Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mental Health Effects From Hurricane Maria May Be Lifelong For Puerto Rico's Youth
CNN: This Is Puerto Rico's 'Maria Generation'
Her son cried out for help via text message on the morning of October 17, a month after Hurricane Maria wrecked this Caribbean island. "Where are you??" the 18-year-old wrote at 11:32 a.m. "Mami call me it's important." Cellular networks in Puerto Rico were still damaged after the Category 4 hurricane, and the messages from her son didn't go through, the boy's mother said. When his frantic words finally appeared on her phone, she panicked. (Sutter, 9/17)
In other news —
The Associated Press: A Year After Maria, Puerto Rican Kidney Patients Fear Death
As weeks turned into months, the seats of the small plane began to empty out. In the beginning, 15 passengers flew from Vieques to the Puerto Rican mainland — refugees from Hurricane Maria. The storm had ruined the only dialysis center on this tiny island, their home; without treatment, the kidney patients would die. (Coto, 9/19)
Politico: Trump Rails On Top Florida Ally Over Hurricane Maria Flap
President Donald Trump is privately lashing out at one of his top allies, Ron DeSantis, angrily accusing the Florida Republican gubernatorial nominee of publicly betraying him. The president has told close associates in recent days that he views DeSantis — who won his Aug. 28 GOP primary thanks to Trump’s strong support — as profoundly disloyal for distancing himself from the president’s assertion that the Hurricane Maria death toll was inflated by Democrats for political purposes. (Isenstadt and Caputo, 9/18)
