Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Analysis: We Follow Laws on Seat Belts and Smoking. Why Not on Masks?
Americans have gotten used to all sorts of mandates, from cleaning up after dogs to stopping at intersections. There’s no reason it should be this hard to enforce ones around the coronavirus.
Efforts to Keep COVID-19 out of Prisons Fuel Outbreaks in County Jails
Montana sheriffs say the state’s decision to halt prison transfers has led to overcrowding that makes it difficult to quarantine inmates and clean facilities.
‘You’re Going to Release Him When He Was Hurting Himself?’
Daniel Prude’s family knew he needed psychiatric care and tried to get it for him. Instead, his encounter with police hours after he was released from Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, proved fatal.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
Las clínicas ambulantes está llevando el tratamiento de la adicción a zonas rurales remotas, en donde los pacientes carecen de acceso inmediato a medicinas y servicios.
Promises Kept? On Health Care, Trump’s Claims of ‘Monumental Steps’ Don’t Add Up
The president entered office seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, revamp Medicaid and drive down prescription drug prices, among other things. He’s hit some stone walls.
Health on Wheels: Tricked-Out RVs Deliver Addiction Treatment to Rural Communities
Even when COVID-19 forced many addiction treatment clinics to scale back, Colorado continued to serve patients with addiction problems through an innovative program that married low-tech with high-tech. The state brought clinics on wheels to remote, underserved towns and used telehealth to connect patients with doctors.
Heartbreaking Bills, Lawsuit and Bankruptcy — Even With Insurance
With health insurance that can leave him on the hook for more than a quarter of his salary every year, a Kentucky essential worker who has heart disease is one of millions of Americans who are functionally uninsured. At only 31, he has already been through bankruptcy and being sued by his hospital. This year, he faced a bill for more than $10,000.
In Los Angeles, Latinos Hit Hard By Pandemic’s Economic Storm
A new poll finds 71% of Latino households in Los Angeles County experienced serious financial problems because of the coronavirus.
En Los Angeles, la tormenta económica por la pandemia ha pegado fuerte en los latinos
Los latinos ahora representan el 60% de los casos de COVID-19 en California, aunque son alrededor del 40% de la población.
California Expands Privacy Protection to Public Health Workers Amid Threats
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a confidential address program to public health officials in the wake of ongoing threats made against them tied to pandemic safety precautions such as masks and stay-at-home orders.
A Fair to Remember: County Fairs Weigh Risk of Outbreak Against Financial Ruin
The threat of COVID-19 forced many county fairs to cancel this year. But some rural communities that depend on the annual economic and cultural boost decided to go ahead despite a pattern of outbreaks.
How Families Are Keeping Halloween From Turning Into a COVID Nightmare
Parents are turning to spooky scavenger hunts, pumpkin-carving and movie nights as alternatives to trick-or-treating. Health professionals have their own advice on how to safely celebrate Halloween during the pandemic.
Reapertura de universidades generó 3,000 nuevos casos de COVID por día, según estudio
Los investigadores comprobaron que solo reabrir una universidad agregó 1.7 nuevas infecciones por día por cada 100,000 personas en un solo condado.
Colleges’ Opening Fueled 3,000 COVID Cases a Day, Researchers Say
In a draft study, researchers correlated cellphone data showing students’ back-to-campus movements and county infection rates to quantify how the coronavirus spread as colleges and universities reopened for the fall semester.
Native Americans Feel Double Pain of COVID and Fires ‘Gobbling Up the Ground’
Tribal leaders have worked to keep the coronavirus off their reservations because of its deadly impact on Native populations. But careful avoidance of the COVID virus has handcuffed the tribes as they face a devastating fire season.
Rural Hospitals Teeter on Financial Cliff as COVID Medicare Loans Come Due
A lack of direction from federal administrators is causing confusion for many hospital administrators. Rural hospitals are among the ones hit hardest.
It’s Not Just Insulin: Lawmakers Focus on Price of One Drug, While Others Rise Too
While insulin is the poster child for outrageous prescription costs, patients are paying ever more to treat depression, asthma, HIV, cholesterol and more. And the pandemic has overtaken efforts to force the issue in Congress.
Trump-Biden Race Could Hinge on How Florida’s Pinellas County Swings
Few places loom as large in the race for the White House as here in Pinellas County, the largest swing county in the ultimate swing state. And polls show that many people will have the pandemic and its public health and economic consequences on their minds when they cast their votes.
California’s Deadliest Spring in 20 Years Suggests COVID Undercount
California’s death count for the first five months of the pandemic was 13% higher than average for the same period during the prior three years. Subtract the deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 and experts say that still leaves scores of “excess” deaths among people of color that likely were mistakenly excluded from the coronavirus death tally.
