Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Minneapolis Police Injured Protesters With Rubber Bullets. The City Has Taken Little Action.
A year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody, there is scant evidence the city has changed how its police officers use less-lethal weapons or strengthened its oversight. Instead, it may be a study in stymied reform, unenforced policies and a lack of transparency.
No-Cancel Culture: How Telehealth Is Making It Easier to Keep That Therapy Session
No-shows for behavioral health appointments have been a long-standing problem, with up to 60% skipped. Now telehealth, fueled by the pandemic, makes it easier for people dealing with depression and other mental health issues to make it to their appointments at a time when such care is in high demand. But teletherapy creates other challenges.
Corporations Encourage Employee Vaccination but Stop Short of Mandates
Public health officials fear that requiring jabs on the job would create a noisy, counterproductive backlash.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade on the Ropes
The newly conservative Supreme Court will hear a case that could overturn the nationwide right to abortion and cause political upheaval. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s abrupt announcement that vaccinated people can take off their masks in most places has caused upheaval of its own. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Stark Racial Disparities Persist in Vaccinations, State-Level CDC Data Shows
Black Americans’ vaccination rates still trail all other groups, while Hispanics show improvement. Native Americans show the strongest rates nationally.
Seed Money: Black Entrepreneurs Hope Pandemic Gardening Boom Will Grow Healthier Eating
Rapper DJ Cavem Moetavation is pushing beats and beets. A vegan, he’s selling seeds to encourage more people to eat healthier by growing their own food. His efforts are part of a national movement of Black-owned seed companies that merges pandemic-inspired gardening with efforts to expand healthier food options.
Despite Pandemic, Newsom Declines to Boost Local Public Health Budgets — Again
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has, for the third consecutive year, rejected new state funding for local public health departments. Frustrated legislative leaders and public health officials are trying to change his mind.
Racism Derails Black Men’s Health, Even as Education Levels Rise
Researchers who study health among various racial and ethnic groups, as well as the social factors that influence health outcomes, say the findings suggest that the power of discrimination to harm Black men’s health may be more resistant than previously understood.
Leading virologists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, are demanding a deeper probe into China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology as they try to identify the source of the deadly coronavirus.
‘Better Than the Hospital’: Pandemic Boosts Care for Serious Illnesses at Home
Covid-19 and dozens of other illnesses now qualify for home treatment under a new federal effort aimed at freeing up hospital beds during public health emergencies.