Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pandemic Pushes Estimated Deaths From TB Up For First Time In Decade
The Wall Street Journal: Pandemic Disruptions Blamed For First Increase In Estimated Tuberculosis Deaths In More Than A Decade
Estimated deaths from tuberculosis—the deadliest infectious disease until the emergence of Covid-19—increased for the first time in more than a decade last year, the World Health Organization said Thursday, blaming severe disruptions in treatment and diagnosis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (Bariyo and Steinhauser, 10/14)
And in global covid news —
NPR: United States Commits Another 17 Million COVID Vaccine Doses To The African Union
The White House says the United States will donate more than 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from its domestic supplies to the African Union. President Biden made the announcement Thursday as he met with Kenyan Uhuru Kenyatta at the White House, Biden's first one-on-one meeting with an African leader. "We're continuing our shared fight against COVID," Biden said during the meeting. The vaccine donation comes on top of the 50 million vaccines doses already donated by the United States to the African Union, according to the White House.
Bloomberg: England Eases Travel Rules With Cheaper Covid Tests For Arrivals
New rules allowing fully vaccinated travelers returning to England to take lateral-flow coronavirus tests instead of more expensive PCR tests will come into force on October 24. The change will come into effect for families returning from half-term holidays, the Department for Health and Social Care said in an emailed statement. Passengers will able to book the lateral flow test through private providers listed on a government website and will have to upload a photo of their test on or before day two of their arrival to verify the results. Anyone who tests positive will need to self-isolate and take a PCR test free of charge. (Ashton, 10/15)
Bloomberg: Thousands Of Britons May Have Had False Negative Covid Results
Officials suspended testing at Immensa Health Clinic Ltd.’s laboratory in Wolverhampton, central England, following a probe into reports of people getting negative PCR test results after previously testing positive via lateral flow tests, the U.K. Health Security Agency said on Friday in an emailed statement. NHS Test and Trace estimates that around 43,000 people could have been given incorrect negative PCR results between Sept 9 and Oct 12, mostly in the southwest of England, the agency said. It described it as “an isolated incident attributed to one laboratory” but said all samples were now being redirected to other labs. People affected will be contacted and advised to take another test. (Ashton, 10/15)
The Washington Post: One Of The World’s Toughest Coronavirus Quarantine Regimes Is Finally Ending
Since early in the pandemic, Australia has imposed some of the world's strictest quarantine requirements, effectively walling itself off and stranding thousands of citizens overseas in a bid to keep the coronavirus out. Now, after a surge in vaccinations, those walls are starting to tumble. Sydney, the country’s largest city, will stop requiring fully vaccinated travelers to quarantine — either in a hotel or at home — next month, a major shift that will speed the return of stranded Australians and open the door to international travelers early next year. (Miller, 10/15)
AP: Russia Struggles To Meet Global Orders For Sputnik V Vaccine
Esperita García de Perez got her first vaccination against COVID-19 in May. That, along with her Catholic faith, made her feel better protected against the virus, and she had hoped to get her second shot of the Russian-developed Sputnik V vaccine a few weeks later. But the 88-year-old is still waiting. She was infected with the virus last month, and now her hopes for survival are pinned on the host of medications and home care she is receiving. (Cano, Litvinova and Arraez, 10/15)
In updates on "Havana Syndrome" —
Bloomberg: ‘Havana Syndrome’: Senators Press Blinken To Name Point Person For Investigation
A bipartisan group of senators pressed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to name a point person to lead an investigation into reports about “Havana Syndrome,” a mysterious phenomenon causing diplomats and other U.S. officials to get sick at some overseas posts. The senators “remain concerned that the State Department is not treating this crisis with the requisite senior-level attention that it requires,” they said Thursday in a letter to Blinken. “We continue to hear concerns that the Department is not sufficiently communicating with or responding to diplomats who have been injured from these attacks.” (Flatley, 10/14)
