Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Studies Debunk Idea That Blood Type Influences Recovery
The New York Times: Does Blood Type Affect Your Risk Of Coronavirus? Probably Not, New Studies Say
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers found preliminary evidence suggesting that people’s blood type might be an important risk factor — both for being infected by the virus and for falling dangerously ill. But over the past few months, after looking at thousands of additional patients with Covid-19, scientists are reporting a much weaker link to blood type. (Zimmer, 7/15)
The Hill: Public's Disconnect From COVID-19 Reality Worries Experts
The United States is being ravaged by a deadly pandemic that is growing exponentially, overwhelming health care systems and costing thousands of lives, to say nothing of an economic recession that threatens to plague the nation for years to come. But the American public seems to be over the pandemic, eager to get kids back in schools, ready to hit the bar scene and hungry for Major League Baseball to play its abbreviated season. (Wilson, 7/15)
Kaiser Health News: Why Doctors Keep Monitoring Kids Who Recover From Mysterious COVID-Linked Illness
Israel Shippy doesn’t remember much about having COVID-19 — or the unusual auto-immune disease it triggered — other than being groggy and uncomfortable for a bunch of days. He’s a 5-year-old, and would much rather talk about cartoons, or the ideas for inventions that constantly pop into his head. ... In New York, at least 237 kids, including Israel, appear to have Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C. And state officials continue to track the syndrome, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not respond to repeated requests for information on how many children nationwide have been diagnosed so far with MIS-C. (Mogul and Godoy, 7/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Employees Feel Pressured As Bosses Order Them Back To Offices During Pandemic
As parts of the U.S. economy attempt to reopen, companies and institutions are taking various approaches to getting people back to work as coronavirus infections surge across the U.S. With more than 3.3 million confirmed cases nationwide and a death toll topping 135,000, employers say they are operating under unprecedented circumstances with no universal guidelines, making it difficult to balance workers’ safety and financial exigencies after months of inactivity. The result is a segment of the workforce ranging from baseball players to bankers who say they feel undue pressure to report for duty. (Eaton and Putzier, 7/15)
Bloomberg: Yes, You Should Take A Vacation In The Middle Of A Pandemic
It’s hard to know if it’s acceptable to take a vacation amid a pandemic and downsizing. Where are you going to go? Will your job be there when you get back? We surveyed dozens of managers and business owners, and their advice is clear: Unless you’re just returning from a furlough, take your vacation days. “It is extremely important,” says Tiffany Glenn, vice president for human resources at payroll and HR services provider ADP. “HR should be advising time away, even if you are not visiting a destination.” (Cohen, 7/14)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgians Feeling Growing Emotional Toll From COVID-19 Pandemic
Back in March, as the coronavirus began picking up steam in Georgia, Sarah Summers and her family put a plan in place: Cease all playdates. Cancel gatherings with friends. Limit outings. The nine weeks left in the school year, when the East Cobb mother would have to find lessons and activities to keep her three school-aged children occupied, “seemed like an eternity,” she said. But, she told herself, just get through the next few months and slowly life would return to normal. (Oliviero, 7/15)
CNN: Arizona Man In A Coma From Coronavirus Woke Up Paralyzed
For Eddie Case, recovering from Covid-19 comes with hard work and uncertainty. The virus sent him into a medically induced coma, he told CNN's Anderson Cooper Wednesday. And when he woke up, he was paralyzed. "I really thought I had been involved in an accident or some sort of mishap," Case said. He has since had to learn how to stand and how to write. (Holcombe, 7/16)
PBS NewsHour: How Planning And Early Action Helped San Francisco’s Chinatown Control Coronavirus
California is enduring an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. But one community has succeeded at keeping the virus at bay — offering potential lessons on how early action on the pandemic can change outcomes. (Wu and Stamos, 7/15)
The Washington Post: Jake Paul Blasted By Calabasas Mayor For Throwing Massive Party ‘Acting Like Covid Does Not Exist’
YouTuber Jake Paul found himself at the center of controversy yet again after throwing a barnburner of a party in his Calabasas, Calif., mansion on Saturday despite the state’s recent surge in new coronavirus cases, drawing the ire of Mayor Alicia Weintraub. Video of the party, which surfaced on social media, showed dozens of unmasked partygoers crowded around a living room, on a staircase and around a television. Social distancing did not appear to be taking place. It appeared from social media posts that the party doubled as a shoot for a music video. (Andrews, 7/15)
