Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics during the pandemic and others.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Research Roundup: Antibiotic Use, Medical Device Approval, And Skin Infections
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
The companies are taking compounds that already exist, tailoring receptors to match them, and delivering the genetic code for those bespoke receptors as a gene therapy. In other pharmaceutical news: a heartburn drug recall, drug shortages, and a biotech scorecard from Stat.
In Ecuador, Victims Who Have Succumbed To Virus Are Being Left In Streets With Morgues At Capacity
The developing world is being hit hard by the outbreak, from medical capacity to economies based largely on informal workers. Global news comes out of China, Africa, France and Sweden, as well.
“It scares me more than getting sick,” one retired pediatrician said about the potential hospital bill that could come if she got sick while pitching in on the efforts. In other news from the front lines: pregnant health workers “terrified,” an option to deploy military personnel to help care for sick, a call for hazard pay for medical workers, and a look at what hospitals need right now.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center treats the world’s top celebrities, while Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital serves some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable populations. But the distinctions between the two are fading fast as they both brace for an onslaught. Other hospital news comes out of Massachusetts and Texas.
‘COVID Is The Equivalent Of Katrina Hitting 50 States’: Hurricane Season Looms In Distance For FEMA
FEMA, which is handling the coronavirus outbreak, is already taking steps to brace for a potentially devastating hurricane season by possibly rehiring retirees and setting up a second coordination center devoted to non-pandemic related catastrophes. Meanwhile, the agency has debunked the idea that President Donald Trump can issue a nationwide quarantine, but the myth persists.
Skyrocketing Gun Sales: Virus Fears Fuel Second Busiest Month, Double Purchases In Some States
“People are nervous that there’s a certain amount of civil disorder that might come if huge numbers of people are sick and a huge number of institutions are not operating normally,” said Timothy Lytton, an expert on the gun industry. Public health news stemming from the outbreak is on abortion, domestic abuse, foster children and sobriety, as well
Nearly 3,000 Sailors To Leave Aircraft Carrier; Medical Specialists En Route To Guam
The Navy announced that about 1,000 crew members will remain on the USS Theodore Roosevelt while it is docked in Guam to keep the ship running and to secure it. About 100 sailors aboard have tested positive so far, leading the captain to ask for additional protections and evacuations.
Alarm Grows For Federal Prison Inmates, Workers As Testing And Treatment Resources Fall Short
Red tape and contract restrictions mire Bureau of Prison officials’ efforts to secure enough staff and personal protective equipment. Outbreak news from jails in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts and Louisiana is reported, as well.
The facility’s administrator has been put on paid leave after at least six people have died at the state-funded hospital. The state investigation started Wednesday after the Holyoke mayor received a tip on deaths that weren’t made public.
Lockdown measures were put in place weeks ago in many states, but failures to test doctors and nurses who work with the nation’s most frail could be leading to the spike of deaths seen in nursing homes in Tennessee, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland. Other nursing home news is on deaths in Massachusetts and Louisiana, California’s orders to accept coronavirus patients and a plea from a 400,000-member union of longterm care workers for better protections.
Scientists Try To Counter Phenomenon In Which Immune System Attacks Patient’s Own Organs
The “cytokine storms” are being seen especially in young patients with the coronavirus. A drug that’s sometimes used to soothe an immune system in distress is being considered as a possible treatment. In other news: the science behind the 14-day quarantine, the gender disparities seen with the virus, a look at adverse neurological effects being seen in some patients, and more.
Escalating infection numbers across the D.C, Maryland and Northern Virginia area could impede the government’s ability to deliver unemployment checks, small-business loans and safety-net services. Media outlets cover news on the outbreak out of Texas, California, Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, Nevada and Montana.
As Federal Government Wavers On Wearing Masks, LA Mayor Tells City’s Resident’s To Cover Up
Many public health officials have been hesitant to recommend mask-wearing in fear that it could exacerbate the shortage for health care workers. But Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti wants people to take precautions–while staying away from medical-grade gear. Meanwhile, police officers and firefighters are desperate for protective gear as hospital workers are prioritized when it comes to supplies.
Wisconsin is set to play host to the Democratic National Convention in July, which has still not been canceled or rescheduled. The state is already drawing fire from some for the decision to hold their primaries next Tuesday. Public opinion in the state is split about evenly. Meanwhile, the fact that state governors are gaining national attention over their pandemic response, could shake up the 2024 presidential race.
Small Study Shows Malaria Drug Touted By Trump Helps, But Scientists Warn More Research Is Needed
The study was small and limited to patients who were mildly or moderately ill, not severe cases, but the hydroxychloroquine did seem to help patients’ recovery times. Meanwhile, a Chicago hospital starts a trial on another potential drug.
