Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
TikTok Adds Features To Support People With Eating Disorders
Becker's Hospital Review: TikTok Partners With National Eating Disorder Association To Curb Harmful Content
TikTok is rolling out new features to encourage body inclusivity and provide support to anyone struggling with an eating disorder through a new partnership with the National Eating Disorder Association, the organization said Feb. 22. Starting this week, when a user searches for hashtags like "proana" (short for pro-anorexia) or "whatieatinaday," TikTok will show resources like NEDA's phone number and hours of operation. The social media platform will also share tips and resources from eating disorder experts for people who may be struggling with a disorder. These resources will remain permanent features on the app. (Mitchell, 2/22)
Becker's Hospital Review: Acid Reflux Heightens Risk For Certain Cancers, Study Finds
Those with gastroesophageal reflux disease face a two times greater risk of developing larynx and esophagus cancers, according to research published Feb. 22 in Cancer. Scientists assessed information from 490,605 people enrolled in the National Institutes of Health AARP Diet and Health Study who were surveyed between 1995-1996. Participants were between the ages of 50 and 71 during the survey period and Medicare claims data showed about 22 percent had GERD. (Carbajal, 2/22)
AP: Postpartum Depression Survivors Speak Out On Common Plight
After both of her pregnancies, Evi Figgat faced postpartum depression, anxiety and psychosis. But an increased availability of resources in Utah, as well as more awareness about maternal mental health after her second delivery, made all the difference, she said, the Deseret News reported. Figgat’s first experience with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders happened when she was 24 years old. (Imlay, 2/22)
In coronavirus news —
Becker's Hospital Review: Rutgers Study Finds Little Coronavirus On Cancer Care Facility Surfaces
The overall positive test rate for the SARS-CoV-2 virus across surfaces in a number of oncology units was 0.5 percent, according to research published Feb. 18 in Cancer. Researchers conducted environmental surface swabbing from outpatient and inpatient oncology clinics and infusion suites across New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers Cancer Institute and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for 12 days in June. A total of 204 samples were collected and grouped into the following categories: public areas, staff areas or medical equipment. Of those, 130 samples were collected from two outpatient hematology/oncology clinics, 36 were from surfaces in an inpatient lymphoma/leukemia/CAR-T cell unit and 38 were from an inpatient COVID-19 unit. (Carbajal, 2/22)
CNN: Pandemic Stress Is Causing Paranoia
It was like I had asked her to fork over her Social Security number and firstborn child. "What do you need it for? What are you going to do with it?" my colleague asked me, Zoom eyes wide with fear. "Whoa there," I wanted to say. There was no need to get concerned. I had simply asked a coworker for a straightforward piece of information that in normal times would have evoked little more than an "OK, no problem," in response. Of course, these aren't normal times. (Hope, 2/23)
The Washington Post: Covid Vaccine And Infertility: Misinformation Is Scaring Some Women
Niharika Sathe, a 34-year-old internal medicine physician in New Jersey, first heard the fertility rumor from another doctor. The friend confided that she would decline the coronavirus vaccine because of something she’d seen online — that the shot could cause the immune system to attack the placenta, potentially leading to miscarriage and infertility. Sathe, who was early in her pregnancy at the time but had not told anyone, spent the next few weeks scrutinizing information from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and calling trusted experts to investigate the report. (Cha, 2/22)
KHN: It’s Time To Get Back To Normal? Not According To Science.
A popular Facebook and blog post by conservative radio host Buck Sexton claims scientific research indicates life should return to normal now despite the persistence of the covid-19 pandemic. “Here’s what the science tells anyone who is being honest about it: open the schools, stop wearing masks outside, and everyone at low risk should start living normal lives. Not next fall, or next year — now,” reads the blog post, posted to Facebook on Feb. 8. (Knight, 2/23)
KHN: Covid Strikes Clergy As They Comfort Pandemic’s Sick And Dying
The Rev. Jose Luis Garayoa survived typhoid fever, malaria, a kidnapping and the Ebola crisis as a missionary in Sierra Leone, only to die of covid-19 after tending to the people of his Texas church who were sick from the virus and the grieving family members of those who died. Garayoa, 68, who served at El Paso’s Little Flower Catholic Church, was one of three priests living in the local home of the Roman Catholic Order of the Augustinian Recollects who contracted the disease. Garayoa died two days before Thanksgiving. (Alpert, 2/23)
