Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How The World Is Faring: Guatemala To Reopen Borders
AP: Guatemala To Reopen Borders Next Week After 6 Months
Guatemala plans to reopen its borders next week, six months after closing them in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. A government notice published Thursday in the official register said that with some limitations and requirements to follow health guidelines, the country’s land, sea and air borders would reopen Sept. 18. (9/10)
AP: Peru's Indigenous Turn To Ancestral Remedies To Fight Virus
As COVID-19 spread quickly through Peru’s Amazon, the Indigenous Shipibo community decided to turn to the wisdom of their ancestors. Hospitals were far away, short on doctors and running out of beds. Even if they could get in, many of the ill were too fearful to go, convinced that stepping foot in a hospital would only lead to death. So Mery Fasabi gathered herbs, steeped them in boiling water and instructed her loved ones to breathe in the vapors. She also made syrups of onion and ginger to help clear congested airways. (Abd, 9/11)
AP: UK's 'Moonshot' Mass Virus Test Plan Met With Skepticism
Health experts on Thursday expressed strong skepticism about the British government’s ambitious plans to carry out millions of coronavirus tests daily in a bid to help people resume normal lives in the absence of a vaccine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday he wanted to roll out much simpler, faster mass testing “in the near future” to identify people who don’t have the virus so that they can “behave in a more normal way in the knowledge they can’t infect anyone else.” Johnson said people with such negative “passports” could then attend events at places like theaters, and he said he was “hopeful” that the plan will be widespread by springtime. (Hui, 9/10)
Reuters: Philippine Health Ministry Says No Conditions Set To Access U.S. Vaccines
The Philippines will have access to potential COVID-19 vaccines being developed by U.S. firms without any strings attached, the health ministry said on Friday, after the presidential spokesman had linked the pardoning of a U.S. Marine to ensuring access. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said none of the U.S. vaccine makers the government is in talks with had set conditions, adding all potential vaccines will undergo a regulatory process to ensure safety and efficacy. (9/11)
