Latest KFF Health News Stories
Police Officers’ No. 1 Job Risk: Covid
The coronavirus is the leading cause of death among law enforcement so far in 2021, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Meanwhile, the average U.S. daily death toll from covid over the last seven days surpassed 2,000 this weekend, The New York Times reports.
Infrastructure Vote Timeline In Trouble With Spending Bills Up In Air
Axios reports Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, is saying Congress should take a “strategic pause” before it votes on the White House’s $3.5 trillion social spending package. Politico covers other representatives’ warnings that Congress may not vote in time to meet a Sept. 27 target on the companion infrastructure package.
HHS Announces Funds, Protections In Response To Texas Abortion Law
The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $10 million to Every Body Texas, a nonprofit that administers Title X funds to Texas abortion providers. The agency announced available grants for other impacted clinics, as well as protections for doctors and patients. More fallout from the restrictive law is reported from Texas as well as other parts of the nation.
Booster Expansion For General Population Still Likely, Officials Say
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci both expect that third vaccine doses will be authorized for all eligible Americans but it’s unclear when that may happen.
Pfizer Says Vaccine Drives ‘Robust’ Immune Response In Kids Ages 5 To 11
Pfizer-BioNTech’s trials involved a two-shot regimen with about a third the dosage used in covid shots for teenagers and adults. The two shots led to an anti-covid immune response just as strong as in older people, and the shots were safe, with comparable side effects to adults, according to the drugmaker.
Moderna Covid Shot Offers Strongest Protection Against Hospitalization
A study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that Moderna’s covid vaccine is 93% effective against hospitalization over 5 months. The other two shots authorized in the U.S. also offer strong protection — Pfizer at 88% and Johnson & Johnson at 71%.
FDA To Weigh Panel’s Advice To Limit Boosters To Older Or High-Risk People
On Friday, a panel of vaccine advisors to the Food and Drug Administration recommended a third dose of the Pfizer shot for Americans over 65 and those who are considered high risk — but voted against boosters for all. The FDA is expected to make its decision this week.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Different Takes: Steps Required To End The Pandemic; Clarity Needed On Booster Shots
Opinion writers weigh in on covid, booster shots, nursing during a pandemic and more.
Cuba Starts Giving Kids 2 And Older Covid Shots
The AP reports on an expansion of Cuba’s covid shot program to kids as young as 2. Meanwhile in Cambodia, children aged 6 to 11 began to get shots before school re-openings. But officials in Brazil want to halt vaccines for younger teens after a childhood death that’s being investigated.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KHN finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include stories on sickle cell disease, Afghan refugees, covid, ancestry and more.
Inmate Deaths, Medical Care Shortages Reported In Rikers Island Jail Chaos
News outlets report on what some have called an “absolute humanitarian crisis” at the Rikers Island Jail complex near New York City. Also: food contamination in Houston markets, recovering Louisiana hospitals, female genital mutilation, a police shooting during a mental health crisis, and more.
White House Takes Heat Over Law On Payoffs For Sickened Nuclear Workers
The AP reports on pushback over Biden administration efforts to challenge a law which made it easier for workers who fell ill at a former nuclear weapons factory to get compensation. Meanwhile, Texas officials and residents are resisting a plan to build a nuclear waste site in the state.
Mozart Sonata Helps Treat Epilepsy; Pufferfish Toxin May Help Lazy Eye
A study revives some older ideas about the therapeutic benefits of Mozart’s music, this time as a potential aid for epilepsy sufferers. A separate study suggests the chemistry of pufferfish nerve toxin could help treat the visual impairment from amblyopia–also called lazy eye.
Texas Cancer Clinic Forced To Shut Down IT Systems In Cyberattack
Around 36,000 patients may have been victims of a data breach at Austin Cancer Centers. Non-covid health visits, uninsured dentistry patients, an Intermountain/SCL merger, high-tech voice assistants in clinical care and Baltimore’s health commissioner are also in the news.
DOJ Appeals Settlement That Would Shield Sacklers From Opioid Liability
Deeming it “unlawful,” a watchdog within the Department of Justice moved to block a bankruptcy deal that includes protections for Purdue Pharma from future lawsuits over its role in the opioid epidemic.
House Democrats Aim To Boost Aid For Unemployed In Spending Package
House Democrats, led by Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have been leading the effort to improve unemployment aid, saying the system particularly impacts Black and brown communities. Separately, California is at risk of losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars of rental aid.
Gov. Beshear Says Anti-Mask Kentucky School Leaders ‘Endangering Children’
Meanwhile, in Oregon, 900 students and staff were quarantined after four covid cases hit one high school. In Oklahoma, reports say schools can opt into a program for free in-school covid testing, and in California, the declining number of pediatric covid cases coincided with school openings.
Public Health Order Can’t Be Used To Expel Migrant Families, Judge Rules
A federal judge tells the Biden administration that it has two weeks to halt the practice of expelling migrants with children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border under the public health edict, known as Title 42.
A Covid Vaccine Denier Won A Seat On An Idaho Regional Health Board
Meanwhile, a poll shows that the number of vaccine-hesitant Kentuckians has fallen since March. News outlets also cover efforts to reach the unvaccinated, fake covid vaccine cards, and evidence proving no link between covid vaccines and risk of damaging fertility.
