Latest KFF Health News Stories
Opinion writers weigh in on these pandemic topics and others.
Study Launched To Specifically Look At Health Care Workers On Front Lines And Their Increased Risk
Health care workers have been especially hard hit by the pandemic, and the new study hopes to uncover clues that will ultimately help the general population as a whole. In other news on providers: the ER staff on the front lines, pregnant health workers, support hotlines and more.
Media outlets report on global news from Italy, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria, Haiti, North Korea and Mexico.
Ventilators Cause Their Own Damage To Lungs. Is The Trauma Worth The Benefits For COVID-19 Patients?
Only a third of COVID-19 patients placed on a ventilator survive the experience, and doctors are starting to wonder if the life-saving machine should really be used in some cases. In other news: “unprecedented” levels of blood clotting is baffling doctors and some patients attribute plasma therapy to saving their lives.
Call Centers Flooded With More Reports Of Poisonings From Exposures To Disinfectants
Calls to poison control centers are up 20% this year. The CDC reports that adults are making toxic mixes of cleaning chemicals, wiping their faces and hands with powerful disinfectants and children are ingesting hand sanitizers. More public health news related to the virus reports on autism, childhood infections, consequences for at-risk children, cleaner air, delayed treatments, happy dental patients and bat research.
With No Ventilators, Prisons Transport Inmates To Local Hospitals For Coronavirus Treatment
Most in-prison health facilities are not properly equipped to treat severe COVID-19 cases, The Marshall Project reports. So they must lean on local hospitals for acute care. Other prison-outbreak news reports on new Justice Department guidance for early releases, a judge’s criticism of pre-release quarantine practices, the deaths of Rikers Island jail guards, and more.
Lawyers at the Justice Department are still studying whether the president has the legal authority to unilaterally suspend the issuance of green cards. President Donald Trump’s announcement earlier in the week that he was going to suspend all immigration visas drew vocal criticism from business groups whose members rely on guest workers.
The economic devastation from the pandemic is forcing Americans to try to make tough choices between necessities. In other news on the economic toll of the virus: stimulus checks to dead people, controversy over Harvard’s bailout, criminal records, and more.
Congress Moves To Supplement Small Business Aid, Send More Funds To Hospitals And Expand Testing
After tense negotiations between Democrats and White House representatives, the Senate passed a $484 billion coronavirus relief bill. Democrats claimed a victory in securing more money for health systems and expanded testing, along with the funds to supplement the depleted small business fund. What’s next? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slams the brakes on any talks of additional stimulus packages even as Democrats pitch a next stop-gap measure.
Political science experts say that the number of states in play in the 2020 presidential election is expanding amid the economic devastation of the pandemic. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are being linked with in-person voting in Wisconsin’s primary, which may bolster the push for mail-in-voting.
Much-Hyped Malaria Drug Linked To Higher Rates Of Death In VA Study
More than 27% of patients treated with hydroxychloroquine died, compared with an 11.4% death rate in those not treated with the drugs. The Veterans Affairs study results came as the National Institutes of Health released guidance on coronavirus treatment, saying there is not enough data for or against the vast majority of the medicines, including the combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin.
LabCorp says its nasal swab test will be available first to health care workers and first responders. The kit will cost $119, which consumers will have to pay out of pocket and ask their insurer for reimbursement. “This is not a game-changer, but it’s potentially another piece of the large and rather messy puzzle we’re assembling to test enough people to stop Covid-19,” Dr. Sheldon Campbell, of Yale, tells The New York Times. But experts still caution that the tests can be inaccurate. Meanwhile, without a national strategy, testing across the country is still completely uneven.
Coalition Of Attorneys General Ask 3M To Help Prevent Price Gouging On Masks
“While 3M has committed to maintain the same prices for N95 respirators, others in the marketplace are charging unconscionable prices,” the attorneys general wrote, requesting that 3M stop doing business with distributors that violate the company’s policies. In other preparedness news: FEMA’s missteps, fact checking claims that President Donald Trump shipped masks to China, ventilator production, and personal protective gear.
Trump, Cuomo Meet In Person To Talk Testing After Weeks Of Quarreling With And Praising Each Other
Both President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) — who have displayed their tumultuous relationship through the pandemic — had good things to say about the conversation. Cuomo said that one of their main focuses was increasing federal support for testing in the states. Meanwhile, Cuomo says that New York will reopen on a rolling schedule, with some parts of the state lifting restrictions earlier than other hard-hit areas.
Influential Conservative Leaders Quietly Fanning The Flames Of Protesters’ Shut-Down Anger
FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots, groups that played pivotal roles in the beginning of Tea Party protests starting more than a decade ago, are driving turnout to current protests over states’ stay-at-home orders. Even though polls show a majority of Americans are more concerned about reopening the country too quickly than they are about the damage to the economy, the protests have been grabbing national attention and tend to break along partisan lines.
As death and hospitalization numbers start to plateau or stabilize in certain parts of the country, state leaders begin to think about a path forward. But, as many experts have said it recent weeks, it won’t be like flipping on a light switch. And the big unknowns could upend any of those plans.
Georgia’s decision to aggressively reopen kicked off a southern wave of governors who want to lift restrictions. But experts warn that the very states rushing to lift business restrictions are the ones who stand to be hit hardest by relaxing shut-down measures too early. Meanwhile, Attorney General William Barr suggests he may take legal action against any state that goes “too far” with stay-at-home orders.
Early experiments with antibody testing in California reveal that the number of cases are far, far greater than the official count. But that doesn’t mean those numbers will play out across the country. Scientists are starting to think about testing incentives–like cash rewards–as they try to figure out ways to get the best samples possible.
New information from two individuals who died at home in early- and mid-February suggest that the virus was likely circulating in the country earlier than officials thought. Meanwhile, a look at year-over-year fatality data reveals that there are likely thousands of COVID-19 deaths that aren’t getting counted. Meanwhile, CDC Director Robert Redfield warns it’s likely the winter surge will be worse because it will coincide with the flu season.
Editorial pages focus on these pandemic topics and others.
