Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Mask Rules For Health Workers To End In California, Washington, Oregon
Los Angeles Times: California To End Mask, Vaccine Rules For Healthcare Workers
With the COVID-19 state of emergency a thing of the past, California health officials on Friday unveiled plans to relax guidance on masking in high-risk settings and to end vaccination requirements for healthcare workers. (Money, 3/3)
AP: Washington, Oregon To End Health Care Settings Mask Mandate
Washington and Oregon will soon drop mask requirements in health care settings, state health officials said Friday, moving to lift the last major masking requirements meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. Mandates in both states will end on April 3, meaning health care workers, patients and visitors will no longer be required to wear a mask in facilities including hospitals, urgent care centers and dental and doctors’ offices. Washington’s mask requirements in correctional facilities will also end April 3. (3/3)
More on the spread of covid —
The Boston Globe: Five People Are Dead At A South Yarmouth Nursing Home After A COVID-19 Outbreak
Five residents of a South Yarmouth nursing home died in recent days following an outbreak of COVID-19, which also caused more than 90 additional cases among residents and staff. The state Department of Public Health has ordered Pittsfield-based Integritus Healthcare, which operates Windsor Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in South Yarmouth, to cease admissions of new residents while officials respond to the outbreak. (Hilliard, 3/4)
San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus Levels Remain Stable Nationwide
About 82% of all U.S. counties have low COVID-19 community levels, according to updated figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up from 78% in that tier last week. Another 16% have medium levels, down from 20%, and 2.5% have high levels, compared to 2% in the same period. (Vaziri, 3/3)
San Francisco Chronicle: “No Guarantee” Virus Will Become Endemic, Prominent Researcher Tells Wachter
In a fireside chat with UCSF’s Dr. Bob Wachter on Thursday, Eric Topol of Scripps Research expressed optimism that the U.S. may be moving toward an endemic state with COVID-19 but noted there is “no guarantee” it will happen. (Vaziri, 3/3)
CIDRAP: Cardiovascular Risks Of Long COVID Persist For At Least 1 Year, Study Suggests
One year after COVID-19 infection, US adults with lingering symptoms were at elevated risk for cardiovascular conditions such as ischemic stroke and blood clots in the lungs, according to a nationwide study published today in JAMA Health Forum. (Van Beusekom, 3/3)
On the origins of covid —
San Francisco Chronicle: All Pandemic Origin Theories Remain Viable, Says WHO
Officials from the World Health Organization on Friday said that all COVID-19 origin theories remain viable despite recent U.S. reports promoting the idea that the deadly virus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China. “If any country has information about the origins of the pandemic, it is essential for that information to be shared with WHO and the international scientific community,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing. (Vaziri, 3/3)
The Hill: House Republican Says FBI, Energy Officials May Testify On COVID Lab Leak Conclusions
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) said it was possible that FBI and Department of Energy officials would testify in front of a House panel in the future, after reports that concluded, with varying degrees of confidence, that the source of the pandemic was a leak from a lab. “There may come a time for that,” Wenstrup said when asked on CBS’s “Face The Nation” whether officials would be called to testify. “I would hope that they do it willingly and depends on which committee you’re talking about, because some of the testimony likely at this point would be classified.”(Neukam, 3/5)
