Latest KFF Health News Stories
Pediatrician Group In California Faults Reopening Plans For Schools, Calls For In-Person Instruction
Delaying in-person classes would worsen academic, developmental and health outcomes, according to the Southern California chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. News on reopening schools also looks at the pros and cons and experiments taken on by universities.
A Double Whammy: Workers Scared To Show Up Being Fired And Then Losing Unemployment Benefits
Some states with a history of weaker labor protections are encouraging employers to report workers who do not return to their jobs, citing state laws that disqualify people from receiving unemployment checks if they refuse a reasonable offer of work. In other news, workers are suing Amazon over allegations about unsafe working conditions.
Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Demands HHS Move More Quickly To Distribute Provider Relief Funds
While Congress appropriated funding more than two months ago to help health care providers weather the COVID-19 crisis, little of that assistance has gone to those who serve low-income patients, children, and people with disabilities.
Unemployment Claims Fall Below 2M, But Experts Say It’s ‘Still An Astonishing Rate Of Layoffs’
The weekly numbers on Thursday are still more than double the pre-coronavirus record of 695,000 set in October 1982, but it is at its lowest since the pandemic began wreaking widespread economic damage.
Senate Sends Legislation Tweaking Small-Business Aid To President’s Desk
The measure passed unanimously on Wednesday evening without the full Senate present, marking a rare moment of bipartisanship. The legislation extends the amount of time that businesses have to spend the loan money.
People With Type A Blood Far More Likely To Have Severe Case If Infected With Virus
Researchers are finding genetic links to why patients react so differently to the virus. No one knows why Type A blood would play a role. “That is haunting me, quite honestly,” said Andre Franke, a molecular geneticist at the University of Kiel in Germany. In other scientific news: asymptomatic cases, infection risks and convalescent plasma.
Experts Fear 42% Drop In ER Visits As Scared Patients Stayed Away Led To Increase In Heart Attacks
Death rates seem to echo the fear that patients who might have sought help when having symptoms of a heart attack were more likely to stay home from ER because of the pandemic.
Medical Team Watched Trump Closely For Any Negative Side Effects From Malaria Drugs, Doctor Says
In an update on President Donald Trump’s health, Dr. Sean Conley said Trump “remains healthy.” Trump shocked some experts when he announced he was taking malaria drugs–which have been shown to disrupt heart rhythms–as a preventive measure to COVID-19.
Test Identifying Severe Inflammatory Response In Patients Approved By FDA
Some of the most severe cases of COVID-19 are due to the body’s own inflammation response as it tries to attack the virus. A test could allow doctors to figure out if a treatment to calm that response would be effective. In other news on tests: Maryland lawmakers push for more state information from health officials and New Yorkers are anxiously awaiting results from antibody tests.
Vulnerable Hospitals Turned To Outside Firms As Saviors. Some Were Bled Dry And Left To Die.
ProPublica and The Frontier take a deep dive into rural hospitals in Oklahoma who were desperate for help and pinned their hopes on private management companies that promised a turnaround.
Study Finds Malaria Drug Doesn’t Prevent COVID-19 In Latest Knock Against Controversial Treatment
“As we say in Tennessee, ‘that dog won’t hunt’ — it didn’t work,” said William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Debate over the drug hydroxychloroquine became politicized as President Donald Trump touted it as a “game changer.” But so far, studies have failed to find any benefit from the treatment. In other news, WHO has restarted its trials on the drug after pausing over safety concerns.
White House Winnows Sprawling Vaccine Field Down To Five Top Candidates But Hurdles Remain
President Donald Trump has been eager to get a vaccine to market by the end of the year, but scientists have viewed that goal as extremely optimistic if not unrealistic. Vaccine development is notoriously difficult and time-consuming; the record is four years, and a decade is not unusual. In other news: the global race could lead to a Sputnik moment; the FDA struggles to remain neutral; a watchdog group calls for an investigation into Moderna’s stocks; and more.
Growing Number Of Insurers Offering Premium Discounts As They Rack Up Savings During Pandemic
With all of the elective procedures canceled, insurers have actually been coming out ahead financially during the crisis. Regulators, like state insurance commissioners, are starting to pay attention to what the companies are giving back to their consumers.
Very Thing Trump Is Counting On To Divert Attention From COVID Could Bring Second Spike In Cases
President Donald Trump has seized on the protests against police brutality to draw attention away from the climbing death toll from the virus, but as thousands gather in the street, experts worry the country will see another surge. In other news: protests affect testing sites, Democrats prepare police reform legislation, parents try to talk with children about safely protesting, black Americans struggle disproportionately during economic devastation, and more.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Experts Remain Cautiously Optimistic There Will Be Vaccine By End Of Year, But Some Have Doubts
The effort to develop a vaccine in that abbreviated time frame would be “Herculean.” And while experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci strike an optimistic tone that it can be done, still others worry that maybe it shouldn’t be if safety measures are compromised. Meanwhile, a nationwide survey finds that about 70% of Americans say they would get a vaccine.
15 West Point Cadets Told To Return For Trump’s Commencement Speech Test Positive, Put In Isolation
The U.S. Military Academy said it tested all 1,000 cadets when they returned to campus and about 1.5% tested positive, a number “that was anticipated.”
The FTC typically regulates marketing from social media influencers, ads from tobacco companies and, more recently, claims about coronavirus cures and loans. But over the last two decades, the agency has dealt with few cases involving how guns are advertised. In other public health news: aspirin use, the blood-brain barrier, trans-inclusive sports policies and more.
Are Patient Privacy Rights Being Betrayed In Data Trades The Mayo Clinic Makes With Tech Companies?
The data is ”de-identified”, but ethics experts pose questions about a patient’s rights to opt out and what, if anything, is owed to them. The trades help companies develop digital products and services and are worth about $5 million to the Mayo Clinic. Other technology news is on teleheath, new discussions about the future of national patient identifiers and phishing targeting WHO.
GOP Lawmakers Grill Gov. Whitmer About High Number of Nursing Home Deaths In Michigan
Michigan’s nursing home deaths, 1,654 and fifth highest in the U.S., may be partly the result of differences in the way COVID-19 deaths are being recorded, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said, adding some states are listing cause of death as pneumonia. Nursing home news is from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Georgia, as well.
