Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Sleepless Nights, Hair Loss and Cracked Teeth: Pandemic Stress Takes Its Toll

KFF Health News Original

Reports are on the rise regarding excruciating headaches, stomach upsets for weeks on end, sudden outbreaks of shingles and flare-ups of autoimmune disorders. A common thread among the complaints, one that has been months in the making, is chronic stress.

COVID Crackdowns at Work Have Saved Black and Latino Lives, LA Officials Say

KFF Health News Original

Strict enforcement of coronavirus protocols at factories and shops where some of the worst outbreaks have occurred has reduced the racial and ethnic disparities in COVID deaths and illness, say public health officials. They want to expand the effort by creating workplace safety councils.

Making Money Off Masks, COVID-Spawned Chain Store Aims to Become Obsolete

KFF Health News Original

A new chain of stores is spreading in malls across America, just like the disease that is giving it business. COVID-19 Essentials is selling masks and all the gear needed to stay safe — and the owner can’t wait to go out of business.

Pence Said Biden Copied Trump’s Pandemic Response Plan. Pants on Fire!

KFF Health News Original

The vice president went on to point out the underlying philosophical differences between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden regarding their approaches to COVID-19.

‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes

KFF Health News Original

Fort Scott, Kansas, went without an ER for 18 days, after the local hospital shut down. Documenting local trauma during that “dark period” helped investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble unravel some of the complications that come after a rural hospital closes.

Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable

KFF Health News Original

The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium has increased access to coronavirus testing in the Philadelphia region, testing more than 10,000 people. The group’s mobile unit and pop-up testing sites also offer patients an opportunity to connect with African American health care providers.

New Moms Behind Bars Get Help From Someone Who’s Been There

KFF Health News Original

Nina Porter of Indiana spent most of her adulthood behind bars, even raising an infant daughter in prison. Now out of prison, she’s drawing on her struggles to create a program that helps other moms get by in a sometimes unwelcoming post-prison world.

COVID Takes Challenge of Tracking Infectious College Students to New Level

KFF Health News Original

Amid a surge of college coronavirus cases, some local and state health departments have been scrambling to properly trace contacts and assign cases across state and county lines.

With Senate Control at Stake, Trump and COVID Haunt Ernst’s Fight to Keep Her Seat

KFF Health News Original

In less than six years, Sen. Joni Ernst has gone from being a rising star in the Republican Party to running neck and neck against a political newcomer. A poll last month showed more than 1 in 3 Iowa voters think Ernst’s relationship to President Donald Trump is “too close,”  and her comments about the coronavirus death toll sparked a backlash.

COVID-19: las farmacéuticas elogiadas por Trump mandan dinero a Biden

KFF Health News Original

Revirtiendo una tendencia en las contribuciones de las farmacéuticas, que enviaban mucho dinero a los republicanos, en lo que va de 2020 la industria se ha inclinado hacia los demócratas.

As Trump Touts His ‘Great’ COVID Drugs, the Pharma Cash Flows to Biden, Not Him

KFF Health News Original

President Donald Trump has been heralding drugmakers as “great companies.” Yet in the final stretch of the presidential campaign, Trump is not feeling the love in pharma contributions. Former Vice President Joe Biden is, even though his proposed policies could dent the industry’s profitability.

Pandemic Erects Barriers for Prized Bloc of Voters in Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities

KFF Health News Original

Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.

In Debate, Pence and Harris Offer Conflicting Views of Nation’s Reality

KFF Health News Original

During this, the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2020 election season, the two candidates clashed over the coronavirus and other health care issues, as well as a range of other topics.

Young Doctor Succumbs to COVID, One of the South’s Many Health Workers Lost

KFF Health News Original

A 28-year-old Texas doctor tested positive in early July and died in September — one of a dozen young health workers nationwide whose deaths from the coronavirus have been profiled by KHN and The Guardian as part of the “Lost on the Frontline” project.