Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Humans Aren't Built To Make Good Decisions During A Pandemic
NBC News: Pandemic Decision-Making: Why Humans Aren't Wired To Understand The Coronavirus
When people make decisions, psychologists have found, two main systems influence their thinking and decision-making: gut feelings and logical analysis. One is more immediate and based on intuition. The other is slower, more thoughtful and based on evidence... Human intuition, however, is not particularly well geared to a pandemic. (Chow, 4/9)
ABC News: Does Air Pollution Increase Risk From COVID-19? Here's What We Know
A newly released study from researchers at Harvard University has brought more attention to the impact pollution in the air can have on patients who contract the novel coronavirus. The study connected exposure to high levels of air pollution to higher rates of death from COVID-19, raising concerns for the millions of Americans living in cities that see increased rates of pollution, made up of tiny particles that often come from high levels of traffic and industrial facilities. (Ebbs, 4/10)
The Associated Press: In A Test Of Faith, Christians Mark Good Friday In Isolation
Christians are commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion without the solemn church services or emotional processions of past years, marking Good Friday in a world locked down by the coronavirus pandemic. A small group of clerics are to hold a closed-door service in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. They will then walk the Via Dolorosa, the ancient route where he is believed to have carried the cross before his execution at the hands of the Romans. (Krauss, 4/10)
The New York Times: When Parents Get Sick, Who Cares For The Kids?
The symptoms at first were subtle — a mild cough that felt more like a tickle in the throat than an actual harbinger of illness. But two days later, on the morning of March 17, Carolyn Kylstra and her husband awoke to classic coronavirus-related symptoms: a hacking cough, chills and body aches. A video appointment with their primary care physician later that day confirmed what they had suspected; they were most likely infected with the virus. (Levine, 4/9)
ABC News: Fauci: 'In A Perfect World' Americans Would Stop Shaking Hands
Should the coronavirus pandemic mark the end of the American handshake? Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, thinks so. (Cathey, 4/9)
ABC News: 'Torn Up': African American Family Mourns 4 Loved Ones As COVID-19 Racial Disparities Exposed
In the span of just 10 days, Kevin Franklin lost his 86-year-old mother and three big brothers to the coronavirus pandemic, and he says his loved ones didn't know they had the disease until it was too late. "No one seemed sick. Nobody complained about nothing," the 56-year-old Franklin told ABC News. "We didn't know my mom had it until my mom went into the hospital." (Hutchinson and Carrega, 4/10)
The Washington Post: The Coronavirus Was Spreading. The Parties Went On. Now Comes The Pain.
Jazz drifted through the air, mingling with laughter among old friends. Burgers were on the grill. Drinks were being poured. It was the first Friday of March, and everyone among the tight circle of active and retired sheriff’s officers who had been gathering annually for 20 years knew exactly where to be: Bert’s, a legendary Detroit hangout. (Witte and Janes, 4/9)
Kaiser Health News: Millennial Zeitgeist: Attitudes About COVID-19 Shift As Cases Among Young Adults Rise
When Laura Mae, 27, first heard about the coronavirus, it didn’t seem like a big deal. “I’m in college, and school was still going on. It didn’t really sink in,” she said. “And once it did start spreading, I thought, if I did get it, I’m young and healthy, I’ll be fine. I don’t need to worry.” It was Saturday, March 14, and concerns about the coronavirus were amping up around the nation, said Laura Mae, who lives in Milwaukee. (Knight, 4/10)
NBC News: Black Men Fear Homemade Masks Could Exacerbate Racial Profiling
A 15-pound poodle-mix, Banneker is far from your typical guard dog. Yet his owner, André Carrington, always makes sure to bring the puppy along as an added layer of protection when they leave home in Philadelphia for their daily walks. “I think it actually matters that when I’m walking in public, the fact that I have a cute dog makes people feel more comfortable,” Carrington, an associate professor of African American literature at Drexel University, told NBC News. “I don’t think it would be as easy for me to avoid scrutiny in public, especially wearing my mask, if I didn’t have Banneker with me.” (Aviles, 4/9)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Spring-Cleaning Surge Leaves Residential Garbage Cans Overflowing
On a warm morning amid a global health pandemic, Fairfax County sanitation workers reported for duty on a day that brought another increased workload. Wearing N95 masks, they leaped on and off a county garbage truck, emptying trash carts that have been unusually full in recent weeks. Homebound residents in the Washington region are busying themselves with spring cleaning and yardwork during the coronavirus shutdown, putting stress on some suburban trash collection systems. (Moyer and Chikwendiu, 4/9)
The Associated Press: Lives Lost: At 97, World War II Vet Takes A Final Road
In his final months, Bill Chambers couldn’t walk, but he found peace in motion. Three times a week, his oldest daughter, Patty Cooper, would meet him at the adult family home where he lived with four other World War II veterans. The caretakers would load him into her Volvo SUV, and she would drive him through the forests, farmlands and suburbs east of Seattle. (Johnson, 4/10)
Kaiser Health News: Comic Relief From COVID-19: Leaders Really Meme It When They Say Stay Home
As their city confronts a wave of COVID-19 patients, Chicagoans are managing to get some belly laughs. The source? Memes of their leader staring down would-be social-distancing violators. In one doctored image, a somber Mayor Lori Lightfoot peers down from the roof of the famous Superdawg hotdog stand alongside a pair of wiener statues. (Jaklevic, 4/10)
NPR: Bill Gates, Who Has Warned About Pandemics For Years, On The U.S. Response So Far
Five years ago, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates gave a TED Talk about global pandemics, warning that the world was not ready to take one on. Now, in the midst of such an outbreak, he has been thinking about how to make up for lost time. Gates has invested in coronavirus research as well as global health more broadly. (Glenn, 4/9)
