Category: CDC

Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound the Pandemic Alarm?

If widely used, flu tests could be helpful now. In the meantime, the government needs to clear a path for H5N1 tests, researchers warn, to avoid the early missteps of the covid pandemic.

Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound the Pandemic Alarm?

If widely used, flu tests could be helpful now. In the meantime, the government needs to clear a path for H5N1 tests, researchers warn, to avoid the early missteps of the covid pandemic.

Thousands of Children Got Tested for Lead With Faulty Devices: What Parents Should Know

Faulty lead test kits made by Magellan Diagnostics may have been used as late as 2021 to test children for exposure to the toxic metal. The company agreed to pay $42 million to settle criminal charges that it concealed malfunctions.

White House Enlists Doctors and Hospitals To Combat Gun Violence

As Congress remains deadlocked on gun policy, the Biden administration is calling on hospital leaders and doctors to gather more data about gunshot injuries and deaths and step up their violence prevention work.

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.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Wrong About a Ban on NIH Research About Mass Shootings

Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have collectively funded millions of dollars in gun-related research, including studies addressing mass shootings.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Wrong About a Ban on NIH Research About Mass Shootings

Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have collectively funded millions of dollars in gun-related research, including studies addressing mass shootings.

WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.

After grave missteps in the covid pandemic, the World Health Organization revisited the science and now confirms that many respiratory viruses are inhaled as airborne particles. The new framework implies that stopping transmission relies on costly measures like ventilation and masking.

Too Big To Fail? Now It’s ‘Too Big To Hack’

Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute.

Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission

Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.