Latest KFF Health News Stories
Delayed Cancer Screenings Likely To Lead To Worse Prognoses, Oncologists Warn
Although cancer can be slow-moving, oncologists say the pandemic delay is enough that there will likely be patients who have a worse outlook because of the shutdown measures. And Reuters reports that routine medical tests critical for detecting and monitoring cancer and other conditions has indeed plummeted.
Media outlets report on news from Michigan, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, Indiana, Vermont, Maine, Georgia and Texas.
Massachusetts Devotes $130M To Better Testing, Other Efforts In Nursing Homes To Contain Virus
Nursing homes have been particularly hard hit by the outbreak.
Opinion writers focus on these pandemic issues and others.
9% Of Adults Say They Would Delay Seeking COVID-19 Care Because Of Worries About Costs
Although Congress and President Donald Trump made testing free to patients, and some insurers are waiving copays and deductibles for treatment within their networks, the survey suggests such messages may not be getting to the public. In other costs news: halt in elective care offsets insurers’ COVID-19 costs; a portal is created for provider payments from HHS; and CMS suddenly suspends advance Medicare payments.
The Next Kink In Supply Chain: Mexico Shuts Down Factories That Provide Needed Medical Parts
A range of U.S. companies — from N95 mask supplier 3M to defense contractors — say they’re affected by the factory shutdowns in Mexico. In other news: the world’s antibiotic supply could be at risk; two men accused of trying to sell millions of nonexistent masks; fears ease about ventilator shortages; and more.
On The Hunt For Earlier Cases: Pathologists Put On Detective Hats To Pin Down More Accurate Timeline
Many experts believe COVID-19 was circulating in some places weeks before the official counts started. But just how early did it arrive in the U.S.? Pathologists are on the case. Meanwhile, contact tracing is a crucial part of reopening the country, but it will take a big investment and many public health departments were struggling financially even before the pandemic.
Coronavirus news is reported out of China, New Zealand, Brazil, Russia, France, Spain, Japan, El Salvador and other nations.
‘New Flying Etiquette’: Wearing Face Masks Strongly Urged By Airlines Making New Safety Procedures
Several carriers are requiring passengers and flight attendants to wear masks and will hand them out in the airport. Public health news is on nightmares during the pandemic, children gaining weight, homeless camps sweeps, the changing face of grief, asymptomatic seniors, sounds of silence, and accidental poisonings rising, as well.
More Women Turn To Abortion By Telemedicine As GOP Senators Aim To Ban It
A program called TelAbortion allows doctors to have video consults with women and then mail them abortion pills to take on their own at a time when many people are staying home. The New York Times reports the program is allowed to operate under an approved research study but is coming under more scrutiny by GOP lawmakers who have introduced a bill to ban telemedicine abortion. More reports on health IT are on more people turning to telemedicine and more surprise bills, as well.
Most white-collar defendants get lighter sentences in less-secure facilities, making them better eligible for release in the pandemic. Advocates have been warning from the start that the prison system is a ticking time-bomb just waiting to explode.
New York Attorney General Launches Probe Into Firing Of Amazon Warehouse Worker
The worker claims that his dismissal was retaliation over his outspoken comments about safety in Amazon’s warehouses. In a letter to Amazon obtained by NPR, the office of New York’s top lawyer Letitia James says the company may have also broken the state’s whistleblower laws
“I have never seen patients so sick before,’’ said Tamara Williams, a 40-year-old nurse from Dallas who traveled to New York to help with the surge of patients. “And dying, despite everything that we’re doing.” In other news on health care workers: a suicide of a top doctor highlights the mental health toll on providers; mental hospital staff calls for more testing; health care workers are being assaulted and ostracized in some place in the world; and more.
While few children are displaying the symptoms of potentially fatal toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, the warnings are significant because until now children weren’t considered vulnerable compared to their parents and grandparents.
Chills, Muscle Pain, Sore Throat And Headache Make It Onto List Of CDC’s Official COVID-19 Symptoms
Doctors continue to report strange symptoms with the illness — like COVID Toes, a skin reaction found on the feet of many patients — but the CDC has kept its list fairly narrow until now. The agency just added six new symptoms to the official guidelines of what to look for to diagnose the disease.
Complaints Over Delays, Glitches Roll In As Small-Business Loan Program Reopens For Applications
“The SBA’s systems were not designed to and are not capable of handling the volume of loans banks processed over the last several weeks for small businesses,” said Richard Hunt, chief executive of the Consumer Bankers Association.
McConnell’s Trade-Off: If Next Relief Package Bails Out States It Needs To Include Liability Waivers
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made waves in recent days when he suggested states file for bankruptcy–a move that experts say would send the country into a prolonged depression. McConnell on Monday cracked the door on a potential deal that could include money for states. But it would have to come at a price.
Republican Strategists Worry GOP’s Stance Against Mail-In-Voting Gives Democrats A Head Start
After Wisconsin’s chaotic primary, Republicans see an appetite among Americans to avoid in-person voting. While the leaders of the party continue to fight against the mail-in-voting push, some in the GOP think it’s putting them behind as the country inevitably moves in that direction. Meanwhile, Democrats’ strategy heading toward November is going to focus on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response.
There is still a glimmer of a positive result in the study of patients given the arthritis drug sarilumab, sold as Kevzara, for critically ill COVID-19 patients. Trials for that group of patients will continue.
A Front-Runner Jumps Out Ahead In Race For A Vaccine–And It’s Not Moderna
An Oxford University laboratory had a head start with a vaccine for a different strain of the coronavirus. Where other trials have to start small, the Oxford vaccine has already been found to be harmless in humans. The Oxford scientists now say that with an emergency approval from regulators, the first few million doses of their vaccine could be available by September — if it proves effective.
