Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Brazil Struggles With Intubation Drug Shortage, High Baby Covid Death Toll
AP: Shortage Of Intubation Drugs Threatens Brazil Health Sector
Reports are emerging of Brazilian health workers forced to intubate patients without the aid of sedatives, after weeks of warnings that hospitals and state governments risked running out of critical medicines. One doctor at the Albert Schweitzer municipal hospital in Rio de Janeiro told the Associated Press that for days health workers diluted sedatives to make their stock last longer. ... Lack of required medicines is the latest pandemic problem to befall Brazil, which is experiencing a brutal COVID-19 outbreak that has flooded the nation’s intensive care units. The daily death count is averaging about 3,000. (Jeantet and Biller, 4/16)
NBC News: In Brazil, An Alarmingly High Number Of Babies And Children Are Dying Of Covid-19
The coronavirus has killed an estimated 1,300 babies in Brazil since the beginning of the pandemic, even though there's overwhelming evidence that Covid-19 rarely kills young children. While data from the Health Ministry suggest that over 800 children under age 9 have died of Covid-19, including about 500 babies, experts say the real death toll is higher because cases are underreported because of a lack of widespread coronavirus testing, according to the BBC, which first reported the story. (Acevedo, 4/15)
CNBC: WHO Chief Warns Infection Rate Approaching Highest Level So Far
The head of the World Health Organization on Friday said an alarming trend of rising Covid cases has resulted in global infections now approaching their highest level since the start of the pandemic. “Around the world, cases and deaths are continuing to increase at worrying rates,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing focused on Papua New Guinea and the western Pacific region. (Meredith, 4/16)
Stat: WTO Head Urges Movement On Controversial Covid-19 Vaccine Proposal
Amid mounting pressure to widen global access to Covid-19 vaccines, the head of the World Trade Organization laid out a series of steps that should be taken by vaccine makers, which have resisted a proposal that has spurred debate over intellectual property rights. In remarks at the end of a meeting on Wednesday, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said she expects the vaccine makers to “advance negotiations” on the proposal, which would temporarily waive a provision in a trade agreement and more readily transfer the necessary technology and know-how so that vaccines could be manufactured by other companies. (Silverman, 4/15)
In other global developments —
NPR: Scientists Create Early Embryos That Are Part Human, Part Monkey
For the first time, scientists have created embryos that are a mix of human and monkey cells. The embryos, described Thursday in the journal Cell, were created in part to try to find new ways to produce organs for people who need transplants, said the international team of scientists who collaborated in the work. But the research raises a variety of concerns. "My first question is: Why?" said Kirstin Matthews, a fellow for science and technology at Rice University's Baker Institute. "I think the public is going to be concerned, and I am as well, that we're just kind of pushing forward with science without having a proper conversation about what we should or should not do." (Stein, 4/15)
CIDRAP: WHO Report Highlights Shortage Of New Antibiotics
The latest antibiotic pipeline analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) concludes that there has been little progress made in efforts to develop new, desperately needed antibiotics to tackle drug-resistant infections. The review, released today, analyzed 43 antibiotics currently in development and found that none address extensively or multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria and that novel drugs targeting WHO priority pathogens like carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are lacking. The analysis also found a gap in oral antibiotic options for multidrug-resistant infections that would allow patients to be treated outside of hospitals. (Dall, 4/15)
