Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Better Covid Test On The Horizon; Reframing Opinions On Unvaccinated Patients
Bloomberg: A Covid Breath Test Will Make It Easier To Screen Crowds
Texas-based InspectIR Systems’ breath test for Covid-19 — the first such test to get emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration — will probably have limited use at first. But it is nevertheless an important step toward expanding the toolkit available to prevent outbreaks of Covid and any future viruses at big sports and entertainment events and other places where hundreds of people gather. (Lisa Jarvis, 4/19)
New England Journal of Medicine: From Resentment To Reconnection — Reflections On Caring For The Unvaccinated
As cautious, fully vaccinated, but immunocompromised people die of Covid, a physician finds herself resenting the patients filling up the hospital after declining vaccination. Then an encounter with one very ill and frightened patient changes her perspective. (Amanda C. Garfinkel, M.D., 4/14)
Also —
Bloomberg: The Airline Mask Mandate Never Stood A Chance
So much for the travel mask mandate. After a federal judge in Florida on Monday struck down the rule promulgated last year by the Centers for Disease Control, the Biden administration and the airlines have raced to distance themselves from the much-criticized regulation. The opinion by Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle is worth a look, not least because of its implications for future pandemic policy. (Stephen L. Carter, 4/19)
The Baltimore Sun: Masks Are No Longer Mandatory On Public Transit, But They Can Still Help Reduce COVID’s Spread. Choose Wisely.
Americans could scarcely be blamed for feeling confused about whether or not to wear a mask right now. A week ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended into May a nationwide mask mandate for travel on airplanes, trains, buses and other forms of public transportation. Then on Monday, a federal judge in Florida struck it down. Meanwhile, some local governments and private employers are reasserting mask mandates in response to rising COVID-19 transmission rates because of virus variants. (4/19)
The Star Tribune: Newfound 'Freedom' Will Only Spread COVID
A question for those celebrating the end of the air travel mask mandate: Why stop there? There's a still a tyrannical smoking ban on board. And airport security also continues to require outrageous compromises on individual liberty. Shouldn't it be up to travelers to choose what items they carry on? And that removing-your-shoes routine, not to mention business travelers having to pull laptops out of cases, is so inconvenient. (4/19)
The Boston Globe: Why I’ll Continue To Wear A Mask While Traveling
Just to recap: Decisions about the health of travelers in the United States are falling into the hands of anti-vaxxers who filed suit against wearing masks on planes and in airports. I’m not entirely sure what those views have to do with the efficacy of masks, or what makes these individuals experts on the subject. Even Judge Mizelle chimed in on the value of masks, stating “wearing a mask cleans nothing” and “at most, it traps virus droplets.”Instead of doffing my mask because a judge in Florida sided with some folks who don’t believe in vaccines and think Bill Gates is tracking my vaccination record under my skin (have at it, Bill; CVS is tracking it, too), I’ll listen to professionals with experience in the arena of infectious disease. (Christopher Muther, 4/19)
The Washington Post: Yes, This Is The Right Moment To Lift Mask Mandates
It is telling, isn’t it, that the Biden administration did not immediately commit to filing an emergency appeal after a federal judge in Florida overturned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask mandate for travel settings? Instead, the administration has said it is “in the process of deciding” whether it will try to stop the order from U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle from going into effect. (Megan McArdle, 4/19)
