Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Black Women Turn to Midwives to Avoid COVID and ‘Feel Cared For’

KFF Health News Original

Midwifery was a tradition among slaves from Africa, but in more recent decades, pregnant Black women have generally shunned the approach. Now, home births and midwives are making a comeback in the Black community.

Tough to Tell COVID From Smoke Inhalation Symptoms — And Flu Season’s Coming

KFF Health News Original

Respiratory symptoms stemming from coronavirus infection and smoke inhalation are too similar to distinguish without a full workup. This is complicating the jobs of health care workers as wildfires rage up and down the West Coast.

COVID Vaccine Trials Move at Warp Speed, But Recruiting Black Volunteers Takes Time

KFF Health News Original

The National Institutes of Health has suggested minorities should be overrepresented in COVID-19 vaccine trials — perhaps at rates that are double their percentage of the U.S. population. But efforts to recruit patients from racial minority groups are just beginning, while some trials have already advanced to phase 3.

New Dental Treatment Helps Fill Cavities and Insurance Gaps for Seniors

KFF Health News Original

A new treatment for tooth decay is cheaper, quicker and less painful than getting a filling. Originally touted as a solution for kids, silver diamine fluoride is poised to become a game changer for treating cavities in older adults or those with disabilities that make oral care difficult.

NIH ‘Very Concerned’ About Serious Side Effect in Coronavirus Vaccine Trial

KFF Health News Original

The AstraZeneca trial is on hold in the U.S. as scientists try to unravel whether a rare neurological condition is linked to the vaccine. But regulators are frustrated by a lack of information from the drugmaker.

‘It Seems Systematic’: Doctors Cite 115 Cases of Head Injuries From Crowd Control Devices

KFF Health News Original

In the most comprehensive tally of such injuries to date, the Physicians for Human Rights scoured publicly available data — including social media, news accounts and lawsuits — to document and name victims of summer protests. Still, the group cautions, it’s likely an undercount.

‘Terrible Role-Modeling’: California Lawmakers Flout Pandemic Etiquette

KFF Health News Original

As California workers and schoolchildren struggled to work from home, state lawmakers met in person. And as their legislative session came to a close in late August, they broke COVID rules: They huddled, let their masks slip below their noses, removed their masks to drink coffee — and required a new mom to vote in person while toting her hungry newborn.

Kids Are Missing Critical Windows for Lead Testing Due to Pandemic

KFF Health News Original

Inspections for lead hazards and blood testing for lead have dropped significantly just as kids are spending more time in the places where their exposure to the poisonous metal is highest: their homes.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Politics of Science

KFF Health News Original

Republicans have all but abandoned the Affordable Care Act as a campaign cudgel, judging from their national convention, at least. Meanwhile, career scientists at the federal government’s preeminent health agencies — the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health — are all coming under increasing political pressure as the pandemic drags on. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Elizabeth Lawrence about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.

Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk

KFF Health News Original

COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.

What Is the Risk of Catching the Coronavirus on a Plane?

KFF Health News Original

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says airplanes are not vectors for the spread of COVID-19 and that flying is “something that is safe for people to do.” Is the evidence really so clear?

Most Adults Wary of Taking Any Vaccine Approved Before the Election

KFF Health News Original

About 60% of poll respondents are worried that federal regulators will rush to allow a vaccine because of political pressure. Opposition to getting a vaccine that might be authorized before the November election is strongest among Republicans.