Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
To Spot Covid Reservoirs, Researchers Invent Test For Any Animal
CIDRAP: Researchers Create Test To Detect SARS-CoV-2 In Any Animal Species
A team led by University of Illinois researchers has developed a test they say can detect SARS-CoV-2 in any species of wild or domesticated animal. Their research, published today in mSphere, details the development and validation of their monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based blocking enzyme-linked immunoassay (bELISA) test, which the study authors say is a useful tool for identifying potential new animal reservoirs to prevent future coronavirus outbreaks. (Van Beusekom, 7/6)
More on the spread of covid —
The Boston Globe: COVID-19 Waste Water Numbers Reach Lowest Levels In Two Years
The amount of coronavirus detected in Eastern Massachusetts waste water has dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years, according to data from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Waste water data has emerged as an important way to keep tabs on the pandemic as fewer people test themselves for COVID-19 and even fewer results get reported to public health departments. (Obregón Dominguez, 7/6)
CIDRAP: COVID-19 Hospital Markers Up In A Few Reporting Countries
In its variant proportion update, the WHO said Omicron XBB.1.5 levels continue to decline steadily, falling from 30.1% to 16.3% of sequences over the past month. Meanwhile, XBB.1.16 levels continue to rise, up from 18.1% to 21.2% over the reporting period. The WHO said proportions vary by region, with XBB.1.5 dominant in the Americas and XBB.1.16 most common in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific. Of the other subvariants that the WHO monitors, only three increased: XBB, XBB.1.9.2, and XBB.2.3. (Schnirring, 7/6)
Also —
Los Angeles Times: California High Court: Employers Not Responsible For COVID Spread To Workers' Families
Employers in California are not legally responsible for preventing the spread of COVID-19 from their employees to the employees’ family members, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. Workers’ compensation laws in the state do not preclude such claims, the court found. But companies also cannot be held legally responsible for preventing such infections, it said, given the tremendous burden such a requirement would place — not just on the companies, but on the courts and on society as a whole. (Rector, 7/6)
CIDRAP: Report: No Evidence Bleach Consumed To Cure COVID-19 During Pandemic
A new report dispels accounts that Americans drank bleach to cure or prevent COVID-19, a practice even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against during the early months of the pandemic. The report was published yesterday in PLOS One. (Soucheray, 7/6)
CIDRAP: Psychiatric Admissions For Youth Delayed During COVID Pandemic
Today in JAMA Network Open, researchers show evidence of an increase in psychiatric boarding (delays in admission) among youth during the pandemic. The study was based on mobile crisis teams (MCT) who assessed publicly insured youth in Massachusetts during psychiatric emergency services (PES). (Soucheray, 7/6)
