Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Blood Shortage Briefly Shutters LA County Trauma Unit
Los Angeles Times: Blood Shortage Closed L.A. County Trauma Center For Hours
Blood shortages forced the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to shut down one of its trauma centers to new patients for hours earlier this week — a step it had not taken in over three decades, officials at the county department said Wednesday. The trauma center at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center closed to new patients for more than two hours on Monday, according to a department spokesperson. It had to reach out to other hospitals in the DHS system for blood in order to reopen. (Alpert Reyes, 1/12)
The Wall Street Journal: Red Cross, Facing Blood Shortage, Offers Donors Chance To Win Super Bowl 2022 Tickets
“This crisis is so severe that we are having to limit the amount of blood that can be sent to hospitals,” said Emily Coberly, Red Cross divisional medical officer.... The nonprofit hopes to entice donors by entering those who give blood in January into a drawing to win tickets to Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles next month. January donors will also get a chance to win a home-theater package for the game. (Prang, 1/12)
And in other public health news —
CIDRAP: Multistate Salmonella Outbreak Tied To Bearded Dragon Pets Sickens 44
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that it and state partners are investigating a Salmonella Uganda outbreak linked to contact with pet bearded dragons that has sickened 44 people from 25 states since December 2020. Bearded dragons have been linked to other Salmonella outbreaks in the past, most recently a Salmonella Muenster outbreak in 2020 that made 18 people sick in 11 states. (1/12)
CNN: Men Living Alone Are At Greater Risk Of Inflammation, Study Says
The bachelor lifestyle may not be all it's cracked up to be, gentlemen. Research has previously shown that years of living alone can have harmful effects on a person's health, and a new study published Monday shows that at least one of those impacts may be particularly bad for men. The study looked at blood samples of 4,835 participants from the Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank to examine levels of inflammation. "We have found a significant association between partnership breakups or years lived alone and inflammation for men only, after adjustment for selected confounders," said Dr. Karolina Davidsen, research associate in the Department of Public Health at University of Copenhagen and publishing author of the study. "In women, we find no such effect." (Holcombe, 1/12)
The Washington Post: Inflation: Food, Gas, Housing And Healthcare Are Getting More Expensive
Two years into the pandemic, the heath-care industry continues to struggle with too little supply — of both workers and goods — and overwhelming demand. As a result, medical care costs have begun ticking up. (Bhattarai, 1/12)
Also —
USA Today: Pig Heart Transplant: Dave Bennett Recovering, Exceeding Expectations
Dave Bennett, the Maryland man who received the first heart transplant from a genetically modified pig last week, continues to recover well, his doctors said late Wednesday. "The new heart is still a rock star," said Dr. Bartley Griffith, who led the transplant team at the University of Maryland Medical Center. "It seems to be reasonably happy in its new host … It has more than exceeded our expectations." Bennett, 57, is now off of the machine that kept blood circulating through his body for more than 45 days, including several days after the surgery. He is breathing on his own, and speaking with a quiet voice. (Weintraub, 1/12)
