Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Heat Wave Rolls Over Northwest Again; Cooling Centers Set Up For Protection
AP: Northwest Sizzles As Heat Wave Hits Many Parts Of US
Volunteers and county employees set up cots and stacked hundreds of bottles of water in an air-conditioned cooling center in a vacant building in Portland, Oregon, one of many such places being set up as the Northwest sees another stretch of sizzling temperatures. Scorching weather also hit other parts of the country this week. The weather service said heat advisories and warnings would be in effect from the Midwest to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic through at least Friday. (Flaccus, 8/12)
AP: Heat Wave Hits Northwest, Sending People To Cooling Centers
People headed to cooling centers Wednesday as the Pacific Northwest began sweltering under another major, multiday heat wave just over a month after record-shattering hot weather killed hundreds of the region’s most vulnerable people. Temperatures soared to 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 Celsius) by the evening in Portland, Oregon. In a “worst-case scenario,” the temperature could reach as high as 111 F (44 C) in some parts of western Oregon this week before a weekend cooldown, the National Weather Service said. It’s more likely temperatures will rise to 100 F (38 C) or above for three consecutive days, peaking around 105 F (40.5 C) on Thursday. (Flaccus, 8/12)
The New York Times: Hidden Toll Of The Northwest Heat Wave: Hundreds Of Extra Deaths
During the deadly heat wave that blanketed Oregon and Washington in late June, about 600 more people died than would have been typical, a review of mortality data for the week of the crisis shows. The number is three times as high as the states’ official estimates of heat-related deaths so far. It suggests that the true toll of the heat wave, which affected states and provinces across the Pacific Northwest, may be much larger than previously reported. This week, the region is once again steeling itself for extreme heat. (Popovich and Choi-Schagrin, 8/11)
In other news about heat-related illness —
The New York Times: High School Coaches Charged With Murder in Teen’s Heat-Related Death
Two high school basketball coaches in Georgia have been charged with murder in connection with the death of a teenager who collapsed after running drills during a practice held in nearly 100-degree heat and later died. On Wednesday morning, days before the second anniversary of the death of the teenager, 16-year-old Imani Bell, lawyers for the Bell family announced the charges in a news conference in Atlanta. (Murphy, 8/11)
And Californians are warned of poor air quality —
San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Air Quality Advisory Issued For Thursday As Wildfire Smoke Drifts South
Smoke drifting from wildfires burning in Northern California and southern Oregon will trigger an air quality advisory for the Bay Area on Thursday, though officials stopped short of issuing a Spare the Air alert. Skies could be smoky and hazy across the region Thursday as winds push the smoke billowing from wildfires south, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. (Fracassa, 8/11)
