First Edition: Dec. 23, 2022
December 23, 2022
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations. Note to readers: KHN’s First Edition will not be published Dec. 26 through Jan. 2. Look for it again in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Happy holidays from all of us at KHN!
Seasonal Cooks’ Secret Sauce: Heaping Nutrition and Cultural Zest
By Chaseedaw Giles
December 23, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Two “nutrition ambassadors” from Oldways, an organization that makes tradition and pride centerpiece ingredients in food education, invite KHN into their kitchens for a peek at A Taste of African Heritage dishes to accompany holiday celebrations.
Journalists Recap Coverage of Gun Violence, Drug Imports, and Mental Health
December 23, 2022
KFF Health News Original
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Survivors of Gangs and Gun Violence, These Women Now Help Others Navigate Grief
By Cara Anthony
December 23, 2022
KFF Health News Original
As teens, these three women lived amid street gangs around East St Louis, Illinois. Now, as adults, they support the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. And because of their past, some residents trust them more than they do the police.
Colorado Considers Changing Its Red Flag Law After Mass Shooting at Nightclub
By Markian Hawryluk
December 23, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In El Paso County, where five people were killed in a mass shooting at a nightclub in November, officials have filed relatively few emergency petitions to temporarily remove a person’s guns, with scant approvals.
KHN-NPR’s ‘Bill of the Month’ at 5: A Treasury of Solutions for Confounding Medical Bills
December 23, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Readers and listeners shared more than 1,000 personal stories of medical billing problems with KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” investigative series this year, helping us illuminate the financial decisions patients are pressed to make in their most vulnerable moments.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Covid Response Coordinator Speaks
December 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, talks with host Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, about where we are in the pandemic and how we should transition out of the public health emergency. This episode was taped on Dec. 20.
Inmigrantes detenidos en centros enfrentan riesgo de covid como al inicio de la pandemia
By Renuka Rayasam
December 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Para las aproximadamente 30,000 personas que viven en espacios cerrados en la red de instalaciones de detención de inmigrantes del país, covid sigue siendo una amenaza constante.
Research Roundup: Covid; Airborne Viruses; Food Dye
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Risk Of Dementia May Be Reduced By Hearing Aids, Study Finds
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
Aids may help with cognition for people with hearing loss, researchers say. In other news on dementia and Alzheimer’s, people diagnosed with the conditions speak out on how they would like to be treated at the holidays.
This Mental Health Startup Aims To Help Those With Serious Illness
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
Stat covers an innovative startup aimed at helping those with serious mental illness, while noting that “few” other startups serve that group. The firing of a medical safety expert; apologies from UCSF for “unethical” experiments at a prison hospital; private equity moves in health care; costs of care; and more.
First Patient Gets BioNTech MRNA Herpes Vaccine Candidate
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
Reuters reports on the first-in-human phase of a clinical trial of a vaccine designed to prevent HSV-2, the virus behind genital herpes. Separately, the World Health Organization has updated its human papillomavirus vaccine recommendations to include a 1-dose strategy.
Extreme Cold To Hit Much Of US, Triggering Health, Safety Warnings
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
“Wild drops in temperature,” Mashable reports, can be expected as a bomb cyclone pushes polar air down through the center of the country over the coming days. Outlets cover safety tips, an upcoming state of emergency in Georgia prompted by the weather, and how homeless people are affected.
Texas Ruling Likely To Limit Teens’ Access To Confidential Birth Control
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, likely means that youths who receive care through the Title X family planning program will no longer be allowed to do so confidentially, Fox News reported. Other news is from Iowa, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Florida, and Virginia.
FDA Approves Roche’s Monoclonal Antibody Covid Treatment
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
The anti-inflamatory drug, named Actemra, can be used for treating hospitalized adult patients and was previously approved in 2010 to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Meanwhile, researchers find a possible genetic cause for MIS-C.
End Covid Screening For Asymptomatic Patients In Hospitals: Experts
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
Stat reports an “influential board” of infectious disease doctors says the potential risks of covid screenings now outweigh the benefits. Other news outlets tackle omicron subvariant symptoms, the RSV-flu-covid tripledemic, and more.
Fewer Than 1 In 2 Nursing Home Residents Have Latest Covid Boosters
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
News outlets report on a worrying trend in covid vaccination status among nursing home residents, with only 47% of residents having had bivalent boosters as of Dec. 4. Staff at nursing homes have even lower rates: just 22%. All of this comes even as covid deaths climb, and more seniors are hospitalized for covid.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, December 22, 2022
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
Thursday’s roundup covers American life span, the omnibus bill, the tripledemic, boosters, dangerous cold, birth control, dementia, and more.
Tamiflu Being Released From National Stockpile To Help Combat Flu Surge
December 22, 2022
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration will provide stockpiled antiviral medication to states and territories that request additional supplies as flu cases ravage most of the nation. Other medical shortages also make today’s news.