Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First In The US: Iowa Airport To Begin Screening Travelers For Covid
The Washington Post: FAA Approves Airport Coronavirus Screenings, Paving Way For First Program To Launch In Iowa
The airport in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, plans next week to begin screening passengers for symptoms of covid-19 before they go through security, implementing a first-of-its-kind plan that was on hold for months while federal officials reviewed its funding. The top executives of Eastern Iowa Airport wanted to use coronavirus relief money to check passengers for symptoms and won approval from local authorities in July. But airport revenue is strictly regulated, and the officials did not want to move forward without approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. (Duncan, 1/19)
CIDRAP: US Needs National COVID 'Smart Testing' Strategy, APHL Says
As the United States starts off 2021 with COVID-19 vaccines as well as variants, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) reasserts the importance of strategic COVID-19 testing strategies with a report published late last week. In the report, "Smart Testing for Optimizing Pandemic Response," the group recommends a coordinated national approach, supply chain management, and a focus on using test results as a means to improve public health surveillance. (McLernon, 1/19)
The New York Times: Could A Small Test Screen People For Covid-19?
In a perfect world, the entrance to every office, restaurant and school would offer a coronavirus test — one with absolute accuracy, and able to instantly determine who was virus-free and safe to admit and who, positively infected, should be turned away. That reality does not exist. But as the nation struggles to regain a semblance of normal life amid the uncontrolled spread of the virus, some scientists think that a quick test consisting of little more than a stinky strip of paper might at least get us close. (Wu, 1/19)
