Latest KFF Health News Stories
Amid sweeping efforts to get Americans to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Google will offer the government a report of how foot traffic has increased or declined to six types of destinations: homes, workplaces, retail and recreation establishments, parks, grocery stores and pharmacies, and transit stations. In other news on social distancing measures: Dr. Anthony Fauci wants every state to institute a stay-at-home order; public compliance soars; projections show where the next hotspots may emerge; places that defy state orders mapped; historical data reveals cities that social distance emerge stronger economically in the long run; and more.
After Much Debate, White House Will Recommend Americans Wear Cloth Masks If They Go Out In Public
The CDC will emphasize that people should be using cloth masks instead of medical-grade gear so that the guidance doesn’t exacerbate the shortage for health care workers. Dr. Deborah Birx, of the White House task force, warned that Americans shouldn’t let the masks give them a false sense of security–washing hands and staying 6 feet apart are still the best ways to be protected against the virus.
Aircraft Carrier Commander Fired Over His ‘Firestorm’ Memo That Raised Outbreak Infection Alarms
Navy officials say that Captain Brett Crozier demonstrated “poor judgment” when copying 20-30 people on his letter warning of the health dangers to the USS Theodore Roosevelt after 100 people aboard tested positive. The memo was subsequently leaked to the public
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), will oversee the record-breaking $2.2 trillion stimulus package, the other two bills that were already passed, and any legislation that comes next.
Right now, places that are served by IHS and other rural communities don’t have the labs set up to test with the traditional, slower nasal swabs. So they are the priority for access to the quick coronavirus tests. Meanwhile, mandates for states to report data doesn’t paint the full picture of the virus outbreak yet, rather it just reveals the holes where no data is available.
Amid booming demand for protective masks for health care workers, first responders and the general public manufacturers just aren’t able to produce enough. And the issue of liability proved to be a roadblock in the early days of the outbreak, with companies hesitant to re-purpose industrial masks to make up for the shortages. Meanwhile, authorities seize hundreds of thousands of masks as part of a price-gouging investigation. And a Boston Hospital acquires a mammoth “game-changing” machine that can sterilize up to 80,000 N95 respirator masks a day.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warns that his state will run out of ventilators in six days. President Donald Trump and his administration are taking steps to ease those shortages–like invoking the Defense Production Act to help secure supplies for manufacturers–governors say they are falling fall short of the massive need. Meanwhile, ventilators aren’t a cure-all for virus patients: the survival rate for those who have to go on one may be as low as 20%.
CDC Warned Security Leaders About Threat Of A Mysterious Pathogen On Jan. 2. What Happened Next?
Behind the scenes, the National Security Council worked around the clock to try to understand the novel coronavirus after the CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield tipped the members off in early January. Meanwhile, the Trump administration had ended a pandemic detection program two months before the outbreak started in China. And mixed messages and shifting leadership from President Donald Trump and within the White House and Defense Department sow confusion.
The United States has become the epicenter of the epidemic as this country surges toward 250,000 confirmed cases.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics during the pandemic and others.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Research Roundup: Antibiotic Use, Medical Device Approval, And Skin Infections
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
The companies are taking compounds that already exist, tailoring receptors to match them, and delivering the genetic code for those bespoke receptors as a gene therapy. In other pharmaceutical news: a heartburn drug recall, drug shortages, and a biotech scorecard from Stat.
In Ecuador, Victims Who Have Succumbed To Virus Are Being Left In Streets With Morgues At Capacity
The developing world is being hit hard by the outbreak, from medical capacity to economies based largely on informal workers. Global news comes out of China, Africa, France and Sweden, as well.
“It scares me more than getting sick,” one retired pediatrician said about the potential hospital bill that could come if she got sick while pitching in on the efforts. In other news from the front lines: pregnant health workers “terrified,” an option to deploy military personnel to help care for sick, a call for hazard pay for medical workers, and a look at what hospitals need right now.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center treats the world’s top celebrities, while Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital serves some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable populations. But the distinctions between the two are fading fast as they both brace for an onslaught. Other hospital news comes out of Massachusetts and Texas.
‘COVID Is The Equivalent Of Katrina Hitting 50 States’: Hurricane Season Looms In Distance For FEMA
FEMA, which is handling the coronavirus outbreak, is already taking steps to brace for a potentially devastating hurricane season by possibly rehiring retirees and setting up a second coordination center devoted to non-pandemic related catastrophes. Meanwhile, the agency has debunked the idea that President Donald Trump can issue a nationwide quarantine, but the myth persists.
Skyrocketing Gun Sales: Virus Fears Fuel Second Busiest Month, Double Purchases In Some States
“People are nervous that there’s a certain amount of civil disorder that might come if huge numbers of people are sick and a huge number of institutions are not operating normally,” said Timothy Lytton, an expert on the gun industry. Public health news stemming from the outbreak is on abortion, domestic abuse, foster children and sobriety, as well
