Latest Morning Briefing Stories

As Coronavirus Patients Skew Younger, Tracing Task Seems All But Impossible

KFF Health News Original

Although younger people are hospitalized and die less frequently than their elders when infected with COVID-19, their cases are harder to trace. As a result, the virus is spreading uncontrollably throughout much of Southern California. Even hospital staffs are affected by community spread.

Montana Rodeo Goes On, Bucking Fears on Fort Peck Reservation

KFF Health News Original

Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes initially opposed the Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede this year, worrying about hundreds of people coming to their reservation for the rodeo amid coronavirus concerns. But the annual event was on private land and went ahead, highlighting the reopening tensions between resuming normal economic activities and protecting the vulnerable.

Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes Fly Free as Health Departments Focus on Coronavirus

KFF Health News Original

Health departments and other public agencies tasked with protecting the nation from disease-carrying mosquitoes are overstretched amid the coronavirus pandemic — even as the nation is told it’s safest to be outside.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Trump Administration’s War on Fauci

KFF Health News Original

Case counts for COVID-19 are rising in nearly every state, yet a major campaign by the Trump administration this past week was an attempt to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, a trusted voice in public health. Meanwhile, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s surprise decision to protect abortion rights, there’s been a flurry of activity on reproductive health issues in lower federal courts. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Erin Mershon of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.

Why Doctors Keep Monitoring Kids Who Recover From Mysterious COVID-Linked Illness

KFF Health News Original

About 1,000 children worldwide have had the condition known as MIS-C — Multisymptom Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. Children’s hospitals around the U.S. are trying to keep tabs on young people after they recover from the ailment, to gauge any long-term effects.

You Can See Friends and Relatives During the Pandemic Surge — But Do It Carefully

KFF Health News Original

Even as most U.S. states and authorities reimpose many of the restrictions they had prematurely lifted, public health experts say you can still have a safe social life — just not the one you were used to before the pandemic hit.

Listen: Colorado Cuts Back Health Care Programs Amid Dual Crises

KFF Health News Original

KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC’s Erin O’Toole on “Colorado Edition” to discuss his recent story on health care cuts that many states, including Colorado, are having to take amid the pandemic.

Colorado, Like Other States, Trims Health Programs Amid Health Crisis

KFF Health News Original

Across the country, the recession has cut state revenues at the same time the COVID-19 pandemic has increased costs, forcing state lawmakers into painful decisions about how to balance their budgets. Health care is one of the targets even in the midst of a health care crisis.

As COVID Testing Soars, Wait Times For Results Jump To A Week — Or More

KFF Health News Original

The delays can be excruciating, with some extreme cases running more than 20 days. People getting tested at urgent care centers, community health centers, pharmacies and state-run drive-thru or walk-up sites are often waiting a week or more to find out if they tested positive for the coronavirus.