Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mask Up Again? Experts Say High-Risk People Should Be On Guard With Covid Uptick
CNN: It May Be Time To Break Out The Masks Against Covid, Some Experts Say
If you’re at high risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19, it’s time to dust off those N95 masks and place them snugly over your nose and mouth to protect yourself from a recent uptick of the virus, according to a growing number of experts. That advice should go all the way up to 80-year-old President Joe Biden, said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist. “Octogenarians comprise the highest-risk group for complications following Covid infection,” Reiner said. “At least until the numbers start to drop again, it would be appropriate for President Biden to take some precautions and wear a mask in crowds.” (LaMotte, 8/23)
The Hill: Hollywood Studio Brings Back Mask Mandate Amid Spike In COVID Cases
Hollywood studio Lionsgate is returning to mask mandates for many of its employees amid rising COVID-19 cases reported in Los Angeles. In an internal email obtained by Deadline, response manager for Lionsgate/Starz Sommer McElroy said that employees at its flagship office in Santa Monica will be required to wear a medical grade face covering, such as a surgical mask a or a KN95 or N95 mask. (Scully, 8/22)
CBS News: Atlanta-Based Morris Brown College Says They Are Reinstating Covid Mask Mandates
Atlanta-based Morris Brown College has announced that the school is reinstating its Covid mask mandate for the next two weeks as a result of positive cases at the Atlanta University Center. (King, 8/22)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jail Suspends In-Person Visits After COVID Uptick
The Dane County Jail has 49 inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 and as a result will be temporarily suspending in-person visitation and programming, the Dane County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday night. (Bentley, 8/22)
Stat: Covid-19 Hasn’t Fallen Into A Seasonal Pattern — Yet
To most people on the planet, the Covid-19 pandemic is over. But for many scientists who have been tracking the largest global infectious disease event in the era of molecular biology, there is still a step that the virus that caused it, SARS-CoV-2, hasn’t yet taken. It has not fallen into a predictable seasonal pattern of the type most respiratory pathogens follow. (Branswell, 8/23)
In research on covid and the pandemic —
CIDRAP: Veterans Study Shows Excess Mortality Leveled Off 6 Months After Acute COVID-19
Yesterday JAMA Internal Medicine published a study of more than 200,000 US veterans infected with COVID-19 demonstrating that the excess mortality risk from acute infection diminished within 6 months of initial diagnosis. The study was based on health record data from 208,061 patients seen at Veterans Affairs hospitals for initial COVID-19 infections from March 2020 to April 2021. Mortality outcomes among case-patients were compared to 1,037,423 matched uninfected peers. (Soucheray, 8/22)
The Hill: Construction, Food Preparation Workers More Likely To Die From Overdoses During Pandemic: CDC Data
Construction and food preparation workers were more likely than those in other professions to die from overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows. Researchers from the CDC found that among different industries, drug overdose death rates were highest in construction and extraction and food preparation in 2020. The researchers analyzed fatal drug overdose data from 46 states and New York City, largely focusing on different industries and occupations. (Sforza, 8/22)
