Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Pandemic Drove US Alcohol-Related Deaths Up 25% In 2020
Fox News: Alcohol-Related Deaths Jumped During COVID-19 Pandemic: Study
Alcohol-related deaths increased during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to researchers. In a study published earlier this month, authors from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that the number and rate of deaths increased approximately 25% between 2019 and 2020 – from 78,927 to 99,017. (Musto, 3/22)
In mental health news —
CIDRAP: Study: Referrals For Partner Violence Increased During Pandemic
A study today in Pediatrics from researchers at Boston Children's Hospital suggests that, even during a shift away from face-to-face care, there was an increase in referrals for intimate partner violence (IPV) after the start of the pandemic. Face-to-face consults dropped from 28% to 2% when referrals were compared from the 11 months prior to the start of the pandemic to April 2020 through February 2021. But during that period, there was a significant jump in consults (240 to 295), primarily for emotional abuse (195 to 264). (3/22)
Fox News: Combating Online Relationship Abuse Requires Multipronged Approach
The Violence Against Women Act, which President Biden reauthorized last week, should lead to significant strides in combating online abuse including cyberstalking and the nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit images, but leaders should explore additional opportunities to reduce the odds that online relationship abuse occurs in the first place through preventative education, rather than just providing redress for victims, according to One Love. "While it’s a crime to pull your pants down in the streets — a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a fine or jail time — there was nothing stopping anyone from exposing themselves in your DMs, texts, or even via AirDrop, a disturbing trend," Bumble said. (Sudhakar, 3/22)
San Francisco Chronicle: Doctors Studied More Than 2 Decades Of Golden Gate Bridge Jumps. Their Research Shows Why Some Manage To Survive
As engineers gradually expand a suicide net beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, trauma surgeons in Marin are wrapping up what they hope will be the last report on people who survive a brutal 220-foot fall from the structure. Their research, which is undergoing peer review, offers a glimpse into the grim but intricate triage system used to pull people from the water and keep them alive. Few can withstand a crash at freeway speeds into the frigid waters of the bay, but doctors and emergency responders have managed to boost the odds of survival — from 2% historically to 3% since 2010. (Swan, 3/22)
In other public health news —
NBC News: Atlanta, Minneapolis Had Sharp Upticks In Air Pollution Last Year, Report Finds
Wildfires in the U.S. combined with the near-elimination of pandemic restrictions pushed air pollution levels in the U.S. back to pre-Covid levels in 2021, according to a report released Tuesday. IQAir, a Swiss company that monitors air quality around the world, said in the report that the U.S. as a whole saw a 7 percent increase in fine particle air pollution in 2021 compared to the previous year. Seven of the top 10 most populous cities in the United States have returned to pre-pandemic levels of air pollution, with Dallas, Miami and Washington, D.C., as the exceptions. (Thompson, 3/22)
AP: Research Finds More Lyme-Carrying Ticks In Maine Forest
New research shows ticks that can transmit Lyme disease have been increasing in abundance in a forest in the state’s mid-coast region over the last three decades, according to researchers with a Maine university and hospital. Lyme disease is spread by infected deer ticks and can cause damage to joints and the nervous system if not treated. Researchers from the University of Maine and Maine Medical Center Research Institute’s Lyme & Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory collected ticks from small mammals in Holt Research Forest in Arrowsic to track prevalence. (3/22)
The Boston Globe: Eviction Rates Higher In Communities Of Color During Pandemic, Report Finds
The rate of eviction filings in Massachusetts during the pandemic was nearly twice as high in communities of color as it was in predominantly white neighborhoods, according to a report released Tuesday by the housing justice coalition Homes for All Massachusetts. In the year following the expiration of the state’s eviction and foreclosure moratorium in October 2020, 55 percent of eviction filings in the state’s six housing courts occurred in areas where the majority of residents identified as Black, Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander, or Indigenous, even though only 42 percent of the state’s renters live in those neighborhoods. In particular, evictions were more common in places with larger percentages of Black and Latino renters, among households headed by single mothers, and in places with higher concentrations of corporate landlords. (Johnston, 3/22)
The New York Times: MacKenzie Scott Gives $436 Million To Habitat For Humanity
MacKenzie Scott, who promised in 2019 that she would give away her fortune “until the safe is empty,” has donated $436 million to Habitat for Humanity International and its 84 affiliates, the organization said Tuesday. The gift is designed to help alleviate the global housing shortage and promote “equitable access to affordable housing,” Habitat for Humanity said in a statement. (Cramer, 3/22)
