Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Deaths Reported In Single Day Climb To Highest Point In Six Months
The Washington Post: U.S. Reports Highest Daily Death Toll In Over Six Months
The United States logged nearly 2,100 coronavirus-related fatalities on Tuesday, marking the deadliest day in more than six months. Record numbers of fatalities were also reported in nine states — Maine, Alaska, Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana, Wisconsin, Washington, Ohio and Oregon — according to data tracked by The Washington Post. Tuesday’s tally of 2,092 deaths is the highest the country has seen since May 6, when 2,611 deaths were reported. (Farzan, 11/25)
CNN: The US Reported More Than 2,100 Deaths In A Single Day. Things Are Projected To Get Worse
When cases and hospitalizations began to surge weeks ago, officials predicted deaths would soon follow. Daily cases haven't dipped below 100,000 in three weeks. And for the 15th consecutive day, the US beat its own hospitalization record, with now more than 88,000 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The coming weeks are likely to continue getting worse, before a possible vaccine begins to offer some relief. But just how much worse things will get depends on the mitigation steps taken across the country -- as well as the kinds of celebrations Americans will opt to host over the coming days, experts say. (Maxouris, 11/25)
The Hill: University Model Predicts US Could Nearly Double COVID-19 Cases By Jan. 20
A model from Washington University in St. Louis predicts that the United States could nearly double in COVID-19 cases by Inauguration Day. The model predicts that the U.S. could reach 20 million cases by Jan. 20, CNN reports, nearly doubling the current 12.4 million infections already reported. (Williams, 11/24)
On hospitalizations —
CNN: US Sets Record For Covid-19 Hospitalizations Amid Fall Surge
There are 88,080 people currently hospitalized with Covid-19, setting a record for hospitalizations amid a continuing fall surge, according to the Covid Tracking Project. This is the highest number of Covid-19 hospitalizations the nation has ever experienced since the pandemic hit the US. (Hanna, Maxouris and Vera, 11/24)
Stat: Hospitals Brace For Covid-19 Surge, Hope This Time Will Be Different
The first round of treating Covid-19 patients in New Jersey was brutal. Victorine Long Njaka, a nurse at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, can’t shake the memory of a 34-year-old patient from last spring. He could barely breathe, and was so weakened by the virus, he seemed to have lost his will to live. (Glaser, 11/25)
Crain's Detroit Business: Hospitals Gear Up For Long Winter Surge As Beds, ICUs Fill With COVID-19 Patients
Many critical care doctors, nurses and other health care workers expect to work 12- to 16-hour shifts to take care of the numbers of increasingly ill patients — not just from the coronavirus, but from a combination of influenza and the normal winter uptick in medical activity with heart attacks and strokes that typically happen at the end of the year, experts say. Nationally, COVID-19 deaths have exceeded 251,892 with 11.7 million cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Global deaths have topped 1.36 million with 56.7 million cases and coronavirus is not slowing for countries that don't take the virus seriously. (Greene, 11/24)
Des Moines Register: Iowa COVID-19 Surge Means ICU Beds In Short Supply, Caregivers Warn
The Iowa hospital region that includes the state's most populous area has at times in the last week been down to two or three intensive care unit beds as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the chairperson of the Iowa Hospital Association warned Tuesday.“ There was two days in the last week that we only had two or three ICU beds available in our whole region,” which includes Polk, Dallas and Warren counties in the Des Moines metro and Story County, home of Ames, Dr. Tammy Chance, who is also medical director of quality initiatives at Boone County Hospital, said during a news conference Tuesday. “That is really scary.” (Clayworth, 11/24)
Also —
CNN: ICU Doctor Warns 'This Is What You'll See At The End Of Your Life If Covid Precautions Aren't Taken
After notifying a family their loved one had died from Covid-19, ICU Dr. Ken Remy felt compelled to send a message to emphasize how critical wearing a mask, social distancing and washing your hands are to reduce the transmission. So he made a video simulating a Covid patient being intubated, in what could be their last moment of their life that they are awake and lucid. (Murphy, 11/24)
