Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Overdose Deaths Skyrocket In Minnesota
AP: Overdose Deaths Increase 31% In First Half Of 2020
Drug overdose deaths in Minnesota increased 31% in the first half of 2020, compared to the same time in 2019, state health officials said Thursday. The Minnesota Department of Health said there were 490 overdose deaths from January to June 2020 and 373 deaths during the same time last year. (12/3)
Boston Globe: Lawmakers Reach $46 Billion Budget Deal That Would Expand Abortion Access In Mass.
Massachusetts legislative leaders late Thursday filed a $46.2 billion budget accord they said would drain the state’s emergency savings beyond what lawmakers had initially approved and expand abortion access, including allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to get an abortion without a parent’s consent. The spending agreement hatched between a six-member committee is expected to surface Friday in the House and Senate, leaving lawmakers less than a day to digest the sprawling document. (Stout, 12/3)
Tampa Bay Times: Death Certificates Of Hillsborough Lynching Victims Omit Crime. Time For Change?
Robert Johnson’s death certificate says that he was murdered on Jan. 30, 1934. That’s true, but it doesn’t reveal that he was lynched. “He wasn’t just murdered,” Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera said. “He was lynched because he was Black. That should not be ignored.” News archives say Johnson was kidnapped and taken to a wooded area in Tampa where he was shot in front of a mob of nearly 30 people. Viera is now among those advocating for Johnson’s death certificate to be amended to include that he was lynched. ... Florida’s Bureau of Vital Statistics website says that changing the cause of death requires documentation. That exists for Johnson. On Jan. 30, 1934, the Tampa Daily Times headline reads, “Negro slain by lynchers in Tampa.” (Guzzo, 12/4)
In news from Maryland —
The Baltimore Sun: The Baltimore City Health Department Is Texting You To Get A Flu Shot. Here’s Why.
Received a text from the Baltimore City Health Department within the past few days? It’s not a scam. The health department started texting residents Wednesday to remind them to get a flu shot. (Oxenden, 12/4)
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore Mayor-Elect Brandon Scott Tests Negative And Is Quarantining After Being Exposed To Coronavirus
Baltimore City Council President and Mayor-elect Brandon Scott was exposed to the coronavirus last weekend, according to a news release issued early Thursday night. Scott, 36, has tested negative for the virus twice since being notified about the exposure Saturday and three times prior. He said in the release he has been quarantining and following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations. (Oxenden, 12/4)
The Baltimore Sun: 45-Year Baltimore City Department Of Public Works Employee Dies After Contracting Coronavirus
A 45-year Baltimore City Department of Public Works employee died after contracting the coronavirus, the agency said Thursday. Charles Johnson, a plant operations supervisor at the Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant, tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of November, the agency said in a news release. He spent the past two weeks in an intensive care unit before dying. (Oxenden, 12/3)
CNN: Maryland Authorities Raced To Find And Stop A Child Positive For Covid-19 From Boarding A Flight
Maryland State Police were informed by a local health officer at 3 p.m. on November 24 that a young boy who was about to board a plane with his family had tested positive for Covid-19, State Police Sgt. Travis Nelson told CNN. The health officer told police they had been unable to reach the 9-year-old child's mother. The family was scheduled to depart from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in less than two hours. (Riess and Maxouris, 12/4)
