Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Long-Haulers Get More Medical Attention
Becker's Hospital Review: Cedars-Sinai Opens COVID-19 Recovery Program
Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Group launched a COVID-19 Recovery Program to treat patients cleared of the novel virus who still have lingering symptoms weeks or months later, according to a Jan. 26 news release. To be eligible for treatment in the program, patients must be referred by a physician, have had a confirmed COVID-19 infection and be experiencing persistent symptoms. (Carbajal, 1/27)
ABC News: COVID-19 'Long-Haulers' Trying To Decode Lasting Symptoms A Year After Falling Ill
Shayna Zweiback is a survivor of the coronavirus. After contracting the viral infection in March last year, she was sick for weeks. Then, just as she thought she was starting to feel better in May, she says she began experiencing new symptoms. (Torres, Park, Lake and Rivas, 1/27)
Becker's Hospital Review: Cardiologists To Lead First US Study Of Rare Inflammatory Condition In Children
Two pediatric cardiologists will co-lead the nation's first long-term clinical trial for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, a rare inflammatory condition potentially linked to COVID-19, reports The Salt Lake Tribune. Ngan Truong, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, and Jane Newburger, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at Boston Children's Hospital, will oversee the five-year study. (Bean, 1/27)
In global developments —
Bloomberg: South Africa Allows Use of Parasite Drug to Treat Covid Patients
South African authorities approved the use of a drug used to control parasites in humans and livestock to treat coronavirus patients. The medicine, known as ivermectin, will be allowed for use on compassionate grounds in a controlled-access program, the head of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority said Wednesday. Medical practitioners who apply to the regulator to use the drug will be considered on a case-by-case basis, Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said. Ivermectin has been used for decades to treat livestock infested with parasitic worms, while in humans it’s used as a topical ointment for diseases including skin infections and inflammation. The World Health Organization has suggested the drug has encouraging effects on coronavirus, though like other regulators it’s also said the medication hasn’t been properly evaluated. (Kew, 1/27)
The Washington Post: China Expands Anal Swab Coronavirus Tests, Saying It's More Accurate Than Throat Method
Months-long lockdowns. Entire city populations herded through the streets for mandatory testing. The people of China could be forgiven for thinking they had seen it all during the coronavirus pandemic. But now they face a new indignity: the addition of anal swabs — yes, you read that right — to the testing regimen for those in quarantine. (Dou, 1/27)
