Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Investigating New York's Polio Case
ABC News: CDC Sends Team To New York To Investigate Polio Case
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deployed a federal team to New York to investigate the case of polio detected in Rockland County. The team will also help administer vaccinations in the county. It's unclear how long the CDC will remain in the county or if the findings will be released to the public. (Kekatos, 8/8)
Fortune: Bill Gates, Whose Foundation Funds Polio Vaccines, Warns That The Disease’s Reemergence In New York Is ‘A Threat To Us All’
Bill Gates—a longtime champion of polio eradication—weighed in Monday, calling the news an “urgent reminder” that “until we #EndPolio for good, it remains a threat to us all,” on Twitter. “The global eradication strategy must be fully supported to protect people everywhere,” wrote Gates, (Gordon, 8/9)
ABC7 New York: Polio Outbreak: What To Know About Signs, Symptoms Of Virus
Most people who get infected with poliovirus will not have any visible symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control. They say about one out of four people (or 25 out of 100) with poliovirus infection will have flu-like symptoms that may include a sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache and stomach pain. These symptoms usually last two to five days, then go away on their own. A smaller proportion of people with poliovirus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord. That includes paresthesia (feelings of pins and needles in legs), meningitis, which occurs in about one out of 25 people with polio, and paralysis, which occurs in about one out of 200 people. (8/8)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
The Boston Globe: Air Pollution Is Responsible For Premature Deaths In Every Massachusetts City And Town
Air quality in Massachusetts and across the United States has improved by 77 percent since passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, but our new study finds air pollution is still responsible for an estimated 2,780 deaths in Massachusetts each year and for measurable IQ loss in children in every city and town across the Commonwealth. (Landrigan and Bellinger, 8/8)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: While Rest Of US Catches Up, Missouri Kids Are Still Behind On Their Immunizations
While the pandemic has left many children across the country behind on their required immunizations, the problem appears even more pronounced in Missouri. (Munz, 8/8)
Becker's Hospital Review: 5 Best, Worst States For Women's Healthcare In 2022
Hawaii earned the top spot for women's healthcare on a ranking by SmartAsset, while Mississippi ranked the lowest. The analysis, published Aug. 3, examined data for all 50 states across a total of 11 metrics that researchers divided into three categories: access to care, affordability, and general health and well-being. (Gleeson, 8/8)
