Hospitals Brace For Influx Of Kids With RSV, With Drug In Short Supply
Widespread access to a new antibody drug is currently lacking, which may mean a surge of children with RSV. Among other news, a focus on the sugar content of popular Halloween candy; a study into coulrophobia — the fear of clowns; the high U.S. gun violence rate; and more.
The Hill:
Children’s Hospitals Prepare For Surge In Admissions Amid Shortage Of RSV Drug
A supply shortage means a drug that can prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants won’t have a major immediate impact, children’s hospitals said, and they are preparing for a surge in admissions this respiratory disease season. “Widespread access [to the new antibody drug] will take time across many sectors of the pediatric population and won’t have as great an impact on volumes this immediate respiratory season,” the Children’s Hospital Association said in a statement. (Weixel, 10/31)
On the sugar content in Halloween candy —
Axios Portland:
How Much Sugar Per Serving Of Popular Halloween Candy
The vast majority of Americans — 93% — say they will be sharing candy to celebrate Halloween, according to the National Confectioners Association. Here's how that sweet sensation breaks down in terms of sugar to your system. Smarties win in the low-sugar count at just 6 grams of sugar per recommended serving size. At 31 grams, two candies tie for the highest sugar count per suggested serving — Hi-Chews and plain M&Ms. (Harris and Bailey, 10/31)
In other public health developments —
The Washington Post:
Why Are People Afraid Of Clowns? A New Study Explains The Fear
Clowns can be unpredictable, inscrutable and a little weird. Those are just a few of the reasons why some people develop coulrophobia, or fear of clowns. (Amenabar, 10/30)
NPR:
U.S. Gun Violence Death Rate Is Higher Than Much Of The World
The U.S. has the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world: 4.31 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. That was more than seven times as high as the rate in Canada, which had 0.57 deaths per 100,000 people — and about 340 times higher than in the United Kingdom, which had 0.013 deaths per 100,000. The numbers come from a massive database maintained by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which tracks lives lost in every country, in every year, by every possible cause of death. (Aizenman, 10/31)
The New York Times:
Hearing Aids Are More Affordable, And Perhaps More Needed, Than Ever
A year ago, the Food and Drug Administration announced new regulations allowing the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids and setting standards for their safety and effectiveness. That step — which was supposed to take three years but required five — portended cheaper, high-quality hearing aids that people with mild to moderate hearing loss could buy online or at local pharmacies and big stores. So how’s it going? It’s a mixed picture. (Span, 10/30)
The Atlantic:
Did The Carpal Tunnel Epidemic Ever Really End?
Diana Henriques was first stricken in late 1996. A business reporter for The New York Times, she was in the midst of a punishing effort to bring a reporting project to fruition. Then one morning she awoke to find herself incapable of pinching her contact lens between her thumb and forefinger. ... Henriques would join the legions of Americans considered to have a repetitive strain injury (RSI), which from the late 1980s through the 1990s seized the popular imagination as the plague of the modern American workplace. (Ryan, 10/31)
