Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Recovery For People With Mild Cases Brings Freedom To Some, Anxiety To Others
The Wall Street Journal: For Some, A Recovery From Covid Brings A Greater Sense Of Safety
After fighting off cases of Covid-19, Danielle Vito and her husband needed a break. When they tested positive for antibodies, they decided to take a trip to Mexico in July. “That played a big factor when I was traveling,” says Ms. Vito, a 28-year-old social media marketer. “It gives a little sense of hope that you will be safer.” People who have recovered from Covid-19 are starting to venture back into the world, often with a greater confidence to pursue normal activities than people who haven’t had it. They’re taking trips, eating indoors at restaurants and visiting friends. In many cases, people who recovered believe they have a degree of immunity and are less likely to get or spread the illness. (Dizik, 8/3)
Dallas Morning News: After Two Kids Test Positive For COVID-19, Arlington Family Learns To Separate While Stuck Together
Medical emergencies are nothing new for the Carltons. Since the start of the pandemic, they had taken every precaution to keep their family — and especially Scotty — healthy. But when the virus invaded their home, infecting their boys, they were unprepared. (Scudder, 8/3)
Kaiser Health News: California GOP Consultant Rues ‘Big Mistake’ That Led To Family’s COVID Infections
The tweet Richard Costigan posted July 23 was bluntly honest: “We tried our best to limit exposure to #COVID19 but we slipped up somewhere.” Costigan tweeted while waiting anxiously in the parking lot of a hospital outside Sacramento. The veteran Republican political consultant had just dropped his wife, Gloria, off at the emergency room. He wasn’t allowed to go in with her. (Young, 8/3)
Boston Globe: Will Anything Change For The Low-Wage Essential Workers Once Hailed As Heroes?
The pandemic has had an unexpected effect on some of the lowest-paid workers in the country: It has made society realize they’re essential. Grocery store workers, delivery drivers, caregivers, and janitors have continued showing up for work, putting their lives on the line to keep the country functioning. Some have been hailed as heroes and awarded hazard pay. (Johnston, 8/3)
Politico: U.S. Lacks Plan For Getting Vaccine To Communities Of Color Devastated By Virus
The United States is mounting the largest vaccination effort in its history — without a plan on how to reach racial and ethnic groups that have not only been devastated by the virus but are often skeptical about government outreach in their communities. For decades, communities of color have been underrepresented in clinical trials, faced greater barriers to getting vaccinated and harbored deeper distrust of a health care system that’s often overlooked or even harmed them. But now, the large-scale effort to defeat the virus depends not just on developing a safe and effective vaccine, but ensuring it reaches all corners of America. (Roubein and Owermohle, 8/3)
The Wall Street Journal: Why The Teenage Brain Pushes Young People To Ignore Virus Restrictions
Monica Sager didn’t see her boyfriend for four months after she moved back into her childhood home in Pottstown, Pa., in March. She also didn’t go to any friends’ houses or social events. Now, her parameters have started to shift. Her boyfriend visited from New York over the Fourth of July weekend, and in August she will move into an apartment with roommates in Worcester, Mass., when she returns for her senior year at Clark University. (Keates, 8/3)
Kaiser Health News: When Green Means Stop: How Safety Messages Got So Muddled
When Marquita Burnett heard Philadelphia was moving to the “green” phase of reopening, she was confused. She was pretty sure the city had already earned a green designation from Pennsylvania’s governor (it had). The next thing she knew, the city was scaling back some of the businesses it had planned to reopen (namely, indoor dining and gyms). But it was still calling this phase “restricted green.” “I feel like it’s been back and forth — the mayor says one thing, the governor says another. So who do you really listen to?” asked Burnett, a 32-year-old teacher’s assistant. (Feldman, 8/4)
Stat: Covid-19 Apps And Wearables Are Everywhere. Can They Benefit Patients?
With Covid-19 cases again climbing, health tech companies and researchers are renewing their pitch for wearables and apps as a cutting-edge way to catch new cases and detect when patients are growing sicker. The flood of tech tools — and the marketing machinery playing up their potential — promises to give users more timely information and fill key gaps in testing and tracing cases. But it is not altogether certain that these devices will benefit patients. (Ross, 8/4)
In news from Arizona, Montana and New York —
AP: Health Clubs Try Again To Undo Ducey’s Gym Closure Order
Arizona’s top public health official was grilled in court Monday over why health clubs must remain closed in a bid to guard against the spread of the coronavirus, yet supermarkets, restaurants and other businesses can remain open. Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, testified in a lawsuit filed by two health club chains challenging Gov. Doug Ducey’s gym closure order. The clubs lost an earlier challenge but renewed their reopening request after the governor extended the closure. (Billeaud, 8/4)
AP: Billings Shuts City Hall, Library After Employees Infected
Officials in Billings shut down city hall and the public library for cleaning after three public employees in Montana’s largest city tested positive for the coronavirus. City hall was scheduled to re-open to the public Thursday following cleaning work and then operate two days a week under limited hours until August 17. (8/3)
Politico: NYC's Outdoor Dining Program Will Return Next Year
New York City’s pandemic-era outdoor dining program will continue next year, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. With indoor dining banned indefinitely because of the coronavirus risk, thousands of restaurants have been allowed to take over the parking spaces outside their eateries to seat customers — and de Blasio said the al fresco dining push would usher in a longer-term change to the city’s streetscape. (Durkin, 8/3)
ABC News: New York City Shuts Down Party Boat With Over 170 Guests As COVID-19 Cases Continue To Drop
New York City officials shut down a party boat with more than 170 people aboard, as the city strives to keep the coronavirus at bay. Ronny Vargas and Alex Suazo, the owners of the Liberty Belle, were arrested Saturday night for violating the state's ban on large crowds and for running a bar without a license, the New York City's Sheriff's Office said. The office also said that the captain of the boat, who was not identified, was issued a summons for not displaying its identification number. (Pereira, 8/3)
Also —
NBC News: Poll: Most Americans Don't Trust Trump On Coronavirus. Republicans Don't Trust CDC Or Fauci.
Fewer than a third of Americans say they trust what President Donald Trump has said about the coronavirus pandemic, new polling shows, while a majority of the public trusts the messaging from the country's leading health experts. According to the NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Tracking Poll, 58 percent of Americans say they don't trust what Trump has said about the pandemic, while 31 percent say they do trust his comments. (Kamisar and Holzberg, 8/4)
NPR: U.S. Handling Pandemic Worse Than Other Countries, Say Two-Thirds Of Americans
With the national death toll from COVID-19 passing the grim 150,000 mark, an NPR/Ipsos poll finds broad support for a single, national strategy to address the pandemic and more aggressive measures to contain it. Two-thirds of respondents said they believe the U.S. is handling the pandemic worse than other countries, and most want the federal government to take extensive action to slow the spread of the coronavirus, favoring a top-down approach to reopening schools and businesses. (Mann, 8/4)
