Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Diverts All Travelers From Ebola-Affected Region To Dulles For Health Checks
CNN: US-Bound Flights With Passengers Who Were In Ebola-Affected Region Must Land At Dulles Airport For Health Screening
US-bound flights carrying passengers who were recently in an Ebola-affected region of Africa must land at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, where they will undergo health screening. (Tirrell, Cooper, Hansler and Kottasova, 5/21)
Politico: Trump Administration Temporarily Pauses Deportation Flights To Congo Amid Ebola Outbreak
The Trump administration has temporarily stopped deportation flights to the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid the Ebola outbreak that has infected at least 600 people in the region so far, according to an administration official. This includes general removal flights but also third-country removals of migrants whose home countries refuse to take them back from the U.S., said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the matter. It’s unclear how long the pause will last. (Ward, 5/21)
The New York Times: Trump Officials’ Strict Stand On Ebola Leaves Health Experts ‘Stunned’
Trump administration officials, confronted by overlapping outbreaks of Ebola and the hantavirus, have taken a more aggressive approach to locking down potentially exposed people than in past outbreaks, surprising many public health experts. The instructions from President Trump’s top health appointees, some of whom were vocal opponents of Covid-era public health restrictions, go well beyond tactics that were used to successfully contain previous outbreaks of the diseases. Many senior federal officials, including the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have been staunch supporters of medical freedom, championing people’s right to choose or decline medical countermeasures, including vaccines. (Mandavilli and Fortin, 5/21)
AP: Residents Burn An Ebola Treatment Center In Congo As Anger Grows Over The Outbreak
People set fire to an Ebola treatment center in a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo on Thursday after being stopped from retrieving the body of a local man, a witness and a senior police officer said, as fear and anger grow over a health crisis that doctors are struggling to contain. The arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges of health workers trying to curb a rare Ebola virus by using stringent measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites. The disease has been spreading for weeks in a region lacking in adequate health facilities and where many people are on the move to escape armed conflicts. (Kabumba, Pronczuk and Imray, 5/21)
CBS News: U.S. Doctor With Ebola Feared He 'Wasn't Going To Make It' Before Evacuation From Congo
An American doctor who was infected with Ebola while working with a medical missionary organization in Africa said in a statement that he is feeling "cautiously optimistic" as he fights the deadly virus. Dr. Peter Stafford was working with the missionary group Serge in the Democratic Republic of Congo when he was infected with the virus, the group said. He was evacuated to a hospital in Berlin, Germany, to receive care, the group said Tuesday. (Breen, 5/21)
MedPage Today: Here's What Happened The First Time Ebola Hit U.S. Shores
Reports about American doctors contracting or being at risk of developing Ebola hearken back to the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, when a patient fell ill on U.S. soil and ultimately sickened two healthcare workers. On Sept. 28, 2014, Thomas Eric Duncan sought care for fever, vomiting, and diarrhea at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. A Liberian citizen, he was visiting family in Texas when he became sick. (Fiore, 5/21)
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The New York Times: Ebola Is the Last Concern in This Small Town in South Sudan
In conversations here this week, nobody mentioned Ebola as a threat. Hunger and conflict are the more pressing concerns. The town lies hundreds of miles from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Ituri province stands at the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak announced by the World Health Organization this week. (Bigg, 5/22)
