Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pandemic Response Unit Will Be Led By Bird Flu Expert Gerald Parker
Bloomberg: Bird Flu Expert Tapped By Trump Administration For Pandemic Response Unit
The Trump administration has chosen Gerald Parker, a veterinarian and former top US health and security official, to lead the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, people familiar with the matter said Thursday. Parker’s career includes more than three decades in the federal government focusing on global health, national security and pandemic preparedness. He will serve as director of the office, which was established by Congress in 2022 as the Covid-19 pandemic began to abate. (Griffin, 2/7)
MedPage Today: CDC Journal Resumes Publication, But Without H5N1 Studies
The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) resumed publishing after an unprecedented 2-week hiatus, but without the three H5N1 avian influenza papers that were slated to publish on Jan. 23. A CDC spokesperson told MedPage Today that these papers "are still in the pipeline" but they did not have a confirmed publication date. (Fiore, 2/6)
KFF Health News: On The Front Lines Against Bird Flu, Egg Farmers Say They're Losing The Battle
Greg Herbruck knew 6.5 million of his birds needed to die, and fast. But the CEO of Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch wasn’t sure how the family egg producer (one of the largest in the U.S., in business for over three generations) was going to get through it, financially or emotionally. One staffer broke down in Herbruck’s office in tears. “The mental toll on our team of dealing with that many dead chickens is just, I mean, you can’t imagine it,” Herbruck said. “I didn’t sleep. Our team didn’t sleep.” (Wells, 2/7)
On measles, covid, and a cruise ship illness —
KFF Health News: Measles Outbreak Mounts Among Children In One Of Texas’ Least Vaccinated Counties
A measles outbreak is growing in a Texas county with dangerously low vaccination rates. In late January, two school-age children from Gaines County were hospitalized with measles. Since an estimated 1 in 5 people with the disease end up in the hospital, the two cases suggested a larger outbreak. As of Feb. 6, there were 12 confirmed cases and health officials expected an additional six, said Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District, which includes Gaines. The department is investigating many other potential cases among close contacts, he said, in hopes of treating people quickly and curbing the spread of the virus. (Maxmen, 2/7)
CIDRAP: Post-Infection Immunity May Wane Faster After SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Than After Previous Strains
Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant confers weak, short-term protection against reinfection, compared with the much more robust and durable protection provided by earlier variants, which highlights the need for periodic vaccine updates, a Cornell University Qatar–led study suggests. ... The results were published yesterday in Nature. (Van Beusekom, 2/6)
CNN: CDC Reports Gastrointestinal Illness Outbreak On Radiance Of The Seas Cruise Ship
A gastrointestinal illness has broken out this week on the Radiance of the Seas cruise ship, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 89 of the 2,164 passengers onboard have been affected by the outbreak on the Royal Caribbean International ship, the CDC said. That’s around 4.1% of the passengers. Only two of the 910 crewmembers have reported symptoms. (Brown, 2/6)
