relief Archives - Mediarabe

Viewpoints: FDA Guidance On Vaccine Brings Relief At Right Time; Lessons On Talking Public Health To Conservatives

October 13, 2020

Opinion writers weigh in on these pandemic topics and others as well.

Bloomberg:
FDA Is Right To Hold Covid-19 Vaccines To High Safety Standards

The FDA’s rules will indeed make it hard for a vaccine to be approved before Nov. 3 — but they’re no political ploy. They’re essential to assure the country that any shot the FDA approves quickly will be safe and effective. It’s disgraceful that, to do its job, the agency was forced to make an end run around the president. That’s hardly the FDA’s fault. Faced with a boss who often belittles them and refuses their advice without understanding it, what are the experts to do? (10/12)

The Houston Chronicle:
FDA Shows President Trump Backbone On COVID Vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration guidance requiring two months of safety testing for the COVID-19 Emergency Use Authorization was just issued. This is important. Two months is not

Union Health Plan Dodges Film Workers’ Suit Over Virus Relief

October 9, 2020

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Law360 is providing free access to its coronavirus coverage to make sure all members of the legal community have accurate information in this time of uncertainty and change. Use the form below to sign up for any of our daily newsletters. Signing up for any of our section newsletters will opt you in to the daily Coronavirus briefing.

Law360 (October 9, 2020, 5:22 PM EDT) —
The Motion Picture Industry Health Plan’s board can’t be sued under ERISA for allegedly flouting its duties when it relaxed plan rules in response to COVID-19, a California federal judge has ruled, nixing a proposed class action filed by two cinematographers who still couldn’t qualify for benefits.

In an order entered Thursday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted the board of directors’ motion to dismiss Greg Endries and Dee Nichols’ Employee Retirement Income

Coronavirus relief funds for nursing homes dry up, raising fears for elderly, vulnerable

October 9, 2020

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As drafts of a renewed coronavirus relief package continue to be debated in and around the White House, the many millions left languishing in nursing homes and elderly care facilities – along with their loved ones forced to communicate with them from afar – are urging swift action.

According to the American Health Care Association (AHCA), almost all the initial $175 billion U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funds from the CARES Act – which was signed into law by President Trump in late March – has been spent, and yet coronavirus – officially termed COVID-19 – cases in at least 22 states continues to ascend, ahead of the already daunting cold and flu season.

“HHS has announced distribution plans for 80 percent of the $175 billion Provider Relief Fund created by the CARES Act. Health care providers, including nursing homes, will need additional resources to continue its

Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts awards $2M in coronavirus relief funds to 70 nonprofits

October 9, 2020

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SPRINGFIELD — The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts announced Friday that it has awarded a new round of coronavirus relief funds totaling more than $2 million to 70 nonprofit groups in the region.

“We recognize that our community depends on a healthy nonprofit sector and these are particularly challenging times for nonprofits in our region,” said Katie Allan Zobel, the foundation’s president and CEO. “These stabilization grants are intended to help nonprofits continue their critical work and adapt to the current reality. Our aim is to help ensure that they are able to continue their vital work throughout, and beyond, our current crisis.”

The funds target nonprofits that have been harmed financially by the pandemic, including organizations that serve the most vulnerable populations, the foundation said in a news release. The maximum grant award for each nonprofit was $50,000 for general operations, and a total of $2.05 million was allocated.

World Mental Health Day; Bestselling Author Urges Self-Care for Pandemic Relief

October 9, 2020

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / October 9, 2020 / On World Mental Health Day Oct. 10, bestselling author and CEO Kevin Guest is urging everyone in 2020 to reset oneself during the pandemic with five steps for self-care.”Businesses that will …

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“Businesses that will emerge from the pandemic successfully will be those that are agile,” said Kevin Guest, CEO

4 health care providers request relief funds

October 9, 2020

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Four health care providers presented their requests Thursday to the Cole County Commission for federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Some of the requests involved proposals to help with future COVID-19 testing in the county, while other requests were to help with costs already incurred during the ongoing pandemic.

Representatives from Jefferson City’s two hospitals — St. Mary’s Hospital and Capital Region Medical Center — told commissioners their requests were to cover expenses for the COVID-19 testing that they’ve been providing.

St. Mary’s Chief Nursing Officer Mike Hyde said the hospital’s request for $319,893 would cover expenses from March through August. St. Mary’s has done 11,000 tests since March, operating six days a week, he said. With inclement weather expected this fall and winter, the hospital plans to adjust its testing site and will need a new car port and tent, Hyde said.

Capital Region Medical Center requested more than $1.1 million

‘It’s a Slaughter’; Trump Halts COVID Relief Talks; Mask Up Between Bites in Calif.

October 7, 2020

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William Foege, MD, the former CDC director under Presidents Carter and Reagan, suggested in a private letter to the agency’s current leader, Robert Redfield, MD, that he orchestrate his own firing by revealing the CDC’s failings and the meddling from the White House. “It’s a slaughter and not just a political dispute,” he wrote. (USA Today)

As of 8:00 a.m. ET Wednesday, the estimated U.S. COVID-19 toll reached 7,501,869 cases and 210,918 deaths — up 42,767 and 722, respectively, since the same time a day ago.

President Trump ordered his legislative team to halt negotiations with Congress on a coronavirus relief bill until after the election, but later tweeted that a total of $160 billion should be approved for airline relief and for paycheck protection. (The Hill)

Rick Bright, the administration’s vaccine-expert-turned-whistleblower, resigned from his job at

Older people will soon receive health coverage in Illinois regardless of immigration status under first-in-nation program: ‘It’s a relief’

October 5, 2020

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When Ananias Ocampo, 76, learned that in December he’ll finally have access to health care coverage even though he lacks legal immigration status, he smiled and managed to get up from the chair next to his ice cream cart despite his trembling and extreme knee pain because of arthritis.

a person standing in front of a store: Ananias Ocampo, 76, pushes his cart along 18th Street to Paulina Street to sell ice cream in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo has arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

© Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Ananias Ocampo, 76, pushes his cart along 18th Street to Paulina Street to sell ice cream in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo has arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

Paletero Ananias Ocampo, 76, left, sells ice cream to Ray Hernandez near 18th and Paulina streets in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo suffers from severe arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

© Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Paletero Ananias Ocampo, 76, left, sells ice cream to Ray Hernandez near 18th and Paulina streets in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo suffers from severe arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

He could not believe it.

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“Enserio, no lo puedo creer, que alivio!” cried out Ocampo while selling ice cream on the corner of 18th and

Pot for Menopause Symptom Relief Grows in Popularity

October 2, 2020

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Marijuana is gaining popularity for managing menopausal symptoms, a small study in California found.

Among 231 female veterans based in northern California, 27% reported that they used cannabis to treat symptoms such as night sweats, hot flashes, or insomnia, and an additional 10% were interested in future use, reported Carolyn Gibson, PhD, of the San Francisco VA Health Care System, and colleagues.

Considerably fewer — only 19% — used conventional treatments such as hormone therapy, according to the group’s abstract presented at the North American Menopause Society 2020 virtual meeting.

Gibson said that while she expected to see some women use cannabis to manage their symptoms, she was surprised to see a rate of nearly 30%.

“We know that in general, cannabis is often used for insomnia and anxiety, which may be part of the picture for peri- and postmenopausal women,” Gibson said in an email to MedPage Today.

Trump Signs Medicare Loan Relief Bill Delaying Repayments

October 1, 2020

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President Trump on Thursday morning signed a bill to keep the federal government running through December 11. This “continuing resolution” (CR), which was approved by the Senate Wednesday on an 84-10 vote, according to The New York Times, includes provisions to delay repayment by physicians of pandemic-related Medicare loans and to reduce the loans’ interest rate.

In an earlier news release, the American Medical Association (AMA) reported that Congress and the White House had agreed to include the provisions on Medicare loans in the CR.

Under the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments (AAP) program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) advanced money to physicians who were financially impacted by the pandemic. The program, created in March, was suspended in late April.

Physicians who received the Medicare loans were supposed to start paying them back 120 days after they were made. CMS planned to recoup the advances by offsetting