Latest KFF Health News Stories
Startling Number Of Young People Without Any COVID Symptoms Seek Care For Strokes
The trend of young people getting strokes from the virus is just one of the baffling aspects of the disease that doctors are trying to understand. In other scientific news on the virus: transmission via talking, rare symptoms in children, plasma from the recovered, lessons learned from previous pandemics and more.
GOP State Officials In Uncomfortable Position Of Implementing Mail-In Voting Amid Fraud Rhetoric
Republican state officials are taking a hard look at their own rhetoric around voter fraud in the midst of the pandemic. “It’s partly on me because I talked about it in my campaign,” said Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams. “But it’s my job now to calm people’s fears.” In other election news: the national conventions, an ad battle over relationships with China and in-person fundraisers in the coronavirus era.
New York now says hospitals can send patients to nursing homes only if they have tested negative for the virus, but the policy had been in place for weeks, possibly endangering the lives of some of the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor finally issues workplace guidance for nursing home staff.
The FBI seized Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-N.C.) phone in a sign that the senator may be in legal jeopardy. Burr came under scrutiny after ProPublica reported in March that he sold off a significant percentage of his stocks shortly after receiving a coronavirus briefing and just before the pandemic wrecked the global markets. Investigators have also looked into stock trades by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who all deny doing anything wrong.
House To Vote On Pelosi’s $3T Relief Legislation Despite Warnings It Will Be DOA In Senate
Even some Democratic members have voiced opposition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) sweeping plan, but it is expected to pass the lower chamber on Friday. Republicans, who have been taking a wait-and-see approach to offering another round of emergency relief, widely panned the legislation.
Gilead has a reputation for placing astronomical prices on breakthrough drugs. But with the whole world’s eyes on the drugmaker, what will it charge for remdesivir, the only drug that everyone wants right now? Stat talks to experts to get a sense of what to expect. In other pharmaceutical news: President Donald Trump wants essential drugs to be manufactured in U.S. instead of China; scientists eye a cocktail of medications to best treat COVID patients; and the search for an elusive cure has researchers thinking outside the box.
Trump’s ‘America First’ Attitude Toward Vaccine Could Be Devastating To Rest Of World, Experts Warn
Fears that the United States will trample other countries to secure a vaccine prompted more than 140 world leaders to sign an open letter to all governments demanding that COVID-19 vaccines be considered a “global good” to be shared equitably. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said he would mobilize the military to help distribute a vaccine once it’s ready, with a focus on nursing homes and the elderly.
In Race To Develop Best Contact-Tracing Apps, Tech Giants Focus On Bluetooth, Phone Location Data
Reuters looks at where the development stands for apps meant to help public health officials track the virus. In other health tech news: policing misinformation, drone-based enforcement of social distancing and software that lets bosses watch their employees work.
FDA Alerts Doctors After Preliminary Data Reveals Rapid COVID Test Can Miss Nearly 50% Of Cases
The agency is launching an investigation into Abbott’s 15-minute test, which has been touted and used by the White House. A preliminary study released this week found that it can miss nearly half of positive coronavirus cases.
After Court Invalidates Stay-At-Home Order, Wisconsin Descends Into ‘Wild, Wild West’ Chaos
Confusion abounds as Wisconsin bars, restaurants and other businesses as owners try to figure out the new rules after the state’s Supreme Court overturned Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order.
Key Battleground States Offer Snapshot Of Bitter Political Divide Over Reopening Country
Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are all electoral battleground states that voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 and will again be crucial in the 2020 presidential election. The fight over reopening in those particular states, which can swing both blue and red, is particularly heated because of those underlying politics. But leaders across the country are struggling to strike a balance as they start to lift restrictions.
CDC Releases Pared-Down Guidance After White House Shelved More Comprehensive Plan To Reopen
The flow charts and check lists that are geared toward helping restaurants and business reopen focus mainly on basic tips like social distancing and hand washing.
Trump Promises To Replenish And Modernize National Stockpile With Eye On U.S.-Only Supply Chain
Speaking in Allentown, Pa., at an Owens & Minor distribution center for medical supplies, President Donald Trump said he is “determined that America will be fully prepared for any of the future outbreaks, of which we hope there’s going to be none.”
Dr. Rick Bright painted a grim, chaotic picture of the White House’s COVID-19 response efforts for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, testifying that the U.S. still lacks a comprehensive plan for ensuring a supply of basic supplies like swabs needed to administer coronavirus tests. HHS Secretary Alex Azar dismissed Bright’s testimony. “This is like someone who was in choir trying to say he was a soloist back then,” Azar said. “His allegations do not hold water.”
National Body Bag Shortage Hampers Efforts To Maintain Dignity As U.S. Death Toll Climbs Past 85,000
Because of the short supply, body bags are sometimes reused two or three times. Meanwhile, the global death toll surpasses a staggering 300,000 people.
Editorial writers weigh in on these pandemic topics and others.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Medical Ethicists Uneasy About Parkinson’s Experiment That Benefited Donor Who Gave $2M For Research
“When individuals paying to fund research leading to a therapy are also the first to receive it, there are concerns,” said Brian Fiske, vice president for research at the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Public health news is on lymphoma, lung and cancer treatments, promises from good bacteria and $15M penalty for CVS for not tracking opioids, as well.
Jarring Rise Of Anti-Asian Crimes Motivated By COVID Could Lead To More Prosecutions
California officials are calling on people to reach out if they’ve been targeted because it might help solve or prevent crimes in the future. Meanwhile, arrests and charges have been made in New York and Texas. Public health news is on backaches from working at home, the lack of memorials to the 1918 flu pandemic, the case for reopening schools, flying etiquette, the upcoming, regular flu season, unending gunshot emergencies, children’s safety at home, challenges for people needing kidney dialysis, and a Black college’s study on the higher number of Black Americans dying of COVID.
Researchers Warn About Cats Spreading COVID To Other Cats, And Yes, Possibly To Their Humans
Without ever having the symptoms, cats can spread the virus to other cats, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that concludes more research is needed to see if they could also infect the household.
