Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
India Nears 300,000 Covid Fatalities, Battles Fatal Fungal Infections
AP: India Battles Fatal Fungal Threat As Virus Deaths Near 300K
Doctors in India are fighting a fatal fungal infection affecting COVID-19 patients or those who have recovered from the disease amid a coronavirus surge that has driven the country’s fatalities to nearly 300,000. The life-threatening condition, known as mucormycosis, is relatively rare but doctors suspect that the sudden increase in the infection could further complicate India’s fight against the pandemic. India has reported more than 26 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began, with almost half occurring in the past two months. On Sunday, the Health Ministry reported 3,741 new deaths, driving India’s confirmed fatalities to 299,266. (Saaliq, 5/23)
CNN: 'Black Fungus' In India: What We Know About The Disease Affecting Covid Patients
In early May, doctors in India began raising the alarm about a rise in mucormycosis -- a rare and potentially deadly infection also known as black fungus. Many of those being infected are coronavirus patients, or those who have recently recovered from Covid-19, whose immune systems have been weakened by the virus or who have underlying conditions -- most notably diabetes. In the past few weeks, thousands of black fungus cases have been reported across the country, with hundreds hospitalized and at least 90 dead. Two states have declared it an epidemic, and the central government has made it a notifiable disease. Here's what we know about black fungus and its spread in India. (Yeung and Sud, 5/21)
The Washington Post: Indian American Doctors Offer Help From Afar To Ease Indian Health Care Crisis
Anup Katyal, an intensive care physician in Missouri, was finally getting a break from treating hundreds of covid-19 patients at the hospital where he works. Then, catastrophe descended on India, his homeland. Each day since, he has awakened to a flurry of messages from 20 relatives, friends and fellow doctors in India seeking medical advice. And then, before bed, he has hopped on Zoom with a family in New Delhi who contracted the virus and turned to a physician 7,700 miles away because local doctors turned off their phones and shuttered their offices. (Nirappil, 5/24)
AP: UK Officials: Vaccines Effective Against Indian Variant
British health officials expressed optimism Sunday that the coronavirus restrictions remaining in England can be lifted in June after an official study found that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines offer effective protection against the variant first identified in India. Authorities in Britain have expressed concern in recent weeks that increasing cases of the Indian variant could jeopardize the U.K.’s so-far successful plan to reopen its economy. More than 2,880 cases of the Indian variant have been recorded in England, figures show. The government has said the variant appears to be more transmissible, but there was still uncertainty about how concerning this was. (Hui, 5/23)
The Wall Street Journal: Intelligence On Sick Staff At Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate On Covid-19 Origin
Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care, according to a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report that could add weight to growing calls for a fuller probe of whether the Covid-19 virus may have escaped from the laboratory. The details of the reporting go beyond a State Department fact sheet, issued during the final days of the Trump administration, which said that several researchers at the lab, a center for the study of coronaviruses and other pathogens, became sick in autumn 2019 “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness.” (Gordon, Strobel and Hinshaw, 5/23)
AP: Japan Opens Mass Vaccination Centers 2 Months Before Games
Japan mobilized military doctors and nurses to give shots to elderly people in Tokyo and Osaka on Monday as the government desperately tries to accelerate its vaccination rollout and curb coronavirus infections just two months before hosting the Olympics. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is determined to hold the Olympics in Tokyo after a one-year delay and has made an ambitious pledge to finish vaccinating the country’s 36 million elderly people by the end of July, despite skepticism it’s possible. Worries about public safety while many Japanese remain unvaccinated have prompted growing protests and calls for canceling the Games set to start on July 23. (Yamaguchi, 5/24)
Reuters: No One's Safe Anymore: Japan's Osaka City Crumples Under COVID-19 Onslaught
Hospitals in Japan's second largest city of Osaka are buckling under a huge wave of new coronavirus infections, running out of beds and ventilators as exhausted doctors warn of a "system collapse", and advise against holding the Olympics this summer. Japan's western region home to 9 million people is suffering the brunt of the fourth wave of the pandemic, accounting for a third of the nation's death toll in May, although it constitutes just 7% of its population. (Takenaka, 5/24)
Axios: Singapore Approves COVID Breath Test That Gives Results Within Minute
A COVID-19 breath test designed to return accurate results within one minute has received provisional authorization from Singapore health regulators Monday, per a statement from the National University of Singapore (NUS). An accurate test like this breathalyzer, developed by NUS startup Breathonix, could play a key role in reviving the pandemic-hit travel industry, per Bloomberg. (Falconer, 5/24)
Axios: China Flooded Taiwan With COVID Disinformation In 2020 — Report
Chinese government-backed disinformation flooded Taiwan in 2020, amplifying discord prior to Taiwan's elections and spreading COVID-19-related disinformation aimed at delegitimizing Taiwan's democratic government and improving Beijing's image, a new report finds. The Chinese government has developed a sophisticated set of disinformation tools that it is deploying inside liberal democracies. Beijing's information operations in Taiwan follow a set pattern also deployed elsewhere, suggesting other governments might emulate Taiwan's largely successful response. (Allen-Ebrahimian, 5/24)
The Hill: Germany Bans Most Travel From UK Amid Concerns Of Contagious Variants
Germany on Friday issued a ban on most travel from the United Kingdom (U.K.), citing concerns about the spread of more infectious variants, including a new variant found in India, throughout the country. The restrictions came the same day the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease control and prevention agency, added Great Britain and Northern Ireland among its list of international areas of concern, labeling it a “virus variant area.” (Castronuovo, 5/22)
Axios: Zimbabwe To Impose Lockdown In Central City After Detecting COVID Variant
Zimbabwe's health ministry announced a two-week lockdown on the central city of Kwekwe after detecting the coronavirus variant dominant in India. The lockdown will start Friday and a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be strictly imposed. (Gonzalez, 5/21)
Axios: At Least 100 COVID-19 Cases On Everest, Guide Says
A Mount Everest climbing expert on Saturday told the AP there are at least 100 active coronavirus cases at the base camp. The remarks from Lukas Furtenbach contradict statements from Nepalese officials who have denied knowledge of active infections among climbers and support staff during this season, AP reports. (Gonzalez, 5/22)
CBS News: Latin America Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 Deaths
More than 1 million total COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Latin America and the Caribbean as of Saturday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The region — which accounts for 8% of the world population — has reported approximately 29% of all global COVID fatalities. "This is a tragic milestone for everyone in the region," Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne said Friday in a statement. "This pandemic is far from over, and it is hitting Latin America and the Caribbean severely, affecting our health, our economies, and entire societies." (Powell, 5/23)
