Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Does Covid Mutate So Rapidly? And Other Secrets We Need To Know
The Washington Post: Five Things About Covid We Still Don’t Understand At Our Peril
The virus has kept many of its secrets, from how it mutates so rapidly to why it kills some while leaving others largely unscathed — mysteries that if solved might arm the world’s scientists with new strategies to curb its spread and guard against the next pandemic. Here are some of the most pressing questions they are trying to answer. (Johnson, 9/26)
More on the spread of covid —
ABC News: COVID Cases Not Dramatically Rising With Schools Back In Session, But Experts Say Testing Is Down
Cases and hospitalizations do not appear to be dramatically rising and adults have the highest rate of weekly cases per 100,000, per CDC data. But experts said testing data is not robust as it was during the last two school years, making it difficult to compare current data to previous seasons. (Kekatos, 9/27)
San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Wastewater Shows Virus Retreat Is Slowing, Wachter Says
While the official number of daily COVID-19 cases reported by San Francisco’s health department continues to fall, the virus levels in the city’s wastewater samples — which do not depend on individual testing — appear to have stopped declining. Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF’s chief of medicine, noted the discrepancy on Monday and in a Twitter thread highlighted that the hospital’s asymptomatic test rate has also plateaued. (Fracassa and Vaziri, 9/26)
CIDRAP: Omicron Subvariants Linked To Reinfections
A new study based on COVID-19 patients in France shows high reinfection rates among people with different Omicron subvariants, including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5. The study is published as a research letter in Emerging Infectious Diseases. ... The median age of patients was 32, and 70% were women. Time between two infections was less than 90 days for 50 patients (26.6%) and less than 60 days for 28 patients (14.9%). (9/26)
Maine Public: Maine Is Offering More Free COVID Tests As Hospitalizations Tick Up
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday it’s expanding access to COVID-19 tests. Residents can order a free pack of five COVID tests every month through the website AccessCovidTests.org. (Wight, 9/26)
On vaccine and mask mandates —
Reuters: Truckers, Lawmaker Push For U.S. To Drop Foreign Visitor Vaccine Requirement
A group representing truck drivers in North America and a New York lawmaker on Monday asked the Biden administration to rescind a requirement for foreign visitors to be vaccinated. The United States in June rescinded its requirement that people arriving in the country by air test negative for COVID-19 but has not lifted vaccination requirements for nearly all foreign visitors arriving by air or at land ports. (Shepardson, 9/26)
AP: Canada Won't Require Masks On Planes, Drops Vaccine Mandate
The Canadian government announced Monday it will no longer require people to wear masks on planes to guard against COVID-19. Transport Canada said the existing rules for masks will come off Oct. 1“We are able to do this because tens of millions of Canadians rolled up their sleeves and got vaccinated,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said. (Gillies, 9/26)
