Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
People Drank Their Way Through The Pandemic. Now Liver Disease Is Soaring
ABC News: Excessive Drinking During The Pandemic Increased Rates Of Liver Disease, Transplants
Excessive drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to skyrocketing rates of alcohol-associated liver disease to the point of needing transplants, according to doctors. Transplant centers across the United States are reporting more patients in need of a new liver than ever before, sometimes seeing double the number of patients needing transplants compared to pre-pandemic levels. (Kekatos, 10/8)
In other public health news —
USA Today: Salmonella, E-Coli Found In Fast Food Soda Fountain Drinking Water
Scientists in Southern California are asking the kind of questions that make soda drinkers uneasy after a recent study that found fast-food soda fountains were serving up high levels of bacteria along with self-serve drinks. Researchers from Loma Linda University found bacteria levels that surpassed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations for drinking water at fast-food restaurants in the eastern Coachella Valley, where largely low-income, Latino farmworker families have struggled with accessing potable water. (Cuevas, 10/9)
Bloomberg: Ancient Zombie Viruses Alarm Scientists Studying Warming Arctic
A fortnight camping on the mosquito-ridden, muddy banks of the Kolyma River in Russia may not sound like the most glamorous of work trips. But it’s a sacrifice virologist Jean-Michel Claverie was willing to make to uncover the truth about zombie viruses — yet another risk that climate change poses to public health. His discoveries shine a light on a grim reality of global warming as it thaws ground that had been frozen for millenniums. Claverie, 73, has spent over a decade studying “giant” viruses, including ones nearly 50,000 years old found deep within layers of Siberian permafrost. (Tetley and Shrivastava, 10/9)
CNN: ‘Healthy Eating’ Curriculum Can Do More Harm Than Good
Children across all grade levels are taught nutrition concepts aimed at improving health, but I find these well-intended lessons can end up backfiring, harming kids’ eating habits and their overall well-being. Nutrition lessons — largely driven by state education standards — can be damaging because they unintentionally convey the same messages as an eating disorder: cut out certain foods, limit calories and fear weight gain. (Hanson, 10/9)
PBS NewsHour: This Oklahoma Program Pairs Schools With Farmers To Cut Down The Cost Of School Meals
More than 45 school districts in Oklahoma are taking advantage of the USDA program to buy meats, produce and livestock from local producers to help feed their children and reduce the cost of school lunches, which have risen thanks to inflation at the same time pandemic-era funding to subsidize school meals has ended. ... For two years, pandemic federal funding helped provide free school meals for all students, which studies have shown significantly impact children’s physical and cognitive development, but that program ended in 2022. (Kemp, 10/6)
KFF Health News: Epidemic: Bodies Remember What Was Done To Them
Global fears of overpopulation in the ’60s and ’70s helped fuel India’s campaign to slow population growth. Health workers tasked to encourage family planning were dispatched throughout the country and millions of people were sterilized — some voluntarily, some for a monetary reward, and some through force. This violent and coercive campaign — and the distrust it created — was a backdrop for the smallpox eradication campaign happening simultaneously in India. (10/10)
