Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pattern Of Declining NYC Covid Cases Offers Encouragement
Bloomberg: NYC Covid Latest Trends Show Decline In Cases In Glimmer Of Hope For U.S.
The recent resurgence of Covid-19 in New York City may be relatively muted compared with the huge spike earlier this year, if recent patterns hold. The largest U.S. city is seeing a downturn in Covid-19 cases for the first time since early March, local government data show, in what could be a positive sign for the rest of the country. In Manhattan, where case counts have been the highest recently, the seven-day average of cases dropped for four days in a row through April 19. In Philadelphia, local health officials ended a mask mandate this week, citing data showing cases leveling off. (Muller, 4/23)
In covid updates from California —
San Francisco Chronicle: COVID Positive Test Rate In S.F. Tops ‘Too High’ Level Of 5% Amid Statewide Rise
The coronavirus test positivity rate in San Francisco hit 5% on Friday, according to new city data. The percentage of tests that are coming back positive — a key indicator of pandemic trends — is rising sharply and has passed a level that public health officials consider worrisome. A rule of thumb among infectious disease experts is that 5% is considered “too high,” according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. (Vaziri, 4/22)
Bay Area News Group: COVID-19 Outbreak Hits Another Bay Area Cruise Ship Voyage
Scores of passengers aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship became sick with COVID-19 on a San Francisco to Hawaii voyage that ended last week and followed a trip to Panama in which dozens of passengers also were stricken with the virus on the same ship. The San Francisco Department of Public Health said 143 passengers aboard the Ruby Princess’ San Francisco to Hawaii round trip that ended April 11 tested positive for the virus, nearly twice as many as the 73 reported sick with COVID-19 after the ship’s March 27 return to San Francisco from Panama. (Woolfolk, 4/23)
KHN: Despite Losing Federal Money, California Is Still Testing Uninsured Residents For Covid — For Now
California is still offering free covid testing to uninsured residents even though the federal government ran out of money to pay for it. While Congress debates whether to put more money into free testing, California is leaning on programs it already had in place: special state-based coverage for uninsured Californians, school testing, and free tests offered by clinics, counties, and other groups. Absent free options, people without health insurance could pay as much as several hundred dollars out-of-pocket depending on where they get tested. (Bluth, 4/25)
And in covid research —
CIDRAP: Study Reveals COVID-19 Death Rate 3 Times Higher Than For Flu In Adults
Adults hospitalized early in the pandemic with COVID-19 were at more than triple the risk of death than those with influenza, despite the flu patients being older and having more chronic illnesses, according to new data from Spain to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), which starts tomorrow. (4/22)
USA Today: More Children Were Hospitalized For COVID During Omicron, CDC Study Finds. Most Were Unvaccinated
Children may be less likely than adults to be hospitalized with COVID-19, but a recent study found those who are still unvaccinated are suffering the worst consequences of the disease compared with their vaccinated peers. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at hospitalizations in 14 states among children aged 5 to 11 throughout the pandemic. They found COVID-19-related hospitalization rates were about twice as high among unvaccinated children as those who were vaccinated during the omicron wave from December to February, according to the report published last week in the agency’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report. (Rodriguez, 4/23)
