Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed

Bloomberg: Wuhan Lab's Last–And Only–Foreign Scientist Speaks Out On Covid Origins Debate
Danielle Anderson was working in what has become the world’s most notorious laboratory just weeks before the first known cases of Covid-19 emerged in central China. Yet, the Australian virologist still wonders what she missed. An expert in bat-borne viruses, Anderson is the only foreign scientist to have undertaken research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s BSL-4 lab, the first in mainland China equipped to handle the planet’s deadliest pathogens. Her most recent stint ended in November 2019, giving Anderson an insider’s perspective on a place that’s become a flashpoint in the search for what caused the worst pandemic in a century. (Fay Cortez, 6/27)

AP: Amish Put Faith In God's Will And Herd Immunity Over Vaccine
When health care leaders in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country began laying out a strategy to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, they knew it would be a tough sell with the Amish, who tend to be wary of preventive shots and government intervention. Early on, they posted flyers at farm supply stores and at auctions where the Amish sell handmade furniture and quilts. They sought advice from members of the deeply religious and conservative sect, who told them not to be pushy. And they asked three newspapers widely read by the Amish to publish ads promoting the vaccine. Two refused. (Seewer, 6/28)

The New York Times: 8-Year-Olds In Despair: The Mental Health Crisis Is Getting Younger 
When Marie, 11, called a suicide prevention hotline in October, nobody saw it coming. Not even Marie herself, who had been bottling up feelings of loneliness and sadness for months without telling anyone. Her relationships with some of her closest friends had started to suffer when school went online last year, and she worried about losing other people in her life, too. What if they moved away? What if they died? (Caron, 6/28)

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The New York Times: ‘Death Doulas’ Provide Aid At The End Of Life
As parents of a child with a progressive and potentially fatal illness, Maryanne and Nick O’Hara lived on hope. Hope that their daughter, Caitlin, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 2, would prove the statistics wrong and live longer than the 46 years expected. Hope that she would receive the lung transplant she spent two and a half years waiting for in her early 30s. Hope that her body wouldn’t reject it. That hope faded on Dec. 20, 2016, when Caitlin O’Hara died of a brain bleed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, two days post-transplant. She was 33.Shattered, her mother decided to try to give meaning to her grief. And so she signed up for a certificate program at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine to become an end-of-life doula, or “death doula,” working with individuals and families as they moved from this life into whatever is next. (The terms “end-of-life doula” and “death doula” are used interchangeably, though some find the latter a little too blunt.) (Ellin, 6/24)

The Washington Post: Two Co-Workers Donate Kidneys To Each Other’s Husbands 
Tia Wimbush and Susan Ellis have been co-workers for a decade, and while they didn’t know each other well, they learned two years ago that their spouses each needed a kidney transplant. Then in August, something remarkable happened. The women saw each other in a restroom at work and started chatting as they washed their hands. They had a lot in common, both working in information technology at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and dealing with the same medical stress at home. (Free, 6/29)

The Washington Post: Eating Disorder Experts Say This Jaw-Locking Weight-Loss Device Is Dangerous 
Researchers in New Zealand and the United Kingdom said they were fighting the “obesity epidemic” — by locking people’s jaws 2 millimeters from shut via a magnetic contraption installed in the mouth. The goal is to restrict wearers to a liquid-only diet. The device has an emergency key to unlock it — just in case users have a panic attack or choke. (Anders, 6/29)

ABC News: 'A Bully In Your Brain': What It's Like To Live With Body Dysmorphic Disorder 
Robyn Stern, a licensed clinical social worker in New York, has missed weeks and months of her life due to body dysmorphic disorder, an illness in which a person is overly worried about imaginary or minor physical flaws. "I missed a semester in college because I couldn't leave my house for a month," Stern told "Good Morning America." "I've had three to four medical leaves of absence [from my job] because I couldn't function optimally." (Kindelan, 6/30)

The Washington Post: Rhabdomyolysis: What Is It And How Do You Avoid It? 
This spring, when Justin Urban, 41, a slender hotel waiter and covid-19 survivor from Falls Church, Va., reentered his condo building’s gym for his first workout in months, he committed to nothing more than five minutes of power walking on a treadmill. His caution was the result of what happened to him in 2018, the last time he hit the gym after a long hiatus: He was hospitalized for a week after completing 40 negative pull-ups. Urban’s symptoms included stiff, sore elbows and a bout of brown urine (“the color of Coke,” he said). He was diagnosed with a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis (frequently shortened to rhabdo). Rhabdo results from overexertion typically brought on by repetitive, unfamiliar movement that stresses muscle cells to the point at which they essentially burst and die. (Morgan, 6/28)

The Washington Post: Free Fridges Are Popping Up On Sidewalks To Help Feed The 20 Million Americans Who Don’t Have Enough To Eat 
Darrell Brokenborough opened the bright yellow refrigerator that stood on the sidewalk outside a row home at 308 N. 39th St., smiled and said, “It’s full.” He balanced on his cane so he could take a closer look at the apples, yogurt, greens, pasta, cheese and chicken inside. On the front of the fridge was written: “Free food” and “Take what you need. Leave what you don’t.” Brokenborough grabbed several bags of apple slices to slip in his slim over-the-shoulder bag. He tried to stuff some applesauce containers in his pouch but returned the applesauce for someone else. His favorite groceries are fresh bagels and cream cheese, which weren’t there this time. (Long, 6/28)

The New York Times: ‘It’s Tough To Get Out’: How Caribbean Medical Schools Fail Their Students
Last summer, when Dr. Sneha Sheth went online to begin filling out applications for residency — the next stage of her training after medical school — she was hit with a jolt of disappointment. Of the 500 residency programs she was considering, nearly half had been labeled unfriendly to international medical students, like her, by the website Match a Resident, which helps medical students abroad navigate the U.S. residency application process. Dr. Sheth submitted her applications in September and spent months on edge. Then came the distress of rejections from numerous programs, and no responses from others. (Goldberg, 6/29)

ABC News: Survivors And Activists Speak Out 40 Years After Discovery Of AIDS
On Valentine's Day 1982, Dab Garner was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco. He was 19. As the U.S. reaches its 40-year milestone since the discovery of the virus, survivors like Garner are taking time to reflect on the lives and the stigma carried by those who remain. Garner and about 75 million others worldwide have been affected by HIV/AIDS. (Lawson, 6/27)

The New York Times: The ‘Double Closet’: Why Some Bisexual People Struggle With Mental Health 
When Brooke Lindley was 13 and first came out to her family as being attracted to both boys and girls, she didn’t even know the term “bisexual.” It was 2003, and her parents responded dubiously. “Just wait ’til you get a boyfriend,” she remembered her mother saying. A few years later, Ms. Lindley did get a boyfriend, but she found she was still also attracted to women. She would print bisexual fan fiction and read it at night, thinking to herself, “This is totally me.” Still, she said, her father told her she was just confused. High school friends who had come out to her as gay didn’t believe her when she told them that she was bisexual, citing her past relationships with men. (Blum, 6/30)

CBS News: Disability Activists Push For More Inclusive Pride Celebrations
The coronavirus pandemic changed how the United States and countries around the world celebrate Pride month. This summer, many American cities opted for a hybrid celebration, hosting socially distanced marches or completely virtual events. But activists are still pushing organizers to make events accessible for the disabled community. Annie Segarra, a disability activist, who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and uses a wheelchair, said things like video captions, translators and audio descriptions of visual events can mean the world to disabled individuals who want to join the celebrations but are afraid of being left out. (Jones, 6/29)