Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Infection Doesn't Make You Vulnerable To Other Ailments: Study
Axios: COVID Didn't Grow Vulnerability To Illness: Study
The COVID-19 pandemic didn't make adults more susceptible to common infections and illnesses like asthma, COPD, pneumonia or the flu, a review of more than 256 million patient records concludes. (Bettelheim, 7/17)
CIDRAP: COVID Tied To Faster Progression From Preclinical To Clinical Type 1 Diabetes In Kids
A study of German youth with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes links COVID-19 infection to accelerated progression to clinical diabetes. For the study, published yesterday in JAMA, researchers in Munich and Dresden followed up with 509 children aged 1 to 16 years with presymptomatic type 1 diabetes participating in a screening program from February 2015 to October 2023. (Van Beusekom, 7/16)
CIDRAP: Paxlovid Led To Better Outcomes In Hospitalized COVID Cohort Than Veklury Or Both Drugs
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated with the antiviral drug nirmatrelvir–ritonavir (Paxlovid) are at lower risk for death, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and need for ventilation than those given a combination of Paxlovid and the antiviral drug remdesivir (Veklury) or Veklury alone, a University of Hong Kong target trial emulation study suggests. For the study, published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers analyzed the electronic health records of a weighted sample of adults hospitalized for COVID-19. (Van Beusekom, 7/16)
Stat: Long Covid Reported At A Higher Rate Among Disabled Americans
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a trove of data on Americans with disabilities that found that more than a quarter of U.S. adults have a disability — over 70 million people, a bump from prior years. This slice of the population was also much more likely to report long Covid symptoms such as chronic fatigue and brain fog. This comorbidity looms large for many disabled communities as another surge in Covid cases sweeps the country. (Broderick, 7/16)
Also —
The Boston Globe: COVID Surges To ‘Very High’ Or ‘High’ Levels In Dozens Of States, CDC Says
A critical tool for monitoring the level of COVID circulation shows levels of the virus have surged to “very high” or “high” levels in more than half the states across the country, including three in New England, according to the CDC. Wastewater surveillance data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the prevalence of COVID has hit “very high” levels in seven states, including California, Texas, and Florida. (7/16)
The Hill: 'Very High' COVID Levels Detected In California's Wastewater, First Since Last Winter
Coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater have reached a “very high” level for the first time since last winter. According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the trend matches what’s being reported in several other states. (Palm, 7/16)
