Latest KFF Health News Stories
The 27 nations making up the European Union are very much divided on approaches to easing restrictions, causing experts to warn that ending quarantines now could lead to a rapid increase in infections. Global news also comes out of China, South Korea, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well.
Media outlets report on news from Washington, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Florida, Texas, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Georgia and Massachusetts.
Wisconsin’s chaotic primary process drew national criticism, but there are lessons to be gleaned from the day.
Public health experts see contact tracing as an exit ramp from the shutdown, but it could cost billions of dollars to rapidly recruit, train and deploy a massive new work force to undertake the effort. In other public health news: people with disabilities worry pandemic will exacerbate long-held biases against them; scientists continue to research pregnancy and the virus; kids miss measles vaccines amid pandemic; and more.
It’s unclear if the reported neurological symptoms are caused by the virus or the body’s immune response, but the information could help with diagnosing patients as well as opening avenues of research that elucidate whether the virus gets into the brain. In other science and innovation news: killing the virus on surfaces; baffling fatality rates; misleading information; and false negatives.
Study Warns Some Social Distancing May Be Needed Into 2022 To Avoid Overwhelming Health Systems
The study’s authors say there are many factors to take into account when projecting what the future will look like–including whether people develop long- or short-term immunity, whether the virus retreats in the summer, and whether a vaccine is developed. Meanwhile, scientists are still fine-tuning just how distant people have to be to be safe from exposure.
USPS Still Isn’t Telling Postal Workers When Colleagues Test Positive, Employees Claim
While some post offices are following safety policies, letter carriers say others aren’t keeping them informed and they’re having to learn about possible exposure from their colleagues. Meanwhile, some Americans rush to buy stamps in an effort to bolster a postal system under immense strain.
The Stimulus Checks Start To Arrive And Americans Are Spending Them On Food, Basic Necessities
The IRS plans to have a “Get My Payment” website running by the end of the week where people can check the status of their funds. In other news on the stimulus package: Treasury Department’s order that President Donald Trump’s name be printed on checks may delay delivery by a few days; a lack of personal savings worsens the economic blow; a look at how the government pulled the money seemingly out of thin air; details of the airlines’ deal; hospitals’ requests for funding; and more.
The CDC report also stated that the numbers of health care professionals testing positive and dying from COVID-19 were likely to go up. Meanwhile, KHN and The Guardian team up to track and profile the health care workers who have died from the virus.
New York City’s Death Toll Jumps By More Than 3,700 After Officials Take Into Account Probable Cases
“Behind every death is a friend, a family member, a loved one. We are focused on ensuring that every New Yorker who died because of COVID-19 gets counted,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. The revised numbers hint at how much the country has likely under-counted deaths. The U.S. recorded its deadliest day on Tuesday.
During President Donald Trump’s tenure, his administration has chipped away at the health law and attempted to make moves on transparency and drug costs. But his legacy might be expanded federal health spending that looks a lot like his political foes’ dreams. Meanwhile, Politico looks at what the president said he’d do and what he’s actually done during the pandemic.
Military leaders sound more cautious that President Donald Trump, warning that expecting things to go back to normal in the summer is a best-case scenario.
The options to get kids back into schools safely involve staggered start times and a rethinking of mass gatherings such as assemblies, recess and gym time. Meanwhile, some universities start thinking about pushing off in-person classes until 2021.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out a plan that relies on certain requirements the state needs to be able to meet before the state could get back to work. Those include: the capacity for hospitals to handle a potential surge in patients; the identification of promising treatments; the creation of a data-tracking system that provides an early warning if the state needs to reinstate stay-at-home orders; and wide-spread testing, among other things.
Federal Ventilator Program Would Allow Hospitals To Send Unused Machines To Help Hot Spots
“There are over 60,000 ventilators in our hospitals right now that are not in use,” says Adam Boehler, a former HHS official tapped to help with the government’s response. The program is voluntary but would allow hospitals in cold spots to send needed equipment to facilities that are overwhelmed with patients. Meanwhile, the federal government expects to receive tens of thousands more ventilators in coming weeks.
The Washington Post obtained a draft version of the CDC and FEMA plan to reopen the country. The plan lays out three phases: a national communication campaign and community readiness assessment; increased manufacturing of test kits and personal protective equipment; and more emergency funding. Then staged reopenings would begin, depending on local conditions.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo even threatened legal action if President Donald Trump tried to interfere with the decision to lift New York’s shut-down orders. And it wasn’t just Democrats who balked at Trump’s claim he is the final decider on when the country reopens. For some Republicans, Trump’s statements sounded like a direct repudiation of a long-standing conservative legal principle.
Trump Latches On To May 1 Reopen Date Despite Warnings, But It’s Not As Easy As Flipping A Switch
President Donald Trump announced a panel filled with dozens of business and labor leaders to help get the country reopen in the coming weeks. But even officials within the administration say that it’s going to be a slow process that may take months. Trump, who has tied his presidency to the success of the economy, has been itching to try to mitigate some of the financial devastation caused by the pandemic.
Trump’s Decision To Cut Off WHO Funding Draws Swift Push Back From Medical Community, Democrats
“During the worst public health crisis in a century, halting funding to the World Health Organization is a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier,” American Medical Association President Patrice Harris said. President Donald Trump had previously floated the idea, which critics say is the president’s way of trying to shift blame for his own early missteps.
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