Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Scientific American: COVID Can Cause Forgetfulness, Psychosis, Mania Or A Stutter
Patrick Thornton, a 40-year-old math teacher in Houston, Tex., relies on his voice to clearly communicate with his high school students. So when he began to feel he was recovering from COVID, he was relieved to get his voice back a month after losing it. Thornton got sick in mid-August and had symptoms typical of a moderate case: a sore throat, headaches, trouble breathing. By the end of September, “I was more or less counting myself as on the mend and healing,” Thornton says. “But on September 25, I took a nap, and then my mom called.” As the two spoke, Thornton’s mother remarked that it was great that his voice was returning. Something was wrong, however. (Sutherland, 1/21)
Bloomberg: Mental Health Crisis: Frontline Workers Traumatized In Covid's War Zone
The World Health Organization found that mental health services have been disrupted in 93% of countries worldwide since the virus arrived. Household income to pay for healthcare will likely drop as the economic impact of the pandemic bites and insurance protection may decline. As with other aspects of this crisis, the most vulnerable parts of the population will be hardest hit. How to deal with the long tail of the pandemic? We know from studies of past recessions that poor mental health can be both a contributor and an effect. Economist and happiness guru Richard Layard argues in a recent podcast hosted by Bloomberg Economics head Stephanie Flanders that societies cannot just focus on a return to growth and assume the mental health impacts of the pandemic will melt away. (Raphael, 1/19)
Quartz: Why West Virginia Leads The US In Vaccinating Nursing Homes
The urgency of vaccinating nursing home residents is evident in the numbers. The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 136,000 residents and employees of long-term care facilities in the US alone, accounting for nearly 40% of all US deaths linked to the disease. Echoing that urgency, secretary of health and human services Alex Azar declared in mid-December, “We can have every nursing home patient vaccinated in the United States by Christmas.” Yet, by Christmas, most states had barely begun. Other states were still far behind when West Virginia became the first state to finish round one of the two-dose vaccine series in nursing homes on Dec. 30. What did West Virginia do differently? (Dai, 1/14)
Undark: With Fewer Resources, Rural America Tackles Vaccine Distribution
One afternoon this past December, a package arrived at Mora Valley Community Health Services in northern New Mexico. The rural clinic, which serves a county of 4,521 people, is nestled beside a pasture with a flock of chickens and a few goats. A mile up the road sits the town of Mora — a regional hub just big enough for a trio of restaurants, two gas stations, and a single-building satellite office for a nearby community college. Shortly after the package arrived, clinic staff received an email explaining that this “ancillary convenience kit” was a test of the system designed to transport SARS-CoV-2 vaccines from the state’s warehouse to Mora and other rural communities across the state. While this package contained supplies for administering the vaccine — syringes, needles, alcohol swabs, and more — the real challenge would occur the following week. That’s when 100 doses were scheduled to be delivered, and the clinic’s staff would have 30 days at most to administer the doses before they spoiled. (Miller, 1/20)
PBS NewsHour: At-Home COVID Test Availability Is Growing. Can It Help Turn The Tide?
If you’ve ever waited in a long line to receive a test for the coronavirus, or tried to get one and couldn’t, or waited a week to get the results, you may have wondered why it’s not easier and more convenient. In recent weeks, the Food and Drug Administration began approving over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for Americans to use at home, part of a wave of new options that could play a role in catching infections that might otherwise go undetected. (Kossakovski, 1/14)
AP: Organists Offer Soundtrack To Jabs At Medieval UK Cathedral
David Halls isn’t a doctor, nurse or ambulance driver, but he wanted to contribute in the fight against COVID-19. So he did what he does best: He sat down on the bench beside at Salisbury Cathedral’s historic organ and began to play.Halls is one of the many people who have turned the 800-year-old cathedral in southwestern England into a mass vaccination center as the U.K. races to inoculate 50 million people. His contribution to the effort is offering a bit of Bach, Handel and even a little Rodgers & Hammerstein to the public as they shuffle through the nave to get their shots. (Kirka and Kearney, 1/21)
Also —
Scientific American: The 'Shared Psychosis' Of Donald Trump And His Loyalists
“Shared psychosis”—which is also called “folie à millions” [“madness for millions”] when occurring at the national level or “induced delusions”—refers to the infectiousness of severe symptoms that goes beyond ordinary group psychology. When a highly symptomatic individual is placed in an influential position, the person’s symptoms can spread through the population through emotional bonds, heightening existing pathologies and inducing delusions, paranoia and propensity for violence—even in previously healthy individuals. The treatment is removal of exposure. (Lewis, 1/11)
The Washington Post: Five Things Worth Knowing About Empathy
For all its popularity, empathy isn’t nearly as simple as so many blogs and books make it seem. Researchers can’t even agree on what empathy means: One paper noted 43 different definitions, ranging from basic shared emotions to more lofty mixtures of concern and kindness. Whatever definition we choose, do we really need more empathy? We checked in with several experts to help elucidate this surprisingly elusive concept. Here are the five top take-aways. (Ellison, 1/17)
NPR: Personalized Brain Stimulation Works Better Than Standardized Approach
There's new evidence that brain stimulation isn't a one-size-fits-all treatment. Customizing treatment for each person led to better results with both depression and obsessive-compulsive behaviors, researchers report in the journal Nature Medicine. "The efficacy of stimulation can be enhanced if the stimulation parameters are tuned to the unique characteristics of an individual," says Shrey Grover, a graduate student at Boston University and an author of the study on obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Brain stimulation, which uses tiny pulses of electrical or magnetic energy, has become a common way to treat Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. It has also shown promise in a range of other conditions, including epilepsy, chronic pain, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. (Hamilton, 1/20)
The Washington Post and AP: Woman Ruled Dead In 2017 Fights To Be Declared Alive
Frenchwoman Jeanne Pouchain has an unusual problem. She’s officially dead. She has been trying for three years to prove that she is alive. The 58-year-old woman says she lives in constant fear, not daring to leave her house in the village of Saint Joseph, in the Loire region. Authorities seized her car over an unpaid debt she contests and which is at the center of her troubles. She fears the family furniture will be next. Pouchain’s status has prevented her and her husband, who is her legal beneficiary along with her son, from using their joint bank account. Being declared deceased has deprived her of other critical amenities. (Ganley, 1/18)
