Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drowning Deaths Have Increased — Water Safety Tips As Summer Nears
CNN: Drowning Is The Leading Cause Of Death In Young Kids. Here’s How To Prevent It
Warmer weather is finally here in the Northern Hemisphere, and with it, many pools and beaches are opening for the summer. That’s great for families who want to spend time by the water, but it’s also a good time to be reminded about the importance of water safety. (Hetter, 5/24)
AP: Publix Recalls Baby Food Pouches After Testing Finds Elevated Levels Of Lead
The supermarket chain Publix has recalled fruit and vegetable baby food sold in eight states because product testing found elevated levels of lead, according to federal health officials. ... The pouches were produced by Bowman Andros, a French company with a manufacturing plant in Mount Jackson, Virginia, according to the company’s website. Publix issued the voluntary recall on May 9, but it wasn’t added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recall list until late Thursday. (Aleccia, 5/23)
The Washington Post: More Than 1 In 10 Older Vets Uses Cannabis, Study Finds
More than 1 in 10 veterans ages 65 to 84 used cannabis in the previous month, a new analysis of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data published in JAMA Network Open suggests. To learn more about cannabis use in older adults, researchers turned to the Veterans Affairs Cannabis and Aging Study, which follows a national cohort of veterans and their cannabis use. The respondents’ mean age was 73.3, and 85.4 percent of them were men. (Blakemore, 5/24)
AP: You Should Wear Sunscreen Even If You Have Darker Skin. Here's Why
People with darker skin still need to wear sunscreen — for more reasons than one. Too much ultraviolet exposure from the sun can lead to sunburn, dark spots and wrinkles, and increased risk of skin cancer. The melanin in darker skin offers some extra protection from the sun, but dermatologists say that isn’t enough on its own. (Ramakrishnan, 5/24)
Outbreak updates —
ABC News: Measles Cases Reach 1,046 In US As Infections Confirmed In 30 States: CDC
Measles cases have reached 1,046 as the virus continues spreading across the United States, according to data updated Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cases have been confirmed in 30 states including Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. (Kekatos and Tachi Udoh, 5/23)
The Washington Post: E. Coli Outbreak Sickened More Than 80 People But Details Didn’t Surface
Colton George felt sick. The 9-year-old Indiana boy told his parents his stomach hurt. He kept running to the bathroom and felt too ill to finish a basketball game. Days later, he lay in a hospital bed, fighting for his life. He had eaten tainted salad, according to a lawsuit against the lettuce grower filed by his parents on April 17 in federal court for the Southern District of Indiana. The E. coli bacteria that ravaged Colton’s kidneys was a genetic match to the strain that killed one person and sickened nearly 90 people in 15 states last fall. (Armour, 5/26)
CBS News: COVID Variant NB.1.8.1 Hits U.S. What To Know About Symptoms, New Booster Vaccine Restrictions
Cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, linked to a large surge in China, have been detected in multiple locations across the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "CDC is aware of reported cases of COVID-19 NB.1.8.1 in China and is in regular contact with international partners," a CDC spokesperson said in a statement last week. The spokesperson said that, so far, too few U.S. sequences have been reported of NB.1.8.1 to be included in the agency's variant estimates dashboard. (Moniuszko, 5/26)
ABC News: Why Are More Than 300 People In The US Still Dying From COVID Every Week?
More than five years after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the United States, hundreds of people are still dying every week. Last month, an average of about 350 people died each week from COVID, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).While high, the number of deaths is decreasing and is lower than the peak of 25,974 deaths recorded the week ending Jan. 9, 2021, as well as weekly deaths seen in previous spring months, CDC data shows. (Kekatos, 5/24)
