Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid's Threat To Children Assessed
NPR: Children's Risk Of Serious Illness From COVID-19 Is As Low As It Is For The Flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a strong statement about the effectiveness of vaccines when it decided that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear masks in most circumstances. But it left some parents concerned about how the change might affect children too young to be vaccinated. Dr. Paul Offit, who heads the vaccine education center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says that the new mask guidance is mostly good news. "But I think that has made this world a little less safe for young children," he says. (Harris, 5/25)
The New York Times: Small Study Looks At Children With Covid Inflammatory Syndrome
Children who get sick from the rare but serious Covid-related inflammatory syndrome may surmount their most significant symptoms within six months, but they may still have muscle weakness and emotional difficulties at that time, a new small study suggests. Published in the journal Lancet Child and Adolescent Health on Monday, the study appears to be the first detailed look at the health status of children six months after they were hospitalized with the condition, called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The syndrome typically emerges two weeks to six weeks after a Covid-19 infection that is often quite mild, and it can result in hospitalizations for children with severe symptoms involving the heart and several other organs. (Belluck, 5/24)
CNN: MIS-C: Most Severe Effects In Children Typically Resolve Within Six Months, New Research Suggests
The most severe symptoms that come with MIS-C, the rare but serious Covid-19 related condition, seem to resolve within six months after hospitalization, according to a new small study of patients at one hospital in London. The study published Monday in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health looked at half a year's worth of results from nearly 46 children who were treated for MIS-C, or what is also known in the UK as PIMS-TS, which stands for Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome. (Christensen, 5/25)
The CT Mirror: Children With Psychiatric Needs Are Overwhelming Emergency Departments
The night before 11-year-old Ella was admitted to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in early May, her father Sean thought his daughter’s mood seemed “wonderful.” Ella had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and their nightly strolls, which helped her relax before bed, were a chance to reflect on the day and talk to her parents about how she was feeling. “She was bubbly. She was talking about her animals — she recently got a fish she loves, and we have cats and a dog,” Sean said. “So it was a really pleasant, positive seeming, really encouraging walk.” (Watson, 5/25)
CNN: Children Are At Increased Risk Of Accidental Poisoning From Marijuana Edibles, Study Finds
Children are at increased risk of accidental poisoning from edibles and other products made from marijuana, according to a new study analyzing calls to poison control centers from January 2017 through December 2019. Calls about poisoning as a result of consuming products such as weed concentrates, extracts, beverages, vape juice and edibles more often involved children under 10 years old, the study found, compared to calls about dried or pre-rolled cannabis plant poisonings. (LaMotte, 5/24)
Stat: A Gene Therapy Opens A New Chapter For Children, But Challenges Endure
When Rachael and Pat Brown rattle off all that their daughter Kate can do, their voices are imbued with an astonishment that eclipses even the usual parental pride. Never mind that the skills might seem meager for a 3½-year-old. Kate can pick up toys. She can scooch herself along the floor. She’s strong enough to sit and hold her head up, and that means she can join them at the dinner table and needle her older siblings. She can talk, well enough that she can ask her parents to turn on Genesis’ “Invisible Touch.” “And,” Rachael said, “she’s alive.” (Joseph, 5/25)
On schools —
Health News Florida: Advocates Cheer Passage Of Bill Requiring Baker Act Parental Notification
Parents have long fretted about schools’ ability to circumvent them in critical health decisions regarding their children. Now, those loopholes are getting smaller after the Legislature approved provisions requiring parents be notified before their child is sent for an involuntary psychiatric exam. It's part of a years-long effort by parents rights groups and mental health advocates to curb the use of the state's Baker Act on children. (Hatter, 5/24)
WSB-TV: Parent Group Takes Out Full-Page Ad To Urge Gwinnett BOE To Drop Mask Mandate For Students
The mask or no-mask controversy is growing in Gwinnett County. One group of parents bought a full-page newspaper ad over the weekend to try and convince administrators to drop the masks requirement for their kids in schools. The same group interrupted the school board meeting last week, refusing to put on masks when asked to do so. (Thomas, 5/24)
Axios: New York City Schools Will Have No Remote Option This Fall
New York City public schools "will be back in their classroom in September, all in-person, no remote," Mayor Bill de Blasio told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday. Some 1 million students in the country's largest public school district will return to class for five days a week in the city that was once the epicenter of the pandemic, where de Blasio now says "COVID is plummeting." (Allassan, 5/24)
The Washington Post: NYC And LA School Systems Will Return To Full-Time In-Person Learning In Fall
The two largest school systems in the United States will fully reopen for in-person learning this fall, officials announced Monday, a major step in the country’s pandemic recovery. The public school districts in New York City and Los Angeles — which together educate more than 1.6 million students — became the latest to announce their planned transitions away from virtual learning, which will also allow parents who have been supervising their children’s online classes to go back to work. (Thebault, Dou, Cunningham, Schemm and Shammas, 5/25)
