Latest KFF Health News Stories
With Great Potential For Profit Comes Great Responsibility: Will Gilead Emerge A Hero Or Villain?
Gilead has a well-documented history of charging high prices for lifesaving therapies. But beneath the bright shine of the global spotlight — with millions of lives possibly in the balance — the company could help shift the narrative around the drug industry.
Even New York and California — two of the states hit hardest by the virus — are talking about their plans to lift restrictions. Many other states are moving at a faster clip. But, as public health experts have warned all along, it’s not just like flipping a light switch.
FDA To Crack Down On Inaccurate Antibody Tests That Have Flooded The Market
The agency originally relaxed its review standards at the beginning of the pandemic, but scientists have been calling for officials to step back in. A recent study found that only three out of 14 antibody tests deliver consistently reliable results, and even the best have flaws.
Unpacking The Circumstantial Evidence That Novel Coronavirus May Have Escaped From A Lab In China
NBC News looks at the facts about why some think the outbreak may have started with a worker accidentally infected at either the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The bats that carry the family of coronaviruses linked to the new strain aren’t found within 100 miles of Wuhan — but they were studied in both labs. Dr. Anthony Fauci dismissed any talk about the origins, saying that even if it was an accident from a lab, the virus still exists in the wild so the conversation is not worth having.
Trump Becomes Biggest Cheerleader For Governors Bucking White House’s Reopening Guidelines
President Donald Trump is championing governors who are lifting restrictions even though their states haven’t met the White House’s own guidelines for doing so. Public health experts warn that a push to reopen too soon could lead to a devastating surge of deaths in the coming weeks and months. “There’s this mindset that it’s like running a show and you’ve got to keep people tuned in,” a former administration official told Politico. “Viewers will get tired of another season of coronavirus.”
The officials driving the Trump administration’s coronavirus response have expanded testing and helped revamp medical supply chains. “I think the administration is at a C now because they’re at least meeting the needs in a pandemic,” said a former Trump administration official. “But they’re not an A or B yet because we’re not getting ahead of the problem.” In other news from the administration: a top FEMA leader to depart and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticizes the White House for not allowing task force members to testify in front of Congress.
U.S. Conspicuously Absent As World Leaders Pledge $8 Billion To Help Fund Vaccine Efforts
In a show of international solidarity, global leaders met online to announce their nations’ contribution — small or large — to fund vaccine and COVID-19 treatment development. For Romania, it was $200,000. For Canada, $850 million. The United States did not participate.
Internal Trump Administration Model Projects Deaths Nearly Doubling As States Relax Restrictions
The country could see as many as 3,000 deaths a day by June 1, the report suggests. Another prominent model also revised the projected deaths to 135,000 by early August. Scientists say the new numbers are reflective of Americans’ inability to properly practice social distancing.
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Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these pandemic issues and others.
The Hidden Health Workers: It’s Not Just Those In ERs Who Are Struggling To Cope With Pandemic
People like those who work suicide hotlines and other crisis call centers are trying to keep their heads above the water as the pandemic sweeps the country. In other news on essential workers: staff cuts, personal protective gear, hazard pay and more.
Shuttered Science Labs Struggle To Save Research, Find Ways To Support Younger Researchers
A Stat reporter talks to laboratory staff members about the challenges they faced when told they needed to quickly shut down experiments because of COVID-19. Public health news is on additional terrorism threats, losing a decade of life, more food insecurity, fewer cancer screenings, rampant ageism, understanding the public heath scenario, warnings about dextromethorphan, compounded stress for therapists, coping with medical emergencies, and a silver lining about pollution, as well.
Mourning is much harder for the families. Media outlets report on news from New York, Massachusetts, California, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Michigan and Iowa.
Nursing Home Industry Seeks Protection From Lawsuits As Death Toll Soars During Crisis
Meanwhile, patient advocates say legal liability is the last safety net to keep facilities accountable. “If you take the power of suing away from the families, then anything goes,” said Stella Kazantzas, whose husband is among the more than 20,000 patients who have died in nursing homes since the outbreak. In other news on senior facilities: advocates push for a stronger federal response; CMS will form a commission on safety; an elderly social worker dies; veterans’ homes and those in home care struggle; and overall staffing levels drop.
In a Friday night announcement, the White House named a replacement for the HHS watchdog whose office found severe shortages of medical supplies in hospitals and U.S. testing delays as COVID-19 cases surged. Christi Grimm was leading the inspector general’s office when it issued the report in April, embarrassing and angering President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors announced that Blue Bell Creameries agreed to a plea deal in the federal investigation of conspiracy charges over the company’s manufacturing and distribution of ice cream products contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. The outbreak was responsible for three deaths and 10 hospitalizations across four states in 2015.
Singapore And India Emerging As New COVID-19 Hot Spots; Iceland’s Early Vigilance Pays Off
News on the global pandemic is reported out of Singapore, India, Iceland, China, France and other nations.
Why Are Some Areas Of The World Walloped, While Others Skate By Mostly Unscathed?
It’s not just about density and weather, scientists say. But they can’t figure out why some areas of the world have been hit so much harder than others. There are already hundreds of studies underway around the world looking into how demographics, pre-existing conditions and genetics might account for the wide variation in impact. Meanwhile, islands used to isolate have succeeded in containing the virus.
The pandemic will likely play a role in altering or possibly eliminating the 2020 conventions, where politicians would jam together, but it’s not the first time the televised spectacles have come under pressure, according to the New York Times, and company donations are expected to be lower.
