Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Disease Experts Warn Covid-19 Is Here To Stay
CBS News: When Will COVID-19 End? A Year Into The Pandemic, Public Health Experts Say: Never
When is this finally going to end? That's the question on many minds after a year of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. But public health experts say we do have an answer, and you're not going to like it: COVID-19 is never going to end. It now seems poised to become an endemic disease — one that is always a part of our environment, no matter what we do. (Silverstein, 3/11)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Predictions: One Year In, Here’s How 8 Conjectures Have Held Up
It has been a year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Even by then, the virus already had begun to upend life nearly everywhere. In those initial months, the world was awash with predictions, some grounded in facts and scientific theories, others based on political interests and misinformation. Here’s how eight of the most prevalent predictions have held up. (Berger, 3/11)
CBS News: Family Who Lost 5 Loved Ones Opens Up About COVID's Devastating Toll
In the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, one family in New Jersey lost five loved ones to COVID-19. The virus spread quickly through their family after they gathered for a dinner. Italian and Catholic, Grace Fusco nourished her 11 children in Freehold Township, New Jersey. CBS News talked to four of her children — Joe, Toni, Adrienne and Liz — one year after what would be the last family dinner. "The only thing we are guilty of is being a close-knit family, where we always together," Joe said. (Battiste, 3/11)
CBS News: Duke Basketball Season Over After Positive Coronavirus Test, Ending 24-Year NCAA Streak
Duke has pulled out of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and officially ended its season after a member of the program tested positive for coronavirus. The Blue Devils' streak of 24 consecutive NCAA Tournaments is now over. "Since last March when the pandemic started, we have listened to our medical experts and always put safety at the forefront of any determinations regarding competition," said Duke Athletic Director Kevin White. "As a result, this will end our 2020-21 season." (Smith, 3/11)
In other public health news —
The New York Times: Sickle Cell Treatment Not Linked To Cancer, Researchers Say
Just a few weeks after a promising gene therapy for sickle cell disease seemed to have hit a roadblock, prospects for the treatment now look better. Preliminary data suggesting that it might cause cancer have not held up. In the gene therapy, scientists insert a normal gene into patients’ DNA to help correct sickle cell disease, which is caused by a devastating mutation. The cutting-edge treatment may prove to be a cure, and a company that is testing the treatment, Bluebird Bio, had been on track to apply to the Food and Drug Administration for approval next year. (Kolata, 3/10)
The New York Times: More Childhood Lead Poisoning Is A Side Effect Of Covid Lockdowns
Over the past half-century, public health officials have made enormous progress in protecting American children from lead poisoning and the irreversible neurological damage it can cause. Since the 1970s, the percentage of children with high levels of lead in their blood has plummeted. But in 2020, a new health threat, the coronavirus, endangered these hard-earned gains. When Covid-19 cases spiked last spring, lockdowns and day care closures confined young children to their homes, where lead exposure can be particularly high. (Anthes, 3/11)
Stat: The Uncounted: People Who Are Homeless Are Invisible Victims Of Covid-19
They are the invisible victims of Covid-19, marginalized not just in life, but also in death. Despite the extraordinarily detailed statistics that parse the ages, races, and comorbidities of the nation’s more than 500,000 Covid deaths, no one seems to have any idea how many homeless people have died. (McFarling, 3/11)
