Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Do-It-Yourself Cheek Swab Tested As Next Best Thing To Detect Coronavirus

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles County is providing thousands of coronavirus self-testing kits to its citizens, but public health officials are leery of the shortage of data on whether this easier method ― in which an individual swabs his or her own cheek ― is as reliable as a less comfortable but well-established technique.

California To Widen Pipeline Of Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners

KFF Health News Original

The nursing schools at UCLA, UCSF and UC-Davis have joined hands in a new one-year online training program for mental health care as a surge of patients is expected due to the social isolation and economic impact of COVID-19.

Fear Of Coronavirus Propels Some Smokers To Quit

KFF Health News Original

Increasing evidence suggests people who smoke are more likely to become severely ill and die from COVID-19 than nonsmokers. Some people are using that as inspiration to quit.

El miedo al coronavirus motiva a fumadores a dejar el hábito

KFF Health News Original

Los primeros estudios sugieren que los fumadores que desarrollan COVID-19 tienen 14 veces más probabilidades de necesitar un tratamiento intensivo en comparación con los no fumadores.

The Challenges Of Keeping Young Adults Safe During The Pandemic

KFF Health News Original

Even while playing the role of quarantine enforcer for your teens and 20-somethings, recognize that they are as anxious and worried as you are — and with good reason.

Lawmaker Pushing Mental Health Reform: It’s ‘More Needed Than Ever’

KFF Health News Original

Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers to pare down their legislative wish lists and focus on the state’s coronavirus response. But state Sen. Jim Beall plans to forge ahead with his mental health care proposals, including a measure to create a state mental health parity requirement.

Health Insurers Prosper As COVID-19 Deflates Demand For Elective Treatments

KFF Health News Original

With most nonemergency procedures shelved for now, many health insurers are expected to see profits in the near term, but the longer view of how the coronavirus will affect them is far more complicated and could well impact what people pay for coverage next year.

Consumer Beware: Coronavirus Antibody Tests Are Still A Work In Progress

KFF Health News Original

Public officials are putting high hopes on new blood tests as a means of determining who has developed antibodies to COVID-19, and with those antibodies, presumed immunity. But experts caution the tests are largely unreliable and the science is still catching up.

Alerta al consumidor: pruebas de anticuerpos para COVID-19 todavía se están desarrollando

KFF Health News Original

Funcionarios de la Organización Mundial de la Salud se manifestaron en contra de los planes de algunos países de tener “pasaportes de inmunidad”, que habilitarían a salir y trabajar.

‘An Arm And A Leg’: What A Fleet Of Firetrucks Can Teach About Public Health

KFF Health News Original

This week on “An Arm and a Leg,” a front-line physician wonders if the health care industry’s drive for “efficiency” has robbed the system of surge capacity, leaving the nation underprepared to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anti-Vaccine Activists Latch Onto Coronavirus To Bolster Their Movement

KFF Health News Original

Activists failed to convince state legislators that diseases like measles aren’t serious enough to require vaccination. Now they’re joining with conservatives and other anti-lockdown demonstrators who contend the coronavirus isn’t dangerous enough to justify staying home.

San Francisco Quick To Fight COVID-19, Slow To Help Homeless

KFF Health News Original

San Francisco Mayor London Breed won nationwide praise for taking drastic early measures against COVID-19. But her hesitation over how to care for the homeless came back to bite her.

“Duele en el alma”: la lucha de los trabajadores en residencias de adultos mayores

KFF Health News Original

La epidemia de COVID-19 ha resaltado las profundas debilidades de la industria que atiende a las personas mayores y más frágiles de la nación en centros de cuidado y residencias.