Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
At Least 69 Killed: July Heat Wave Was One Of The Deadliest Weather Events In Recent US History
The Washington Post: The Post Counted 70 Deaths From July Heat Domes. The True Toll May Not Be Known.
Martha Irene Van Egmond was working in her garden in Bolton, Mississippi, when she stumbled and couldn’t get up. The 83-year-old spent hours lying on the ground amid temperatures over 90 degrees, the county coroner said, eventually succumbing to the oppressive heat. (Kaplan, 7/26)
On gun violence and mental health —
The New York Times: At Least 3 Killed In Shooting At Food Festival In Seattle
Three people were killed and four others wounded on Sunday in a shooting at a food festival in Seattle, the authorities said. The shooting occurred at Seattle Center, which was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival and is also home to the Space Needle, the Seattle Police Department said. (Zhuang and Desai, 7/26)
More health news from across the U.S. —
The New York Times: 13 Children Accidentally Consume Edibles At New Jersey Y.M.C.A. Summer Camp
Thirteen children were sickened on Thursday at a Y.M.C.A. summer camp in East Orange, N.J., after eating edibles that looked like candy, according to the Y.M.C.A. and two parents of the children. (MacDonald, 7/25)
FOX45 News: 19 Taken To Hospitals After Illnesses At Youth Academy In Laurel, Maryland
Nineteen people were taken to hospitals after experiencing similar but minor symptoms at Capital Guardian Youth Challenge Academy, prompting a mass-casualty response. Fire crews ruled out carbon monoxide and now suspect food. (Curtis, 7/26)
The New York Times: A 2-Year-Old’s Drowning And A Fight Over The Line Between Life And Death
Annelise Camp was found unconscious in a swimming pool in Texas on Memorial Day. She was only 2 years old, and it wasn’t clear how long she had been underwater. Paramedics performed CPR to try to revive her. And finally, a faint heartbeat returned, but not enough to stimulate a pulse in her wrist. She was put on a ventilator at a Houston-area hospital, and doctors overseeing her care thought she was brain-dead. (Salhotra, 7/26)
San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Woman Undergoes Groundbreaking Breast Cancer Surgery
Vicky Pan’s greatest fear came true last summer when she found a lump in her right breast that turned out to be an aggressive and advanced form of breast cancer. Pan, then 45, was healthy, had no family history of breast cancer, and had just gotten an all-clear on her annual mammogram earlier that year. “I was devastated,” said Pan, who lives in Moraga with her husband and two sons, ages 9 and 11. “It was a combination of fear and, ‘Oh gosh, what are my kids going to do? They’re so young.’” (Ho, 7/26)
KFF Health News: Journalists Assess Risks Of Tick Bites, Wildfire Smoke, Rising Health Costs
KFF Health News senior correspondent Julie Appleby discussed the affordability of Affordable Care Act health insurance plans on Connecticut Public’s The Wheelhouse on July 22. Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed tick bites on CBS’ CBS Mornings on July 20. She also discussed wildfire smoke and severe heat on CBS’ The Daily Report on July 16. KFF Health News senior correspondent Renuka Rayasam discussed the effects of soaring health costs in Georgia on WUGA’s The Georgia Health Report on July 17. (7/25)
