Latest KFF Health News Stories
Fauci Thinks Covid Was Animal-Sourced But Doesn’t Dismiss Lab Leak
Walking a fine line on the complex matter of a lab leak or animal source for covid, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was keeping an open mind. Separately, ex-CDC director Robert Redfield said he’d received death threats over suggesting covid was lab-sourced.
Covid Outbreaks A Possibility For States That Miss Biden’s 70% Shot Goal
CNN reports on “sitting duck” states where the pace of vaccination is too slow to meet the White House’s July 4 goal of 70% adults with at least one covid shot. Meanwhile, Washington state tries vaccine incentives and Maine will end its mobile vaccine unit efforts.
US To Boost COVAX Supply By 25M Doses In First Global Vaccine Donation
President Joe Biden announced details Thursday about the first batch of covid vaccines that the U.S. will share with other nations. The initial allotment will go to the United Nations-backed consortium COVAX that aims to get shots to the neediest places. The U.S. has pledged to share a total of 80 million doses globally.
US Passes 600,000 Covid Deaths In Grim Reminder That Toll Is Still Mounting
Even as new daily infections in the U.S. stay below 20,000 for a third-straight day, covid remains a deadly disease that is still taking American lives.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages tackle syringe programs, healthcare for new mothers and the full potential of nurses.
Opinion writers weigh in on Covid, vaccines and masks.
California Plans To Give Health Care Workers $10,000 ‘Hero’ Bonuses
The $7 billion plan is controversial though. Separately, California has to pay $2 million in legal fees over lawsuits related to covid church closures, and the California Senate approved legislation to decriminalize possession of psychedelic drugs.
75% Of Adults In UK Now Vaccinated With At Least One Shot
75.2% of people aged 18 and over have been vaccinated in the U.K., and the government sees a full unlocking as a possibility soon. Other covid news includes vaccine supplies, ongoing surges, the Vietnam mutation and the spread of the Delta variant from India.
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Alaska’s Health Services Still Recovering From Cyberattack
In other news, Arizona’s plans to use a poison labelled Zyklon B by the Nazis for executions draw condemnation; smokable medical marijuana is backed by Louisiana lawmakers; and a Dallas high school valedictorian spoke out over Texas’ new anti-abortion laws.
FDA Seeks Tool To Trace Sources Of Food Illness Outbreaks
Separately, a study shows superbugs are less likely to be found in organic meat. Warnings against eating cicadas if you have seafood allergy, athlete mental health, and suicides among young people suffering schizophrenia are also in the news.
Popular Tool For Childbirth Risks After C-Sections Loses Race Bias
The tool for calculating vaginal birth risks after cesarean sections had reported higher risks for pregnancies in non-white patients. Elsewhere, electronic health records in rural hospitals, Chicago’s Mercy Hospital, DispatchHealth and Johns Hopkins are also in the news.
Hospital Tried To Discharge Patients Without Telling Them, Records Show
In response, Rhode Island’s Eleanor Slater Hospital says it will toughen its policies. Other health care industry news is on the Scripps ransomware attack, expensive prescriptions, a convicted VA pathologist who lacked oversight and a nursing home manager accused of endangering residents.
Sackler Family Set To Avoid Future Opioid Lawsuits
Meanwhile, Kentucky is suing CVS for its role in supplying and distributing opioids. Vermont has also decriminalized possession of buprenorphine–used for treating opioid dependency.
New Rule Would Ban Some Baby Sleep Products Tied To Accidental Deaths
The Consumer Product Safety Commission aims to close a loophole that has allowed for an explosion in untested infant sleep products that conflict with federal safe sleep guidelines, The Washington Post reports. Other Biden administration news touches on OSHA, so-called Havana syndrome, HHS migrant shelters and more.
Senator Investigating AbbVie’s Taxes
Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has alleged that AbbVie “shifts profits offshore while reporting a domestic loss in the United States to avoid paying U.S. corporate income taxes.”
People Stuck In ‘Coverage Gap’ In States That Won’t Expand Medicaid
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells the stories of Georgians who can’t afford private insurance but don’t qualify for Medicaid. Other news comes out of Alabama, Vermont and Pennsylvania. And KHN interviews the new head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Nationwide Moratorium On Evictions
The freeze was enacted by public health officials as a way to keep people in their homes and out of crowded homeless shelters during the pandemic.
New US Covid Infections At Lowest Level Since Pandemic Began
Florida’s hospitalizations are at the lowest point in a year, Iowa reports fewer than 100 new cases per day, and the Navajo Nation reports no additional deaths against a broader background of falling covid numbers across the country.
