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The alarming discovery also casts a broader spotlight on the devastation that the pandemic is wreaking on the nation's nursing homes. “These numbers keep spreading like wildfire," Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said.
The coronavirus has exacted a severe toll on the patchwork of community clinics and storefront doctors in New York City’s central Queens neighborhoods. In other news on health-care providers: a respiratory therapist talks about working "code to code;" workers staying at hotels; recovered doctors go back to the front lines; and more.
The cost of N95 masks surged from $0.38 to $5.75 each (a 1,513% increase), the cost of vinyl exam gloves went up from $0.02 to $0.06 (300% increase); and the cost of isolation gowns went from $0.25 to $5.00 (2,000% increase), according to a report on the spiking cost of gear. In other news on personal protective equipment: decontamination of masks, an investigation into the VA's mask supply, shortages spark innovation; and more.
FEMA is already leading a historic response effort to the pandemic, but the overtaxed agency will also have to take the lead when the next natural disaster hits. Other preparedness news focuses on ventilators and medical equipment from China.
President Donald Trump said that the sharp drop-off in commercial testing was a good sign because it indicated that "states are moving to faster, more local testing solutions including on the spot tests." But experts say the U.S. is nowhere close to testing the amount it needs to in order to reopen and commercial labs remain frustrated that they're not being used to full capacity.
“The best news is that most of our patients have already been discharged, which is great. We’ve only had two patients perish,” said Kathleen Mullane, of the University of Chicago, in a video obtained by Stat. The antiviral had been singled out in the early days as one that might offer the most hope as a coronavirus treatment. But the trial does not include what's known as a control group, so it will be difficult to say whether the drug is truly helping patients recover better. In other pharmaceutical news: the dangerous rush to approve hydroxychloroquine; a look at where all treatment studies stand; herbal remedies growing in popularity; and more.
The trial originally focused on healthy younger Americans, but the NIH and Moderna are now reaching out to more vulnerable populations, as well. Meanwhile, the company receives a large infusion of money that experts say shows the vaccine’s development has moved far along enough that preparations are under way to test it further and to expand manufacturing.
The prior record was 2,569, reported the day before. COVID-19 is on pace to become the largest single killer of Americans, given the normal number of deaths in an April week. Meanwhile, most experts agree it's hard to get an accurate count due to spotty testing and the actual number of both cases and deaths are likely higher.
As Texas Democrats push for mail-in-voting, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a letter saying someone already ill with COVID-19 could vote by mail, but that the mere fear of contracting the illness wouldn’t qualify. Across the country, tensions are rising as states and election officials try to ensure voters will be able to safely made their voice heard in November.
Seven Midwestern governors are banding together to plan a way to gracefully restart their economies, stressing that they'll take "a fact-based, data-driven approach." The neighbors' partnership is just the latest -- following in the footsteps of West and East Coast states -- in a tacit agreement that disease knows no state boundaries. Meanwhile, some Americans grow weary of the shutdown, but a majority worry that states will reopen too soon.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires outside advisory committees to hold open meetings and issue public reports, but since the conversations with members of the economic panel are being characterized as casual, they don't have to be recorded. Notably, the White House also avoided the term “committee” in its announcement. In other news on the Trump administration's to the crisis: the president's WHO decision draws backlash, Trump's former personal attorney released from prison early amid virus fears, Dr. Anthony Fauci's popularity soars, and more.
“We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time,” President Donald Trump said. The plan leans heavily on the idea that some states that have not been as hard-hit can reopen quicker than hot spots. Trump also walked back prior claims that he has "total" authority on lifting shut-down measures. “You’re going to call your own shots,” he told governors on a call to discuss the guidelines.
Opinion writers weigh in on these pandemic topics and others.
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Scientists around the world have dropped everything to work on a COVID-19 cure, but that's not always the most successful strategy. “It’s a cacophony — it’s not an orchestra. There’s no conductor,” said Derek Angus, chair of the department of critical care medicine at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In other news, a potential treatment sets off a diplomatic war and doctors start focusing on blood clots' role in the disease.
The question of whether the coronavirus can be “aerosolized” has stirred controversy for weeks, with many people focusing on coughing and sneezing. But a new study shows that even speaking closely to someone is enough to do it. In other science and innovation news: organ damage, obesity, diabetic patients, UV light, social distancing, and more.
The report from one of the nation's major insurers reveals the complicated impact that the coronavirus is having on the health system.
A U.S. appeals court rules that large pharmacy chains, like CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens, will not face liability charges in ongoing opioid litigation for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic as dispensaries. Many cities, counties and states have joined together to sue drug makers, wholesalers, and pharmacies--though progress on the cases filed in Ohio have slowed due to the pandemic. In drug-related news, hospices have trouble disposing of opioids once a patient has died.
Editorial page writers express views on these pandemic issues and others.
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