Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Suspends US Entry To Lawful Residents Traveling From Ebola-Affected Region
Politico: CDC Says Green Card Holders Who Were Recently In Countries Where Ebola Is Spreading Can’t Reenter US
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding its power to prevent individuals from entering the U.S. “in the interest of public health” — including lawful permanent U.S. residents. An interim final rule, released Friday, cites the current Ebola outbreak as the reason for the change. Lawful permanent residents who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the last 21 days are now banned from entering the U.S. through mid-June, the agency said. (Gardner, 5/22)
ABC News: Why Travel Restrictions May Have Unintended Consequences As US Bars Some Visitors Amid Ebola Outbreak
Some public health specialists told ABC News that monitoring travel exposures is an important part of containing and tracing the spread of a disease. However, they warned that broader bans can have unintended consequences that may negatively impact global public health and hinder containment efforts that should be considered when making these decisions. (Cobern, 5/23)
NPR: U.S. Passengers Flying From Ebola-Affected Countries Now Being Rerouted To Virginia, Texas And Georgia
Friday evening, it was announced that two additional U.S. airports will start screening in the next few days—the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The two airports join Washington Dulles in Virginia. (Huang, 5/23)
The Hill: Trump’s Former COVID Adviser: US Equipped To Handle Response To Ebola Outbreak
A former adviser to President Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic said Sunday that the U.S. is equipped to handle an Ebola outbreak. “The U.S. right now does not have a confirmed head of the CDC, it does not have a confirmed head of the FDA, doesn’t have a confirmed Surgeon General. Is the U.S. prepared to deal with an outbreak of Ebola or any other infectious disease, if it comes to our shores?” CBS News’s Nancy Cordes asked Dr. Deborah Birx on “Face the Nation.” (Suter, 5/24)
More updates on the Ebola outbreak in Africa —
ABC News: Ebola Outbreak In DRC Spreads, With More Than 900 Reported Cases: Officials
The Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is "spreading rapidly," according to the head of the World Health Organization. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned during a Friday press briefing that the U.N. health agency has upgraded its risk assessment for spread at the national level from "high" to "very high." At the regional level, the risk remains "high" while the global level is still "low." (Winsor, Kekatos, and Benadjaoud, 5/24)
NBC News: 3 Red Cross Volunteers Die Of Ebola
Three Red Cross volunteers have died, believed to have contracted the Ebola virus during a humanitarian mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in March, the organization said. “At the time of the intervention, the community was not aware of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak, and the outbreak had not yet been identified. They are among the first known victims of the outbreak,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said Saturday. (Lenthang, 5/23)
NBC News: DR Congo’s Neighbors Impose Covid-Style Measures In Push To Limit Ebola’s Spread
Health authorities and aid agencies across east and southern Africa are reinforcing screening at key crossings and scaling up preparedness planning, as officials warn that ongoing cross-border movement continues to present a risk of further cases. (Clayton, 5/25)
The Washington Post: Doctor Evacuated For Ebola Exposure Describes Life In Congo, Quarantine
Murmurs of a “casket disease” had already begun by mid-May, as patients began to die in waves. Patrick LaRochelle, an American missionary physician, was 20 minutes away from getting on a plane out of the Democratic Republic of Congo, part of his journey with his wife and three kids back home to the United States for a summer visit. Then he got a WhatsApp message: Ebola was here. (Weber, 5/26)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: Journalists Distill News On Ebola, Licensing Midwives, And California’s Budget
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed the diversion of a Detroit-bound plane to Canada over Ebola concerns on CBS News’ CBS Mornings on May 21. Gounder also discussed how the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has been declared a global health emergency on Fox’s LiveNOW on May 18. (5/23)
