Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
B.1.1.7 Is Now 'Alpha': WHO To Rename Covid Variants
Stat: The Name Game For Coronavirus Variants Just Got A Little Easier
Do you have trouble keeping the names Covid-19 variants straight, and struggle to distinguish B.1.1.7 from B.1.351 or B.1.617.2? The World Health Organization wants to help. On Monday, it announced a new naming system it devised for so-called variants of interest and variants of concern, the forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with important mutations. (Branswell, 5/31)
USA Today: WHO Renames COVID Variants With Greek Letter Names To Avoid Stigma
In a release. WHO said that while scientific names have advantages, they can be difficult to say and are prone to misreporting. "As a result, people often resort to calling variants by the places where they are detected, which is stigmatizing and discriminatory," WHO said. It's also often wrong. Where a disease or virus is first discovered isn't usually where it actually first emerged. (Weise, 5/31)
In related news about variants —
NPR: Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant
Vietnam has detected a new coronavirus variant that is highly transmissible and has features of two other strains. "Vietnam has uncovered a new COVID-19 variant combining characteristics of the two existing variants first found in India and the U.K.," Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said, according to Reuters. "That the new one is an Indian variant with mutations that originally belong to the U.K. variant is very dangerous." The announcement came on Saturday as the country is dealing with a recent spike of infections that started in May. (Davis, 5/29)
San Francisco Chronicle: Hope Builds That COVID Vaccine Boosters Won't Be Needed For A Year - Or Much Longer
Scientists are increasingly confident that vaccines provide long-lasting protection against the coronavirus and that boosters will not be necessary for at least a year, perhaps much longer. The vaccines are holding up well against all coronavirus variants so far. That means boosters probably won’t be needed anytime soon to protect against variants. Even more promising, it suggests that unlike influenza, the coronavirus may not require seasonal shots to keep up with mutations. (Allday, 5/31)
And more people push for an investigation into the origin of the virus —
The Washington Post: Understanding The Origin Of Covid-19 Is The Only Way To Prevent Future Pandemics, Scientist Says
A prominent scientist on Sunday added his voice to the growing number of experts calling for a full investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus, saying the future of public health is at stake. “There’s going to be covid-26 and covid-32 unless we fully understand the origins of covid-19,” Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine and a leading expert on the virus, said Sunday on NBC News’s “Meet The Press.” He said coming to firm conclusions about how the virus emerged was “absolutely essential” in preventing future pandemics. (Zeitchik, 5/30)
Politico: Rep. McCaul: Covid Origin 'Worst Cover-Up In Human History'
Texas Rep. Mike McCaul on Sunday said it was "more likely than not" that the coronavirus originated from a lab accident, calling it the "worst cover-up in human history." Bipartisan support has grown for a congressional probe into whether the virus originated in a Chinese lab following a Wall Street Journal report that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology had been hospitalized in November 2019 with symptoms consistent with the virus. (Parthasarathy, 5/30)
KHN: KHN Journalist Combs For Clues On Covid’s Origins
California Healthline editor Arthur Allen discussed the investigation into the origins of the coronavirus on KPBS’ “Midday Edition” on Wednesday. ... Senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk discussed Colorado’s efforts to reduce prescription drug costs on KUNC’s “Colorado Edition” on Tuesday. (5/29)
