Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Prisons Failed Incarcerated During Covid: Study
Stat: New Data Reveals Deeper Problems With Prisons’ Covid Response
The incarcerated people at Federal Medical Center Devens should have been some of the first to receive the Covid vaccines, back when they first came out in December 2020. At the time, the country was prioritizing high-risk people in high-risk settings, like older Americans in nursing homes. So Devens seemed a better candidate than most prisons for an early vaccine rollout: It’s one of just seven facilities in the country equipped to handle federal prisoners with complex medical conditions like end-stage renal disease — people who were also especially vulnerable to dying from the coronavirus. (Florko, Parker and Sheridan, 5/23)
More on covid and vaccines —
The Washington Post: An Exercise Trial For Long Covid Is Being Criticized By Some Patients
The exercise study protocol has not been finalized, but it will test physical therapy at different intensity levels, tailored to the patient’s capabilities, and aim to improve endurance, said Adrian Hernandez, executive director of Duke Clinical Research Institute. ... Some long-covid advocates, however, say that any exercise trial could be potentially dangerous for long-covid patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. (Morris, 5/22)
CIDRAP: Patients With COVID-19 At Time Of Heart Attack Have More Clotting
An international COVID-19 registry shows an increased rate of clotting in heart attack patients with COVID-19, according to data recently presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) 2023 Scientific Sessions. Clots were seen in multiple arteries in close to 30% of patients with COVID-19 at the time of an ST-elevated myocardial infarction, or STEMI, but in less than 5% of patients with STEMI who did not have COVID-19 at the time their heart attack. (Soucheray, 5/22)
CIDRAP: COVID-19 Boosters Not Linked To Miscarriages
In JAMA Network Open, HealthPartners Institute researchers looking at a database of more than 100,000 US pregnancies found no link between administration of monovalent COVID-19 booster vaccine shots and miscarriage before 20 weeks of pregnancy. The study predates the availability of bivalent boosters. (Soucheray, 5/22)
CNBC: Covid Vaccines: What's Next For Pfizer, Moderna
Three years and billions of Covid vaccinations into the pandemic, Pfizer and Moderna say their work is far from over. The two pharmaceutical companies, whose Covid vaccines have become household names, are ushering in a new era for their shots that will elevate the role they play in protecting public health, but also simplify what people need to do to coexist with the virus. (Constantino, 5/22)
Also —
Reuters: WHO 'Overstretched' In Response To Increasing Health Emergencies
A growing number of health emergencies around the world, from COVID-19 to cholera, have left the World Health Organization's response "overstretched", a senior advisor said on Tuesday. Speaking at the U.N. agency's annual meeting, Professor Walid Ammar, chair of a committee reviewing the WHO's emergency response, said funding and staffing gaps were widening in the face of ever-increasing demands. (Rigby, 5/23)
