Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Lessons On The Need To Fix Racial Health Disparities; Recovery To Normal? Not For This Patient
Bloomberg: Racial Health Disparities Exposed By U.S. Covid-19 Outbreak
Covid-19 rarely assaults children with the force it uses against adults, especially older people. But some kids who have been infected with the coronavirus develop a potentially fatal condition that brings fever, shock and organ failure. For some reason, this rare “multisystem inflammatory syndrome” afflicts Black children at significantly higher rates than White children. The disparity is not confined to children. Across the U.S., Covid-19 poses a broader threat to people of African ancestry. Studies and data from several states show that Black Americans contract coronavirus at rates much higher than their share of the population. Their death rates are higher, too, especially in middle age; adjusted for age, Black death rates are 3.6 times those of Whites. Medicare data suggest that, among elderly Americans, being Black is a Covid-19 risk factor almost as great as being over the age of 85. (7/8)
Stat: To Thrive, Black And Latinx Physicians Need Their Communities
I was working at the nurses’ station in the emergency department when the elderly man in Room Four smiled at me. I had noticed him watching me sometime between my third and seventh trip to the department. It was near the end of a long day about halfway through my neurology training, and I’d spent it crisscrossing the hospital to see a multitude of patients, sprinting from one stroke code to the next and responding to the ceaseless buzz of my pager. (Diana M. Cejas, 7/9)
Los Angeles Times: Have I Recovered From Coronavirus? That's Not Easy To Answer
“Are you recovered yet?” I can’t count how many times I’ve been asked this question in the three months since I came home from the hospital after a near-death experience with COVID-19. I’m grateful for the concern. I don’t know if I would have made it through those 17 days in the hospital, including almost a week on a ventilator, without the thoughts, prayers and other support that I received from family, friends and strangers. But when I answer this question, explaining the state of my lungs, cough, vocal cords and muscle weakness, I sometimes feel I’m disappointing the questioner, who just wanted a simple “yes.” So why can’t I just say “yes” when asked if I’ve recovered? Because, to be honest, I don’t know if that’s true. (David Lat, 7/9)
Stat: It's Time To Begin A National Wastewater Testing Program For Covid-19
As the Covid-19 pandemic marches across America, causing record-breaking numbers of cases, almost every solution for controlling the disease includes more testing, especially as cities and states try to reopen. But with states hitting their limits on testing, we need new tools for understanding Covid-19 transmission. A national wastewater surveillance program offers a cost-effective approach to track Covid-19 across the majority of the U.S. population and provide early warnings of resurgence. (Anna Mehrotra, David A. Larsen and Ashish K. Jha, 7/9)
CNN: Even Without A Covid-19 Vaccine, There's Reason For Hope
A lot of hope has been placed on the possibility of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this year. However, overcoming the technical challenges of developing a vaccine -- and the safety issues inherent in making one that works for the populations most at risk -- is no easy feat. (William Haseltine, 7/8)
Stat: A Moment Of Truth Arrives For CytoDyn. Don’t Let Spin Obscure It
CytoDyn is nearing the completion of a clinical trial investigating the use of leronlimab, its repurposed and still experimental HIV drug, to treat patients with Covid-19. When results of the study read out in the next few weeks, leronlimab is unlikely to show meaningful benefit. Should CytoDyn be trusted to offer an honest summary of its clinical trial? I have doubts. (Adam Feuerstein, 7/8)
The Washington Post: Undeterred By The Last Uproar, Trump Is Again Considering Family Separation
Apparently undettered by the uproar it triggered by separating migrant children from their families two years ago, the Trump administration is considering whether to push for more of the same. Again, teens, tweens, toddlers and babies may be removed from their parents, as a means of deterring further illegal immigration. Again, the president’s unbridled animus toward mainly brown-skinned migrants may result in an episode of cruelty that would shock the civilized world. The administration’s latest threat to break up families arises from a federal court order last month by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, in Los Angeles. Judge Gee, alarmed at the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus at family detention centers run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, gave the agency until next Friday to release scores of children held at the facilities. (7/8)
Dallas Morning News: A Biotech Facility At Texas A&M Is “Ready To Save The World,” Which Is Only Partly Hyperbole
Could Texas Aggies save the world from COVID-19? That’s the bold takeaway from a recent news release about the Texas A&M University System’s Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing. One of four such facilities in the U.S. constructed following the 2009 swine flu epidemic, the center will serve as a major manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccines, once they’re developed. (7/9)
