Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In 2020, More Michiganders Died Than Were Born, For The First Time Ever
Detroit Free Press: Deaths Outpaced Births In Michigan For The 1st Time In 2020
For the first time in Michigan's recorded history, deaths outpaced births in 2020 — a situation worsened by the wave of deaths from COVID-19, said Kurt Metzger, a demographer who founded Data Driven Detroit and studies Michigan population trends. In the first year of the pandemic, 104,149 babies were born in Michigan but 117,087 people died in the state, Metzger said — an overall population loss of 12,938. "Looking at those numbers, I just said, 'Whoa! Here we are,' " said Metzger, who used data from the state health department to make the analysis. "It's the first time we've ever seen more deaths than births, which is kind of frightening." (Jordan Shamus, 1/26)
Cases and deaths rise in some places ...
The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Deaths In The U.S. Top 2,100 A Day, Highest In Nearly A Year
Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. have reached the highest level since early last year, eclipsing daily averages from the recent Delta-fueled surge, after the newer Omicron variant spread wildly through the country and caused record-shattering case counts. The seven-day average for newly reported Covid-19 deaths reached 2,191 a day by Monday, up about 1,000 from daily death counts two months ago, before Omicron was first detected, data from Johns Hopkins University show. (Kamp, 1/25)
The Washington Post: Maryland Covid-19 Deaths Hit New Monthly Record As Omicron Begins To Retreat
Covid-19 deaths are mounting in Maryland even as new infections decline. With nearly a week left in January, the state on Tuesday already had logged 1,475 covid-related fatalities, more than double the number recorded in December, and higher than any other month since the pandemic began. (Tan and Portnoy, 1/25)
Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Reports 6,600 New COVID-19 Cases Tuesday, Near-Record Hospitalizations
Utah reported 6,600 new coronavirus cases Tuesday — the lowest weekday count in weeks, but still much higher than previous surges. The rate of positive cases also remains extremely high, suggesting that the reported decline in cases may be in part because of the state’s efforts to ration tests. For more than a week, state officials have urged Utahns not to get tested for COVID-19 unless they have health risks or are likely to expose vulnerable people, and a statewide testing shortage has made it difficult to ascertain true infection levels as the highly-contagious omicron variant sweeps across Utah. (Alberty, 1/25)
Indianapolis Star: Indiana Schools Report More Than 100,000 COVID-19 Cases This Year
Another week, another record of COVID-19 cases reported in Indiana's K-12 schools. Schools reported 16,337 cases among students — up slightly from last week's figure that shattered the previous record for cases reported in a single week. They also reported more than 1,000 cases in both teachers and staff members for just the second time. There were 1,219 cases reported among teachers and 1,603 in other staff members. Some of the cases reported Monday dated back several weeks, but more than 13,000 of the student cases were attributed to last week. It's another example of just how contagious omicron, the latest COVID-19 variant, has been. (Herron, 1/25)
... and begin to wane in other places —
AP: California Appears To Pass Peak Of Omicron Variant Wave
California showed signs it turned the corner on the omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with infection rates falling and hospitalizations well short of the overwhelming deluge officials feared a few weeks ago. Over 15,000 people are hospitalized with coronavirus, a huge figure but well short of last January’s peak of about 22,000 and half of what officials had feared. Positivity rates are down 15% from earlier this month and the state’s projection model shows the number of hospitalizations falling by half, to less than 7,700, in another month. (Thompson, 1/26)
Cincinnati Enquirer: COVID-19 Surge: Early Signs That Omicron Is Waning In Cincinnati
A few indicators hold hopeful signs for the Cincinnati region in its battle against the latest wave of COVID-19 but a peak hasn't yet been reached and a fight still remains, one expert warned. Beginning last Saturday, hospitalizations dipped below 1,000 to 957 before dropping again to 948 on Sunday and then increasing back to 950 on Monday. But a net gain of 45 new hospitalizations shot the total back upward to 995 on Tuesday, a signal that even as cases slow, there's still a battle ahead for beleaguered healthcare workers. (Sutherland, 1/25)
