Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Research: Black Patients' Symptoms Often Ignored
North Carolina Health News: “I Figured You Were OK”: Black Patients’ COVID Symptoms More Often Dismissed, Downplayed
As the number of COVID-19 cases ticked up last fall, Douglas McClain’s wife and mother convinced him to take a flu shot for the first time ever, believing it might offer him an extra measure of protection against the coronavirus. A few days later, the 53-year-old Charlottean developed typical flu symptoms that got progressively worse and forced him to take a few days off from his finance job. Out of an abundance of caution, McClain took a COVID-19 test. The results were positive. (Newsome, 5/24)
CIDRAP: Age, Health Conditions Are Linked With COVID Severity In Pregnant Women
Increased age and underlying medical conditions were associated with a greater likelihood for more severe COVID-19 infections in pregnant women, according to a study late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The researchers used the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network to identify 7,950 pregnant women, 20.9% of whom had moderate-to-severe or critical illness. Mothers were identified from Mar 29, 2020, to Mar 5, 2021. Most were 20 to 39 years old (91.2%) and had Medicaid (54.5%). About one in three (36.4%) had at least one underlying condition, with the most common being pre-pregnancy obesity (28.2%). (5/24)
Reuters: Immune System Has Long-Term Defenses After Mild COVID-19
Months after recovery from mild COVID-19, when antibody levels in the blood have declined, immune cells in bone marrow remain ready to pump out new antibodies against the coronavirus, researchers reported on Monday in Nature. Upon infection, short-lived immune cells are generated quickly to secrete an early wave of protective antibodies. As the immune cells die out, antibody levels decline. But a pool of these immune cells, called long-lived plasma cells, is held in reserve after infection. Most of them migrate to the bone marrow, explained coauthor Ali Ellebedy of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. (Lapid, 5/25)
