Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Federal Covid Money Runs Low, Funding Bill Mired On Hill
AP: Gridlock Could Delay COVID Funds Until Fall — Or Longer
The U.S. is headed for “a lot of unnecessary loss of life,” the Biden administration says, if Congress fails to provide billions more dollars to brace for the pandemic’s next wave. Yet the quest for that money is in limbo, the latest victim of election-year gridlock that’s stalled or killed a host of Democratic priorities. President Joe Biden’s appeal for funds for vaccines, testing and treatments has hit opposition from Republicans, who’ve fused the fight with the precarious politics of immigration. Congress is in recess, and the next steps are uncertain, despite admonitions from White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha of damaging consequences from “every day we wait.” (Fram, 6/1)
And more on the spread of covid —
The Mercury News: Here's Why New COVID Variants Are Driving Surprise Surge
In its evolutionary fight for survival, the COVID virus is switching strategies: It’s becoming a master at slipping past our immune systems. And that, say experts, is largely why we’re dealing with an unexpected surge. Powered by two mutations, new lineages of the omicron variant — called BA.2 and its more recent descendants BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 — are increasing rates of vaccine breakthrough and reinfection, according to an analysis published Saturday by Trevor Bedford, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who studies the evolution of viruses. These latest strains are succeeding “not because they’re more contagious, as much as they are more immune evasive,” Dr. Paul Offit, an FDA adviser and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said at a recent presentation at UC San Francisco. “This is something that surprises virologists.” (Krieger, 6/1)
The Boston Globe: ERs Reach Record Capacity As Hospitals Are Inundated With Patients
Before the pandemic, South Shore Health typically would receive 80 to 90 ambulances a day as the region’s only Level II trauma center south of Boston, caring for critically injured patients from a number of communities. Yet 2½ years into the pandemic, with COVID numbers at the hospital trending much lower than in the January surge, the number of ambulances arriving every day is far exceeding its old pace. Dr. Jason Tracy, chief of emergency medicine at South Shore Health, said the emergency department is getting 105 ambulances a day on average. (Bartlett, 6/1)
St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Coronavirus Cases Highest Since Delta Surge
St. Louis is seeing rising numbers of coronavirus cases, and the city’s health director is again considering recommending public health measures, including mask requirements, to protect people from the virus. The number of new reported coronavirus cases is as high as it was during last summer’s Delta variant surge, Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis said during a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday. An average of 212 cases per 100,000 people has been reported in the last week. However, the number of cases is difficult to tally as fewer people are getting tested. “We’ve been in the high transmission level for some time when we talk about cases and positivity rate,” Hlatshwayo Davis said. “We’re definitely in a surge right now.” (Fentem, 6/2)
Des Moines Register: COVID-19 In Iowa: Hospitalizations Up And Cases Steady In Data Update
COVID-19 hospitalizations were on the rise again in Iowa during the past week even as the number of new cases held steady from the previous two weeks, according to data released Wednesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There were 180 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa as of Wednesday's update, the health and human services department reported. That's nearly a 30% increase over last week and the most since the first week of March. (Webber, 6/1)
Los Angeles Times: California's Coronavirus Wave Is Disrupting Lives
A new surge of coronavirus cases is taking shape, as California slogs into a third pandemic summer with far fewer hospitalizations and deaths but still significant disruptions. There are fewer cases of serious illness than occurred during other waves, underscoring the protection imparted by vaccinations, therapeutic drugs and, for some, partial natural immunity stemming from a previous infection. Still, officials are deciding how best to respond now that cases are rapidly rising after plunging in the spring. (Lin II and Money, 6/1)
Columbus Dispatch: Men Hit Harder By COVID Deaths. What Contributed Most To This Unclear
COVID-19 has left over one million dead in the United States. But it didn't strike men and women equally, with 24% more men killed by the disease than women even though women outnumber men. In raw numbers across every age group but one, a total 107,615 more men have died than women from COVID as of May 18, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's despite the fact women make up 51% of the population, a disproportion that becomes more pronounced in older age groups, according to the Census. "Men were having more severe disease, ending up in the ICU more, and dying more frequently," said Dr. Emily Amin, medical director of the medical intensive care unit at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. (Bush, 6/1)
AP: US Interior Secretary Haaland Tests Positive For COVID-19
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms, the agency said Wednesday. Haaland, 61, is isolating in Nevada where she took part in a roundtable discussion Tuesday in Las Vegas about clean energy production on public lands, the Interior Department said in a statement. (6/1)
In mask news —
NBC News: Postal Service Sued For Seizing Black Lives Matter Masks During 2020 Protests
A California screen printer is suing the U.S. Postal Service for seizing shipments of Black Lives Matter masks intended to protect demonstrators from Covid-19 during protests following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd. The cloth masks, with slogans like "Stop killing Black people" and "Defund police," were purchased by the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) and were meant to be shipped to D.C., St. Louis, New York City and Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed by a police officer. But four boxes containing about 500 masks each were marked as "Seized by law enforcement" and their shipment was delayed more than 24 hours. (Reilly, 6/2)
