Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Flare-Ups Reported In Nursing Homes, States, Schools
The CT Mirror: 'Your Lives Intersect With Ours': COVID On The Rise Again In Nursing Homes
Coronavirus infections among nursing home residents are on the rise again, increasing almost six-fold over one month. For the two-week period ending April 12, 85 infections were recorded among nursing home residents in Connecticut. For the two-week period ending May 10, 478 infections were reported. Staff infections also rose, to 346 for the two-week period ending May 10, up from 115 during the two-week stretch that ended April 12. Nursing home infections and deaths are made public every two weeks in Connecticut. (Carlesso, 5/20)
The Baltimore Sun: No One Wants To Hear It, But Another COVID Wave Is Here In Maryland
Cases are rising around Maryland and much of the Northeast so fast it seems that everyone knows someone who has COVID-19. Some of those infected had it before, while others have it for the first time. “This isn’t over,” said Crystal Watson, public health lead in the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security’s Coronavirus Resource Center, during a news conference Friday marking the United States reaching the milestone of a million COVID-19 deaths earlier in the week. “We are in the midst of a surge,” she said. It may not be like the pandemic peak over the winter of 2021-2022, Watson said, “but it’s still important to be actively vigilant about preventing infection." (Cohn, 5/22)
WUSF Public Media: The Number Of COVID-19 Patients In Florida Hospitals Is Up 24%
Florida saw a jump in COVID-19 cases over the past week, while reported deaths of Florida residents during the pandemic climbed to more than 74,300. Meantime, federal officials reported the number of Florida hospital inpatients with COVID jumped 24 percent during the past week. It comes after a nearly 20 percent increase the previous week. A report issued Friday by the Florida Department of Health said the state had a reported 60,204 new COVID-19 cases during the week of May 13 to Thursday. That was up from 39,374 new cases the previous week and continued a steady increase during the past two months. (5/22)
The Boston Globe: COVID-19 Is Worse Than Official Data Show, Former R.I. Health Department Official Says
A former high-level employee at the Rhode Island Department of Health says that COVID-19 cases have been on the rise for months in Rhode Island, but the information has been hidden in the official data and ignored by Governor Daniel McKee, whom he accuses of incompetence. Julian Drix, who was the acting co-director of the Health Department’s Health Equity Institute and in charge of the coordinated COVID response for Central Falls and Pawtucket, told the Globe on Friday that McKee’s administration dismantled the infrastructure that helped Rhode Island respond to and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Now, Drix says, Rhode Island is more vulnerable during this surge — and the problems exposed by the pandemic are straining the health care system. (Milkovits, 5/20)
Los Angeles Times: Another Bummer Coronavirus Summer For California? Cases Keep Rising Along With Concerns
With coronavirus cases on the rise, California finds itself in a familiar, if frustrating, position — with the threat of another wave looming as summer fast approaches. Coronavirus cases are increasing, in many areas at an accelerating pace. Authorities have not yet expressed alarm about the state of California’s hospitals or imposed far-reaching new rules to blunt the virus’ spread. But officials say it is possible healthcare systems could once again come under strain unless the transmission rate is restrained — underscoring how vital it is for residents and businesses to make use of the protective tools at their disposal. (Money and Lin II, 5/21)
The Washington Post: D.C.-Area Schools Face Rising Covid Cases, Aren’t Restoring Strict Rules
School districts in the Washington region are contending with the national surge in covid cases that has resulted in the highest numbers since the winter omicron surge and left more students at home quarantining. But this latest spike in cases arrives after most districts have already lifted masking requirements and shortened quarantine protocols — and, following federal health guidelines, the region’s school leaders say they are not reconsidering a complete overhaul of covid policies in the final stretch of the academic year. Prince George’s County is the only school district — and one of the few big districts in the country — that still has a mask mandate. (Stein, Natanson and Asbury, 5/22)
In other news about the spread of covid —
CIDRAP: Study: Omicron Caused 3 Times As Many Deaths As Delta In Massachusetts
More adults died of COVID-19 in Massachusetts in the first 8 weeks of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant surge than in the entire 23-week Delta period, suggests a modeling study published today in JAMA. (5/20)
CIDRAP: People With Low Body Weight Show Less Waning COVID Vaccine Immunity
A new study shows significantly less antibody waning 6 months after two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in people with low body weight, suggesting that those adults could wait longer than 6 months for a booster dose. The study appears in JAMA Network Open. The small study involved 50 South Korean young adult healthcare workers who received the standard series of Pfizer vaccine and had not had a previous infection with COVID-19. Eighty percent of participants were women. (5/20)
WUSF Public Media: How To Get New Antiviral Drugs For COVID: Sarasota Hospital Releases New Guide
With coronavirus cases on the rise again in Florida, Sarasota Memorial Hospital has started a program to make it easier for patients to find COVID treatments, like the antiviral Paxlovid. Infectious disease specialist Dr. Manuel Gordillo says people over 65, or those 12 and up with a medical condition that increases their risk of severe COVID, are eligible. He says Paxlovid is the best option, and a prescription is needed. "So if you get infected, you can get it within five days for the orals, seven days for the injectables. And those decrease the chances of hospitalization or death," he said. Pfizer data shows Paxlovid -- taken within five days of infection -- decreases the risk of hospitalization or death by 88 percent. (Sheridan, 5/20)
San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area COVID Patients Flag ‘Paxlovid Rebound’ After Taking Antiviral Treatment
When Berkeley resident Myriam Misrach tested positive for the coronavirus last month, she started taking the COVID antiviral pill Paxlovid the same day. Over the five-day course of treatment, her cough and shortness of breath mostly faded, but a couple days after taking the final pill, her symptoms came roaring back. For 48 hours thereafter, she also had a fever, headache, nausea, runny nose and lost her sense of taste, she said. And she once again tested positive for the virus — despite having tested negative and feeling much better just a few days prior. “I had everything in the book,” said Misrach, 66, who is vaccinated and boosted. “It was not at all a mild case.” (Ho, 5/21)
On long covid —
American Homefront Project: The Military Is Trying To Learn More About Long COVID
Kara Gormont is the former Chief of Staff for the Defense Health Agency. She dedicated her career to helping keep service members healthy. But when Gormont developed long COVID in November 2020, she learned first hand that the military at the time had no process to deal with it. "I truly felt very abandoned by the healthcare system that I had at that time given 28 years of my life to," Gormont said. "And nobody believed me, nobody believed that I was sick, nobody believed that I had COVID." A year and a half later, she’s still experiencing symptoms, including gastrointestinal problems and brain fog. "My doctors themselves didn't know what was going on," Gormont said. "I didn't have an established plan of care with them. They didn't necessarily agree what was happening.” (Hirschfeld, 5/20)
The New York Times: Long Covid Symptoms And Treatment: What We Know So Far
There is little consensus on the exact definition of long Covid, also known by the medical term PASC, or post-acute sequelae of Covid-19. While the World Health Organization says long Covid starts three months after the original bout of illness or positive test result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sets the timeline at just after one month. (Sheikh and Belluck, 5/21)
