Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Understanding Asymptomatic Cases May Be Critical To Ending Pandemic
The Washington Post: Asymptomatic People With Coronavirus May Hold The Key To Ending The Pandemic
When researcher Monica Gandhi began digging deeper into outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, she was struck by the extraordinarily high number of infected people who had no symptoms. A Boston homeless shelter had 147 infected residents, but 88 percent had no symptoms even though they shared their living space. A Tyson Foods poultry plant in Springdale, Ark., had 481 infections, and 95 percent were asymptomatic. Prisons in Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia counted 3,277 infected people, but 96 percent were asymptomatic. (Eunjung Cha, 8/8)
The New York Times: Why The Coronavirus Is More Likely To ‘Superspread’ Than The Flu
For a spiky sphere just 120 nanometers wide, the coronavirus can be a remarkably cosmopolitan traveler. Spewed from the nose or mouth, it can rocket across a room and splatter onto surfaces; it can waft into poorly ventilated spaces and linger in the air for hours. At its most intrepid, the virus can spread from a single individual to dozens of others, perhaps even a hundred or more at once, proliferating through packed crowds in what is called a superspreading event. (Wu, 8/7)
Los Angeles Times: As COVID-19 Cases Surge, Patients Are Dying At A Lower Rate
When the number of people being sent to the hospital with COVID-19 began to creep up in Los Angeles County early this summer, officials warned that a major increase in deaths was inevitable. A record-breaking number of cases could result in a record-breaking number of deaths, they predicted. But nearly two months later, that has not materialized. The coronavirus continues to kill hundreds of people every week in L.A. County, but the death toll has remained lower than expected. (Karlamangla, 8/9)
Stat: America's Window Of Opportunity To Beat Back Covid-19 Is Closing
The good news: The United States has a window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 before things get much, much worse. The bad news: That window is rapidly closing. And the country seems unwilling or unable to seize the moment. (Branswell, 8/10)
The New York Times: The Unique U.S. Failure To Control The Virus
Nearly every country has struggled to contain the coronavirus and made mistakes along the way. China committed the first major failure, silencing doctors who tried to raise alarms about the virus and allowing it to escape from Wuhan. Much of Europe went next, failing to avoid enormous outbreaks. Today, many countries — Japan, Canada, France, Australia and more — are coping with new increases in cases after reopening parts of society. (Leonhardt, 8/6)
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The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Heightens Housing Insecurity For Black And Hispanic Populations
Priscilla Williams has been luckier than many. Her job as public housing program coordinator pays a decent salary and can be done from home. But the coronavirus pandemic has still strained her finances—so much so that Ms. Williams, a 39-year-old Black woman, has exhausted her savings and is now about 2½ months behind on the rent for her two-bedroom apartment in Boston. “People don’t understand how you can’t make your ends meet when you have a job,” she said. “I’m above accessing benefits, but I’m not wealthy enough to sustain my family on my own right now.” (Guilford and Melgar, 8/9)
