Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.
University Hospitals St. John Medical Center in Westlake, Ohio, is treating a patient with flu-like symptoms under isolation, a spokesperson for the Cleveland-based system confirmed to Becker’s Dec. 5.
President-elect Donald Trump has made his choices to fill some top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. They include controversial figures who were vocal critics of the Biden administration’s handling of the covid pandemic and have proposed sweeping changes to the agencies they would lead. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard its first two health-related cases of the term, challenging a Tennessee law barring transgender medical care for minors and, separately, challenging the FDA’s handling of e-cigarettes. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University and Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post Well+Being “Bill of the Month” feature, about an emergency room bill for a visit that didn’t get past the waiting room.
CMS has reached agreements with bluebird bio and Vertex Pharmaceuticals for their FDA-approved gene therapies for sickle cell disease — Casgevy and Lyfgenia, respectively.
Last winter, only 4 in 10 nursing home residents got an updated covid vaccine. The low uptake leaves a fragile population vulnerable. Some industry watchdogs say it could be a sign of eroding trust between nursing home residents and providers.
A Biden administration rule that imposed minimum rules on nursing levels may not survive, even though many homes lack enough workers to maintain residents’ care.
California’s goal was to help 2,000 seriously mentally ill people by the end of this year, but data shows fewer than 600 petitions have been filed. As the CARE program expands to every county, officials say it sometimes takes months to locate eligible adults and get them in treatment plans.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia expanded its food insecurity program by providing families of patients with six months of produce and/or a week of prepared meals, WHYY reported Dec. 2.
There is a large population of older adults with physical problems that prevent them from leaving home. Many have significant medical and practical needs that go unmet.
President-elect Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail not to sign a nationwide abortion ban. But he wouldn’t need to do so to make abortion difficult, or illegal, writes KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner.
