Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
At One VA System, Nearly Half The Employees Came To Work With Covid
McKnight's Long-Term Care News: Half Of Healthcare Workers In VA Study Worked While Ill With COVID-19: Study
A new study found that nearly 50% of workers in a healthcare system, including long-term care units, continued working despite having symptoms of COVID-19. The investigation included all healthcare workers at the Veterans’ Affairs Boston Healthcare System. Study participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay between December 2020, and September 2021. The VA system provides long-term care, and outpatient and tertiary inpatient care in eastern Massachusetts. (Lasek, 4/12)
CalMatters: Ending California Mask Mandate Leaves Patients Afraid
For months California disability and labor advocates have been attempting to preserve statewide masking requirements in health care settings. But with the sunset of one of the last remaining COVID-19 mandates, they say people who are the most vulnerable to severe illness now have to make an “impossible choice” — risk getting the virus at a doctor’s office, or avoid necessary health care. (Hwang, 4/11)
In other pandemic news —
AP: Bill Would Let Parents 'Opt Out' Of School Mask Mandates
Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation aimed at letting parents bypass requirements for students to wear face masks in school. The House Health Committee approved the legislation that harkens back to disputes over public health orders during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill says parents of a student at a K-12 school have the right to “opt his or her child out” of any policy for students to wear a face covering at school, at a school function, on a school bus or at a school bus stop. The bill now moves to the full Alabama House of Representatives for debate. (4/12)
CIDRAP: Babies Exposed To Mild COVID-19 In Womb Show Normal Brain Development
The infants of mothers who had asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infections during pregnancy showed no neurodevelopment delays compared to peers with no exposures, according to new work from Columbia University researchers. The research is published in JAMA Network Open. (Soucheray, 4/12)
Reuters: Novavax Cut $50 Million In Costs, Plans To Slash More, CEO Says
Novavax Inc cut about $50 million in costs in the first quarter of 2023 and plans to slash more, Chief Executive John Jacobs said in an interview on Wednesday. “We’re looking at everything from buildings, leases, land, headcount, and contractors, every aspect of our company and the way we work,” he told Reuters. ... Novavax, whose COVID-19 vaccine is its lone marketed product after 35 years in business, is relying on an updated COVID shot, cost cutting, and Phase 2 data on its COVID/influenza combination vaccine due in the coming weeks to stay afloat. (Wingrove, 4/12)
On zoonotic transmission —
Reuters: Exclusive: China Out Of UN's Wildlife Survey For Pandemic Controls
China is not participating in a United Nations project to survey Asian wet markets and other facilities at high risk of spreading infectious diseases from wild animals to humans, despite long-running talks with Beijing, a UN official told Reuters. China's hesitancy to join the UN project involving other Asian nations may compound frustration by global researchers who have been pressing Beijing to share information about the origins of COVID-19, as they seek to prevent future pandemics due to zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease transmission. (Guarascio, 4/13)
