Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
U.S. Official Complains About WHO's Investigation Plans In China
AP: US: WHO Not Sharing Enough Info About China Virus Probe
A senior U.S. government official complained Tuesday that the World Health Organization has not shared enough information about its planned mission to China to investigate the animal origins of the coronavirus. Garrett Grisby of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services griped that the criteria for WHO’s China mission had not been shared with other nations. He spoke during a weeklong meeting of the U.H. health agency’s member countries. (Keaten and Cheng, 11/11)
AP: Recordings Reveal WHO's Analysis Of Pandemic In Private
As the coronavirus explodes again, the World Health Organization finds itself both under intense pressure to reform and holding out hope that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will reverse a decision by Washington to leave the health agency. With its annual meeting underway this week, WHO has been sharply criticized for not taking a stronger and more vocal role in handling the pandemic. For example, in private internal meetings in the early days of the virus, top scientists described some countries’ approaches as “an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus” and a “macabre” opportunity to see what worked, recordings obtained by The Associated Press show. Yet in public, the U.N. health agency lauded governments for their responses. (Cheng, 11/11)
In other global developments —
AP: As Virus Spikes, Europe Runs Low On ICU Beds, Hospital Staff
Intensive care is the last line of defense for severely ill coronavirus patients and Europe is running out — of beds and the doctors and nurses to staff them. In country after country, the intensive care burden of COVID-19 patients is nearing and sometimes surpassing levels seen at last spring’s peak. Health officials, many advocating a return to stricter lockdowns, warn that adding beds will do no good because there aren’t enough doctors and nurses trained to staff them. (Hinnant, 11/10)
The Wall Street Journal: Brazil’s Medical Experts Worry Politics Is Hampering Covid-19 Vaccine Progress
Brazil’s decision to suspend trials of an advanced Chinese coronavirus vaccine has raised fears among doctors that politics will delay immunization efforts against a disease that has already claimed the lives of more than 160,000 Brazilians. Anvisa, the country’s health authority, halted clinical trials Monday of the CoronaVac vaccine, citing a “severe adverse event” that occurred on Oct. 29. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, who has opposed the Chinese vaccine, took to Facebook to celebrate the move, calling it “another win for Jair Bolsonaro.” (Pearson and Magalhaes, 11/10)
The Washington Post: The U.S. Has Absolutely No Control Over The Coronavirus. China Is On Top Of The Tiniest Risks.
In the United States, as the pandemic rages, an increasingly pressing worry has been airborne transmission — which appears to be the key to large super-spreading events. Meanwhile, transmission from surfaces has been played down by experts, who have emphasized that this route is not thought to be a common way the virus spreads. But in China, where cases are increasingly rare and the government has adopted a no-tolerance policy for new infections, a growing emphasis has been placed on identifying less likely sources of infection. (Mooney and Shih, 11/10)
AP: Frantic Search After Medicines Vanish From Lebanon Shelves
Drugs for everything from diabetes and blood pressure to anti-depressants and fever pills used in COVID-19 treatment have disappeared from shelves around Lebanon. Officials and pharmacists say the shortage was exacerbated by panic buying and hoarding after the Central Bank governor said that with foreign reserves running low, the government won’t be able to keep up subsidies, including on drugs. (El Deeb, 11/11)
