Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Era Of Free Covid Tests To End As Public Health Emergency Ends In May
AP: Free COVID Testing Will Fade With US Health Emergency In May
When the COVID-19 public health emergency ends in the U.S. next month, you’ll still have access to a multitude of tests but with one big difference: Who pays for them. For the first time, you may have to pick up some or all of the costs, depending on insurance coverage and whether the tests are done at home or in a doctor’s office. But there’s still time to get some free tests before the May 11 change, and there could still be free ones available afterward. (Perrone, 4/11)
More on the spread of covid —
KQED: Why You Should Still Be Washing Your Hands In 2023 — Just Not For COVID
Online handwashing tutorials. Hand sanitizer hoarding. And in every public bathroom, signage urging you to wash your hands to slow the spread of the coronavirus. ... As we continue into Year Four of the COVID pandemic, should handwashing be something we keep in mind for our daily health? The short answer is: absolutely — but it’s no longer really about COVID. (Severn, 4/11)
CIDRAP: Traditional Values Closely Linked To Following COVID-19 Precautions, Except In US
A new study from researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles shows the US population's response to COVID-19 precautions stood in sharp contrast to other countries. Worldwide, people who professed to have more traditional or socially conservative values were more likely to adhere to COVID-19 recommendations, but in the United States people with those values were more likely to dismiss such recommendations. (Soucheray, 4/11)
CIDRAP: Long-COVID Patients More Likely To Report Unmet Healthcare Needs
Adult long-COVID patients were more likely than COVID-19 patients without persistent symptoms and uninfected adults to report unmet healthcare needs in the past year due to factors such as cost, difficulty finding providers accepting new patients, and getting a timely appointment and insurance authorization, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 4/11)
The Wall Street Journal: China Seeks To Write Its Own History Of Battle With Covid-19
Two months after declaring victory over Covid-19, Beijing is trying to shape the way the pandemic is remembered in China by withholding data on its impact and censoring people who contradict the government line that its handling of the virus was a triumph. One of the biggest questions—how many people died—remains unanswered, with the government restricting access to records that could help shed light on the issue. Official reports on the number of bodies cremated, normally released quarterly, disappeared or haven’t been updated on schedule in more than 30 provinces, cities or districts, a Wall Street Journal review found. One city erased records going back to the beginning of 2020, the Journal found. (Fan and Lu, 4/12)
In news about flu and strep —
AP: New Mexico Marks 1st Child Death Of The State's Flu Season
New Mexico health officials are reporting the first pediatric death during the state’s current flu season. The state Department of Health announced Tuesday that a 2-year-old Otero County girl died from a flu-related illness. There have been over 230 pneumonia and flu-related deaths in New Mexico since last fall. (4/11)
AP: Moderna Says Potential Flu Vaccine Needs More Study
Moderna shares slipped Tuesday morning after the COVID-19 vaccine developer said its potential flu vaccine needs more study in a late-stage clinical trial. The company said an independent data and safety monitory board found that the potential vaccine “did not meet the statistical threshold necessary to declare early success” in the study. The board recommended that the trial should continue. (4/11)
Reuters: China Records World's First Human Death From H3N8 Bird Flu, WHO Says
A Chinese woman has become the first person to die from a type of bird flu that is rare in humans, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, but the strain does not appear to spread between people. The 56-year-old woman from the southern province of Guangdong was the third person known to have been infected with the H3N8 subtype of avian influenza, the WHO said in a statement late on Tuesday. (4/12)
The Washington Post: After A Pandemic Lull, Strep Cases Are Bad Again. Here’s What To Know.
Even as the winter’s respiratory virus season fades, strep throat infections remain high, and in some cases pediatric formulations of some antibiotics are in short supply. We spoke to infectious-disease experts to answer common questions about strep, its symptoms and the antibiotic shortages affecting some parts of the country. (Amenabar and Bever, 4/11)
