New Guidelines Offer ‘Safe’ Opioid Use Plans After Children’s Surgeries

The New York Times: New Guidelines Cover Opioid Use After Children’s Surgery
Opioids are very effective drugs for managing pain, but they can also be scary drugs, with their potential for misuse and abuse. Given the current opioid epidemic in the United States, some parents worry about whether they are safe for children, while many pain experts worry that fear of opioids among parents and among physicians may contribute to the undertreatment of pediatric pain. In new guidelines published in November in the journal JAMA Surgery, a panel convened by the American Pediatric Surgical Association Outcomes and Evidence-based Practice Committee set out some guidelines for how to think about — and prescribe — opioids for children to relieve pain after surgery. (Klass, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: Assistance Programs Not Enough For Children Affected By Opioid Crisis
Researchers say the opioid epidemic has resulted in a rise in children living with unmet social needs that any aid programs are ill-equipped to address. An estimated 8.7 million children ages 17 and younger currently live in households with at least one parent with a substance use disorder, according to a new report released Monday by the Urban Institute. Among those with substance use disorder, about 623,000 parents had an opioid use disorder and lived with children. (Ross Johnson, 11/30)

In testing and tracing news —

ABC News: Nonpartisan Report Warns Of COVID-19 Testing Shortages In Over Half US States, Territories 
Rapid tests and reagents -- the medical devices used to process COVID-19 tests -- are in short supply as the U.S. heads deeper into the winter months, according to a survey of 47 states and territories conducted by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office in their latest report on the CARES Act. The report also looks ahead to vaccine distribution and administration concerns. (Haslett, 11/30)

KHN: How COVID-19 Highlights The Uncertainty Of Medical Testing 
Dr. Jacqueline Chu considered the man with a negative coronavirus test on the other end of the phone, and knew, her heart dropping, that the test result was not enough to clear him for work. The man was a grocery store clerk — an essential worker — and the sole earner for his family. A 14-day isolation period would put him at risk of getting fired or not having enough money to make rent that month. But he had just developed classic COVID-19 symptoms, and many others around him in Chelsea, Massachusetts, had confirmed cases. Even with the negative test, his chances of having the disease were too high to dismiss. (Ganguli, 12/1)

KHN: Where COVID Is On The Menu: Failed Contact Tracing Leaves Diners In The Dark
COVID-19 outbreaks have affected restaurants throughout Los Angeles County, from a Panda Express in Sun Valley to the University of California’s Bruin Cafe. If you live in Los Angeles, you can access health department reports about these outbreaks online. But in most of the country, diners are left in the dark about which restaurants have been linked to outbreaks of the virus. (Almendrala, 12/1)

In other public health news —

The Hill: Health Experts Warn Of Tough Holiday Season For Seniors 
Health experts are warning that the holiday season poses an increased COVID-19 threat to older Americans, who are already one of the most vulnerable demographics. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1 million coronavirus cases have been reported since Nov. 23, despite recommendations that people forgo traveling for Thanksgiving and limit celebrations to members of their household. But many are still holding family gatherings outside the CDC guidelines with people in the high-risk 65-and-up age group. (Baker and Bautista, 11/30)

The Washington Post: No Game Days. No Bars. The Pandemic Is Forcing Some Men To Realize They Need Deeper Friendships.
For more than a decade, psychologists have written about the “friendship crisis” facing many men. ... Male friendships are often rooted in “shoulder-to-shoulder” interactions, such as watching a football game or playing video games, while women’s interactions are more face-to-face, such as grabbing a coffee or getting together for a glass of wine, said Geoffrey Greif, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work who wrote a book about male friendship. ... Because of this, many men have probably had a harder time than women figuring out how to adapt their friendships in a pandemic that is keeping them apart. (Schmidt, 11/30)

NPR: Why Our Brains Struggle To Make Sense Of COVID-19 Risks
Millions of Americans traveled for Thanksgiving despite pleas not to do so from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force says if you're one of them, assume you're infected, get tested and do not go near your friends or family members without a mask on. Because COVID-19 is a largely invisible threat, our brains struggle to comprehend it as dangerous. Dr. Gaurav Suri, a neuroscientist at San Francisco State University, explains how habits can help make the risks of the virus less abstract. (11/30)

The Atlantic: Are COVID-19 Bubbles A Good Idea?
Americans’ social lifelines are beginning to fray. As the temperature drops and the gray twilight arrives earlier each day, comfortably mingling outside during the pandemic is getting more difficult across much of the country. For many people, it’s already impossible. To combat the loneliness of winter, some of us might be tempted to turn to pods, otherwise known as bubbles. The basic idea is that people who don’t live together can still spend time together indoors, as long as their pod stays small and exclusive. And pods aren’t just for the winter: Since March, parents have formed child-care bubbles. Third graders have been assigned to learning pods. Some NBA teams were in a bubble for months. A July survey of 1,000 Americans found that 47 percent said they were in a bubble. (Gutman, 11/30)

Des Moines Register: How COVID-19 Is Affecting Iowans' Mental Health, And How To Get Help
Here’s the most important thing mental health therapists tell Iowans who have been anxious and sad about the coronavirus pandemic: It’s normal to feel that way. “A lot of people who haven’t really struggled with their mental health before are struggling now,” said Rochelle Honey, a therapist who is helping answer calls to a hotline as part of the state’s COVID Recovery Iowa program. (Leys, 11/29)

KHN: Amid COVID And Racial Unrest, Black Churches Put Faith In Mental Health Care
Wilma Mayfield used to visit a senior center in Durham, North Carolina, four days a week and attend Lincoln Memorial Baptist Church on Sundays, a ritual she’s maintained for nearly half a century. But over the past 10 months, she’s seen only the inside of her home, the grocery store and the pharmacy. Most of her days are spent worrying about COVID-19 and watching TV. It’s isolating, but she doesn’t talk about it much. (Pattani, 12/1)