Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: What If The CDC Had Led Us In The Right Direction?; Treatments Might Be A Bridge To Vaccine
Los Angeles Times: CDC Finally Admits Coronavirus Can Linger In The Air
Oh, how wrong I got it in the early pandemic days. I and everyone else. When my daughter flew home from Chicago in March to spend what we thought would be a month or two of COVID-19 danger together, we followed the advice of the time: She changed clothes and showered right after arriving. Then we sat at least 6 feet apart — more like 8 feet apart — in the living room, doing our respective work by computer. I bathed the groceries like they were my babies, sprayed and wiped and scrubbed down surfaces with bleach at times, with rubbing alcohol other times. Who could find disinfectant wipes in those days? (Karin Klein, 10/8)
The Wall Street Journal: The Trump Treatment For Covid Is Coming Soon
President Trump has been criticized for receiving experimental Covid-19 treatments that aren’t available to ordinary Americans. But man-made antibodies like those Mr. Trump received may soon be rolled out for broader public use. Such treatments may be a bridge to a vaccine. Covid vaccines are being developed at a brisk pace, but their widespread use is on track for next year. Even if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes a vaccine this winter for those at high risk of Covid complications, the immunity benefit to the population will come gradually as access is expanded and more Americans are vaccinated. (Scott Gottlieb and Mark McClellan, 10/8)
Stat: What Trump's 'Compassionate Use' Of A Covid-19 Drug Means
Among the whirlwind of news and medical information about President Trump since he was diagnosed with Covid-19, treated with experimental drugs, hospitalized, and released has been a lot of confusion about the “compassionate use” of unapproved drugs. What is it? Who gets it? Who should get? How do you get it? (Lisa Kearns, Alison Bateman-House and Arthur L. Caplan, 10/8)
Bloomberg: Colleges Are Better At Covid-19 Testing Than The White House
On the morning of Oct. 2, just as the U.S. was waking up to news that the president and first lady were infected with Covid-19, the New York Times was featuring a story with the headline “Colleges Learn How to Suppress Coronavirus: Extensive Testing.” And yet, President Donald Trump had often claimed he was getting tested regularly — maybe even every day. Does the White House outbreak erode the case for keeping schools and workplaces open with extensive, rapid testing? Testing had been looking good, with new technologies promising fast, cheap tests as a tactic to prevent Covid-19 spread while allowing more of the interactions needed for commerce, travel, education and human happiness. (Faye Flam, 10/8)
Detroit Free Press: 15 Doctors Have Message For Michiganders On Mask Requirements
In a legal amicus curiae brief, we explained to the Michigan Supreme Court that the governor’s actions were firmly rooted in science and saved thousands of lives. The novel coronavirus has characteristics that make it extremely difficult to control in community settings, including that over 30% of people with the virus are infectious without experiencing symptoms or illness. Every single Michigander — 10 million people living in all 83 counties — is at risk for contracting the virus, experiencing serious, lingering illness or death, or unknowingly passing it onto others. COVID-19 is already the third leading cause of death in Michigan in 2020, behind cancer and heart disease. And lurking behind the number of cases, hospitalization and deaths are significant racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. (Paula M. Lantz, et. al, 10/6)
Des Moines Register: When Empathy Is Needed, Trump Instead Reopens Wounds
Lately, I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night thinking about the 650 million masks the United States Postal Service was preparing to send to every household in the country in April. I wonder what might have been. I wonder because on May 5, my father died of COVID-19. Because my dad was 92 years old and in a nursing home, too many people saw his death as inevitable, or him as expendable. On Sept. 21, President Donald Trump said that the coronavirus "affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems and other problems. If they have other problems, that's what it really affects. That's it...It affects virtually nobody." How I beg to disagree. (This was a little over a week before Trump himself was diagnosed and hospitalized.) (Ross Daniels, 10/7)
Los Angeles Times: Don't Be Part Of The 'Twindemic.' Get A Flu Shot
On Tuesday, I biked over to the local Kaiser clinic to get my flu shot. I get one every year, but never this early. I usually wait until the autumn heat wanes and Southern California’s version of winter settles in, pushing people and gatherings inside where viruses spread more easily. This year, waiting for winter to get a flu shot seemed as risky as waiting for Nov. 3 to vote. I’ve had the flu. It’s not an experience I wish to repeat — especially if there’s a possibility of suffering from both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. And in 2020 it is a possibility. (Mariel Garza, 10/8)
The Hill: COVID-19: How RNs Can Help Overcome Public Vaccine Hesitancy
Vaccines have been on the minds of many Americans. SARs-CoV-2 cases are increasing across the U.S. Its pathogenicity has touched the lives of the most secure and elite populations of our society. As we yearn for past conveniences and as we experience mask and social distance fatigue, as well as continued disruptions in work-life balance, all of us want to know: When will a safe coronavirus vaccine become available? Who will have access to the vaccine when one becomes available? How will its distribution be prioritized? (Connie M. Ulrich and Julie Fairman, 10/8)
Stat: The CRISPR Nobel Was A Win For All Women Scientists
News that Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry “for the development of a method for genome editing” known as CRISPR-Cas9 was exciting for several reasons. One is the impact of the discovery: CRISPR is a transformative tool for almost all aspects of biomedical research and can also be used directly as a treatment for some genetic disorders. Second is that Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, are the only two women to share a science Nobel prize in the history of the awards. (Patrick Skerrett, 10/8)
Stat: Hepatitis Is Still A Silent Killer In Africa And Elsewhere
The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded this week to three researchers who discovered the virus that causes hepatitis C. According to the announcement, “For the first time in history, the disease can now be cured, raising hopes of eradicating hepatitis C virus from the world population. ”New blood tests and drugs for this deadly disease have already saved millions of lives. But for millions more around the world, the celebration is bittersweet and the revolution in diagnosis and treatment remains a distant dream. (Danjuma Adda, 10/9)
