Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: People With High Levels Of BPA Have Higher Risk Of Death
CNN: High BPA Levels Linked To 49% Greater Risk Of Death Within 10 Years, Study Says
Look into your pantry -- have you packed it with canned foods since the start of the pandemic? Or are you a receipt hoarder -- who keeps all your paper sales receipts for taxes or refunds? Neither of those habits are probably a great idea, experts say, if you want to avoid toxic chemicals linked to a variety of health disorders in children and adults. (LaMotte, 8/17)
CIDRAP: Red Cabbage Suspected As Source Of Bagged Salad Cyclospora Outbreak
Red cabbage grown in Florida may be the source of Cyclospora in a multistate outbreak tied to a bagged salad mix produced by Fresh Express, based on results from a new method developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for testing agricultural water for the parasite. The outbreak was first reported in the middle of June, though health officials weren't sure which ingredient in the salad mix was contaminated. In an Aug 14 update, the FDA said trace-back investigations suggested the source was either iceberg lettuce grown in California or red cabbage grown in Florida. (8/17)
The Washington Post: Only 40 Percent Of American Kids Are Aerobically Fit
Less than half of American adolescents are aerobically fit — about 40 percent, according to a new report from the American Heart Association. These young people have what is known, in medical terms, as good cardiorespiratory fitness, referring to the body’s ability to supply oxygen to muscles to produce energy during physical activity. (Searing, 8/17)
The Wall Street Journal: Fertility Treatments Are Now Company Business
Two hours after Alison Cate found out she was having a miscarriage at a doctor’s appointment—after she sobbed in the exam room, and came home, and crawled into bed—she texted her boss to share what had happened. “For me it was like, how can I go through this and not tell my colleagues? I’m a mess,” says the 37-year-old who works as a digital marketing manager in Des Moines, Iowa. “I realized how much talking about it was helping me cope.” (Feintzeig, 8/16)
USA Today: Apartments For Rent: Landlords Offer Lease Deals, Discounts Amid COVID
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed Deborah Pusatere to convert all her tenants' one-year leases into rolling month-to-month agreements. The landlord in upstate New York oversees 80 apartment units. When a tenant's lease is set to expire, she offers them a more flexible contract to move out at any time with a 30-day notice. "A lot of people are still losing their jobs," Pusatere says. "They don't know if their jobs are coming back. So I don't want someone locked into the lease if they need to relocate to another state, or have to move for a job opportunity in a month." (Brown, 8/17)
