Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Here We Go Again: Severe Covid Cases Ticking Back Up
NBC News: Hospitalizations Rising Among Fully Vaccinated In U.S., Fauci Says
As cases of Covid-19 rise throughout the U.S., health officials warn that an increasing number of fully vaccinated people are being hospitalized or going to the emergency room. The concern about waning immunity against severe Covid infection comes as the Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster shot for all adults 18 and older. “What we’re starting to see now is an uptick in hospitalizations among people who’ve been vaccinated but not boosted,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, said Tuesday in an interview. “It’s a significant proportion, but not the majority by any means.” (Syal, 11/17)
Axios: COVID Cases Rising Again In The U.S. Ahead Of Thanksgiving
Coronavirus cases are rising, nationally and in most states — an ominous trend heading into the week of Thanksgiving. Two-thirds of Americans plan to have Thanksgiving gatherings that resemble their pre-pandemic festivities, according to recent Monmouth University polling. But as cases rise, travel and indoor celebrations will put the millions of unvaccinated Americans at risk. (Owens and Beheraj, 11/18)
In news on where outbreaks are happening, straining hospitals —
The Boston Globe: With A Worrisome Winter Ahead, COVID-19 Cases Have Risen Around New England
After slowing to a trickle this summer, COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Massachusetts and across New England, a worrisome trend as winter approaches. Massachusetts, the most populous state in the region, is seeing the greatest number of overall cases. But on a per capita basis, it is faring better than other New England states besides Connecticut, according to data on confirmed and probable cases collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Finucane and Huddle, 11/17)
Bloomberg: Colorado Hospitals ‘Threatened’ With Just 75 ICU Beds Open
The number of hospital intensive care unit beds available in Colorado, a state with a population of 5.7 million people, is just 75 as of Wednesday, a new pandemic low, officials said. The number of available medical-surgical unit beds also set a new low of 575, Scott Bookman, Covid-19 incident commander at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said during an online news briefing. Bookman noted bed availability data vary hour-by-hour, but warned “our health care system is so, so threatened right now” and staffing is low. (Del Giudice, 11/17)
AP: Defense Department Will Help Relieve 2 Minnesota Hospitals
The Department of Defense will send medical teams to two major Minnesota hospitals to relieve doctors and nurses who are swamped by a growing wave of COVID-19 patients, Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday. The teams, each comprising 22 people, will arrive at Hennepin County Medical Center and St. Cloud Hospital next week and begin treating patients immediately, Walz said in a conference call from the Finnish capital of Helsinki. the latest stop on his European trade mission. (Karnowski, 11/17)
The Boston Globe: R.I. Health Care Leaders Warn Of ‘Crisis Level’ Staffing Shortages In Nursing Homes, Hospitals
Health care workers continue to quit the industry due to burnout and low wages, leaving nursing homes in the state understaffed by as much as 20 percent. According to a new survey conducted by the Rhode Island Health Care Association and LeadingAge Rhode Island, two organizations that together represent the state’s 77 nursing homes, there are about 1,920 open positions across the state’s nursing homes, including 983 openings for certified nursing assistants and 447 openings for registered and licensed practical nurses. (Gagosz, 11/17)
The Boston Globe: ‘COVID Positive From Vegas.’ Phish Concerts Leave A Long Trail Of Infections, Fans Say
Music fans from Massachusetts to California have been flooding social media with reports on a series of concerts they attended in Las Vegas over Halloween weekend. But instead of raving about the set list and extended jams, many are posting COVID-19 test results and seat numbers in a mass effort at grass-roots contact tracing. “Covid Positive from Vegas” reads one post on Facebook on Nov. 3 that has drawn more than 500 replies, many saying they or their friends tested positive after attending the shows by Phish, a band with deep Vermont roots and a Grateful Dead-like following. The band played four packed shows at the 16,800-seat MGM Grand Garden from Oct. 28 to Oct. 31. (Lazar, 11/17)
Lessons from abroad —
Bloomberg: New Covid Delta Sub-Variant Spreads Fast In U.K., Causes Fewer Symptoms
A more infectious new version of Covid-19’s delta variant is spreading fast in the U.K., accounting for about 12% of the samples gathered in the most recent government survey. That represents a 2.8% daily growth rate for sub-variant AY.4.2 over the course of the REACT survey, from Oct. 19 to Nov. 5, the researchers said. Still, the new sub-variant seemed less likely to cause symptomatic Covid. (Kresge, 11/18)
The Wall Street Journal: The Ottawa Senators Have A 100% Vaccination Rate—And 40% Of The Team Has Tested Positive For Covid
The NHL announced the suspension of the Senators’ season through at least Nov. 20 after 10 players and one coach tested positive in recent days. The team says it is fully vaccinated, but hasn’t specified which shots players have received. After nearly two years in which sports have delivered some of the most vivid case studies in public health, the Senators are presenting yet another: just how much Covid can still spread when a vaccinated group of people gather in poorly ventilated places and get up in each other’s bare faces. That’s a problem for every sport that plays indoors—and a warning for every coming holiday party. (Radnofsky and Higgins, 11/17)
But Bill Gates has a more positive outlook —
Bloomberg: Gates Says Covid Deaths May Drop To Flu Levels By Mid-2022
Covid deaths and infection rates may dip below seasonal flu levels by the middle of next year assuming new dangerous variants don’t emerge in the meantime, Bill Gates said. Between natural and vaccine immunity and emerging oral treatments, “the death rate and the disease rate ought to be coming down pretty dramatically,” the billionaire founder of Microsoft Corp. said Thursday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. The constraints on vaccinating the world against Covid-19 will shift next year, Gates said, as supply issues are resolved and replaced by questions of how to logistically distribute them all. (Wallbank, 11/18)
