Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Jarring Rise Of Anti-Asian Crimes Motivated By COVID Could Lead To More Prosecutions
Los Angeles Times: Rise In Hate Incidents Toward Asian Americans During Coronavirus Crisis, Head Of L.A. County Commission Says
Hate crimes and incidents directed at Asian Americans have surged during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, whose director said Wednesday that civic groups and police departments have fielded more than 100 reports of hate incidents tied to the pandemic from February through April. Many of these incidents were “acts of hate-motivated hostility” that did not amount to hate crimes but were no less jarring, the commission’s director, Robin Toma, said in a virtual town hall. (Ormseth, 5/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Working From Home Is Taking A Toll On Our Backs And Necks
For Anthony Flint, one of the most comfortable spots in his house became one of the most dangerous. With his company office closed by the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Flint took to working in a brown armchair in his bedroom, his legs sharing the ottoman with his terrier, Dusty. Then came the backache. “It got so bad that I was in the kitchen making dinner and I found myself hanging on to the counter trying to take weight off my legs,” he says. (Zitner, 5/13)
The New York Times: Why Are There Almost No Memorials To The Flu Of 1918?
At Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vt., a five-ton granite bench sits on a triangle of grass. It is a mere five feet high and three feet deep, which seems modest in scale relative to the calamity it commemorates. “1918 Spanish Flu Memorial” reads an inscription on the front. “Over 50 million deaths worldwide” is chiseled on the back. Installed two years ago, the bench was underwritten by Brian Zecchinelli and his wife, Karen, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Wayside, a restaurant they own in nearby Montpelier. It opened in 1918, just a few months before influenza scythed through Barre, killing nearly 200 people, the largest loss of life of any town in the state. (Segal, 5/14)
NPR: Pediatrician Urges Early Reopening Of Schools
Nightmares. Tantrums. Regressions. Grief. Violent outbursts. Exaggerated fear of strangers. Even suicidal thoughts. In response to a call on social media, parents across the country shared with NPR that the mental health of their young children appears to be suffering as the weeks of lockdown drag on. Most U.S. states have canceled in-person classes for the rest of the academic year. This week in Senate testimony, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sounded a cautionary note on the prospect of reopening school buildings nationwide, even in the fall. (Kamenetz, 5/14)
CNN: Airlines Are Having Trouble Enforcing Their Face Mask Policies
Plans from several major US airlines on how to enforce their mandatory mask requirements reveal that, for the most part, they will rely on passenger cooperation rather than strict enforcement. Separate memos obtained by CNN that American Airlines (AAL) sent to its pilots and flight attendants show that customers may be denied boarding for not wearing a mask. But once on the plane "the face covering policy will become more lenient" and "the flight attendant's role is informational, not enforcement," the pilot memo reads. (Muntean, 5/13)
San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Doctors Prepare For Coronavirus In Looming Flu Season
The Bay Area blunted the impact of its first brush with the coronavirus, but infectious disease experts warn there are more outbreaks to come once the region eases shelter-in-place restrictions, and one looming event is of particular concern: the flu season. No one yet knows what to expect in the fall and winter, when the coronavirus may commingle with seasonal influenza. But even as public health officials battle the current COVID-19 outbreak, they’re bracing for a resurgence of cases and a potentially much deadlier situation in a few months. (Allday, 5/14)
Kaiser Health News: Despite Pandemic, Trauma Centers See No End To ‘The Visible Virus Of Violence’
On an early March day at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency room at the University of Chicago Medical Center teemed with patients. But many weren’t there because of the coronavirus. They were there because they’d been shot. Gunshot victims account for most of the 2,600 adult trauma patients a year who come to this hospital on the city’s sprawling South Side. And the pandemic hasn’t dampened the flow. (Bruce, 5/14)
PBS NewsHour: During The Pandemic, Reports Of Child Abuse Have Decreased. Here’s Why That’s Concerning
Since the coronavirus pandemic closed schools nationwide, children are spending much more time at home. But reports of abuse and neglect have declined dramatically, prompting concerns among child welfare advocates that mistreatment isn’t being exposed. (Brangham and Norris, 5/13)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Worried About Dialysis During Coronavirus? Here Are Some Key Answers
For patients facing kidney failure and others in need of a transplant, it's imperative that they continue going to dialysis. But how can you do that safely in a world largely paralyzed by the coronavirus pandemic? Ashraf El-Meanawy, the Medical College of Wisconsin's Director of Dialysis, said there are many options, but skipping dialysis should not be one of them. (Shelbourne, 5/13)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Morehouse School Of Medicine Studies Coronavirus Toll On Blacks
Coronavirus cases are higher in Georgia counties where more African Americans live, even after stripping out factors like poverty, health insurance and population density, according to the Morehouse School of Medicine. Using data from the Georgia Department of Public Health, researchers from MSM’s National Center for Primary Care looked at counties with at least 10 cases of COVID-19 to study how race factored in the disease’s deadly crawl through Georgia. (Suggs, 5/13)
