Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Severe Flu Season Can Be A Windfall For Hospitals
Bloomberg: Record 2019-2020 Flu Season May Be Good For Hospitals
The worsening flu season may spell good news for hospitals that take in sick patients and bad news for health insurers that have to pick up the tab, Evercore ISI said. The end of 2019 brought another upswing in doctor visits from patients with flu-like symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the last week of December, 6.9% of patient visits were due to influenza-like illness, up from 5.1% in the prior week. That’s worse than most recent years and not far behind the record 2017-2018 season, Evercore ISI analyst Michael Newshel told clients in a note. (Flanagan, 1/3)
CNN: US On Track For One Of The Worst Flu Seasons In Decades
This flu season is shaping up to be one of the worst in decades, according to the United States' top infectious disease doctor. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said while it's impossible to predict how the flu will play out, the season so far is on track to be as severe as the 2017-2018 flu season, which was the deadliest in more than four decades, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Cohen and Bonifield, 1/3)
The Associated Press: Less Common Flu Strain Prominent This Year In Virginia
Public health officials say a type of flu virus that’s usually less prevalent is being reported more frequently in Virginia this year. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that of the more than 1,800 cases confirmed by lab reports since the start of the 2019-2020 flu season, 75% have been identified as type B, according to the Virginia Department of Health. That trend is in line with national statistics. (1/5)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Northeast Ohio Sees Dramatic Uptick In Flu, Respiratory Illnesses, Nausea, Compared To Normal Post-Holiday Illness
Northeast Ohio doctors are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of patients in emergency rooms and urgent care offices this year, often with a combination of flu symptoms, upper-respiratory problems and nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms and diagnoses overlap, but often problems are related to a virus, said Baruch Fertel, the Cleveland Clinic’s director of quality and operations for its emergency departments. (Bamforth, 1/3)
