Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scientists Link More Than 200 Symptoms To Long Covid
CIDRAP: Report: More Than 200 Symptoms Tied To Long COVID
Today a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine presents a number of conclusions about long-COVID diagnosis, symptoms, and impact on daily function, including that the condition can cause more than 200 symptoms, and that a positive COVID-19 test is not necessary to make a long-COVID diagnosis. (Soucheray, 6/5)
Los Angeles Times: Report: Positive COVID Test Not Needed For Long COVID Diagnosis
People do not need to have tested positive for the coronavirus to be considered for a diagnosis of long COVID, a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concludes. ... Among its conclusions: Because testing has not always been available to people with COVID-19 — and because some who tested themselves at home never reported the results to healthcare systems — many who were infected never received formal documentation of their illness. (Alpert Reyes, 6/5)
Also —
The Washington Post: ‘Unusual’ Cancers Emerged After Pandemic. Doctors Ask If Covid Is To Blame.
Kashyap Patel looked forward to his team’s Friday lunches. All the doctors from his oncology practice would gather in the open-air courtyard under the shadow of a tall magnolia tree and catch up. The atmosphere tended to the lighthearted and optimistic. But that week, he was distressed. It was 2021, a year into the coronavirus pandemic, and as he slid into a chair, Patel shared that he’d just seen a patient in his 40s with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and lethal cancer of the bile ducts that typically strikes people in their 70s and 80s. Initially, there was silence, and then one colleague after another said they’d recently treated patients who had similar diagnoses. Within a year of that meeting, the office had recorded seven such cases. (Cha, 6/6)
Is the covid/flu surge in Australia a harbinger for the U.S.? —
The Guardian: Australia Hit By ‘Big Wave’ Of Covid At Same Time As Increase In Flu
Australia is experiencing a “big wave” of Covid-19 infections that is coinciding with a rise in influenza and other winter illnesses, health authorities and experts are warning. (May, 6/6)
