Different Virus, ‘Same Mistakes’: Birx Sounds Alarm About Bird Flu Response
Deborah Birx, the former federal coronavirus response coordinator, thinks the U.S. should be testing cows and people often for the H5N1 bird flu virus so that we don't reach pandemic stage. Meanwhile, Michigan pumps the breaks on field trips to dairy farms. Mpox and covid are also in the news.
The Hill:
Birx Says US Making ‘Same Mistakes’ With Bird Flu As COVID-19
Deborah Birx, a physician who served as former President Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator, warned that the United States is making the “same mistakes” with the bird flu as it did with COVID-19. “This is why I’m really concerned because we’re making the same mistakes today that we made with COVID. And what do I mean by that? We’re not testing to really see how many people have been exposed and got asymptomatically infected,” Birx told CNN’s Kasie Hunt on Tuesday. (Sforza, 6/4)
CBS News:
Michigan Officials Urge Postponing Field Trips To Dairy, Poultry Farms Amid Bird Flu
Michigan officials are recommending that residents refrain from visiting dairy and poultry farms after two human cases of bird flu were detected in the state. In a memorandum on Tuesday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services advises schools, child care providers, camps and Out of School Time Program operators to postpone field trips until further notice. (Booth-Singleton, 6/4)
Stat:
The Most Pressing Bird Flu Mysteries Scientists Want Answered
Ten weeks after government scientists discovered that H5N1 bird flu was sickening dairy cattle in the United States, many of the mysteries surrounding what is happening on affected farms remain just that. Widespread reluctance on the part of farmers to allow scientists — government or otherwise — onto their premises to study spread of the virus among infected cows has created a frustrating lack of understanding of the dynamics of this outbreak. U.S. Department of Agriculture incentives aimed at getting farmers to test their cows and take preventive measures to protect both animals and farmworkers do not seem to have solved the impasse, even as the outbreak has affected 82 herds in nine states. (Branswell, 6/5)
On mpox —
Stateline:
As Mpox Cases Rise, Experts Urge Complete, 2-Part Vaccinations
The number of U.S. mpox cases has more than doubled compared with last year, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been urging clinicians across states to encourage vaccinations for those at risk. As of May 25, the nation had seen a roughly 150% increase in cases of the disease formerly known as monkeypox — from 434 at that time last year to 1,089 this year, according to the CDC. About a third of the cases are in New York state, New York City (which the CDC reports separately), New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (Hassanein, 6/4)
On covid —
KFF Health News:
Watch: Anthony Fauci Defends Feds’ Covid Response, Calling Lawmakers' Accusations ‘Preposterous’
At a June 3 congressional hearing that underscored the nation's deep political divide over the coronavirus pandemic response, the longtime National Institutes of Health official addressed the agency’s controversies head-on. (Norman, 6/4)
Medscape:
The Push to Get More People Into Long COVID Studies
In all, nearly 9,300 long COVID trials are listed on ClinicalTrials.gov. But many patients find the site difficult to navigate, said David F. Putrino, PhD, who runs the long COVID clinic at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. (Novak, 6/4)
CIDRAP:
Placing COVID Patients In Skilled Nursing Facilities Led To Increased Cases, Deaths, Study Finds
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, some states allowed COVID-19 patients to be discharged from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and even offered financial incentives to SNFs to take in patients to deal with hospital bed shortages. ... Now a study in JAMA Internal Medicine shows this practice led to preventable COVID-19 cases in the SNFs and increased death rates. Furthermore, SNFs that reported staff and personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages saw bigger increases in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. (Soucheray, 6/4)
