More US Kids Lost A Key Caregiver To The Pandemic Than Previously Thought

AP: More Than 120,000 US Kids Had Caregivers Die During Pandemic
The number of U.S. children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic may be larger than previously estimated, and the toll has been far greater among Black and Hispanic Americans, a new study suggests. More than half the children who lost a primary caregiver during the pandemic belonged to those two racial groups, which make up about 40% of the U.S. population, according to the study published Thursday by the medical journal Pediatrics. (Stobbe, 10/7)

CBS News: COVID Is Leading Cause Of Death Among Police Officers 
The pandemic has taken a devastating toll on police departments across the country. COVID-19 is now killing more law enforcement officers than any other threat they face in the line of duty — 716 officers have died since March 2020, according to the Fraternal Order of Police. (Pegues, 10/6)

Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Pediatric COVID-19 Hospitalizations Still High As Some Mississippi Schools Drop Mask Requirements
While coronavirus cases continue to drop in Mississippi schools, doctors warn children infected with COVID-19 are still filling up the state's only pediatric hospital as some schools are again doing away with mask requirements. Of 740 schools reporting from 73 of Mississippi's 82 counties, there were more than 800 new COVID-19 cases in Mississippi students statewide from Sept. 27 through Oct. 1, according to the health department's Tuesday report. (Haselhorst, 10/6)

In updates about long covid —

Bloomberg: Heart Damage Plagues Covid Survivors a Year After Infection, Study Shows
Heart damage from Covid-19 extends well beyond the disease’s initial stages, according to a study that found even people who were never sick enough to need hospitalization are in danger of developing heart failure and deadly blood clots a year later. Heart disease and stroke are already the leading causes of death worldwide. The increased likelihood of lethal heart complications in Covid survivors -- who number in the hundreds of millions globally -- will add to its devastation, according to the study, which is under consideration for publication by a Nature journal. (Gale, 10/7)

CNBC: Long Covid: What You Need To Know As WHO Publishes Formal Definition
The World Health Organization on Wednesday published a definition of long Covid for the first time, seeking to provide much-needed clarity on one of the most mysterious aspects of the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s how the U.N. health agency has defined long Covid, referring to it as “post Covid-19 condition,” the name proposed by WHO’s International Classification of Diseases. “Post COVID-19 condition occurs in individuals with a history of probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, usually 3 months from the onset of COVID-19 with symptoms that last for at least 2 months and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis,” the WHO said. (Meredith, 10/6)

And more on the spread of the coronavirus —

The Washington Post: A Texas Man Said He Hired A Person With Covid To Lick Groceries. He Got 15 Months In Prison
A federal jury has sentenced a Texas man to 15 months in federal prison after finding him guilty of staging a covid-19-related hoax on social media, prosecutors said. Christopher Charles Perez, 40, was arrested in April 2020 after posting two “threatening messages” on Facebook claiming he had paid someone infected with the virus “to lick items at grocery stores in the San Antonio area to scare people away,” the U.S. attorney’s office in the Western District of Texas said in a news release Monday. (Villegas, 10/6)

The New York Times: Tourists Who Fought With Carmine's Hostess Plead Not Guilty 
Three women who were involved in an altercation with a hostess at a popular Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side were arraigned this week on assault and harassment charges. The women, Kaeita Nkeenge Rankin, 44, and Tyonnie Keshay Rankin, 21, of Humble, Texas, and Sally Rechelle Lewis, 49, of Houston, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court. They were charged with one count each of third-degree assault, attempted assault and harassment, said Javier Solano, a lawyer for the women. (Fondren, 10/6)

KHN: Our Covid Cocoon: The Parents Aren’t Alright (But Help May Be Coming) 
My unvaccinated 7-year-old son began hacking and sneezing in late September as the hospitals in our home state of Montana started buckling under the latest covid surge. I took him to get tested when his symptoms wouldn’t go away. The cotton swab went up his nostrils and Thomas bucked out of my lap with a mighty snort, nearly ripping the 6-inch swab from the pediatrician assistant’s fingers. It came out bent, but the sample was usable, and as she put it away, I asked a question to which I already knew the answer. “So we’re in quarantine?” She nodded. It would take about 72 hours to get the results, she said. (Volz, 10/7)

In news about covid treatments and air purifiers —

Fox News: Merck’s COVID-19 Pill Could Carry Serious Safety Concerns, Scientists Warn
Merck’s new COVID-19 pill, known as molnupiravir, headed for FDA review for emergency authorization, could potentially carry serious safety issues stemming from the method used to kill the virus, scientists warned, according to a report. The oral antiviral medication integrates into the genetic makeup of the virus, causing a large number of mutations to destroy the virus. However, some laboratory tests indicated the drug’s ability to cause mutations in genetic material of mammalian cells, theoretically causing cancer or birth defects, Barron’s reported. However, a Merck spokesperson told Fox News that tests in animals indicate otherwise: "The totality of the data from these studies indicates that molnupiravir is not mutagenic or genotoxic in in vivo mammalian systems," a statement reads in part. (Sudhakar, 10/6)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson Letter Slams Federal Agencies On COVID-19 Early Treatment
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson continued to beat the drum this week for the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as an early treatment for COVID-19 despite warnings from public health experts that it is unproven as a remedy and can be dangerous in large doses. On Tuesday, the Oshkosh Republican sent another letter to top health officials, contending that "public health officials have not only ignored potential early treatments, but at times seem to have participated in an aggressive campaign against the use of specific early treatment options." (Glauber, 10/6)

CBS News: New Air Purifiers Filter At Least 90% Of COVID-Carrying Particles, Researchers Say
An army of do-it-yourselfers is trying to clear the air of COVID-19. One group at the University of California, San Diego, is building 250 homemade air purifiers for classrooms and labs around campus, and they say their box-style purifier filters at least 90% of the particles that carry the virus. The Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, named for the two men who created the purifiers, are made up of four air filters on the sides. As air flows in, an electric fan on top draws out the purified air. (Lapook, 10/6)