more evidence that covid is abating, and Boeing has doubts about an air purifier technology.
WHO Expert: 80% Vaccination Level Needed To Prevent A Variant From Taking Over
“High levels of vaccination coverage are the way out of this pandemic,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, emergencies chief at the World Health Organization. In India, covid patients suffering from the delta variant have experienced hearing loss, severe gastric upsets and blood clots leading to gangrene, symptoms not typically seen in covid patients.
J&J Covid Vaccines Left Unused And Unwanted
An estimated 10 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine are just sitting there. Other covid-related news includes a vaccine trial for children ages 5-11 and how states try other techniques to get people vaccinated, like a marijuana joint for a shot.
House Panel Assails Fisher-Price For Ignoring Sleeper’s Risks To Infants
A report by the Committee on Oversight and Reform suggests ongoing problems with the U.S. consumer product safety system in which companies can sell such items with voluntary safety standards and called for reforms in federal safeguards.
More Money Provided To Soften The Economic Toll Of Covid
Expanded federal child care tax credits of up to $300 a month are available for the last half of the year. In other news, Oakland, California, experiments with a guaranteed income program, and Hawaii extends its eviction moratorium.
Critics Question Strength Of Evidence Behind Aduhelm’s Fast-Tracked Approval
Some disease experts are criticizing the standards used by the FDA in its accelerated review of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s disease treatment. News outlets also look at what that means for future drug approvals.
Medicare, Insurers Face Hefty Costs From Drug Price Set At $56,000 A Year
The wholesale price tag set by Biogen for Aduhelm exceeded Wall Street estimates. The drugmaker’s CEO defended the cost as “fair,” but told CNBC that it would not be raised for at least four years. News outlets report on the thorny issue of who will pay.
FDA OKs First New Alzheimer’s Drug In Nearly 20 Years In Hotly Debated Move
Biogen’s Aduhelm was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration but the company will have to conduct a new, large clinical trial to confirm the treatment’s benefit, and the FDA reserves the right to rescind its decision.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Can We Slow Down The Aging Process?; US Mental Health Care Needs Serious Overhaul
Editorial pages tackle these public health issues.
Opinion writers weigh in on these Covid issues.
South China Province Locks Down As Delta Covid Variant Surges
In other news, Fiji is seeing a record number of covid cases, and the surge is blamed on people sharing the drink kava; India’s falling case load prompts cautious unlocking; and Thailand is using locally-made AstraZeneca vaccines but supplies are limited.
US Sharing 750,000 Vaccines With Taiwan, 1 Million With Mexico
The decision to send supplies to Taiwan is diplomatically problematic for China. Doses sent to Mexico are destined for resort areas and places on the border. Meanwhile, the U.K. is urging for a commitment to vaccinate the whole world by the end of 2022.
Metro Atlanta Seeing Off-Season Surge Of Respiratory Syncytial Virus In Kids
Usually RSV cases tick upward in winter months, but this year there is a growing number of cases in Atlanta ahead of summer. Separately a South Georgia detention center has failed to track consent for women suffering unwanted medical procedures. Other state news comes from Texas, West Virginia, Oklahoma and California.
Baby Glider Recalled After 4 Deaths; iPhone12 May Impede Cardiac Implants
Other public health news is on the flu, campus suicides, cosmetic surgery and more.
