Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Prolonged Stress Of Pandemic Fight Takes Toll On Health Workers
AP: US Hospitals Facing Worrisome Shortage Of Nurses, Doctors
With so many states seeing a flood of coronavirus patients, U.S. hospitals are again worried about finding enough medical workers to meet demand just as infections from the holiday season threaten to add to the burden on American health care. California, which is enduring by far its worst spike in cases and hospitalizations, is reaching out to places like Australia and Taiwan to fill the need for 3,000 temporary medical workers, particularly nurses trained in critical care. (Nguyen, 12/22)
KHN and The Guardian: As The Terror Of COVID Struck, Health Care Workers Struggled To Survive. Thousands Lost The Fight.
Ten months into the pandemic, it has become far clearer why tens of thousands of health care workers have been infected by the virus and why so many have died: dire PPE shortages. Limited COVID tests. Sparse tracking of viral spread. Layers of flawed policies handed down by health care executives and politicians, and lax enforcement by government regulators. All of those breakdowns, across cities and states, have contributed to the deaths of more than 2,900 health care workers, a nine-month investigation by over 70 reporters at KHN and The Guardian has found. This number is far higher than that reported by the U.S. government, which does not have a comprehensive national count of health care workers who’ve died of COVID-19. (Jewett and Lewis, 12/23)
KHN and The Guardian: More Than 2,900 Health Care Workers Died This Year — And The Government Barely Kept Track
More than 2,900 U.S. health care workers have died in the COVID-19 pandemic since March, a far higher number than that reported by the government, according to a new analysis by KHN and The Guardian. Fatalities from the coronavirus have skewed young, with the majority of victims under age 60 in the cases for which there is age data. People of color have been disproportionately affected, accounting for about 65% of deaths in cases in which there is race and ethnicity data. After conducting interviews with relatives and friends of around 300 victims, KHN and The Guardian learned that one-third of the fatalities involved concerns over inadequate personal protective equipment. (Jewett, Lewis and Bailey, 12/23)
KHN and The Guardian: Lost On The Frontline: Explore The Database
Journalists from KHN and The Guardian have identified 2,921 workers who reportedly died of complications from COVID-19 after they contracted it on the job. Reporters are working to confirm the cause of death and workplace conditions in each case. They are also writing about the people behind the statistics — their personalities, passions and quirks — and telling the story of every life lost. Explore the new interactive tool tracking those health worker deaths. (12/23)
Good News Network: People Are 'Adopting' Health Care Workers As A Way To Thank Them For Their Service
Thanks to an initiative sparked off by makeup artist Christine Danderand, health care workers have been ‘adopted’ by the public. (Cole, 12/22)
