Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fourth Pennsylvanian, An Unvaccinated Teen, Dies Of Condition Tied To Measles, Coroner Says
NBC News: Pennsylvania Teen Dies From Measles Complications, The State’s Fourth Death
A fourth death has been linked to measles in Pennsylvania, the state Health Department said Tuesday. All four deaths have been reported in the last month as Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak continues to grow. They are the first deaths associated with measles in the state in 35 years. (Bendix and Edwards, 9/15)
The Hill: Democrats Demand Answers From CDC Over Pennsylvania Measles Deaths
House Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee are demanding answers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the agency’s refusal to accept Pennsylvania’s reporting of two measles deaths, the first in 35 years. The committee’s ranking member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) sent a letter to new agency director Erica Schwartz, calling for a briefing on CDC’s measles response, including why it hasn’t counted Pennsylvania’s deaths in its official weekly tally. (Weixel, 9/15)
ABC News: How Hospitals, Clinics In Pennsylvania Are Responding To The Measles Outbreak
Prior to this year, Dr. John Goldman said he'd only seen two cases of measles throughout his career: one in the late 1980s and one in the early 1990s. Now, Goldman said measles patients are being admitted to the hospital on a regular basis. "We've had patients that have shown up in our outpatient offices. We've had patients show up in the hospital. We've had patients that have come in for other problems and then develop measles while they're in the hospital," Goldman, an infectious disease specialist for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in central Pennsylvania, told ABC News. (Kekatos, 9/15)
Newsweek: Measles Cases Hit 30-Year High. How Worried Should Americans Be?
America is currently experiencing its highest caseload of measles in over three decades, and the third person this year has died from complications associated with the virus. Measles is a highly contagious virus that was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000 following the development of the measles vaccine. Since then, there have been occasional annual spikes in case numbers. (Laws, 9/15)
In related news about vaccines —
CIDRAP: New Polls Highlight Tumbling Trust In Measles Vaccine Safety, Advice From Doctors
Two new polls reveal cracks in both US and global trust in medicine, with one showing erosion in Americans’ belief that the measles vaccine is safe for children and another finding that just over half of people in 13 countries say that, given conflicting information, they always follow their physician’s recommendations. (Van Beusekom, 9/15)
CIDRAP: US Pediatricians Report Seeing Fewer Patients Because Of Immigration Enforcement Worries
Immunization clinics in San Diego, California, are usually packed in August as parents prepare their kids for the new school year. Not this year. With agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) often waiting outside medical clinics in some states, many immigrant families are now afraid to seek healthcare, said Pia Pannaraj, MD, MPH, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California San Diego and a vice chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases. (Szabo and Holohan, 9/15)
The CT Mirror: CT Court Upholds Law: No Religious Exemptions To Vaccines
A Superior Court judge in Stamford on Monday dismissed a lawsuit challenging a Connecticut law that eliminated religious exemptions from school vaccine requirements. (Golvala, 9/15)
On Ebola —
CIDRAP: UN Says It’s Too Early To Say Ebola In DR Congo Has Peaked
On social media posts in the past 24 hours, some government officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have said there are signs the nation’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak has peaked and transmission is slowing, but United Nations (UN) officials urge caution in expressing optimism just yet. Daily fatalities linked to the Ebola outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, has fallen from a peak of around 50 deaths per day to nearly 30 currently, said the Minister of Public Health, Roger Kamba, in a video posted X. (Soucheray, 9/15)
