Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Online Child Abuse, Exploitation Has Spiked During Pandemic, Officials Say
Detroit Free Press: Online Child Exploitation Reports Are Up During The COVID-19 Pandemic
While the world has battled the health and economic effects of the coronavirus, another global issue has raged in tandem with little notice — and without the additional money and resources needed to effectively battle it, experts said. Online child abuse and exploitation, already one of the biggest and growing crime challenges nationally, has spiked as COVID-19 has forced more people indoors with abusers and children spending more time on the internet. (Racioppi, 10/22)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Archbishop Aymond Asking All Diocesan Priests Credibly Accused Of Child Sex Abuse To Leave The Clergy Entirely
In his most aggressive action to date while managing the fallout of an ongoing clerical molestation scandal, New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond is asking all diocesan priests on his list of religious men credibly accused of molesting children to leave the Catholic clergy entirely. (Hammer and Vargas, 10/21)
AP: Advocates File Complaint Over Texas Youth Prison Conditions
Detainees in Texas’ juvenile prisons suffer from frequent physical and sexual abuse, inadequate mental healthcare and high rates of staff turnover, two youth advocacy groups wrote in a federal complaint Wednesday. The rights of the hundreds of youths detained in five secure facilities around the state continue to be violated, despite recent and long-standing efforts at reform, according to Texas Appleseed and Disability Rights Texas. The groups are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate conditions in Texas Juvenile Justice Department lockups, which they say have become harder to monitor because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Bleiberg, 10/21)
In other public health news —
AP: Wanna Go For A Walk? Westminster Dog Show Leaves NYC For '21
The Westminster dog show is set to take a long walk. The nation’s top pooch pageant will be held outdoors at an estate about 25 miles north of Manhattan on June 12-13 because of the pandemic, the Westminster Kennel Club said Wednesday. The shift to the Lyndhurst site along the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, will mark the first time in more than 100 years that best in show at Westminster hasn’t been awarded at Madison Square Garden. In 1920, the top prize was presented at Grand Central Palace in New York. (10/22)
Stateline: Tough Fire Season Takes Toll On Firefighters' Mental Health
Being a wildland firefighter has always involved long hours, personal risk and weeks away from home. But this year has been something else: More than 4 million acres burned in California alone. Entire towns were torched in Washington and Oregon. Smoke was so thick the sky turned orange over West Coast cities. Now state and federal officials and mental health experts are bracing for firefighters to come home and start processing what they’ve been through. It’s not uncommon for wildland firefighters, even in a less-intense year, to develop depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, unhealthy substance use or suicidal thoughts. (Quinton, 10/22)
Fox News: Coronavirus Surge In North Dakota Leaves Contact Tracing Up To Residents
North Dakota health officials are asking residents to conduct their own contact tracing if they have tested positive for COVID-19 as a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus has left contact tracers in the state overwhelmed and strapped for resources. There is a backlog in COVID-19 case investigations, according to a post on Twitter from the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) on Monday. (Farber, 10/21)
KHN: Analysis: Winter Is Coming For Bars. Here’s How To Save Them. And Us.
If we really want to stem the spread of the coronavirus as winter looms and we wait for a vaccine, here’s an idea: The government should pay bars, many restaurants and event venues to close for some months. That may sound radical, but it makes scientific sense and even has a political precedent. We pay farmers not to cultivate some fields (in theory, at least, to protect the environment), so why not compensate owners to shut their indoor venues (to protect public health)? (Rosenthal, 10/22)
CNN: Paul Kruse: Former Blue Bell Creameries CEO Faces Charges In Connection With Alleged Listeria Contamination Coverup
A Texas grand jury charged Paul Kruse, Blue Bell Creameries' former CEO and president, was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with an alleged cover-up of the company's 2015 listeria outbreak, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. Kruse, who served as the company's CEO and president from 2004 to 2017, was charged with seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy for an alleged scheme to cover up what the company knew about the listeria contamination in Blue Bell products, according to the Department of Justice. (Goodwin, 10/22)
