Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Think Omicron Is Mild? In 15 States, Covid Deaths Are Rising
ABC News: COVID-19 Live Updates: Deaths Increasing In 15 States
The U.S. is reporting an average of 2,200 lives lost to COVID-19 each day. Fifteen states are reporting at least a 10% increase in daily death rates over the last week: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia. (Shapiro, Winsor and Deliso, 2/16)
Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Marks 30,000 Dead From COVID-19
Los Angeles County has marked its 30,000th death related to COVID-19. The milestone came on Wednesday, when 102 deaths were reported, the second-highest daily death toll recorded in 11 months. There have now been five days since late January when daily death tolls have reached triple digits. Daily death tallies are still high and have yet to begin a sustained drop, even as daily coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have started to decline. Over the past several weeks, L.A. County has been averaging 63 to 73 COVID-19 deaths a day, according to a Times analysis of county data. (Lin II and Money, 2/16)
And Maryland has a backlog of autopsies —
The Hill: Baltimore Parking Garage Turned Into Morgue For Over 200 Bodies
A parking garage in Baltimore has been converted into a morgue for more than 200 bodies because of a backlog of autopsies. Staffing shortages and an increase in deaths — caused by violence, COVID-19 and drug overdoses — are contributing to the backlog of autopsies in Maryland, according to The Washington Post. (Schnell, 2/16)
The Baltimore Sun: With ‘Bodies Piling Up,’ Contractors Clearing Backlog At Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office For $850 An Autopsy
A yearslong staffing crisis in the state medical examiner’s office in Baltimore is leading to unprecedented delays in autopsies, an emergency request to federal officials for help and now a legislative push for more workers. To deal with “bodies piling up,” one lawmaker said the statewide agency that investigates sudden and unexpected deaths has turned to a ready source of labor — contractors “flown in from out of state” and recent retirees earning $850 per autopsy. (Cohn, 2/17)
In other news about the spread of covid —
AP: Estimated 73% Of US Now Immune To Omicron: Is That Enough?
The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society. Millions of individual Americans’ immune systems now recognize the virus and are primed to fight it off if they encounter omicron, or even another variant. (Johnson, 2/17)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Adds 24,800 Reinfections To COVID-19 Dashboard As State Approaches 1 Million Cases
Maryland health officials confirmed Wednesday what many Marylanders learned the hard way — thousands of people are being reinfected with COVID-19 since the omicron variant emerged. The Maryland Department of Health said it now counts 24,800 such infections among the total cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, in its public dashboard. (Cohn, 2/16)
Bloomberg: Covid Survivors Deal With Mental-Health Issues Months After Infection
Early Covid-19 survivors were at higher risk of anxiety, depression and a raft of other mental health problems up to a year after their infections, according to a large U.S. study that widens the scope of the pandemic’s economic and societal impact. Even patients who were never sick enough to be hospitalized for Covid were still 68% more likely than their non-infected counterparts to be diagnosed with a sleep disorder, 69% more likely to have an anxiety disorder, and 77% more likely to have a depressive disorder. The relative risk of developing the conditions was significantly higher still in patients hospitalized for Covid, and translates into dozens of additional mental health conditions for every 1,000 coronavirus cases. (Gale, 2/16)
Reuters: Antacid Shows Promise Against COVID-19 Symptoms
In non-hospitalized, unvaccinated adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19, treatment with a high dose of the antacid drug famotidine helped speed resolution of symptoms and inflammation in a small randomized controlled trial. Roughly half of those in the 55-patient trial took famotidine - the main ingredient in Johnson & Johnson's widely used over-the-counter Pepsid heartburn drug - three times a day for two weeks. The others took a dummy pill. Patients in the famotidine group had faster resolution of 14 of 16 symptoms assessed in the study, including loss of smell and taste, difficulty breathing and abdominal pain. (2/17)
