 Tuesday, August 18, 2026 | | |
| | | | | BY MEG WINGERTER We’re in the second blood "crisis" on record, with hospitals in some states delaying procedures because they don't have enough available. The only other time the American Red Cross declared the blood supply had reached a crisis was January 2022, when the omicron wave of COVID-19 was at its height. This time around, there isn't an obvious cause, but hospitals are reporting an increased need for blood. We're starting to hear sporadic reports of people having to delay care due to lack of donated blood, including surgical patients in Tennessee and a woman with anemia in New Hampshire. All of the Denver-area health systems reported they're providing care as usual. The Red Cross said it particularly needs Type O donors, because anyone can receive their blood. I've made my appointment for Monday. Hope some of you also find a few hours to give! | | | | The death toll eclipses that of the country’s 2018-2020 outbreak. | | | | | “Any new program is going to need time, and it’s going to have kinks,” Stephanie Keiper, Aurora’s manager of homelessness and behavioral health, said of the bumpy start to the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus. | | | | | “These poll results underscore the affordability issue writ large and the fact that inflation has crossed party lines,” independent political analyst Eric Sondermann said. | | | | | Disability advocates around the country are fighting a surge of federal and state actions. | | | | | Doctors say the recommendations are not based on science and worry they will worsen vaccine hesitancy. | | | | | The disease affects 32 million Americans yet has seen little meaningful innovation in treatment for decades. | | | | | Many public health experts expressed concern about the recommendations. | | | | | Even in regions not strongly associated with wildfire, wildfire pollution rates grew substantially. | | | | | What we're reading
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