Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Raw Cheddar Tied To California E. Coli Outbreak, But Dairy Declines A Recall
San Francisco Chronicle: Raw Cheddar Cheese Tied To E. Coli Outbreak In Bay Area
A cheddar cheese made from unpasteurized milk and sold at Bay Area grocery stores is at the center of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened young children and hospitalized two people — a claim the California dairy that produces the cheese strongly disputes. But federal regulators say the California raw milk producer, which has a history of recalls and is reportedly a favorite of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has refused to voluntarily pull the cheese from the market. (Vaziri, 3/16)
More health and wellness news —
CNN: Teens Using AI To Diet May Be Told To Eat Almost 700 Fewer Daily Calories Than They Need
Lunch of grilled chicken, brown rice and steamed broccoli, and then dinner of salmon, sweet potato, and a green salad dressed with only olive oil. Oh, and keep each element under 4 ounces and the whole day of eating at about 1,500 calories. Does that sound like enough food for any 15-year-old boy you know? Well, it is what AI recommended for one. (Holcombe, 3/16)
NBC News: Slightly High Blood Pressure? Why You Might Not Need Hypertension Medications Yet
A new analysis of hypertension guidelines suggests some older adults — mostly women — with slightly high blood pressure could safely hold off on medications if they’re otherwise in relatively good health. That is, age alone shouldn’t always be a deciding factor in being prescribed blood pressure pills. (Edwards, 3/16)
CIDRAP: Vitamin D Supplements Don’t Cut COVID Health Care Use, Symptom Severity, Trial Shows
While a randomized controlled trial of vitamin D3 supplementation in COVID-19 patients didn’t yield a significant reduction in monthly related health care use or disease severity, the authors say its role in reducing persistent symptoms warrants further study. (Van Beusekom, 3/16)
ABC News: Hotter Temperatures May Push Millions Toward A More Sedentary Lifestyle, Add Hundreds Of Thousands Of Deaths
As global temperatures rise, people are becoming less physically active, and this shift could lead to hundreds of thousands of additional premature deaths worldwide in the coming decades, a new study finds. Researchers from a group of Latin American universities analyzed World Health Organization (WHO) global health surveys and temperature data from the Climatic Research Unit dataset at the University of East Anglia that included 156 countries between 2000 and 2022. (Kusztos, 3/16)
