Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After-Effects Of Prolonged Covid Hospitalizations Linger For Patients
Bloomberg: Covid-19 Survivors Face Extended Health Struggles After Long ICU Stays
For weeks on end, Kellie McCarthy fought the ventilator pushing oxygen rhythmically into her Covid-inflamed lungs with such ferocity that she was given a slew of drugs to tolerate the invasive treatment. (Gale, 12/6)
The New York Times: Covid Care Has Entered A New Stage Of Crisis For The Uninsured
When Mandy Alderman caught the coronavirus in June for a second time, she hoped her usual primary care physician could prescribe a monoclonal antibody treatment or Paxlovid, the antiviral pill that has been shown to reduce the severity of an infection. But without health insurance, she could not afford a visit. (Weiland and Kliff, 12/6)
In long covid news —
CIDRAP: Long-COVID Symptoms In Teens May Evolve Over Time
Long-COVID symptoms in adolescents may change over time, finds a study of nearly 5,100 non-hospitalized 11- to 17-year-olds in the United Kingdom published yesterday in The Lancet Regional Health-Europe. ... The prevalence of shortness of breath and fatigue in those who reported them at 6 or 12 months appeared to increase at both 6 and 12 months in those who tested positive. But examination of individual questionnaires showed that the prevalence of these two symptoms actually declined at baseline or 6 months. The same pattern was also seen in participants who tested negative. (Van Beusekom, 12/5)
Forbes: What Do ADHD, Long Covid And Ehler’s Danlos Have In Common? Meet The Mast Cell
Mast Cell disease is more prevalent in neurodivergent people, including ADHD. It also cooccurs with Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome and Type II Diabetes. It has a very high overlap with long covid, and around 50% of people treated for long covid with an MCAS protocol found their symptoms improved. (Doyle, 12/3)
MIT Technology Review: A New App Aims To Help The Millions Of People Living With Long Covid
The new app, called Visible, aims to help people manage that process by collecting data every day in order to understand how their symptoms fluctuate. Users measure their heart rate variability (the variation in time between beats) every morning by placing a finger over the phone’s camera for 60 seconds. This measures the pulse by recording small changes in the color of the user’s skin. (Williams, 12/5)
More on the spread of covid —
Axios: Axios-Ipsos Poll: Few COVID Worries For The Holidays
Americans are entering the holidays for the first time in two years with COVID firmly in the back of their minds, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Public behavior on masking, social distancing and other precautions hasn't changed significantly since September, and 7 in 10 believe strongly or somewhat that we're moving to a point where the virus won't disrupt our daily lives. (Bettelheim, 12/6)
Los Angeles Times: Senior Citizens Are Hit Hard As COVID Surges Across State
There has been a troubling spike in coronavirus-positive hospital admissions among seniors in California, rising to levels not seen since the summer Omicron surge. Hospitalizations have roughly tripled for Californians of most age groups since the autumn low. But the jump in seniors in need of hospital care has been particularly dramatic. (Lin II, 12/5)
The Boston Globe: Boston To Set Up 11 Waste Water Testing Sites For COVID-19 Detection
With COVID-19 levels in waste water rising in the region, officials in Boston have partnered with vendors to set up 11 waste water testing sites across the city, the leader of the Boston Public Health Commission said Monday. (Andersen, 12/5)
Bloomberg: NYC’s Pandemic Response Lab To Close As Covid Testing Plummets
New York City’s Pandemic Response Lab, a much-vaunted effort to increase Covid-19 testing capacity at the height of the pandemic, will close at the end of the month and eliminate all 185 jobs. (Korte, 12/5)
San Francisco Chronicle: Black COVID Patients Were Delayed Treatment Because Of One Medical Device. Why Are Doctors Still Using It?
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, East Bay Dr. Stephanie Brown began noticing a startling trend. Many of her Black patients were getting worse, even while their oxygen measurements said the opposite. (Miolene, 12/5)
Billings Gazette: Child Care Providers Worry As Pandemic-Era Rules Go Away
Child care providers around Montana are panicked about the end of pandemic-spurred provisions that gave them stability in payments and helped parents with affordability. Families that use the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship Program to help pay for care are being notified by the state health department about the end of changes to the program that were paid for with federal COVID-19 aid. (Michels, 12/5)
