Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Long Covid In Children Is Rare; Covid Is Here To Stay
Stat: Controlled Studies Ease Worries Of Widespread Long Covid In Kids
Uncertainty about the effect of Covid-19 on children is gradually being replaced by reassuring news. First, severe complications from Covid-19 are extremely rare in those under age 18. In Connecticut and Massachusetts, the states where we practice medicine, far fewer than 1% of those under age 18 diagnosed Covid have needed to be hospitalized, and that number is declining. Vaccines have proven immensely effective against the virus, in children and teens as well as in adults. This is grounds for relief, and even celebration. (Shelli Farhadian and Shira Doron, 2/14)
The CT Mirror: We Have To Learn To Live With COVID
The COVID pandemic is entering its third year and a political consensus is now forming – we have to live with this virus. In spite of confusing and conflicting policies by our public officials, COVID has followed basic epidemiological trends of past pandemics – the bubonic plague, small pox, the influenza epidemic of 1918 and tuberculosis outbreaks. There is nothing new here. (Joseph Bentivegna MD, 2/15)
Stat: 'I Trust My Drug Dealer More Than I Trust This Vaccine'
A patient who has taught me a lot about how to best care for people who use drugs floored me one afternoon while she was in the clinic when I asked her thoughts on getting vaccinated against Covid-19. “I know this sounds crazy,” she said, casting her gaze to the floor, “but I trust my drug dealer more than I trust this vaccine.” I was stunned. Curious how anyone could trust putting something from the current fentanyl-contaminated heroin supply in their arm over a highly vetted vaccine, I had to ask, “What makes you trust your dealer?” (Nicholaus Christian, 2/15)
Bloomberg: Vaccine Makers Must Help The World Prepare For The Next Pandemic
A South African biotech company has recreated small quantities of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. Its achievement, done in partnership with the World Health Organization, is part of a broader plan to help low- and middle-income countries become less reliant on U.S. and European drug makers, which have been slow to send their vaccines. (Lisa Jarvis, 2/14)
Chicago Tribune: The Mask Debate Has Created A Toxic Political Situation That Is Scaring Off Teachers
We face an educational reckoning if steps are not taken to address the teacher shortage in the United States. But how can we attract teachers when education has become so politicized? The debate rages on about mask wearing. Some school boards have had to conduct meetings virtually to avoid violent outbursts. Some board members have received death threats, and some school superintendents have been relieved of their jobs. Fights among parents over masks have become commonplace, and we have students walking out of schools to protest mask requirements. (Jerald McNair, 2/14)
Bloomberg: Mask Mandates: A Good Idea That Failed
States across the U.S. have dropped their mask mandates this month, worrying Americans who think they're still needed and cheering people who are ready to go "back to normal." Both groups need to take a deep breath: Dropping mask mandates isn't the same thing as ignoring COVID-19. Masks have been the most visible part of America's pandemic response, but one of the least consequential. The fact that 500,000 people died during the omicron surge means it's time to change tactics, and focus on what went wrong that led to so many hospitalizations and deaths. (Faye Flam, 2/14)
Los Angeles Times: Don't Drop School Masking Mandates Too Soon
It’s a relief to watch Omicron numbers fall off. California is lifting its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people Wednesday, but not for schools — at least, not yet. State officials will reassess the situation Feb. 28, Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of Health and Human Services, said Monday. (2/15)
