Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: This Fall, Flu Vaccines Take On Added Importance; COVID Immunity Can Last; Cancel Pro Sports
Stat: The Curious Link Between Kids' Birthdays And Getting The Flu Vaccine
Getting the influenza vaccine will be even more important for adults and children this fall because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Flu experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that “it’s likely that flu viruses and the virus that causes Covid-19 will both be spreading. In this context, getting a flu vaccine will be more important than ever.” That’s because hospitalizations for influenza can stress hospital capacity even without a pandemic. (Christopher M. Worsham and Anupam B. Jena, 7/31)
CNN: Why It's Vital To Get Your Flu Shot This Year
As Americans grapple with the surge of coronavirus infections around the country, the public must prepare now to guard against the upcoming influenza season this fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield recently predicted the fall and winter seasons to be "probably one of the most difficult times that we've experienced in American public health." (Webby, 7/30)
The New York Times: Scared That Covid-19 Immunity Won’t Last? Don’t Be
Within the last couple of months, several scientific studies have come out — some peer-reviewed, others not — indicating that the antibody response of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 dropped significantly within two months. The news has sparked fears that the very immunity of patients with Covid-19 may be waning fast — dampening hopes for the development of an effective and durable vaccine. But these concerns are confused and mistaken. Both our bodies’ natural immunity and immunity acquired through vaccination serve the same function, which is to inhibit a virus and prevent it from causing a disease. But they don’t always work quite the same way.And so a finding that naturally occurring antibodies in some Covid-19 patients are fading doesn’t actually mean very much for the likely efficacy of vaccines under development. Science, in this case, can be more effective than nature. (Akiko Iwasaki and Ruslan Medzhitov, 7/31)
Stat: A Covid-19 Vaccine, Amazingly, Is Close. Why Am I So Worried?
A mere six months after identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus as the cause of Covid-19, scientists are on the precipice of a having a vaccine to fight it. Moderna and the National Institutes of Health recently announced the start of a Phase 3 clinical trial, joining several others in a constructive rivalry that could save millions of lives... I’m optimistic. And yet, as someone who studies drug development, I want to temper expectations with a dose of realism and perhaps a bit of angst. (Michael S. Kinch, 7/31)
Fox News: Pro-Sports And COVID-19 — As A Fan, I Think We Should Shut Down This Charade Of A Season
The Major League Baseball season has gotten off to a wild start. But enough about Dr. Fauci’s first pitch. The good doctor's opening night appearance did not prove to be a good omen for the league he loves and sadly, 18 members of the Florida Marlins have tested positive for coronavirus in the past week, causing the team to cancel all of its games through Sunday. The COVID Chaos raises fresh concerns about the sustainability of the baseball season and presents larger logistical hurdles for other team sports, which is why we should shut them all down now. If we can’t keep a socially distant game like baseball infection-free, what hope is there for the close proximity worlds of NFL Football, NHL Hockey, or even NBA basketball, where everyone plays super tight defense except the Knicks? (Jimmy Failla, 7/30)
Stat: The Nursing Science Behind Nurses As Coronavirus Hospital Heroes
The coronavirus pandemic has given nurses a rare moment in the media spotlight. They are being heralded as lifesaving heroes on the front lines of the pandemic. The Covid-19 fight is a team effort, but nurses have a unique role. In intensive care units, 86% of patient care time comes from nurses, while only 13% comes from physicians. Nurses have always enjoyed public respect and are routinely rated the No. 1 most honest and ethical profession in the United States. But this moment in the media spotlight highlights how little most people truly understand about nursing. (Kristen Choi and Anna Dermenchyan, 7/30)
Boston Globe: Lessons From UMass Medical School On How To Bring Students Back
Colleges and universities are crafting plans to bring their students back to campus for the fall semester. Well-developed protocols for mask-wearing, social distancing, symptom reporting, handwashing, and quarantines upon arrival for students from coronavirus hot spots are critical for a safe reopening. However, the most essential element for a safe reopening must be frequent testing for the presence of COVID-19 infection. At the University of Massachusetts Medical School, beginning in mid-May, we brought back more than 2,000 students, faculty, and staff in three discrete cohorts, most of whom were involved in our vigorous biomedical research enterprise. Before the return to campus, each was tested via a health-care-provider-administered nasopharyngeal swab. The swabs were sent to a commercial lab at a cost of more than $100 each and results were reported back within 48 hours. (Michael F. Collins, 7/30)
CNN: Teachers And Students Shouldn't Be Covid-19 Experiments In The Fall
I'm watching my third grader ride her bike out the living room window while I work. I'm equal parts enchanted by her imagination and saddened by it. It didn't used to be that way. Back when school and friends took up a majority of her days, this independent, imaginative play was a balanced cacophony -- social butterfly during weekdays, solo enchantress on weeknights and weekends. (Kathi Valeii, 7/30)
Los Angeles Times: Stop Letting Coronavirus Ravage California Essential Workers
One of California’s worst failures in the pandemic has been the woeful effort to protect the essential workers who are bearing the brunt of COVID-19. The state cannot slow the spread of the coronavirus and return to some sense of normalcy without keeping workers safe. Yet too often essential workers have been treated as an afterthought. Or expendable. That has to change.California leaders knew months ago that essential workers — the ones in healthcare, food production and other indispensible industries who were required to show up as the pandemic raged — were at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 than workers who could do their jobs from home. (7/31)
