Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC: Suicide Rate Fell In US In 2019
The Hill: Suicides Decline For First Time In Two Decades
The national rate of suicide fell for the first time in two decades in 2019, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC's final report on mortality in the U.S. in 2019 showed that suicide deaths dropped by 2.1 percent in 2019 compared with 2018. Suicides were still the 10th leading cause of death in the nation. (Williams, 12/22)
Stat: For People With Terminal Illnesses, Time Lost To Covid-19 Can't Be Made Up
After Aaron Hoover found out he had glioblastoma in 2019, a new imperative imbued each day. There were trips to take, family to embrace, friends to spend time with. What he didn’t envision, however, was a bucket-list-shredding pandemic. (Joseph, 12/23)
CIDRAP: Parents Say Social Media, Screen Time Top Pandemic Concerns For Kids
A University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital national poll released yesterday spotlights social media and screen time as parents' top concerns for children during the pandemic, with key racial and ethnic differences. The poll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,027 parents with at least one child in the household. Eight of parents' top 10 concerns may be related to efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic, including overuse of social media and screen time, internet safety, unhealthy eating, depression and suicide, and lack of physical activity. Overall, 72% of parents ranked overuse of social media and screen time as their top concern, followed by bullying/cyberbullying (62%) and internet safety (62%). Almost half of parents (48%) described COVID-19 disease as a "big problem," ranked tenth overall in parents' top health concerns. (12/22)
In travel news —
CNN: United Passenger Died Of Covid-19 And Acute Respiratory Failure, Coroner Says
United Airlines is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to contact anyone who was on board a diverted flight from Orlando to Los Angeles after the death of a passenger who had Covid-19. On Monday, a man on board United Airlines Flight 591 had a medical emergency, and the flight was diverted to New Orleans, according to a United Airlines statement. (Alonso, Murray and Silverman, 12/22)
CNN: Skylar Mack: Georgia College Student Who Broke Cayman Islands' Quarantine Receives Reduced Sentence
The Georgia college student who broke Covid-19 quarantine rules in the Cayman Islands to visit her boyfriend has received reduced jail time after initially being sentenced to four months in prison. The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal reduced the prison sentence of Skylar Mack, 18, and her boyfriend, Vanjae Ramgeet, 24, to two months on Tuesday, after the court agreed the original term of four months was not appropriate in the circumstances of this case. (Asmelash and Deaton, 12/22)
In other public health news —
Center For Public Integrity: Hidden Hardship: Guest Farmworkers With Visas Died Of COVID-19 In Obscurity While Trump Planned Wage Freezes
In just five years, the number of H-2A jobs in America has jumped by 155% to more than 275,400 this year. Foreign workers, mostly from Mexico, benefit from the ability to work legally, albeit temporarily. But advocates have long warned that the workers can be cheated out of wages and treated as expendable because they fear complaining will cost them their visas. Coronavirus outbreaks this year infected many H-2A workers in multiple states. After investigating the COVID-19 deaths of two H-2A workers, Washington state labor officials fined a large agribusiness company more than $2 million on Dec. 21, accusing it of failing to provide safe conditions. Public Integrity has found three H-2A worker deaths in North Carolina alone that haven’t been publicly disclosed but are under investigation. (Ferriss, 12/23)
The Washington Post: Health And Wellness Coaches: What You Should Know
Desiree Udell, an artist, screen printer and mother from Lilburn, Ga., found herself frequently ordering in meals during the pandemic. “With the challenges of self-quarantining taking over my family’s life, I barely went out for groceries anymore,” she said. “We weren’t eating healthy at all. And I was stressed.” So Udell, 38, hired a health coach. The primary goal of this new form of lifestyle coaching is to encourage positive behavior changes in areas such as nutrition, physical fitness, smoking cessation and stress management. Although dietitians, personal trainers and psychotherapists provide similar services, what makes the United States’ 4,100 board-certified health and wellness coaches different is not so much what topics they address, but how they address them. (Opler, 12/22)
KHN: Retiree Living The RV Dream Fights $12,387 Nightmare Lab Fee
Lorraine Rogge and her husband, Michael Rogge, travel the country in a recreational vehicle, a well-earned adventure in retirement. This spring found them parked in Artesia, New Mexico, for several months. In May, Rogge, 60, began to feel pelvic pain and cramping. But she had had a total hysterectomy in 2006, so the pain seemed unusual, especially because it lasted for days. She looked for a local gynecologist and found one who took her insurance at the Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad, New Mexico, about a 20-mile drive from the RV lot. (Knight, 12/23)
The Washington Post: Keyontae Johnson Released From Hospital On Tuesday
Florida forward Keyontae Johnson was released from the hospital 10 days after he collapsed on the court against Florida State, his family said in a statement released through the school. “Today is a great day! Keyontae is being released from the hospital. We continue to be amazed at the pace of his recovery and look forward to spending Christmas together as a family,” they said. ... Johnson, 21, had been hospitalized since Dec. 12. The Gainesville Sun reported Tuesday, citing an unidentified person, that he was diagnosed with acute myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart. (Hill, 12/22)
KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: 2020 In Review — It Wasn’t All COVID
COVID-19 was the dominant — but not the only — health policy story of 2020. In this special year-in-review episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast, panelists look back at some of the biggest non-coronavirus stories. Those included Supreme Court cases on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid work requirements and abortion, as well as a year-end surprise ending to the “surprise bill” saga. This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet. (12/23)
