Latest Morning Briefing Stories
What You Need to Know About Monkeypox
For now, monkeypox poses a low risk to the U.S. public, but it could become a problem if the spread is left unchecked. Here’s what everyone should know about it.
Lo que debes saber sobre la viruela del simio
Generalmente es una enfermedad leve, pero puede ser grave o incluso mortal para las personas inmunodeprimidas, embarazadas, fetos o recién nacidos, mujeres lactantes, niños pequeños y personas con enfermedades de la piel, como eccema.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The FDA Goes After Nicotine
The FDA is using its power to regulate tobacco products — ordering the vaping device Juul off the market and announcing its intention to lower the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other products. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules on Medicare and kidney dialysis, and Congress makes progress on legislation surrounding guns and mental health. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey about the new KHN-NPR project on the growing impact of medical debt.
Health Care Startups Turn to ‘Coaches’ to Help Patients Cope and Monitor Treatment
The interest, and investment, in coaching and encouragement is a curious turn for an industry that likes to boast of its billion-dollar pills and sophisticated artificial intelligence.
Sobering Lessons in Untying the Knot of a Homeless Crisis
The homeless tragedy in Portland, Oregon, now spills well beyond the downtown core, creating a crisis of conscience for a fiercely liberal city that has generously invested in homeless support services.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Closing In on Covid Vaccines for ‘The Littles’
The wait is nearly over for parents of kids under 5 as a key advisory committee to the FDA recommends authorizing a covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to fill in the details of its gun control compromise, and, as the Supreme Court prepares to throw the question of abortion legality back to the states, the number of abortions has been rising. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman 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.
It’s Hot Outside — And That’s Bad News for Children’s Health
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine takes a sweeping look at how heat — which can be a byproduct of air pollution and climate change — adversely affects people’s health, especially that of kids.
Will the US Overcome Its Covid Complacency Even as the Threat Returns?
One million Americans have died from covid-19 — far more per capita than in any other developed country. A new variant is doubling case rates in some states, and more than 300 people are dying a day. But our nation’s pandemic response has become mild-mannered and performative, backed by neither money, urgency, nor enforcement.
As Biden Fights Overdoses, Harm Reduction Groups Face Local Opposition
The Biden administration’s latest plan to address opioid overdose deaths includes $30 million for harm reduction measures, but many conservative states don’t allow them.
Covid Funding Pries Open a Door to Improving Air Quality in Schools
Researchers say the billions in pandemic funding available for ventilation upgrades in U.S. schools provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat covid-19, as well as making air more breathable for students living with allergies, asthma, and chronic wildfire smoke.