Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Flu Appears To Be Making A Comeback; 57 Kids Have Died From It This Season
USA Today: Experts Offer Advice After CDC Reports 57 Pediatric Deaths This Flu Season
Pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Kris Bryant told USA TODAY that this flu season has been more or less normal as far as pediatric cases. ... According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 10 influenza-related pediatric deaths in the week ending Jan. 20, bringing the total to 57 thus far for the 2023-2024 flu season. The "season" as categorized by the CDC, runs from late fall to early spring, and 106 total pediatric deaths were reported to the CDC by February of the 2022-2023 season, the highest number since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Walrath-Holdridge, 2/3)
CIDRAP: US Flu Markers Show Hint Of A Second Wind
Though flu indicators declined following the winter holidays, the CDC has said that it is watching for a second peak that sometimes occurs after the winter holidays. In its respiratory virus snapshot, the CDC said some regions are seeing rising flu indicators, especially in the Midwest and South-Central regions. (Schnirring, 2/2)
In covid updates —
Sun Sentinel: Florida Grand Jury Investigating COVID-19 Vaccines Releases First Report
More than a year after the Florida Supreme Court granted Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request to empanel a statewide grand jury to investigate “criminal or wrongful activity” related to COVID-19 vaccines, the body released its first report and said its probe is “nowhere near complete.” Their 33-page report released late Friday said “lockdowns were not a good trade” and that “we have never had sound evidence of (masks’) effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 transmission,” among other conclusions. “In a way, this Grand Jury has allowed us to do something that most Americans simply do not have the time, access, or wherewithal to do: Follow the science,” the report said. (DiMichele, 2/4)
KFF Health News: Congressman Off-Base In Ad Claiming Fauci Shipped Covid To Montana Before The Pandemic
A fundraising ad for U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) shows a photo of Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, behind bars, swarmed by flying bats. Rosendale, who is eyeing a challenge to incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, maintains that a Montana biomedical research facility, Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, has a dangerous link to the pandemic. This claim is echoed in the ad: “It’s been revealed that Fauci brought COVID to the Montana one year before COVID broke out in the U.S!,” it charges in all-caps before asking readers to “Donate today and hold the D.C. bureaucracy accountable!” (Houghton, 2/5)
