Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Majority Of Nation's Blood Banks Have Less Than One-Day Supply For Some Types
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Blood Reserves Are Critically Low
The U.S. blood supply is at critically low levels after Covid-19 shutdowns have emptied community centers, universities, places of worship and other venues where blood drives typically occur. The American Red Cross, which supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood, said more than 30,000 planned blood drives have been canceled since mid-March. Even as some businesses, schools and community groups make plans to reopen in coming months, they have told the Red Cross they don’t anticipate sponsoring blood drives in the near future. (Dockser Marcus, 6/12)
The New York Times: How 133 Epidemiologists Are Deciding When To Send Their Children To School
For many parents, the most pressing question as the nation emerges from pandemic lockdown is when they can send their children to school, camp or child care. We asked more than 500 epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists when they expect to restart 20 activities of daily life, assuming that the coronavirus pandemic and the public health response to it unfold as they expect. On sending children to school, camp or child care, 70 percent said they would do so either right now, later this summer or in the fall — much sooner than most said they would resume other activities that involved big groups of people gathering indoors. (Cain Miller and Sanger-Katz, 6/12)
Reuters: California Startup Aims To Monitor Social Distancing And Face Masks Using Drones
Airspace Systems, a California startup company that makes drones that can hunt down and capture other drones, on Thursday released new software for monitoring social distancing and face-mask wearing from the air. The software analyzes video streams captured by drones and can identify when people are standing close together or points where people gather in clusters. The software can detect when people are wearing masks. The system can also process video captured by ground-based cameras, and Airspace aims to sell the system to cities and police departments. (Nellis, 6/11)
CNN: Away From School Pressures, Children Who Defy Gender Norms Blossom At Home
Ben has liked Disney princesses, nail polish, jewelry and long hair since he was 3. His mother Carrie assumed his preferences would not only be tolerated but celebrated in their liberal enclave of South Orange, New Jersey. Instead, Carrie said, "Everyone made fun of him." (Davis, 6/11)
ABC News: In Hotels And Beyond, UV Light Robots And Lamps Could Help Protect Against Coronavirus
For guests checking into a high-profile California hotel, they might be staying in rooms that have been sanitized in part by an unusual new staff member: a three-foot-tall robot named Kennedy. Kennedy is among the Beverly Hilton Hotel's newest lines of defense against coronavirus. It's a machine designed to kill the virus by flashing intense, germ-killing ultraviolet light through the room, after the room has undergone the usual cleaning by Kennedy's human coworkers. (Folmer and Bhatt, 6/12)
Houston Chronicle: The Epidemic Within The Pandemic: COVID-19’s Coming Mental Health Toll
COVID-19 has already claimed the lives of more than 115,000 Americans, but one of the disease’s most serious and lasting effects is just starting to hit: the mental health toll. The coming crisis, created by massive unemployment, social isolation and uncertainty about the future, has already caused a doubling of anxiety and depression from 2014, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey released late last month. Now, a Texas group is predicting the ultimate mental health cost: a big spike in deaths because of suicide and drug overdose. (Ackerman, 6/12)
PBS NewsHour: How Americans’ Drinking Habits Have Changed During The Pandemic
Stay-at-home orders posed a special challenge to Americans who struggle with addiction and rely on the support of in-person recovery meetings. Many others found their alcohol consumption patterns changed significantly during the pandemic. William Brangham reports on the impact COVID-19 has had on Americans’ substance use -- including consequences that could long outlast the virus. (Brangham and Nagy, 6/11)
