Weekly Edition: June 26, 2020
Lost on the Frontline
The Staffs of KFF Health News and The Guardian and Christina Jewett and Maureen O’Hagan and Laura Ungar and Melissa Bailey and Katja Ridderbusch and JoNel Aleccia and Alastair Gee, The Guardian and Danielle Renwick, The Guardian and Carmen Heredia Rodriguez and Eli Cahan and Shefali Luthra and Michaela Gibson Morris and Sharon Jayson and Mary Chris Jaklevic and Natalia Megas, The Guardian and Cara Anthony and Michelle Crouch and Sarah Jane Tribble and Anna Almendrala and Michelle Andrews and Samantha Young and Sarah Varney and Victoria Knight and Christina M. Oriel, Asian Journal and Alex Smith, KCUR and Elizabeth Lawrence
“Lost on the Frontline” is an ongoing project by Kaiser Health News and The Guardian that aims to document the lives of health care workers in the U.S. who died from COVID 19, and to investigate why so many are victims of the disease.
US Nurses At For-Profit Hospital Chain To Strike Over Cuts And PPE Shortages
Michael Sainato, The Guardian
Health care workers report understaffing, long hours and protective equipment shortages at HCA Healthcare hospitals.
Sweeps Of Homeless Camps Run Counter To COVID Guidance And Pile On Health Risks
Jakob Rodgers
Authorities continue to dismantle homeless encampments despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hold off during the pandemic to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Seniors In Low-Income Housing Live In Fear Of COVID Infection
Judith Graham
On their own in dirty buildings with little guidance or support, vulnerable older residents worry about unchecked transmission of the potentially deadly virus. “We felt abandoned.”
Cities Brace For ‘Collision Course’ Of Heat Waves And COVID-19
Brett Dahlberg, WXXI
Rochester, New York, and other cities have already weathered the first blasts of excessive heat, and they have done it while cooling centers and spray parks have been closed due to the pandemic.
Fearing The Deadly Combo Of COVID-19 And Cancer
Hannah Norman
Cancer patients seeking care during the coronavirus pandemic face an array of obstacles as states reopen, such as heavily restricted in-hospital appointments and new clinical trials on hold.
For A Black Social Media Manager In The George Floyd Age, Each Click Holds Trauma
Chaseedaw Giles
In communities of color, the decision to participate in this moment of collective trauma — whether by watching and sharing the video of George Floyd’s death, discussing racial injustice on social media, or protesting and speaking out in the 3D world — can be one rife with anxiety and profound mental distress.
How Those With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Cope With Added Angst Of COVID
Elizabeth Lawrence
During the coronavirus pandemic, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and other serious anxieties may struggle to distinguish concerns brought on by their conditions from the fears shared by the general public. But some patients say successful treatment has armed them to handle COVID-19’s uncertainties.
Drinking Surged During The Pandemic. Do You Know The Signs Of Addiction?
Alex Smith, KCUR
Experts say a bit of extra drinking isn’t a problem for many people, but they recommend watching out for specific behaviors that signal addiction.
As Problems Grow With Abbott’s Fast COVID Test, FDA Standards Are Under Fire
Rachana Pradhan
After the FDA issues a public warning about the test, one of its senior officials says point-of-care coronavirus tests can miss 20% of cases and still be considered useful. Public health experts are split.
Easy To Say ‘Get Tested.’ Harder To Do. Here’s How.
Bernard J. Wolfson and Phil Galewitz
If you’ve been in a crowd — a protest or rally — experts have advice for figuring out whether you might have been exposed to the coronavirus, and where and when to get tested for it.
Packed Bars Serve Up New Rounds Of COVID Contagion
Jordan Rau and Elizabeth Lawrence
State officials are pointing to reopened bars as a cause of local spikes in coronavirus cases. Bars are tailor-made for the spread of the virus, with a cacophony of conversations that require raised voices and alcohol, which can impede judgment.
Airlines Want Flyers To Feel Safe, But Grab Bag Of COVID Policies Adds Turbulence
Victoria Knight
Building consumer confidence in air travel is a major challenge for airlines. Some experts think they aren’t doing enough to make their case.
As COVID Cases Spike, California Shifts Its Strategy
Angela Hart and Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Public health officials have been alarmed by the increase in COVID-19 cases linked to family gatherings and socializing. While Gov. Gavin Newsom is defending the state’s reopening, local health officials worry the situation could get worse this summer.
Watch: Fauci, Other Health Officials Weigh California’s COVID Response
California Healthline’s Samantha Young helped lead a discussion about the state’s response to the novel coronavirus. Infections and hospitalizations are surging across the state.
California Lawmakers Block Health Care Cuts
Samantha Young
State legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom have hammered out an agreement on a budget that rejects Newsom’s proposed cuts to health care services for older and low-income people.
The Hidden Deaths Of The COVID Pandemic
Markian Hawryluk
Counting deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic is easier said than done. Without widespread testing, officials must sort through presumed COVID deaths and those who died with infections rather than from them. Then there are the indirect deaths of people who died from circumstances created by the pandemic.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Pandemic Shifts; The Politics, Not So Much
While federal and state officials continue to wrangle over coronavirus testing, the population testing positive is skewing younger. Meanwhile, the Trump administration wins a round in court over its requirements for hospitals to publicly reveal their prices, and the fight over the fate of the Affordable Care Act heats up once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews former Obama administration health aide Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who has written a new book comparing international health systems.
COVID Pandemic Jeopardizes Vote On Oklahoma Medicaid Expansion
Phil Galewitz
On June 30, Oklahomans can vote on expanding the Medicaid program there. But supporters worry that fear of the coronavirus could diminish turnout or voters could be confused by Gov. Kevin Stitt’s recent change of heart: He now supports Medicaid expansion but not the ballot initiative.
Sex In The Time Of COVID: Gay Men Begin To Embrace A ‘New Normal’
David Tuller
Like other people, many men who have sex with men have done all they could to avoid the coronavirus. Now some are braving renewed contact while balancing risk.
Pandemic Forced Insurers To Pay For In-Home Treatments. Will They Disappear?
Julie Appleby
With stay-at-home orders in place, hospitals experimented with delivering many treatments to patients where they lived. They were a success. As society reopens, the return of old payment practices may prevent the adoption of this new, efficient model of care.
Is A Second Wave Of Coronavirus Coming?
Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
Some experts say the United States is arguably still in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic and history tells us that the 1918 influenza pandemic came in at least three waves. But that’s not necessarily a template for how the coronavirus pandemic will play out, because the coronavirus doesn’t have the same degree of seasonality that influenza does.
Listen: Threats, Pressure Prompt Some California Public Health Officials To Leave Office
California Healthline senior correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester joined KQED’s Lily Jamali on “The California Report” and Alison St John on KPBS’ “Midday Edition” to discuss the threats that public health workers are facing as they enact pandemic protections.
Listen: Navigating The Pandemic And Protests As The U.S. Reopens
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony spoke with “The 21st” host Brian Mackey about the implications of reopening the U.S. and recent protests.
Listen: What Counts In Measuring The Full COVID Death Toll? It’s Complicated
KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC’s Erin O’Toole on “Colorado Edition” and appeared on WNHN’s “The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen” to discuss his recent story on how difficult it is to measure the full death toll from the pandemic.
Officials Seek To Shift Resources Away From Policing To Address Black ‘Public Health Crisis’
Anna Almendrala
Local governments around the country are declaring racism a public health crisis. That could be lip service, or it might lead to shifting resources from policing to health care, housing and other services, experts say.
Watch: Teaching Teens How To Navigate Racism In America
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on KSDK’s “Today in St. Louis” with host Rene Knott to discuss the unwritten rules that Black teens learn to try to safely navigate other people’s racist assumptions.
Ghost Bill: UVA Siphons Couple’s Tax Refund To Pay 20-Year-Old Medical Debt
Michelle Andrews
Jane Collins and Anthony Blow were stunned to learn last fall that their state tax refund was being reduced by $110 because the Charlottesville medical center said they owed money for care their son received in 2001 and 2002.
Readers And Tweeters Ponder Racism, Public Health Threats And COVID’s Cost
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.