Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Than 700,000 Americans Have Died From Covid
AP: COVID-19 Deaths Eclipse 700,000 In US As Delta Variant Rages
It’s a milestone that by all accounts didn’t have to happen this soon. The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday — a number greater than the population of Boston. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines — which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness — were available to any American over the age of 12.The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. Tens of millions of Americans have refused to get vaccinated, allowing the highly contagious delta variant to tear through the country and send the death toll from 600,000 to 700,000 in 3 1/2 months. (Webber and Hollingsworth, 10/2)
ABC News: An American Tragedy: US COVID Death Toll Tops 700,000
To put it in perspective, the staggering number of deaths is greater than the number of Americans who were estimated to have died of cancer last year, one of the nation's leading causes of death. It's higher than the total number of American troops who have died in battle throughout the recent history of the country, and it is about the same as the population of Boston, Massachusetts. (Mitropoulos, 10/1)
CIDRAP: US COVID-19 Cases Drop 15% In Past Week
The 7-day average of new COVID-19 cases dropped in the United States by 15% this week, to 106,400 cases per day, according to Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Walensky, during a White House press briefing, said hospitalizations also dropped to 8,300 per day (also a 15% decrease), and deaths remained at 1,476 per day, on average. Yesterday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, the country confirmed 110,060 cases, including 2,718 deaths. (Soucheray, 10/1)
In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —
Axios: North Dakota Hospitals At "Redline Capacity"
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) and medical officials are urging the public to help reduce the need for hospitalizations as hospitals are at "redline capacity." North Dakota's six largest hospitals reported 43 patients were sent to other facilities and 29 patients were waiting in emergency departments to be admitted, the state announced Friday. (Frazier, 10/1)
Axios: New England Experiencing COVID Surge Despite High Vaccination Rates
Hospitals across most New England states are seeing full intensive care units and staff shortages as growing coronavirus cases continue to shake the region, AP reports. The New England region has the highest vaccination rate in the country, per AP. However, the states are still reporting record case counts, hospitalizations and deaths, comparable to pre-vaccine peaks. (Reyes, 10/3)
The New York Times: In Alaska’s Covid Crisis, Doctors Must Decide Who Lives And Who Dies
There was one bed coming available in the intensive care unit in Alaska’s largest hospital. It was the middle of the night, and the hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, had been hit with a deluge of coronavirus patients. Doctors now had a choice to make: Several more patients at the hospital, most of them with Covid-19, were in line to take that last I.C.U. spot. But there was also someone from one of the state’s isolated rural communities who needed to be flown in for emergency surgery. Who should get the final bed?Dr. Steven Floerchinger gathered with his colleagues for an agonizing discussion. They had a better chance of saving one of the patients in the emergency room, they determined. The other person would have to wait. That patient died. (Baker, 10/3)
Oklahoman: Oklahoma Nursing Homes Limiting Admissions With Workforce Shortages
Already dealing with workforce shortages and the brunt of a pandemic, nursing homes are now facing a grim choice: limit new admissions or shut down entirely. A new survey, conducted by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, found the workforce situation has worsened over the last three months for 86% of nursing homes and 77% of assisted living providers nationwide. According to the same survey, 58% of them are now limiting new admissions due to shortages. (Christopher Smith, 10/4)
The New York Times: The Delta Variant Caused A Spike In Deaths Among Nursing Home Residents, Study Finds
Although nursing home deaths from Covid-19 remain dramatically down from their peak at the end of last year, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis shows a significant uptick in August as the Delta variant swept through the country. After declining for months, largely because of the federal effort to vaccinate residents, the number of deaths rose sharply from July to August. Nursing homes reported nearly 1,800 deaths among their residents and staff in August, which represented the highest monthly toll since February. (Abelson, 10/4)
Also —
The Hill: COVID-19 Long-Haulers Plead For Government Action
After months of sharing their stories of ongoing symptoms, long-haulers are appealing to elected officials for assistance and begging them to provide help. “We need to have more legislation for survivors like ourselves and not just keep telling our stories because there's a bazillion stories out there now,” said Maya McNulty, a long hauler from New York. “We're not like some Netflix series that you can just binge watch and then the problem goes away. We are living with this … disease, and there is no hope.” The grassroots, nonpartisan group COVID Survivors for Change launched a week of action on Friday, with delegations from all 50 states dedicated to illustrating how the virus has changed the lives of long-haulers and families who’ve lost loved ones. (Coleman, 10/3)
The New York Times: Summer Camp Outbreaks Were Concentrated Around The Unvaccinated, C.D.C. Finds
American sleep-away camps with high vaccination coverage among eligible children and staff members and routine testing programs largely stamped out the spread of the coronavirus this summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday. But summer camps in less-vaccinated Southern states that failed to mandate shots for staff members or require indoor masking remained vulnerable to outbreaks, the C.D.C. said. Those findings were contained in two studies released on Friday — one focusing on nine heavily vaccinated sleep-away camps across the United States, and the other on outbreaks at 28 camps in Louisiana. (Mueller, 10/4)
The New York Times: Is The Coronavirus Getting Better At Airborne Transmission?
Newer variants of the coronavirus like Alpha and Delta are highly contagious, infecting far more people than the original virus. Two new studies offer a possible explanation: The virus is evolving to spread more efficiently through air. The realization that the coronavirus is airborne indoors transformed efforts to contain the pandemic last year, igniting fiery debates about masks, social distancing and ventilation in public spaces. (Mandavilli, 10/1)
