Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: How Worried Should We Really Be About Variants?; Nobody Seems To Care About Covid Anymore
The New York Times: Setting The Record Straight On Covid Variants And Reinfections
The blitz of Omicron variants has felt like one long wave. And many questions have arisen amid the tumult. Are we seeing the emergence of entirely new coronavirus variants that are impervious to immunity from vaccines and previous infections? If we keep getting reinfected, is it inevitable that most of us will end up developing long Covid? (Jeremy Kamil, 7/22)
The Baltimore Sun: Virus Threat Is On The Rise — And So Is Indifference
Given the latest surge in COVID-19 cases — thanks to omicron subvariant BA.5, deemed the most transmissible yet — and the relatively new threat posed by monkeypox, which has been spreading globally since May, one might expect the public health establishment to be asking for heightened precautions or at least vigilance. (7/21)
Los Angeles Times: Should You Still Wear A Mask?
It’s the summer of the subvariants. The summer you or at least someone you know got COVID. The summer masks were off all over town, but not for much longer. I’m a doctor and I know better than most that there is bad news — and good news — about the never-ending pandemic. (Nina Shapiro, 7/21)
Bloomberg: Biden's Covid Case Is A Wake-Up Call For America
The news that President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid should serve as a wake-up call for the rest of us: Almost three years on, the pandemic is still not going very well. (Tyler Cowen, 7/21)
The Atlantic: Of Course Biden Has COVID
In some ways, this is one of the cases the entire world has been waiting for—not sadistically, necessarily, but simply because, like so many other infections as of late, it has felt inevitable. Once, it might have seemed possible to avoid this virus; now most Americans have had it. SARS-CoV-2 has been spewing out variants and subvariants at an absolutely blistering clip, and wave after wave of infections has slammed the nation, collapsing case peaks into a never-ending plateau. Vice President Kamala Harris caught the coronavirus in April; Anthony Fauci got it in June. (Katherine J. Wu, 7/21)
Also —
The Baltimore Sun: Why I’m Racing To Thaw My Embryos
My husband and I have several frozen embryos in storage somewhere in suburban Rockville, Maryland. Over the past decade, this possibility to expand our family one day has held a place in our hearts. But now, we are rushing to fill out the paperwork to thaw and respectfully dispose of our embryos — before they potentially gain legal personhood status in this country. (Laura Cronin, 7/22)
Modesto Bee: Politics Drives Confusion Over Ectopic Pregnancy And Abortion
When I wrote two weeks ago that medical care after miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy is not abortion, I received a lot of emails from people who remain confused about how the reversal of Roe v. Wade will affect healthcare provided to women in those difficult and tragic circumstances. (Cynthia M. Allen, 7/20)
The Conversation: What The Bible Actually Says About Abortion May Surprise You
In the days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had established the constitutional right to an abortion, some Christians have cited the Bible to argue why this decision should either be celebrated or lamented. But here’s the problem: This 2,000-year-old text says nothing about abortion. (Melanie A. Howard, 7/20)
