Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Media Is Bent On Unfair, Premature Comparisons To Europe's Response; Precautions Taken By Young People Could Be A Game Changer
The Wall Street Journal: Covid Comparisons, Europe And U.S.
Scientists are studying why the coronavirus hasn’t had more of a resurgence in Europe after countries lifted their lockdowns while some U.S. states battle explosive outbreaks. But the epidemiologists in the media already know why: GOP Governors and President Trump ignored public-health guidelines and reopened too fast and too soon. “With Trump leading the way, record surge in new infections exposes failures in U.S. response,” the Washington Post wrote Sunday. Liberals are juxtaposing the U.S. with Europe, which ostensibly has the virus under control. The Trump Administration has sometimes been too sanguine, but much of this is partisan opportunism in an election year. (6/28)
The Washington Post: The White House Is Right About One Thing On Covid-19: We Need Young People’s Help
In Friday’s coronavirus briefing, the White House once again woefully played down the urgency of containing covid-19 in the United States. The one thing on which I agree with Vice President Pence is the need for enlisting young people as part of the solution. The current surge of coronavirus infections has shifted, strikingly, to younger adults. In Florida, the median age of those infected has dropped from 65 to 35. People between 20 and 44 make up almost half of new covid-19 cases in Arizona. In parts of Texas, the majority of new infections are in people under the age of 30. (Leana S. Wen, 6/27)
USA Today: Coronavirus: From My View In Hong Kong, American Reluctance To Wear A Mask Is Suicidal
To mask or not to mask ... That’s still the question? Seriously? It shouldn’t be, not when a lethal virus might be a sneeze, a cough or simply a breath away. Not when the pandemic has killed nearly a half-million people worldwide, including more than 125,000 in the United States — and several states are spiking. People here in Hong Kong understand this and wonder: Why, after so much misery, are millions of Americans so clueless? (Duke Harris, 6/28)
Stat: Anti-Vaxxers Bullying Slows Public Health Efforts Against Covid-19
False claims. Racist and violent memes. Threats. Physical attacks. Public health advocates across the country face these and more from anti-vaccine extremists when they try to enact policies to halt outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses such as measles and whooping cough. These extremists have now turned their focus on efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus — which has killed more than 125,000 Americans — and are using the same playbook of harassment and intimidation tactics against public health leaders charged with protecting our states and localities from Covid-19. (Richard Pan, 6/26)
CNN: Pro-Trump Outlets Are In Denial As States Report New Surge In Coronavirus Cases
Coronavirus denialism can take many shapes. The main shape I'm seeing right now, across pro-Trump talk shows and blogs and webcasts, is invisible to the naked eye. They're just not covering the virus much at all. (Brian Stelter, 6/28)
Stat: Ambulance Crews Shouldn't Take A Financial Hit For Providing In-Home Care
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic began sweeping across the U.S., ambulance crews have been treating some patients at home rather than risking a hospital surge — and aren’t getting paid for it. At a time when ambulance services are on the frontlines of care, not just transport, Medicare is treating ambulances like expensive taxicabs. (Hanan Cohen, 6/29)
The New York Times: Can Covid Damage The Brain?
For three months, Chelsea Alionar has struggled with fevers, headaches, dizziness and a brain fog so intense it feels like early dementia. She came down with the worst headache of her life on March 9, then lost her sense of taste and smell. She eventually tested positive for the coronavirus. But her symptoms have been stranger, and lasted longer, than most.“I tell the same stories repeatedly; I forget words I know,” she told me. Her fingers and toes have been numb, her vision blurry and her fatigue severe. The 37-year-old is a one of the more than 4,000 members of a Facebook support group for Covid survivors who have been ill for more than 80 days. (Melinda Wenner Moyer, 6/26)
CNN: Excessive Hand-Washing. Tech Addiction. Behaviors Once Considered Extreme Are Now Crucial To Protect Us Amid A Dangerous Pandemic
One of the hallmarks of obsessive-compulsive disorder is contamination fears and excessive hand-washing. Years ago, a patient with severe OCD came to my office wearing gloves and a mask and refused to sit on any of the "contaminated" chairs. Now, these same behaviors are accepted and even encouraged to keep everyone healthy. This new normal in the face of a deadly pandemic has permeated our culture and will continue to influence it. (David Rosenberg, 6/29)
The New York Times: How Texas Swaggered Into A Coronavirus Disaster
For one brief, delusional moment in early April, I felt a smidgen of support for my governor, Greg Abbott. Sure, part of me thought his plan to reopen the state after just a few weeks of lockdown was cuckoo. Medical experts warned of a surge in coronavirus cases if Texas did just that. But Texas is a big state, I told myself, and why should people out in Mentone or Daisetta have to close up shop when the hot spots were many miles down the highway? And yes, I knew the governor’s fevered, ferocious fealty to President Trump made his push suspect. But really, what kind of person would put politics over the safety of his constituents? (Mimi Swartz, 6/28)
Boston Globe: Baker Administration Failed Holyoke Veterans Long Before The Pandemic
The Baker administration also knew of long-term staffing deficiencies at the facility, including a 2019 report Sudders ordered that showed nurses struggled to find help moving disabled patients. But nothing was done about staffing. The administration also allowed a key leadership position — a deputy with real health care experience — to stay vacant in the months before the outbreak. And the Baker administration’s decision to let the leadership problem fester, rather than find a new superintendent, set the table for the tragedy that unfolded in March. (6/26)
