Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Last Hired, Lowest Paid': Advocates Warn COVID's Impact On Economy Will Hit Transgender People The Hardest
The New York Times: Coronavirus Economy Especially Harsh For Transgender People
When Aria Villajin was a teenager, her father made clear his feelings for gay and transgender people. “He always called L.G.B.T. folks ‘it.’ He didn’t address them as pronouns. They were ‘its.’” Ms. Villajin, now 33, said. “If he found out one of his sons were gay, he would make them change their name.” Ms. Villajin presented as male then. When her mother was deported to the Philippines, her black father moved the family to a conservative, white Sacramento suburb. At 18 she left for San Francisco, but even there life was not easy, and without support, she dropped out of college. (James, 6/16)
WBUR: Go In Or Call In? Here's Some Basic Guidance For Routine Health Care During COVID-19
Fear of COVID-19 has kept too many people from going to emergency rooms with life-threatening chest pain, persistent vomiting or numbness that might signal a stroke. If you would have called 911 or had someone drive you to an ER before COVID-19, you should do that now. But what about routine care? There’s a call to use telemedicine when possible to help prevent crowding in hospitals, clinics and offices. But now that your doctor or nurse practitioner is booking non-urgent visits again, when should you see someone in person, and when is a phone or video chat sufficient? (Bebinger, 6/15)
The Wall Street Journal: The Toll That Isolation Takes On Kids During The Coronavirus Era
After six weeks of lockdown due to Covid-19, Cari Marshall was getting concerned about her 11-year-old daughter Chloe. The child missed seeing her friends in person and was becoming frustrated communicating with them solely via FaceTime, TikTok and the gaming app Roblox. “It laid bare how important her personal relationships are to her daily happiness,” says Ms. Marshall, a political volunteer organizer in Austin, Texas. “She is all about her friendships.” (Petersen, 6/15)
Stat: Cancer Patients And Doctors Carry On With Clinical Trials During Covid-19
Cancer isn’t waiting for Covid-19 to go away. Neither is Karen Howley. Diagnosed two years ago with advanced ovarian cancer, Howley started on a new experimental drug in mid-March, just as coronavirus case counts were soaring in Massachusetts. Her treatment, part of a clinical trial at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, began with a four-week hospital stay, and since then, she’s been returning every Monday for infusions. (Cooney, 6/16)
