Latest KFF Health News Stories
Brand-Name Drug Preferences Cost Medicare Part D Billions
A study finds that in 2017 alone, the federal program could have saved about $1.7 billion if doctors and patients opted for generics over brand-name prescription drugs, Stat reports.
Study Links Teen Opioid Abuse To Suicide Risks
Attention is also thrown on the misuse of common dietary supplement pills. Meanwhile the legal battles about opioid sales and prescribing continue.
J&J Vaccine Rollout Hits Early Bumps
Detroit’s mayor turned down his city’s allotment of Johnson & Johnson’s covid vaccine; Maine’s plans are set back by early distribution supplies; and the single-dose regimen leads other states to rethink distribution.
Vaccinations Pick Up Pace, But Real Doses Are Found On The Dark Web
The U.S. reaches new highs in vaccinating citizens. Dark web sites have been selling some real coronavirus vaccines, according to reports, and the threat of fake vaccine sales emerges across the globe.
Stimulus Vote-O-Rama Set To Kick Off Friday Afternoon
After a no-bedtime reading of the 628-page relief bill, courtesy of Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, senators brace for the meaningful portion of the deliberations: hours of debate and votes on amendments that will shape the final package, set to begin midday Friday.
FDA Warns Covid Infrared Temperature Scanners May Be Badly Inaccurate
Meanwhile anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin is ruled-out as a covid treatment by new research, and testing numbers worryingly fall off. And WHO continues its probe into the origins of the virus.
Studies Warn We’ve Counted Only A Fraction Of Youth Covid Cases
New studies warn of big miscounts of children who caught coronavirus. Other news reports describe how farmworkers have been adversely infected and how we can learn from Brazil’s pandemic missteps.
Obesity Is Key Driver Of A Nation’s Covid Death Toll, Global Study Finds
The link between covid severity and obesity, a new study finds a “dramatic” connection: In countries where more than half the population is overweight, fatality rates are 10 times higher than in other nations.
Why Some Governors Are Pushing Ahead With ‘Inexplicable’ Reopenings
At a time when new infections are threatening to surge again, a handful of governors are choosing to loosen or eliminate covid precautions. News outlets examine the factors shaping those decisions.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these public health issues and others.
World Continues Efforts To Vaccinate More Citizens, Battle Covid Variants
Reports say India’s vaccine is highly effective against coronavirus; Europe starts reviewing Russia’s Sputnik shot and Tokyo’s Olympic Officials struggle with a buggy contract-tracing app.
California Governor Optimistic Fans Will Be Able To Attend Baseball Games
And in Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis cheered the state’s pandemic response in his State of the State address Tuesday.
Mental Health Impact Of Pandemic Comes Into Focus
Experts say anxiety, stress and depression are on the rise, including in teens, even as pandemic life goes on for the sick, tired, homeless and those in need.
Two Hospital Systems Create Coalition With Home Health Care Providers
The group seeks to lobby Congress to make certain pandemic-era changes permanent. One of the biggest requests is to allow hospitals to continue hospital-at-home programs, Modern Healthcare reports. Other industry news is on Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, Centene and telemedicine.
NIH Halts Trial Of Convalescent Plasma
The study at the National Institutes of Health was stopped early Tuesday. “We do not see any sign that convalescent plasma had a benefit” in ER patients at risk for more serious disease, said Dr. Simone Glynn, program scientist for the trial, as reported in USA Today.
Several Florida Communities Criticized Over Distribution Of Shots
At issue are a wealthy community in the Florida Keys, a senior center in the Gulf Coast community of Pinellas Park and vaccines meant for Black residents that instead went to white residents in Palm Beach County. Other news is from Maryland and Minnesota.
Research Roundup: Covid, Antibiotic Use; Proton Pump Inhibitors; And Flu
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
California To Set Aside 40% Of Doses For At-Risk Communities
California officials believe that focusing on vulnerable neighborhoods will get vaccinations where they are needed most and speed up reopenings. A report of underdosing at a mass vaccination site in Oakland is also debunked.
Pace Of Vaccinations Picks Up As States Assured Of More Supply
The CDC reports that the U.S. has been averaging 2 million shots a day for the last week and that 80% of the total doses delivered to states are now in arms.
