Latest KFF Health News Stories
Why Florida, One Of Hardest Hit States, Is Going Its Own Way
The politics of the state have influenced its response to the coronavirus outbreak. But experts are nervous due to Florida’s large population of vulnerable residents and a lot of young super-spreaders who visit.
What’s To Become Of The 2020 Elections?
The coronavirus outbreak has upended the election season, and it’s hard to know how the following months will play out when it comes to politics and voting. Meanwhile, the outbreak has both deepened the partisan divide and created a shared experience for Americans to unify over. Meanwhile, 2020 Democratic front-runner Joe Biden criticizes President Donald Trump’s response to the crisis.
Governors Tread Lightly Following Trump’s Comments About Leaders Needing To Show Proper Appreciation
Governors worry that they could inadvertently hurt their state’s residents, and so they’re making an effort to ignore President Donald Trump’s more aggressive style in handling states’ requests for medical equipment and supplies. “I don’t have the energy to respond to every slight,” said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who bore the brunt of Trump’s attention over the weekend. Meanwhile, California said it received broken ventilators from the national stockpile.
Public health experts have long known that a ventilator shortage is a vulnerability in the system. The government tried to rectify the problem, but efforts stalled. The New York Times takes a deep-dive into what went wrong. Meanwhile, manufacturers across the country say they lack federal guidance on where to ship new products. In other news, President Donald Trump blames hospitals for hoarding or mishandling ventilators and masks, though cited no evidence to back up the statement.
Facing grim figures from his health care advisers and other experts, President Donald Trump reversed course on earlier “aspirational” hopes that the country could re-open in two weeks. Meanwhile, experts across the country try to figure out how to ease off on physical distancing restrictions when the time is right. And psychologists and advocates worry about the mental toll the guidelines are taking on Americans.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Trump Swiftly Signs Historic $2.2T Stimulus Legislation After House Passage
The U.S. House passed the unprecedented financial rescue measure by voice vote to accommodate those lawmakers who couldn’t make it back to Washington. The bill represents the largest stimulus package in modern American history.
Editorial pages focus on these issues related to COVID-19.
Opinion writers express views about these health care issues during the pandemic.
Longer Looks: Public Housing, Small Pox Experts, Climate Change In The Time Of Coronavirus, And More
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Joseph Califano was the new secretary of health, education and welfare in President Jimmy Carter’s administration following a swine flu scare in the 1970s. He offers tips about what America needs to do to “crush the curve.” In other public health news: vulnerable populations may fall through cracks, experts debunk any conspiracy theories about virus’ origin, lawmakers call on FDA to loosen blood donor restrictions, and more.
‘MacGyver It’: Nursing Home Directors Get Creative To Protect Vulnerable Residents
Dr. Mark Gloth, chief medical officer for one of the industry’s largest nursing home chains asked himself: “‘Why can’t we MacGyver it and put something together that will actually provide an additional level of support for our patients and employees?'” One such plan includes walling off part of a facility with heavy duty plastic to create an isolation area for those who get COVID-19. Other industry news comes from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas and Ohio.
Hospitals and states are scrambling for ways to help their overworked staff deal with an onslaught of patients. But having an influx of providers who don’t have as much experience might cause stress for workers. Meanwhile, the threat of contracting the virus looms large for many health care providers.
All Sailors Aboard Aircraft Carrier Will Be Tested Following Sharp Increase In Coronavirus Cases
The USS Theodore Roosevelt will remain “operationally capable,” but it has been diverted to Guam so that all 5,000 sailors can be tested.
As Georgia struggles with one of the highest COVID-19 death rates among the states, public health officials and the state’s largest daily newspaper, have pleaded for Gov. Brian Kemp to take stronger action. Governors in at least 20 states — both Democrats and Republicans — have ordered residents statewide to stay at home. State, U.S territory and tribal news is also from the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Louisiana, Navajo Nation, Texas, Massachusetts, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well.
Grocery Stores Install Plastic Shields In Checkout Lines To Protect Cashiers, Customers
A shopper at a Stop & Shop in Quincy, Massachusetts hailed the idea that’s been cropping up across the country: “We’re supposed to be 6 feet away, but we’re closer to them. So that protection helps, and I feel safer.” News on the food supply also looks at how stressful grocery shopping has become, the high cost of allegedly intentionally coughing on groceries and infection at Amazon’s largest warehouse.
Many advocates worry that COVID-19 could run rampant through the immigration detention facilities throughout the country, which had been facing criticism even before the outbreak about about detainees’ safety. Meanwhile, a federal judge orders the immediate release of 10 detainees from a New Jersey facility.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tests Positive For Coronavirus: ‘Together We Will Beat This’
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he was tested after developing mild symptoms and will still be working from self-isolation. Johnson is the first world leader to confirm a positive diagnosis.
Many Afghanistan residents are defying orders not to congregate during their holiday celebrations raising fears among government officials that the spread of the virus could create numbers of cases like those seen in Wuhan. “The nature of this society is a very close physical one,” said a migration official. “People touch one another a lot; they live in multigenerational families.” More global news comes from France, Italy, Japan, India, and China, as well.
Researchers Investigate If COVID-19 Can Pass To A Fetus In The Womb
The cases of three infected newborns raise concerns that the virus can be transmitted during pregnancy, but studies are still early. “Is it possible that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted in utero? Yes, especially because virus nucleic acid has been detected in blood samples” from newborns, David Kimberlin and Sergio Stagno of the University of Alabama at Birmingham wrote. “Is it also possible that these results are erroneous? Absolutely.”
