Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Latest New Coronavirus Leap: From Dogs
NPR: A New Coronavirus May Be Making People Sick. And It's Coming From Dogs
In the past 20 years, new coronaviruses have emerged from animals with remarkable regularity. In 2002, SARS-CoV jumped from civets into people. Ten years later, MERS emerged from camels. Then in 2019, SARS-CoV-2 began to spread around the world. For many scientists, this pattern points to a disturbing trend: Coronavirus outbreaks aren't rare events and will likely occur every decade or so. Now, scientists are reporting that they have discovered what may be the latest coronavirus to jump from animals into people. And it comes from a surprising source: dogs. (Doucleff, 5/20)
The New York Times: The Latest Coronavirus Comes From Dogs
Scientists have discovered a new canine coronavirus in a child who was hospitalized with pneumonia in Malaysia in 2018. If the virus is confirmed to be a human pathogen, it would be the eighth coronavirus, and the first canine coronavirus, known to cause disease in humans. It is not yet clear whether this specific virus poses a serious threat to humans, the researchers stress. The study does not prove that the pneumonia was caused by the virus, which may not be capable of spreading between people. But the finding, which was published on Thursday in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, highlights the need to more proactively search for viruses that could jump from animals into humans, the scientists said. (Anthes, 5/20)
CIDRAP: 1 In 7 Adult COVID-19 Patients Requires Care For New Illness After Infection
One in seven US adult COVID-19 patients developed at least one new illness requiring medical care after recovery from their infection in 2020, finds an observational study yesterday in BMJ. The so-called COVID-19 "long-haulers" developed complications involving a range of organs and systems at least 3 weeks after infection. The complications affected the heart, kidneys, lungs, and liver, along with mental illnesses. (5/20)
CIDRAP: Low Vitamin D Not Associated With COVID-19 Infection
Low levels of vitamin D were not associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity after data were adjusted for variables such as comorbidities, race, and sex, according to a JAMA Network Open study yesterday. The researchers looked at data from 18,148 Quest Diagnostics employees and spouses across the country who participated in both a health screening from September 2019 to January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and August and November 2020. The mean age of participants was 47 years, and 67.1% were women. Nine hundred (5.0%) tested seropositive, or having SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The researchers note that similar to other studies, racial disparities appeared: 1 in 3 seropositive people were Black, compared with 1 in 6 seronegative people. (5/20)
BBC Mews: Covid: Stillbirth And Prematurity Risks May Be Higher In Pregnancy
Scientists say while most pregnancies are not affected, their findings should encourage pregnant women to have jabs as soon as they are eligible. The majority are offered vaccines when they are rolled out to their age group. The study appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.The research, led by the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit, looked at data involving more than 340,000 women who gave birth in England between the end of May 2020 and January 2021. (Mundasad, 5/21)
KHN: As Pandemic Eases, Many Seniors Have Lost Strength, May Need Rehabilitative Services
Ronald Lindquist, 87, has been active all his life. So, he wasn’t prepared for what happened when he stopped going out during the coronavirus pandemic and spent most of his time, inactive, at home. “I found it hard to get up and get out of bed,” said Lindquist, who lives with his wife of 67 years in Palm Springs, California. “I just wanted to lay around. I lost my desire to do things.” Physically, Lindquist noticed that getting up out of a chair was difficult, as was getting into and out of his car. “I was praying ‘Lord, give me some strength.’ I kind of felt, I’m on my way out — I’m not going to make it,” he admitted. (Graham, 5/21)
