Doctors On Front Lines Fight Social Media Misinformation — And Often Lose
For example, thousands of people have died or been hospitalized for drinking highly concentrated doses of alcohol, a social media rumor said to kill the virus. News on health care personnel is also on the resignations of public health officials and more.
The New York Times:
Coronavirus Doctors Battle Another Scourge: Misinformation
An emergency room doctor in Illinois was accused in April of profiting from naming coronavirus as the cause of a patient’s death, a rumor spreading online. An internist in New York treated a vomiting patient in May who drank a bleach mixture as part of a fake virus cure found on YouTube. ... Doctors on the front lines of the global pandemic say they are fighting not just the coronavirus, but also increasingly combating a never-ending scourge of misinformation about the disease that is hurting patients. (Satariano, 8/17)
The Hill:
Dozens Of Public Health Officials Are Quitting During Pandemic
Health officials across the country are calling it quits in the midst of a global pandemic as otherwise below-the-radar public servants become the targets of anger and frustration in a hyperpartisan age. In some cases, government health officials have quit or been removed from their jobs after clashing with elected leaders. (Wilson, 8/17)
Kaiser Health News:
Teen Artist’s Portraits Help Frame Sacrifice Of Health Care Workers Lost To COVID
As Xinyi Christine Zhang watched the COVID-19 death toll among health care workers rise this spring, she wanted to find a way to give solace — and thanks — to their families. The teenager, of South Brunswick Township, New Jersey, joined her church in commemorating members who had died of COVID-19. But she was driven to try to do more, something personal. (Lawrence, 8/18)
Kaiser Health News and The Guardian:
Lost On The Frontline: Explore The Interactive Database
Hundreds of U.S. health care workers have died fighting COVID-19. We count them and investigate why.
In other news —
The Hill:
Study: Black Newborns More Likely To Survive When Cared For By Black Doctors
Black newborns are more likely to survive during childbirth when cared for by Black doctors, according to a study published Monday. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that Black babies were three times more likely to die in the hospital than white newborns when cared for by white doctors. When Black doctors cared for Black babies, the mortality rate was cut in half. (Coleman, 8/17)
