Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Cases Among Veterans Have Nearly Doubled In Past Month
San Francisco Chronicle: New COVID Infections Among US Veterans Have Doubled In 1 Month
New COVID-19 cases in the Veterans Affairs health system have nearly doubled in the past month, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Military Times. More than 12,156 patients had active cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, nearly double the 6,425 on Nov. 1. There have been 267 deaths reported in that time. (Vaziri and Beamish, 12/13)
Military.com: VA Seeing A Resurgence Of COVID-19 Among Patients, Urges Veterans To Get Boosted
COVID cases in the Veterans Affairs health system have nearly doubled in the past month, prompting the department's top doctor to urge veterans to get the most recent coronavirus booster shot. According to data kept by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Military Times, more than 12,156 patients had active cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, nearly double the 6,425 it had on Nov. 1. (Kime, 12/13)
More on the spread of covid, flu, and RSV —
The 19th: Teachers Aren’t Taking Sick Days Despite A Rise In Flu, RSV And COVID Cases
Flu case counts are at their highest level for early December in a decade. COVID-19 is spiking once again. Surging diagnoses of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are resulting in overcrowded pediatric emergency rooms. And still, research shows, teachers may not be staying home when they’re sick. (Luthra, 12/13)
San Francisco Chronicle: COVID, Flu And RSV Are Causing Bay Area Students To Miss School
In San Francisco, roughly 38% of the 49,000 students missed at least one day of school in the first two weeks of December — up from 29% last year and 27% before the pandemic. (Alltucker, 12/13)
WLRN 91.3 FM: Disease Expert Says Common Sense Should Make A Comeback This Holiday Season
Flu cases are on the rise in many Florida counties. COVID-19 cases are up, too, according to state health department. For the third consecutive year, viruses may play a part in holiday gatherings. So before getting on a plane or going to a party, health officials are urging people to be safe. But precautions taken during the early part of the COVID pandemic have all but disappeared. (Royal, 12/13)
On covid vaccines and treatments —
Stat: Lawmakers Tell Pfizer CEO To 'Back Off' On Covid Vaccine Price Hike
A pair of U.S. lawmakers wrote Pfizer chief executive officer Albert Bourla that he should “back off” from plans to charge Americans up to $130 for the company’s Covid-19 vaccine, a move they described as “pure and deadly greed.” (Silverman, 12/13)
The Washington Post: DeSantis Forms Panel To Counter CDC, A Move Decried By Health Professionals
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he is forming a new state committee to counter policy recommendations from federal health agencies — a decision that medical professionals said will further politicize medicine in the Sunshine State. At a news conference in South Florida, DeSantis also said he is requesting a statewide grand jury investigation into alleged “crimes and wrongdoing” related to the coronavirus vaccine. He provided few details on what specifically he wants a panel to probe, but in a press release, his office noted side effects like myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation, that have been observed in rare cases. (Rozsa, 12/13)
The Boston Globe: Paxlovid Lowered COVID Hospitalizations, Deaths In Vaccinated Adults Over 50, Mass General Brigham Study Says
Paxlovid, the drug used to treat COVID-19 infections, reduced hospitalizations and death in a vaccinated population of adults over the age of 50 by 44 percent, according to a new study from Mass General Brigham researchers. (Andersen, 12/13)
In other pandemic news —
NPR: How COVID Warped Our Time Perception
The pandemic did something strange to our sense of time. For Ruth Ogden, lockdown spent confined to her 3-bedroom duplex in Manchester, England, with a newborn and two boys home from school, "was like climbing a mountain that never ended." Time stood still, she says, filled with children moaning of boredom, and her yearning for bedtime. (Noguchi, 12/14)
Stat: 'Right To Repair' Movement Challenges Medical Device Makers
When Covid-19’s first surge hit Boston in 2020, biomedical engineer Scot Mackeil knew every single ventilator mattered. Recruited by a local hospital to vet ventilators from a federal stockpile, he examined hundreds of the life-sustaining machines. When he came across one ventilator with a crushed power cord, he thought it’d be an easy fix — he’d simply ring up its manufacturer to ask for a replacement cord. “I never imagined that I would get the reaction that I got,” said Mackeil, a senior biomedical engineering technologist based in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Williamson-Lee, 12/14)
