Latest KFF Health News Stories
After Twitter added fact-checking links to President Donald Trump’s mail-in-voting tweets, the president signs an executive order to limit legal protections on social media companies. But those protections have kept Twitter from being more proactive on tweets like the ones Trump is known for. Meanwhile, Twitter tagged one of Trump’s tweets about the protests in Minneapolis, saying it glorifies violence.
Opinion writers weigh in on these pandemic issues and others.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
As Opioid Overdoses Spike, Experts Worry Shut Down Is Undoing Years Of Effort Against Epidemic
“How many more lives are we willing to sacrifice in the name of containing the virus?” said Elinore McCance-Katz, the Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary for mental health and substance use. “We’ve worked so hard in states and communities across this country to combat epidemics like the opioids crisis. Why are we willing to forget those efforts now or deem them less important?”
Companies Look Past Immediate Coronavirus Treatment To Drugs That Help With Long-Term Damage
Many patients who recover from COVID-19 are still left with long-term lung damage, and there’s few treatment options out there to help them. Some drugmakers are seeing an opportunity to get into the game where they couldn’t when it comes to immediate treatment.
Mental Health Experts’ Warning: New Moms Seeing Increase In Anxieties, Postpartum Depressions
While as many as 20% of women can suffer from pregnancy-related anxieties during normal times, health experts around the globe are reporting a higher incident now. More public health news is on new normal hurricane evacuations, the unexpected toll on high-end learners, the return of the village mentality, Zoom fatigue, domestic violence, social distancing with cancer, safe time under the sun, truck drivers’ stress, seniors facing despair, and cautiously re-approaching medical care, as well.
Black Americans Hesitant To Get Vaccine In Sign Of Ongoing Mistrust Of Medical Community
Only 25% of black Americans in a recent survey expressed willingness to get a potential vaccine for the coronavirus despite the fact that they are among the hardest-hit populations by COVID-19. But the medical community has a long history of exploiting black Americans, so there’s little trust in public health advice now. Meanwhile, the debate rages on about when a vaccine can be expected.
Newly Released Data Shows How COVID Is Ravaging Nursing Homes Across Massachusetts
Data, provided after public-records requests were filed, shows that nearly 62% of the deaths in the state were recorded at 80 long-term care facilities. News also focuses on the financial toll the virus is taking on the industry across the country and comes from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Michigan and California, as well.
No Food Delivered By Inexperienced Company Awarded Millions To Distribute Boxes To Hungry Americans
Lawmakers and food banks want to know how the small event planner won a $39 million federal contract with no experience distributing food to charities. The company’s failure to deliver a single box of food so far also raise larger questions about the Agriculture Department’s $3 billion “Farmers to Families Food Box” program, aimed at helping people during the pandemic. Other news on the food supply reports on an Oklahoma food bank and a Nebraska meat packing plant.
Different Takes: There’s No Silver Lining To Pandemic, But Global Promise To Research Is Encouraging
Editorial writers focus on this pandemic issue and others.
Doctor Group Sues FDA To Lift Dispensing Restrictions On Medication Abortion Pill
The lawsuit requests an emergency order lifting regulations requiring patients in the United States to pick up the drug at a hospital or medical facility. An attorney with the ACLU said that requirement puts patients at risk during the pandemic. News on the agency is also on relaxing food label rules and impurities in diabetes medicine.
Hospitals That Have Predatory History Of Suing Poor Patients Are Receiving Millions In CARES Funds
Before the outbreak, reporting across the country was calling attention to the predatory practice of hospitals suing patients in high numbers. Now those same hospitals are receiving taxpayer money to keep afloat. In other news from the health industry: payment cuts, operating losses, ill-timed buyouts and insurance.
The Indian Health Service bought $3 million worth of masks from the newly-formed company of Zach Fuentes, President Donald Trump’s former deputy chief of staff — a portion of which can’t be used because they don’t meet FDA standards. In other news on masks: a decontamination machine might fail to live up to its hype, paramedics forced to decide between using masks or saving them and drones offer new delivery method for medical gear.
‘The Fight’s Never Over’: Early AIDS Activist, Writer Larry Kramer Dies Of Pneumonia
He fought to the end to let people know there’s no cure for AIDS. He lost his lover to the disease in 1984 and was himself infected with the virus that causes it.
More Deaths Have Happened In Spain’s Nursing Homes Than Those In Any Other European Nation
Global pandemic developments are reported out of Spain, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Haiti, Venezuela, France, Lithuania, Finland, Brazil and other nations.
Jobless Ranks Rise To Unprecedented 41 Million Americans, Though Weekly Pace Continues To Slow
About 2.1 million new Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week — making it the 10th straight week that jobless claims held above the 2 million mark.
With Citizenship Ceremonies On Hold, Hundreds Of Thousands Might Not Be Able To Vote In November
The Citizenship and Immigration Services usually administers the oath of citizenship to an average of about 63,000 applicants per month. Critics of the Trump administration say there has been no detectable urgency to get citizenship processing back on track in time for state voter registration deadlines this fall. Election news also focuses on mail-in-voting and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s pandemic strategy.
House Democrats Vote By Proxy In Unprecedented Move That GOP Blasts As ‘Dereliction Of Duty’
The House returned to Washington, D.C. for an abbreviated two-day session, but not all lawmakers were traditionally “present.” Democrats say they are trying to strike a balance between keeping their colleagues safe and doing their duty. But Republicans are suing over the practice, deeming it unconstitutional. In other news from Capitol Hill: the White House wants a “surprise billing” fix in next relief bill; Democrats defend Planned Parenthood’s small-business loans; congressional leaders express alarm over the deportation of migrant children; and more.
Virus Detectives Posit That Early Washington Cases Weren’t Cause Of West Coast’s Later Outbreak
As scientists dig further into the mutations of the virus in those early days of the outbreak, they are having to quickly revise theories as they go. The latest development is that the early cases in the country weren’t part of the contact chain that led to the outbreak on the West Coast because the mutations are different. In other scientific news: novel coronavirus unlikely to go away; a look at where herd immunity stands; the risk of contacting it from surfaces; the virus’ origin; and more.
Media outlets report on news from California, Texas, District of Columbia, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
