Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
One-Year Mark: Last US County Records First Cases
The Wall Street Journal: A Year In, Covid-19 Cases Have Reached Every U.S. County
A year ago, health authorities announced the first confirmed U.S. Covid-19 case in Snohomish County, Wash., near Seattle. Less than 11 months later, the virus reached an isolated Hawaiian enclave established more than a century ago for patients with leprosy, now called Hansen’s disease. It appears to be the last county in the U.S. to record a coronavirus case, according to a Wall Street Journal review of state records and data collected by Johns Hopkins University. (Kamp and Abbott, 1/21)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Detected In Hawaii’s Kalawao County, Previously The Last Virus-Free County In United States
The coronavirus has now reached every county in the United States — even a remote Hawaiian outpost that was the last remaining holdout. Until recently, Kalawao County, which has less than 100 residents and was used as a leper colony for decades, was the only county in the nation that hadn’t reported a single covid-19 case. But even though it’s so isolated from the rest of the world that basic supplies have to be brought in by barge once a year, as the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, the virus still managed to make its way there. (Noori Farzan, 1/22)
Also —
CNBC: A Year Into The Covid Crisis, Scientists Explain What We Learned — And What We Got Wrong
[P]ublic health experts, doctors, scientists and leaders from industry and government say the past year has taught us a lot about the virus — and how those lessons can be applied to try to slow the pandemic now. Their takeaways ranged from findings about the virus itself, and how it spreads — remember when we were all Clorox-wiping our groceries? — to reflections on our own behavior, and how it’s condemned us to ever-increasing infection rates. (Tirrell, 1/21)
KCRA: COVID-19 Timeline: It's Been One Year Since The First Announced Case In The United States
It's been one year since COVID-19 was first detected in the United States. Here's a list of several key dates and events relating to the pandemic since then. (1/21)
Time: Wuhan One Year After Lockdown
As Wuhan marks the first anniversary of its unprecedented lockdown, the city’s experiences are the cause of both hope and caution as the virus again takes hold in the country where it was first discovered. ... The resurgence has rendered Wuhan’s anniversary especially sensitive for the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Unhappy with accusations that officials bungled the handling of the outbreak’s early stages and silenced whistle-blowers, the party has sought to rewrite the past year as a tale of decisive courage under strongman President Xi Jinping. (Campbell, 1/22)
