Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Telemedicine Abortions Offer Cheaper Options but May Also Undermine Critical Clinics

KFF Health News Original

A change in FDA rules during the pandemic has let women receive the drugs needed for a medical abortion by mail after a telemedicine appointment. While some abortion rights advocates hail the move, others note that these services, which are often cheaper than going to a clinic, could siphon away patients needed to keep those brick-and-mortar facilities operating.

Your Covid Game Plan: Are Stadiums Safe?

KFF Health News Original

Fall and football go hand in hand. But with covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths soaring from the delta variant, is it safe to go to the stadium? KHN asks the experts.

Voters in Tight Recall Race Sound Off on California Gov. Newsom’s Covid Leadership

KFF Health News Original

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic policies are effectively on California’s Sept. 14 recall ballot — and the electorate views them with a mix of resentment, gratitude and disillusionment.

Violación y pérdida de memoria, lo que la policía debería saber

KFF Health News Original

Las supervivientes de agresiones sexuales dicen que las interacciones con las fuerzas del orden pueden ser tan intensas, y tan brutales, que agregan un trauma secundario. Denunciar una violación puede ser especialmente traumático cuando los agentes ponen en duda las historias de las víctimas.

How Rape Affects Memory, and Why Police Need to Know About That Brain Science

KFF Health News Original

How a sexual assault survivor is questioned by police can greatly influence the ability to access memories of the traumatic incident. Better interview techniques might help solve more cases.

To Quarantine or Not: The Hard Choices Schools Are Leaving to Parents and Staff

KFF Health News Original

Back-to-school season has fueled immediate covid outbreaks. Instead of beefing up protections, some districts are letting students go without masks, physical distancing and quarantines. And parents are left to make impossibly tough decisions.

Delta Cutting ‘Like a Buzzsaw’ Through Oregon-California Border Counties

KFF Health News Original

Zoom in on states with overall good vaccination rates and you see a checkerboard effect, with rural areas far lagging urban zones. That’s allowed the pandemic to rage in places like Jackson County, Oregon, overwhelming hospitals.

Concert Venues Are Banking on Proof of Vaccines or Negative Tests to Woo Back Fans

KFF Health News Original

Two days before hosting an outdoor Wilco concert, the St. Louis Music Park announced it would require proof of vaccination or a negative covid test for all ticket holders, sending some attendees scrambling and upending plans. Concertgoers, promoters and venues nationwide are all having to pivot quickly to find safer ways of enjoying live music amid the pandemic’s delta surge.

Beneficiarios de Medicaid se vacunan mucho menos contra covid

KFF Health News Original

Si bien más de 202 millones de estadounidenses están vacunados al menos en parte contra covid, casi el 30% de las personas mayores de 12 años siguen sin vacunarse. Las encuestas muestran que los más pobres tienen menos probabilidades de recibir una vacuna.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Vaccine Approval Moves the Needle on Covid

KFF Health News Original

The FDA’s formal approval of the first vaccine to prevent covid-19 may or may not prompt doubters to go out and get shots, but it has clearly prompted employers to make vaccination a work requirement. Meanwhile, moderates and liberals in the U.S. House put aside their differences long enough to keep a giant social-spending bill on track, at least for now. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

New Montana Law Sows Confusion, Defiance Over School Quarantines

KFF Health News Original

Some counties are changing their covid quarantine policies in line with a law that bans discrimination based on a person’s vaccine status. But one county has decided to defy the rule.

Pandemia revela una creciente crisis de suicidios en comunidades de color

KFF Health News Original

Entrevistas con una docena de investigadores del suicidio, datos recopilados de todos los estados, y una revisión de décadas de investigación revelaron que el suicidio es una crisis creciente para las comunidades de color, que ya estaba impactando antes de la pandemia, y que se ha agravado desde entonces.

From Uber Rides to Patient Advocates: What It Takes to Increase ER Addiction Treatment

KFF Health News Original

Despite widespread consensus on the importance of addiction treatment in the ER, many hospitals fail to screen for substance use, offer medications to treat opioid use disorder or connect patients to follow-up care. But some are working to change that.

These Governors Push Experimental Antibody Therapy — But Shun Vaccine and Mask Mandates

KFF Health News Original

Governors in Southern states, amid a surge of delta-variant infections, are rushing to provide an experimental antibody cocktail therapy, even as they oppose measures like mask mandates and vaccine passports that health officials say can prevent infection in the first place.

Temperaturas extremas aumentan los riesgos de salud de los trabajadores agrícolas

KFF Health News Original

El calor es la principal causa de muerte relacionada con el clima en los Estados Unidos. Entre 1992 y 2017, el estrés por calor mató a 815 trabajadores estadounidenses y lesionó gravemente a más de 70,000, según la Oficina de Estadísticas Laborales.

As Temperatures Rise, So Do the Health Risks for California’s Farmworkers

KFF Health News Original

Workers who harvest crops ranging from grapes to cauliflower in the Coachella Valley are accustomed to temperatures well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This summer the thermometer has already hit 122, and heatstroke is becoming more common.