Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Denmark To Destroy A Million Unused, Expiring Covid Shots
AP: Denmark To Destroy Excess Soon-To-Expire COVID-19 Vaccines
Danish health officials said Monday that 1.1 million excess COVID-19 vaccines will be discarded in the coming weeks because their expiration date is near, and efforts to donate them to developing countries have failed. Statens Serum Institut, a government agency that maps the spread of COVID-19 in Denmark, said the epidemic in the Scandinavian country “is currently under control, and the vaccine coverage in the Danish population is high.” Around 81% of Denmark’s population of 5.8 million has received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while nearly 62% have received a booster shot. (5/2)
The New York Times: South Africa’s Latest Surge Is A Possible Preview Of The Pandemic’s Next Chapter
Coronavirus cases are surging again in South Africa, and public health experts are monitoring the situation, eager to know what’s driving the spike, what it says about immunity from previous infections and what its implications are globally. South Africa experienced a decline in cases after hitting an Omicron-fueled, pandemic peak in December. But in the past week, cases have tripled, positivity rates are up and hospitalizations have also increased, health officials said. The surge has the country facing a possible fifth wave. The spike is linked to BA.4 And BA.5, two subvariants that are part of the Omicron family. (Petri, 5/2)
AP: Beijing Preps COVID-19 Hospital Spaces, Though New Cases Low
Beijing is preparing new hospital facilities to deal with a spike in COVID-19 cases, even though the numbers of new cases remain low. State media reported Tuesday a 1,000-bed hospital at Xiaotangshan in the northeastern suburbs built for the 2003 SARS outbreak has been refurbished in case it’s needed. Unofficial reports online say thousands of beds have been prepared in a centralized quarantine center near the airport, but state media has not confirmed those preparations in what could be an attempt to avoid stoking public fears. (5/3)
Bloomberg: Supreme Court Asks India To Disclose Vaccine Trial Data
India’s Supreme Court directed the government to disclose results and data on Covid vaccine trials and ruled that people can’t be forced to take vaccines. Disclosures must include reporting on adverse events, key findings of past trials and all data from future trials, a two-judge panel said Monday. It upheld the government’s vaccination policy and grant of emergency-use approvals to vaccines. India has administered 1.89 billion shots as on May 2, fully vaccinating 85% of its adult population. The South Asian nation recently allowed children older than five years to receive Covid shots. (Trivedi and Chaudhary, 5/2)
Reuters: EU Plans To Cut Unneeded Medical Tests With Data Health Plan
The European Commission wants to make health data easier to access for patients, medics, regulators and researchers in a bid to improve diagnoses, cut unnecessary costs from duplication of medical tests and boost medicine research, an EU document says. The document, seen by Reuters and to be published later on Tuesday, outlines the EU executive's plans for a European health data space which Brussels estimates would lead to large savings and economic gains of more than 10 billion euros ($10.51 billion) in 10 years. (Guarascio, 5/3)
AP: Ukrainian Girl, 5, Gets Lifesaving Heart Treatment In Israel
Five-year-old Karina Andreiko wasn’t hurt in the war in Ukraine. In some ways, she was saved because of it. Stressed by the long search for why her daughter was smaller than other kids — and by the war with Russia — Karina’s mother last month sought help from an Israeli field hospital about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the family’s home near the Ukrainian-Polish border. A doctor there listened to Karina’s heart, heard a murmur and conducted an ultrasound. The diagnosis was a congenital defect between Karina’s heart chambers treatable with a simple procedure available in Israel, but not in Ukraine, doctors said. (Edri, 5/2)
