Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scientists Investigate Link Between Tear Gas And Abnormal Periods
The New York Times: Hundreds Reported Abnormal Menstruation After Exposure To Tear Gas, Study Finds
At some point last summer, there were just too many reports of protesters who had experienced abnormal menstrual cycles after being exposed to tear gas for Britta Torgrimson-Ojerio, a nurse researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, to dismiss them as coincidence. A preschool teacher told Oregon Public Broadasting that if she inhaled a significant amount of gas at night, she’d get her period the next morning. Other Portland residents shared stories of periods that lasted for weeks and of unusual spotting. Transgender men described sudden periods that defied hormones that had kept menstruation at bay for months or years. (Murphy, 5/1)
The Hill: Judge Rules Columbus Police Can't Use Tear Gas Or Rubber Bullets Against Peaceful Protesters
A federal judge on Friday prohibited police in Columbus, Ohio, from using force against nonviolent protesters. In an 88-page opinion obtained by the local NBC station, Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley of the Southern District of Ohio described the officers' use of physical violence, tear gas and pepper spray as “the sad tale of officers, clothed with the awesome power of the state, run amok.” (Choi, 5/2)
In other public health news —
Axios: Youth Unemployment Spiked Because Of The Pandemic
American jobs are starting to come back, but youth unemployment is still high. And many young people are postponing college. Young people across the country are falling behind because of the pandemic, and they will feel the macroeconomic consequences of these months of pain long after the pandemic is over. (Pandey, 5/3)
CIDRAP: COVID Studies Note Online Learning Stress, Fewer Cases In Schools With Protocols
A trio of new studies describe the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on public school students and staff, one finding that a quarter of children and teens in Chicago schools were stressed after school closures and the implementation of distance learning, another showing that coronavirus cases were elevated in schools that took few or no mitigation measures, and the last concluding that in-person learning in New York City public schools wasn't tied to increased viral infections. (Van Beusekomm, 4/30)
KHN: As Schools Spend Millions On Air Purifiers, Experts Warn Of Overblown Claims And Harm To Children
Last summer, Global Plasma Solutions wanted to test whether the company’s air-purifying devices could kill covid-19 virus particles but could find only a lab using a chamber the size of a shoebox for its trials. In the company-funded study, the virus was blasted with 27,000 ions per cubic centimeter. In September, the company’s founder incidentally mentioned that the devices being offered for sale actually deliver a lot less ion power — 13 times less — into a full-sized room. The company nonetheless used the shoebox results — over 99% viral reduction — in marketing its device heavily to schools as something that could combat covid in classrooms far, far larger than a shoebox. (Weber and Jewett, 5/3)
AP: Nurses, Doctor Help 'Lucky' Mom Who Gave Birth On Flight
A doctor and a team of neonatal medical professionals were in the right place at the right time — helping a Utah woman deliver her baby onboard an hourslong flight to Hawaii. Lavinia “Lavi” Mounga was traveling from Salt Lake City to Hawaii on April 28 for a family vacation when she gave birth to her son, Raymond, at just 29 weeks gestation. (5/3)
