Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Finds Covid Can Damage Mitochondria In Heart Tissue
CIDRAP: SARS-CoV-2 Can Damage Mitochondrion In Heart, Other Organs, Study Finds
The COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT) and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) report that they have identified abnormal mitochondrial function in the heart, kidneys, and liver after SARS-CoV-2 infection, which leads to long-term damage and may help explain long COVID. Mitochondria are the so-called "powerhouses" of cells, and the researchers noted that previous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 proteins can bind to mitochondrial proteins in host cells, possibly leading to dysregulation. (Van Beusekom, 8/9)
AP: COVID-19 Took A Toll On Heart Health And Doctors Are Still Grappling With How To Help
Firefighter and paramedic Mike Camilleri once had no trouble hauling heavy gear up ladders. Now battling long COVID, he gingerly steps onto a treadmill to learn how his heart handles a simple walk. “This is, like, not a tough-guy test so don’t fake it,” warned Beth Hughes, a physical therapist at Washington University in St. Louis. Somehow, a mild case of COVID-19 set off a chain reaction that eventually left Camilleri with dangerous blood pressure spikes, a heartbeat that raced with slight exertion, and episodes of intense chest pain. Doctors were stumped until Camilleri found a Washington University cardiologist who’d treated patients with similar post-COVID heart trouble. (Neergaard, 8/10)
On the covid surge —
Bloomberg: Covid-19 Hospitalizations Rose 43% From Late June, First Time This Year
Covid-19 hospitalizations are creeping up in the US for the first time this year as extreme heat keeps people indoors and protection against infection fades. Covid hospital admissions rose 43% in the last week in July from a low in the week ending June 24, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. While they’re still lower than at any other point over thee past three years, public health officials across the country are urging caution about increases. (Griffin, 8/9)
San Francisco Chronicle: California COVID Surge Confirmed By 48% Walgreens Positivity Rate
The recent resurgence of COVID-19 in California is confirmed by a significant upswing in positive test results at Walgreens locations across the state. Data from the pharmacy chain reveal that the positivity rate of coronavirus tests conducted at its stores around California has reached 48.3% — the highest figure since January and nearly double the 27% figure recorded in June. (Vaziri, 8/9)
Reuters: With Eris On The Rise, US CDC Sees No Major Shift In COVID Variants
Currently spreading COVID-19 variants such as EG.5, or Eris, do not represent a major shift and updated vaccines in September will offer protection, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. "Right now, what we're seeing with the changes in the viruses, they're still susceptible to our vaccine, they're still susceptible to our medicines, they're still picked up by the tests," Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in an interview on former Biden administration adviser Andy Slavitt's "In the Bubble" podcast. "We're seeing small changes that are what I would call subtypes of what we've seen before." (8/9)
NBC News: Covid, Flu, RSV Vaccines Urged As Officials Brace For Respiratory Season
For the first time this fall, there will be three different vaccines against the biggest respiratory virus threats: a new Covid booster, the yearly flu shot and two RSV vaccines for older adults. On Tuesday, state health officials urged eligible Americans to get the vaccines ahead of what many believe could be an intense winter respiratory season, especially after several years of unpredictable viral activity. (Edwards, 8/9)
In other pandemic news —
Stat: CDC Overhauls Leadership Of Center That Led Response To Covid-19
The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mandy Cohen, is overhauling the leadership of the CDC center that led the agency’s Covid-19 response. In an announcement to staff issued Tuesday, Cohen said José Romero, who headed the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases for the past 14 months, would be leaving the CDC at the end of August. (Branswell, 8/9)
Stat: Scientists Look To Stop Next Global Pandemic From Starting In Africa
Lassa fever has been simmering in West Africa for at least half a millennium, killing roughly 5,000 people each year, according to the most recent estimates. But it was only 15 years ago when patients first started being diagnosed and treated in Nigeria, the result of two geneticists’ collaboration — Christian Happi at Redeemer’s University and Pardis Sabeti halfway across the world at the Broad Institute. (Bajaj and Tsanni, 8/9)
AP: An Illicit, Chinese-Owned Lab Fueled Conspiracy Theories. But Officials Say It Posed No Danger
Jesalyn Harper, the only full-time code enforcement officer for the small, agricultural city of Reedley in California’s Central Valley, was responding to a complaint about vehicles parked in the loading dock of a cold-storage warehouse when she noticed a foul smell and saw a garden hose snaking into the old building. A woman in a lab coat answered her knock, and behind her were two others in plastic gloves and blue surgical masks, packing pregnancy tests for shipping. Harper said they spoke broken English and told her they were from China. Walking through the lab, she found dozens of refrigerators and ultralow-temperature freezers hooked to illegal wiring; vials of blood and jars of urine in shelves and plastic containers; and about 1,000 white lab mice being kept in crowded, soiled containers. (Rodriguez, 8/9)
FiercePharma: BioNTech And Twitter Warned By PR Body For Trying To Duck COVID-19 Vaccine Debate
The self-regulatory body of the German communications industry has accused BioNTech of trying to pull out of a public debate about vaccine patents. BioNTech received the warning after it asked Twitter to “hide” its account ahead of an online campaign that targeted developers of COVID-19 vaccines in 2020. (Taylor, 8/10)
