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Extra Safety Scrutiny Planned as Virus Vaccine Worries Grow | Business News

October 14, 2020

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

Facing public skepticism about rushed COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. health officials are planning extra scrutiny of the first people vaccinated when shots become available — an added safety layer experts call vital.

A new poll suggests those vaccine fears are growing. With this week’s pause of a second major vaccine study because of an unexplained illness — and repeated tweets from President Donald Trump that raise the specter of politics overriding science — a quarter of Americans say they won’t get vaccinated. That’s a slight increase from 1 in 5 in May.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found only 46% of Americans want a COVID-19 vaccine and another 29% are unsure.

More striking, while Black Americans have been especially hard-hit by COVID-19, just 22% say they plan to get vaccinated compared with 48% of white Americans, the AP-NORC poll

Employers’ health benefits costs expected to grow, but most won’t take cost-saving measures

October 5, 2020

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| Better Health

Despite the expected increase of employer’s health benefits costs in 2021, most companies do not plan on taking cost-savings measures, according to early results from Mercer’s National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans 2020.

The survey, which included over 1,000 employer responses since early July, estimates that the health benefits cost for employers will increase by 4.4% for 2021.

This increase follows the upward trend of annual change in health benefit costs since 2019, however, it is still outgrowing the Consumer Price Index and employee wage growth, which have fallen to nearly zero, according to Mercer.

Mercer’s full survey results are expected to be released in November, the company said.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT

When developing their health plans, employers have to consider a variety of factors for the upcoming year according to Tracy Watts, a senior consultant at Mercer.

“Different assumptions about cost for COVID-related care, including a possible vaccine, and

Mental health services disrupted during pandemic, as needs grow – WHO

October 5, 2020

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| Health Facts

GENEVA (Reuters) – Services for mentally ill and substance abuse patients have been disrupted worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the disease is expected to cause further distress for many, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

FILE PHOTO: A logo of the World Health Organization (WHO), is seen before a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, June 25, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

Only 7% of the 130 countries responding to the WHO’s survey reported that all mental health services were fully open, with 93% reporting curtailed services for various disorders, it said.

“We think that this is a forgotten aspect of COVID-19, in a sense part of the challenges that we face is that this is an under-funded area historically,” Dévora Kestel, director of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, told a news briefing.

Only 17% of countries have ensured additional funding to implement activities supporting growing

Mental Health Services Disrupted During Pandemic, as Needs Grow: WHO | World News

October 5, 2020

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| Health Article

GENEVA (Reuters) – Services for mentally ill and substance abuse patients have been disrupted worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the disease is expected to cause further distress for many, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

Only 7% of the 134 countries responding to the WHO’s survey

reported that all mental health services were fully open, with 93% reporting curtailed services for various disorders, it said.

“We think that this is a forgotten aspect of COVID-19, in a sense part of the challenges that we face is that this is an under-funded area historically,” Dévora Kestel, director of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, told a news briefing.

Only 17% of countries have ensured additional funding to implement activities supporting growing mental health needs during the pandemic, she said.

“We estimate, and preliminary information is telling us, that there may be an increase in people with

Coronavirus hospitalizations grow in the Midwest amid climbing cases

October 3, 2020

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| Health Article

Growing coronavirus outbreaks across the American West and Midwest have started to take an alarming turn as some states report growing Covid-19 hospitalizations and a shrinking supply of beds for patients.

Six states reached record high Covid-19 hospitalizations, based on a weekly average to smooth out the reporting, as of Friday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project, an independent volunteer organization launched by journalists at The Atlantic.

Most of the states are based in the Midwest, including Missouri, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota.

There were at least 663 people in the hospital with Covid-19 in Wisconsin as of Friday, well beyond the state’s previous highs in April when roughly 400 people were hospitalized. Only 19% of the state’s hospital beds are available and 27% of the state’s Covid-19 patients are in the intensive-care unit, according to its data dashboard.

In Missouri, there

Grow garlic this fall for flavorful meals and health benefits

October 2, 2020

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| Health Magazine

Add a bit of flavor and health benefits to your main course with some homegrown garlic. This vegetable has been used for thousands of years as both food and medicine. Today it is credited with fighting heart disease, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, and boosting the immune system while fighting cancer.

Plant garlic cloves in fall about six weeks before the ground freezes in cold climates and early winter in warmer regions. (Contributed)

© Provided by Ukiah Daily Journal
Plant garlic cloves in fall about six weeks before the ground freezes in cold climates and early winter in warmer regions. (Contributed)

Grow garlic in a well-drained soil and full sun. Plant cloves in fall about six weeks before the ground freezes in cold climates and early winter in warmer regions. Garlic needs six to eight weeks of cool temperatures below 40 degrees for the shoot and bulb to develop. The leaves will form during cool, short days then slows as bulb growth begins when the days are warmer and longer.

Plant

Neglected Allison Hill garden will grow food and nurture neighborhood again, organizers hope

October 1, 2020

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| Health Food

Harrisburg residents will get a preview Friday of a soon-to-be restored garden in the Allison Hill neighborhood.

“Our effort is to restore the entire area and return the whole thing into a functional use,” said Chris Nafe, the city’s sustainability coordinator. “We’re working on gathering resources to make it happen.”

Members of the Greenhouse Working Group have been spending hours preparing the land, raising funds, and educating nearby neighbors on their efforts to bring back the urban garden and eventually a new greenhouse to provide an option for healthy living in the city.

A virtual town hall on the “Greenhouse Transformation Project” is scheduled at noon Friday. It will be streamed to the city’s Facebook page, where residents’ input is welcomed. Some parts of the garden’s plans will start to take shape on Friday.

Planners said there’s an urgency to grow food now. The plot of land has sat near

Aortic Valve Market to Grow with Double Digit Growth Rate in Coming Years: P&S Intelligence

September 29, 2020

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| Health News

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Muir Health says that valvular diseases, such as aortic stenosis, are detected in 1.5 million people in the U.S. every year. Therefore, due to the rising incidence of such valvular diseases, the global aortic valve market is predicted to witness a high CAGR of 13.2% between 2020 and 2030. At this rate, the industry size will increase from $7,568.3 million in 2019 to $29,146.9 million by 2030, according to the market research report published by P&S Intelligence.

Another such disease, the rising prevalence of which is driving the aortic valve market, is aortic regurgitation, as it requires valve replacement. The key reason behind the growing cases of such health conditions is the geriatric population, which is predicted to reach 1.5 billion by 2050, from 703 million in 2019, as per the UN. Further, rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which almost 33 million

California Governor Gavin Newsom signs signs law to grow mental health coverage

September 28, 2020

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| Health Benefits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Friday that for the first time in California defines “medical necessity,” a move aimed at requiring private health insurance plans to pay for more mental health and drug addiction treatments.

State and federal laws already require health insurance companies to handle mental health treatments the same as physical health treatments. The California Health Benefits Review Program says 99.8% of people enrolled in private health insurance plans have coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorders on par with other medical conditions.

But those laws don’t define what is “medically necessary” to determine which treatments get covered. Because of that, advocates say private insurers often deny coverage for some mental health and drug abuse treatments based on their own restrictive definitions.

The law requires all private insurers to cover medically necessary mental health and drug addiction treatments. The law says when

Hunger Pangs Grow Across US As Pandemic Worsens Food Insecurity

September 28, 2020

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| Health Food

Food banks continue to see a rise in demand, even in affluent areas. Meanwhile, grocery stores are beginning to stockpile necessities in preparation for a possible winter rush.

NPR:
Food Insecurity In The U.S. By The Numbers

With COVID-19 continuing to spread, and millions of Americans still out of work, one of the nation’s most urgent problems has only grown worse: hunger. In communities across the country, the lines at food pantries are stretching longer and longer, and there’s no clear end in sight. Before the pandemic, the number of families experiencing food insecurity — defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life — had been steadily falling. But now, as economic instability and a health crisis takes over, new estimates point to some of the worst rates of food insecurity in the United States in years. (Silva, 9/27)

NPR:
A Crisis Within