Latest News On NIH

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Take It From an Expert: Fauci’s Hierarchy of Safety During COVID

KFF Health News Original

In a new interview, the nation’s top infectious disease expert tells us how to survive the coming months and describes how hard it is when people still insist the coronavirus outbreak is “fake news.”

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: What Would Dr. Fauci Do?

KFF Health News Original

Anthony Fauci is one of the nation’s most trusted voices during public health emergencies. As the head of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, Fauci has helped guide the nation through the HIV/AIDS epidemic and more recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika. In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast, Fauci sits down with KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal to talk about how to navigate the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic and what the incoming Biden administration should do first.

These Secret Safety Panels Will Pick the COVID Vaccine Winners

KFF Health News Original

Data and safety monitoring boards work under a cloak of secrecy meant to prevent undue influence by stakeholders, such as companies or the government. In the Trump era, some worry the anonymity could actually invite it.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Politics of Science

KFF Health News Original

Republicans have all but abandoned the Affordable Care Act as a campaign cudgel, judging from their national convention, at least. Meanwhile, career scientists at the federal government’s preeminent health agencies — the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health — are all coming under increasing political pressure as the pandemic drags on. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Elizabeth Lawrence about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.

Dozens of U.S. Hospitals Poised to Defy FDA’s Directive on COVID Plasma

KFF Health News Original

The FDA, under pressure from the Trump administration, has authorized broader use of convalescent plasma for emergency treatment in COVID patients. But several major hospitals are resisting, saying they’ll opt instead to use the scarce resource to complete a clinical trial.

Turning Anger Into Action: Minority Students Analyze COVID Data on Racial Disparities

KFF Health News Original

About 70 college students are enrolled this summer in a program developed by San Francisco researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health that allows them to explore the pandemic’s impact on communities facing health disparities.

Don’t Fall for This Video: Hydroxychloroquine Is Not a COVID-19 Cure

KFF Health News Original

This statement is taken from a video in which a group of doctors air unproven conspiracy theories about the coronavirus. Dr. Immanuel’s claims were among the most inaccurate. And, before it was removed from social media platforms, thee video was viewed millions of times. President Donald Trump retweeted it.

Estudio federal analiza COVID-19 y las disparidades raciales en Estados Unidos

KFF Health News Original

Investigadores del NIH tratan de establecer la relación entre factores socioeconómicos como el ingreso, la estructura familiar, la dieta, el acceso a la atención médica y las infecciones por COVID y sus resultados.

NIH Project Homes In on COVID Racial Disparities

KFF Health News Original

The pandemic has given the National Institutes of Health an opportunity to show the value of its $1.5 billion “All of Us” research program. A major effort to make the platform’s database representative of America resulted in minorities making up more than half of its more than 270,000 volunteers.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Live from D.C. With Rep. Donna Shalala

KFF Health News Original

President Donald Trump’s proposed budget includes billions of dollars in health spending cuts, Congress gets back to work on surprise medical bills, and health care remains a top issue for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), a former Health and Human Services secretary, joins the panel at a special taping before a live audience in Washington, D.C. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Call For FDA To Withdraw Preterm Birth Drug Divides Doctors and Insurers

KFF Health News Original

A study ordered by the Food and Drug Administration failed to prove that Makena, the only drug approved to prevent premature birth, is effective. While a panel of experts has recommended withdrawing the drug’s approval, many doctors are wary.

FAQ: How Does New Trump Fetal Tissue Policy Impact Medical Research?

KFF Health News Original

The scientific use of tissue from aborted fetuses has frequently been a hot point of contention between anti-abortion forces and researchers. It heats up again as federal officials announced this week they were ending NIH research using the tissue.