Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Former Governor Of Michigan To Face Charges Over Flint Water Crisis
The Detroit News: Michigan Plans To Charge Ex-Gov. Snyder In Flint Water Probe
Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, top aide Rich Baird and former health director Nick Lyon have been told they will face criminal charges resulting from Flint's water crisis, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The Flint water scandal contaminated the African American-majority city's drinking water with lead and was blamed for a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014-15 while Snyder was governor. The looming charges likely mean the state's former top officeholder will face a high stakes legal battle over his administration's handling of the scandal. The News could not discern what kind of charges would be brought against Snyder, Lyon, Baird and Croft. (Fleming, Mauger and Beggin, 1/12)
Detroit Free Press: Everything we know about charges Rick Snyder, others could face in Flint water scandal
In 2018, [former health department director Nick] Lyon was ordered to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges after a special prosecutor accused him of failing to timely inform the public about the outbreak. His attorneys argued there was not enough solid information to share earlier with the public. But in June 2019, [state Attorney General Dana] Nessel landed a bombshell, with her office dismissing all pending criminal charges arising from the drinking water crisis, saying the initial Flint investigation had been bungled and opting instead to launch a new and expanded probe. That led to the dismissal of charges against all eight remaining defendants, including Lyon. (Guillen and MacDonald, 1/12)
AP: Key Moments In Flint, Michigan’s Lead-Tainted Water Crisis
The Flint water crisis began in 2014 when the city began taking water from the Flint River without treating it properly, contaminating it with lead. Here’s a look at some key moments since then. (1/12)
In other public health news —
The New York Times: 150-Foot Vessel Sculpture At Hudson Yards Closes After 3rd Suicide
The Vessel, the spiraling staircase at Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s Far West Side, was closed to visitors on Tuesday, a day after a 21-year-old man jumped to his death in the third suicide in less than a year. It was unclear when the 150-foot structure, the vast development’s centerpiece, would reopen to the public. A spokesman for Related Companies, the developer of Hudson Yards, said that the structure was “temporarily closed” and that the firm was consulting with suicide-prevention experts, including psychiatrists, about how to limit the potential for more suicides. (Shanahan and de Freytas-Tamura, 1/12)
The Washington Post: Foot Pain And Broken Toes Resulting From Pandemic Life
The coronavirus hasn’t been satisfied with unleashing a serious, contagious disease that has altered everyday life around the planet. In its overachieving way, it is also responsible for increases in anxiety and depression, teeth-grinding, anger, sleeplessness, migraines and another physical ailment being noted by orthopedists and podiatrists: “There’s a pandemic of broken toes,” said John Keeling, an orthopedic surgeon in Chevy Chase, Md. He estimates the number of broken toes seen at his office has tripled or quadrupled. (Chang, 1/12)
CNN: Pandemic Fatigue Is Exhausting, But Vaccines Offer The Hope Of Better Days
Nearly a year of ever-changing public safety guidelines with long days cooped up at home are wearing on many people. People have been social distancing, wearing masks and skipping gatherings with friends and family in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus... Dr. Neelima Denduluri says pandemic fatigue has negatively impacted her everyday life, whether it's worrying that she's an asymptomatic carrier when seeing her patients or struggling to facilitate online learning for her children. (Marples, 1/13)
In news about mask-wearing —
AP: Hemingway Look-Alikes Urge Mask-Wearing In Florida Keys
Ernest Hemingway look-alikes are being used by the Florida Keys tourism council to encourage visitors and residents to wear masks to protect against COVID-19. The men, a former winner and five regular contestants in Key West’s annual “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, appear in a short video that debuted Monday evening on Keys’ social media outlets, urging compliance with coronavirus health protocols. (1/12)
Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage’s Mask Mandate And Summer ‘Hunker Down’ Orders Helped Reduce Spread Of COVID-19, State Report Finds
The report found that while a June mask mandate was responsible for bringing case counts down in Anchorage, “an even greater drop in transmission” occurred after two additional emergency orders were implemented. Those orders — the 14th and 15th implemented by former Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz in response to rapidly rising cases counts and hospitalizations — went into effect on July 24 and Aug. 3, and limited capacity in bars, restaurants and gyms, and also indoor public venues. “The Anchorage experience indicates that even if a high proportion of people use masks, this may not be sufficient to control (virus) transmission if enough persons are engaged in high-risk behaviors such as close contact in crowded environments with persons outside of their household,” the researchers wrote, explaining why these further restrictions proved necessary. (Berman, 1/12)
The New York Times: Does Double-Masking Help Slow The Spread Of Covid?
Football coaches do it. President-elects do it. Even science-savvy senators do it. As cases of the coronavirus continue to surge on a global scale, some of the nation’s most prominent people have begun to double up on masks — a move that researchers say is increasingly being backed up by data. Double-masking isn’t necessary for everyone. But for people with thin or flimsy face coverings, “if you combine multiple layers, you start achieving pretty high efficiencies” of blocking viruses from exiting and entering the airway, said Linsey Marr, an expert in virus transmission at Virginia Tech and an author on a recent commentary laying out the science behind mask-wearing. (Wu, 1/12)
