Latest KFF Health News Stories
Democrats Have Been Playing Hard-Ball And Securing Wins In The Process. Can They Keep It Up?
The House blocked the Senate’s no-strings $250 billion package for the small business fund and got a measure nearly double that with extra money for hospitals systems and expanded testing. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been adamant that he’s not going to just pass another stimulus package just because the Democrats want it. Meanwhile, banks say the supplemental funds for the small businesses will be used up quickly.
Trump’s Executive Order On Green Cards Comes With Plenty Of Exceptions
It does not apply to immigrants already in the United States, nor to those seeking temporary visas, including students or guest workers like farmers. President Donald Trump has walked back his hard stance against suspending all immigration early in the week after an outcry from business groups.
Nursing Home Owners Plea For Testing To Curb Outbreaks As Deaths Surpass 10,000
Ohio and Washington reports were unavailable for a Wall Street Journal survey finding at least 10,700 deaths among more than 35 states in facilities for seniors. Public health experts say nursing homes need better testing before allowing visitors again, once states reopen. Other news on nursing homes is from New York, Louisiana and Indiana.
Media outlets report on news from the District of Columbia, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Maine, New Mexico, Indiana and Nevada, as well.
Texas Eases Pandemic Restrictions On Abortion In Surprise Move
After weeks of legal wrangling, abortion services are again available in Texas after a new order by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) took effect allowing more elective procedures halted by the pandemic to resume. And more abortion news comes from Arkansas, as well.
News is reported on coronavirus spreads in Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Indiana and Louisiana prisons.
Experts say that even with precautions, there’s a chance that meat plants — where social distancing is impossible — may not be able to guarantee workers’ safety and still operate. “It’s not that people aren’t trying. It’s just that it is very difficult to control this illness,” said Dennis Burson, an animal science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Record 26M Filed For Jobless Claims Over Last 5 Weeks, With Additional 4.4M Joining Ranks Last Week
Last week another 4.4 million Americans sought unemployment benefits after losing their jobs due to the coronavirus-driven shutdowns. The staggering figures suggest that the U.S. unemployment rate has spiked as high as 20%.
U.s. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited concerns over the threat of zoonotic diseases, but WHO officials say the markets are an important source of affordable food for many. WHO did say, though, that safety regulations show play a crucial role in whether they can reopen.
Well-Intentioned Scientists Race To Find Cures, But Rush For Answers Could Backfire
Researchers may be duplicating each other’s efforts and working at cross-purposes in the chaotic scientific blitz taking place all over the globe. Meanwhile, Fox News hosts, who touted the malaria drug as a COVID-19 treatment, now go silent after scientific evidence shows it might not live up to the hype.
As doctors continue to gain battlefield experience fighting the virus, extremely strange symptoms keep emerging. One of the latest is that doctors are seeing clots across multiple organs, but especially in the lungs. The symptoms present so frequently that some doctors now recommend most COVID-19 patients receive blood thinners.
A study finds that 88% of 320 COVID-19 patients on ventilators who were tracked in New York died. One other surprising finding from the research shows that 70% of the patients sick enough to be admitted to the hospital did not have a fever.
Azar’s Early Stumbles Over Pandemic Severity, Testing Access Have Effectively Sidelined Him In Fight
Media outlets take a look at HHS Secretary Alex Azar’s early role in the pandemic efforts, and how his missteps still haunt him. Meanwhile, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is still in charge of the emergency-response supply chain despite his lack of experience and outcries from states about how poorly it’s being run. And the rest of the world watches in saddened disbelief as America, once looked at as a global leader, crumbles beneath the weight of the virus.
Rick Bright, the former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, claims that his ousting is due to his comments about hydroxychloroquine, a drug that President Donald Trump touted prematurely as a “game changer.” Democrats have called for an investigation into Bright’s removal, as some experts worry his removal is part of a bigger trend of retaliation against scientists who don’t fall in line.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar Azar declined to specify how much money would be allotted to help hospitals providing uncompensated care for COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, CMS warns that COVID-19 treatment could cause Medicare reserves to run out and Medicaid waivers are approved to help deal with costs.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has taken the most aggressive stance toward reopening his state, and even President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for the country to start returning to normalcy, said “I think it’s too soon.” Kemp’s decision is being met with both skepticism and praise in his state.
Well-Financed Campaign Is At Heart Of Protests That Appear At First Glance To Be Grassroot Movements
A network of right-leaning individuals and groups, aided by nimble online outfits, are helping incubate the fervor erupting in state capitals across the country. Meanwhile, despite the attention the protests have garnered, polls consistently show that most Americans favor caution when it comes to stay-at-home orders.
States barreling toward reopening are weighing the economic devastation against the number of expected deaths that public experts project if social distancing measures are lifted right now. While some Southern and Midwest states are already releasing plans to do just that, others, like California, are doubling down now that new data shows the virus has likely spread far more than once believed.
Why Is America’s Testing System Still Not Running At Full Throttle?
Politico examines the reasons why, despite national outcry over the lack of testing, the U.S. government still can’t meet the surging demand. The FDA did say, however, that states should get a boost this week after it approved at-home tests. Meanwhile, state officials start building contact tracing networks, which experts say are needed in addition to increased testing if states want to reopen.
U.S. Deaths Increased Tenfold This Month. What’s In Store For May?
Five top epidemiological models vary in severity of what the country can expect in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, after two California deaths in early February are confirmed to have been caused by COVID-19, scientists and leaders adjust to the new evidence that the virus has likely been in the U.S. for longer than they had thought. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ordered state medical examiners and coroners to review autopsies dating back to December.
