Latest Morning Briefing Stories
End of Pandemic Internet Subsidies Threatens a Health Care Lifeline for Rural America
As the Affordable Connectivity Program runs out of money, millions of people face a jump in internet costs or lost connections if federal lawmakers don’t pass a funding extension.
Watch: Anthony Fauci Defends Feds’ Covid Response, Calling Lawmakers’ Accusations ‘Preposterous’
At a June 3 congressional hearing that underscored the nation’s deep political divide over the coronavirus pandemic response, the longtime National Institutes of Health official addressed the agency’s controversies head-on.
‘So Much Death’: Lawmakers Weigh Stricter Speed Limits, Safer Roads for Pedestrians
New York and Michigan recently passed laws allowing local jurisdictions to lower speed limits, and Los Angeles voters backed safer road designs, but enforcement often meets political resistance. The number of pedestrians killed or injured on the road remains high.
“Tanta muerte”: legisladores analizan límites de velocidad, y calles más seguras para los peatones
La administración Biden ha destinado $15.6 mil millones a la seguridad vial hasta 2026, y $5 mil millones en subvenciones locales para prevenir muertes y lesiones en las carreteras.
The Chicken and Egg Problem of Fighting Another Flu Pandemic
The spread of an avian flu virus in cattle has again brought public health attention to the potential for a global pandemic. Fighting it would depend, for now, on 1940s technology that makes vaccines from hens’ eggs.
After Grilling an NIH Scientist Over Covid Emails, Congress Turns to Anthony Fauci
In a trove of emails brought to light through a congressional probe, a former close adviser to longtime National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci spoke of hiding messages from public disclosure.
El problema del huevo y la gallina en la lucha contra otra pandemia de gripe
La propagación de un nuevo virus entre múltiples especies en un área geográfica amplia eleva la amenaza de que más mutaciones puedan producir un virus que se propague de humano a humano a través de la transmisión aérea.
Farmworkers Face High-Risk Exposures to Bird Flu, but Testing Isn’t Reaching Them
Federal officials are offering $75 to dairy workers who agree to be tested for bird flu. Advocates say the payments aren’t enough to protect workers from lost wages and health care costs if they test positive.
Los trabajadores agrícolas enfrentan algunas de las exposiciones más intensas al virus de la gripe aviar, pero defensores dicen que muchos de ellos no tienen recursos a los que recurrir si se enferman.
La vacuna contra el sarampión es segura y eficaz. No te dejes engañar por los escépticos
Este año, el 80% de los casos ha sido en personas no vacunadas o con un estatus de vacunación desconocido. Muchos padres han sido influenciados por una avalancha de desinformación difundida por políticos y personalidades en redes sociales, podcasts, y en la TV.
Journalists Zero In on Bird Flu and Weight Loss Drugs
KFF Health News 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.
FDA Urged To Relax Decades-Old Tissue Donation Restrictions for Gay and Bisexual Men
Federal regulations prevent gay and bisexual men from donating tissue, such as corneas, ligaments, and blood vessels. Similar restrictions have been relaxed or lifted for donated blood and organs in recent years.
The Case of the Armadillo: Is It Spreading Leprosy in Florida?
A single Central Florida county reported 13% of all U.S. leprosy cases in 2020. Researchers have teamed up to investigate whether armadillos are passing the bacteria that cause the disease to humans — which is especially concerning as the animals expand their range farther north.
Reclaman revisar viejas restricciones que previenen que hombres gay y bisexuales donen tejidos
Defensores piden que las pautas para los tejidos donados por hombres gays y bisexuales sean las mismas que aplican al resto del cuerpo humano.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: Anti-Abortion Hard-Liners Speak Up
While Republican candidates in many states downplay their opposition to abortion, the most vehement wing of the movement, which helped overturn Roe v. Wade — those who advocate prosecuting patients, outlawing contraception, and banning IVF — are increasingly outspoken. Meanwhile, some state legislatures continue to advance new restrictions, like a proposal moving in Louisiana to include abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol on the list of the most dangerous drugs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins schools of public health and nursing and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Shefali Luthra of The 19th about her new book on abortion in post-Roe America, “Undue Burden.”
Clues From Bird Flu’s Ground Zero on Dairy Farms in the Texas Panhandle
Dairy farmers and veterinarians in northern Texas furiously investigated a mysterious illness among cattle before the government got involved. Their observations are telling.
Los Angeles County Launches Ambitious Plan To Tackle Medical Debt. Hospitals Groan.
Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous county, is spearheading a comprehensive plan to tackle a $2.9 billion medical debt crisis. Hospitals are still getting on board with the project, which is helmed by the public health department.
4 Ways Vaccine Skeptics Mislead You on Measles and More
Vaccine scare tactics haven’t shifted, but more parents are falling for them. Here’s what the rhetoric gets wrong and how it endangers children.
I Was There When Bird Flu First Appeared. It’s Different Today.
The H5N1 flu virus and I go way back. In 1997, I watched as more than a million chickens were slaughtered in Hong Kong to combat the first major global outbreak of the disease. Eighteen people were sickened by the virus and six died, all of whom had close contact with the birds. They were […]
Newsom Boosted California’s Public Health Budget During Covid. Now He Wants To Cut It.
Two years after increasing state and local public health budgets by $300 million annually, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes to slash the funding in the face of California’s $45 billion deficit.
