Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Scary' Covid Surges Reported Across The US
CBS News: Upper Midwest Faces Spike In COVID-19 Infections: "It's Unprecedented"
The nation is currently facing an alarming COVID-19 spike, with average daily cases jumping 35% in recent weeks, according to the CDC. The upper Midwest has seen the largest surge in infections, with one doctor calling the situation "unprecedented." "I have never seen so many people on a ventilator at one time," said Dr. Joshua Huelster, a critical care physician at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. (Collin, 11/18)
Fox 9: 'It Was Really Scary:' Minnesota Hospitals Struggle With COVID Surge
Minnesota hospitals are caring for 40 percent more COVID-19 patients since the start of November as the state became the country's worst COVID-19 hotspot this week. The surge is straining hospital capacity, overwhelming staff, and affecting patient care, health care professions and Minnesota's top public health officials said. (Keith, 11/18)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Reports Thousands Of Previously Unreleased COVID-19 Deaths, Infections
On Thursday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services once again reconfigured the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard, adding thousands of previously unreported deaths and infections. Some date back to the spring of 2020, and many are instances of illness or death now attributed to COVID-19 but that weren’t publicly tallied by the state at the time. (Merrilees, 11/18)
ABC News: New Mexico Facing 'Serious Problems' Amid Latest COVID-19 Surge, Health Officials Warn
COVID-19 cases in New Mexico are "trending in a worrisome direction," health officials said this week, as they called on residents to get vaccinated amid the surge. New Mexico reported 1,530 new cases and 539 hospitalizations Wednesday, rivaling numbers last seen in December and January, during the state's last COVID-19 wave. (Deliso, 11/18)
Dallas Morning News: Dallas And Tarrant Counties Surpass Combined 10,000 COVID-19 Deaths
Dallas and Tarrant counties crossed the grim threshold of a combined 10,000 COVID-19 fatalities on Thursday, some 600 days after each county recorded its first death from the virus, according to health data. Dallas County announced 18 deaths Thursday, raising its toll to 5,158, while Tarrant County reported 14 for a total of 4,855. (Williams, 11/18)
But the situation improves slightly in Alaska —
AP: Alaska Health Officials Say Virus Case Numbers Trending Down
State health officials expressed cautious optimism Thursday about lower COVID-19 case numbers in Alaska following an extended surge in cases that strained hospital capacity. Numbers recently have been trending downward after hitting a bit of a plateau, said Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer. “Hoping to continue to see a downward trend,” she told reporters. “This pandemic continues to have all sorts of twists and turns, and just because it turns downward doesn’t mean it’s going to continue downward or stay there. It takes active work from Alaskans getting vaccinated, distancing, masking.” (11/19)
And one woman woke after weeks in a covid-related coma —
CNN: Woman With Covid-19 Wakes Up After Weeks On Ventilator On Day Family Planned To Take Her Off Life Support
Bettina Lerman was on a ventilator for weeks after getting Covid-19 and hadn't responded to doctors' efforts to wake her from a coma when her family made the difficult decision to take her off of life support. They made funeral arrangements and picked out her casket and headstone as they prepared to say goodbye, her son Andrew Lerman told CNN. On the day they planned to remove her from life support, Lerman said, he got a call from one of her doctors at Maine Medical Center in Portland. "He's like, 'Well, I need you to come here right away.' I was like, 'OK, what's wrong?'" Lerman said. "He goes, 'Well, there's nothing wrong. Your mother woke up.'" (Williams, 11/18)
