Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Once-Controlled Diseases Reemerging After Pandemic Derails Immunization Efforts Across The Globe
The New York Times: Slowing The Coronavirus Is Speeding The Spread Of Other Diseases
As poor countries around the world struggle to beat back the coronavirus, they are unintentionally contributing to fresh explosions of illness and death from other diseases — ones that are readily prevented by vaccines. This spring, after the World Health Organization and UNICEF warned that the pandemic could spread swiftly when children gathered for shots, many countries suspended their inoculation programs. Even in countries that tried to keep them going, cargo flights with vaccine supplies were halted by the pandemic and health workers diverted to fight it. (Hoffman and Maclean, 6/14)
The New York Times: How To Think About Pregnancy Risks
Advice about pregnancy has become so prevalent that it has become almost an industry unto itself. Personal behavior can be important, but relative to a lot of the expectations heaped on pregnant women, it can also easily be overstated. There is no solid evidence, for example, that playing music or reading to babies before they are born makes a difference. There are foods to avoid, but there is no magic diet that will lead to positive effects. (Frakt, 6/15)
Stat: A Rural Getaway Fears It May Be Next To Fall In Covid-19 Pandemic
Tucked away on the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the residents of Benzie County spent the final days of winter and the early weeks of spring confident they were safe, but agitated about what was coming. Like other lightly populated U.S. counties, this hard-to-reach vacation destination found itself largely isolated from the Covid-19 pandemic that tore through metropolises and then smaller cities and towns earlier this year. Now, as Michigan reopens, residents here fear they could find themselves on the frontlines. (Schneider, 6/15)
Houston Chronicle: COVID-19’s Coming Mental Health Toll Is A ‘Disease Of Despair’
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)
NBC News: Therapists Are Under Strain In COVID-19 Era, Counseling Clients On Trauma They're Also Experiencing Themselves
Yuki Yamazaki makes sure her space is clean before a session, devoid of too many personal touches, as she begins virtual calls with her clients in her small one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York. To accommodate the need for Yamazaki to create a private and confidential space for her clients in a space-limited apartment, Yamazaki's fiancé relocates to the bathroom to work, wearing noise-canceling headphones and using the toilet as a chair and a hamper as a desk. Yamazaki, a psychotherapist and student, is one of thousands of mental health professionals adjusting to a new normal while demand for their services has increased during the coronavirus pandemic. (Madani, 6/14)
Kaiser Health News: At A Time Of Great Need, Public Health Lacks ‘Lobbying Muscle’
If there were ever a time for more public health funding, health experts say, it’s now. Yet California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature are expected to reject a plea from local public health officials for an additional $150 million a year to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and protect against future public health threats. (Hart, 6/15)
The Associated Press: Pandemic Leads To A Bicycle Boom, And Shortage, Around World
Fitness junkies locked out of gyms, commuters fearful of public transit, and families going stir crazy inside their homes during the coronavirus pandemic have created a boom in bicycle sales unseen in decades. In the United States, bicycle aisles at mass merchandisers like Walmart and Target have been swept clean, and independent shops are doing a brisk business and are selling out of affordable “family” bikes. (Sharp and Chan, 6/14)
CNN: Kids Are More Sedentary During The Pandemic, Putting Them At Risk For Obesity
Canceled soccer practices. Shuttered dance rehearsals. With worldwide lockdowns to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the normal rites and rituals of childhood and adolescence froze. Children around the world were stuck at home, slipping into more video game playing, more television watching and more just sitting around. It's a natural progression, especially when there's not much to do during a lockdown. (Prior, 6/12)
Kaiser Health News: A Teen’s Death From COVID
It started as a normal day. Dawn Guest, 54, got up and headed out to her job as a nurse around 5 a.m. She heard her 16-year-old son, Andre, stirring in his room, but he had always been an earlier riser, even when his school was shut for COVID-19. Later that day she would get a call from her husband, telling her there was something wrong with their son. That call would be the beginning of a 12-day journey that would end in tragedy. (Lofton, 6/15)
ABC News: Going Up: How Do You Stay Safe From COVID-19 In An Elevator?
As offices start to reopen and people across the world return to working in busy office buildings, an important question is being asked: should I be taking that elevator? For many people working in high-rise buildings, the elevator is a necessity, but the good news is that riding the elevator does not seem to be a major way the novel coronavirus is transmitted. (Lee, 6/15)
