Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: CDC Mask Guidance Not Complicated; Will Covid Become Seasonal Like The Flu?
Dallas Morning News: Mask Guidance Is Clear. Why Are We Confusing It?
The nation that put a man on the moon now struggles with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest guideline on mask wearing. Pardon the pun, but the advisory isn’t rocket science. Since the CDC recently loosened mask guidelines, the hand-wringing over when and where to wear a mask has escalated to farcical levels with late-night television comics, serious news reporters and commentators lamenting that we don’t know what to do. Saturday Night Live recently lampooned the absurdity in a cold open sketch that featured a faux Anthony Fauci noting that “a lot of people had questions, such as what does this mean? ... Is this a trap?” It set up a series of ridiculous scenarios that only the willfully dopey would even contemplate. (5/25)
Bloomberg: Covid Might Come Surging Back This Fall As A Seasonal Disease
All across the U.S., people are hugging, talking in each other’s faces, going to the office, attending indoor sports events and not wearing masks in the Walmart. Yet the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 continues its retreat, with confirmed cases down by more than 50% over the past month. Most of the credit for this wonderful turn of events has — correctly — gone to vaccines .... But there is another factor behind the case decline that’s getting less attention than it probably should. ... As with influenza and the coronaviruses that cause common colds, there appears to be a seasonal element to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. Which means that, as the days shorten and temperatures cool in a few months, there’s a good chance that case numbers will start rising again. (Justin Fox, 5/24)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: In 1991, Philly Vaccinated 6,000 Kids Against Measles In A Weekend. Let’s Do It Again
Philadelphia’s badly botched COVID-19 immunization response has a chance to right itself now with the eligibility of teens, and soon younger children, to be among those inoculated. As adolescents in the region begin to get shots in what has been described as “patchwork” efforts, the success of the city’s 1991 coordinated measles vaccination campaign offers valuable lessons for today’s COVID-19 crisis. The threats are different but the responses can be similar. In 1991 a strong public/private partnership resulted in a national model for a community action. We can do it again now. (Bettina Hoerlin, 5/24)
The New York Times: How Covid Vaccine Hesitancy Spread In My Prison
“Everyone’s being offered the vaccine. It’s Johnson & Johnson — one and done,” a bald administrator announced as he walked through the block. “It’s not mandatory! The officer is coming around with a list. Let him know — yes or no!” It was early April at Sullivan Correctional Facility, the maximum security prison in the Catskills where I am incarcerated. In late March, a judge ruled that New York needed to offer vaccines to all prisoners. But even when we became eligible, many were not exactly eager to get the vaccine. (John J. Lennon, 5/24)
CNN: What Rand Paul Gets Wrong On Vaccines
Rand Paul has no plans to get vaccinated against the virus that causes Covid-19. He made that quite clear in a radio interview Sunday, explaining: "Until they show me evidence that people who have already had the infection are dying in large numbers or being hospitalized or getting very sick, I just made my own personal decision that I'm not getting vaccinated because I've already had the disease and I have natural immunity." ... But is he right that having had the virus means he shouldn't get vaccinated? Science says no. (Chris Cillizza, 5/24)
The Oregonian: Wear A Mask To Protect Kids And Community
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the landmark announcement that individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to wear a mask indoors with the exception of public transportation and medical facilities. Oregon quickly followed suit, placing the onus on local businesses to create mask policies and on vaccinated individuals to decide for themselves if they will continue masking. As a doctor practicing in Portland, my heart sank at this news. Families with young children, Oregonians with weakened immune systems and public-facing workers are now more exposed and anxious as Oregon becomes a checkerboard of mask policies and questionable enforcement. (Dr. Wendy Hasson, 5/23)
