Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As COVID Crisis Deepens, Kids Struggle With Sleep, Anxiety, Social Isolation
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kids Are Going To Bed Later And Later, With Possible Consequences
Alicia Simpson’s daughter may be precocious, having skipped a grade, but mom is worried that her 8-year-old is advancing too quickly in an unhealthy way. Bradley, a rising fourth grader, used to be an early-to-bed kid but has been going to bed later since COVID-19 upended her life. She is now getting nine or 10 hours of sleep when she used to get nearly a dozen. (Tagami, 7/5)
The Washington Post: Kids May Lessen Anxiety If They Can Take Some Risks
“Helicopter parenting” has gotten a bad rap for producing children who leave the nest with few real-world skills. But what if its drawbacks go beyond kids’ inability to, say, find a summer job or do chores? Psychologist Anne Marie Albano suggests that managing your child’s life could have another drawback — it could set the stage for a serious problem with anxiety. (Blakemore, 7/4)
WBUR: Why Some Young People Fear Social Isolation More Than COVID-19
There is a simmering tension between young people's desire to gather socially, and the growing threat from the coronavirus in the United States. The virus is now infecting more people in their teens and 20s than it had earlier in the pandemic, and that's contributing to outbreaks, especially in states in the South and West. As a result, public health officials are imploring young adults to limit social contact and take precautions to help protect their more vulnerable elders. But many young people see continued social isolation as a much greater risk than COVID-19 to their own mental health. (Noguchi, 7/4)
NBC News: Keeping COVID-19 Outside Of Summer Camps Is A Nearly Impossible Challenge
As summer camps debated whether and how to operate during the coronavirus pandemic this spring, Kanakuk Kamps, a prominent network of Christian sports camps in Missouri, announced that its five overnight camps would open to over 20,000 kids starting May 30. ... On its website, the camp reassured parents: "We are focused on taking all reasonable measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our Kamps." But now even cautious hopes that COVID-19 might be kept outside Kanakuk Kamps' gates have already been dashed. On Wednesday, parents were notified by email that one of the camps, known as K-2, was shutting down. (Golden, 7/5)
AP: Fewer Will Attend Camp This Summer; Some Camps Won't Survive
Camp Winnebago was founded during the Spanish Flu and weathered all manner of health scares from polio to the swine flu over a century. It wasn’t about to let the coronavirus stop the fun. But things will be different this summer at this camp and others that buck the trend and welcome children. The vast majority of overnight camps are closed due to the pandemic. (Sharp, 7/5)
CIDRAP: Antibiotic Use, Duration Questioned For Kids' Pneumonia In Low-Resource Areas
A study today in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that a shorter regimen of antibiotics in young African children diagnosed with severe pneumonia may be sufficient. The double-blinded, randomized controlled trial, conducted in 3,000 children under the age of 5 in Malawi who had severe pneumonia but were not infected with HIV, found that 3 days of twice-daily treatments with amoxicillin was non-inferior to the 5-day regimen recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). (Dall, 7/1)
Dallas Morning News: Foster Care Plaintiffs Say Texas ‘Shockingly’ Disobeys Federal Judge, Ask Her For Sanctions
Plaintiffs in a long-running child-welfare lawsuit are again asking a federal judge to hold Texas in contempt of court, this time for what they cite as ignoring “glaring safety risks” in state foster care pointed out by her own monitors. Lawyers for foster children have urged U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack to require the Department of Family and Protective Services, and a separate unit that inspects foster homes and other care facilities, to show why they shouldn’t be held in contempt for failing to make sweeping changes she’s demanded. (Garrett, 7/5)
