Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Blood Supply So Low Red Cross Declares First-Ever National Crisis
CBS News: Red Cross Declares First-Ever National Blood Crisis
The nation's blood supply is dangerously low, prompting the Red Cross to announce a national blood crisis for the first time. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a decline in donor turnout, the cancellation of blood drives and staffing challenges, leading to the worst blood shortage in more than a decade, the Red Cross said. Last year, the Red Cross saw a 34% decline in new donors. "If the nation's blood supply does not stabilize soon, life-saving blood may not be available for some patients when it is needed," it warned in a joint statement with America's Blood Centers and the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies. (O'Donnell, 1/10)
In celebrity news —
AP: Betty White's Death Caused By Stroke Suffered 6 Days Earlier
Betty White died from a stroke she had six days before her Dec. 31 death at age 99, according to her death certificate. The beloved “Golden Girls” and “Mary Tyler Moore Show” actor died at her home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles as the result of a Dec. 25 cerebrovascular accident, the medical term for a stroke, according to the LA County death certificate obtained Monday by The Associated Press. (1/11)
Newsweek: What Is A Cerebrovascular Accident? Betty White Died After Having Stroke
A stroke or cerebrovascular accident is defined as a loss of blood flow to part of the brain, which can result in damage to brain tissue. There are three main types of stroke. (Browne, 1/11)
In other public health news —
Fox News: Rising Alcohol Consumption During COVID-19 Pandemic Projected To Cause More Liver Disease, Deaths
Increased alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause 100 additional deaths and 2,800 additional cases of liver failure by 2023, according to a team of researchers led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). "The COVID-19 pandemic has had many unintended consequences with unknown long-term impact," a co-author of the study, Dr. Turgay Ayer, said in a news release. According to research published in the journal Hepatology, the researchers also projected that a one-year increase in alcohol consumption during the pandemic will result in 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease. The investigators also projected 18,700 cases of liver failure and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040. (McGorry, 1/10)
The Washington Post: When The Pandemic Began, Some Reconsidered Getting Pregnant. The Result: 60,000 Missing Births
A recent Brookings Institution study shows 60,000 fewer births than expected between October 2020 and February 2021 in the United States, corresponding with fewer conceptions earlier in 2020. The largest number of missing births were in January 2021, which roughly corresponds to conceptions in April 2020, when many Americans began to process the magnitude of the pandemic. (Bahrampour, 1/10)
Stat: How One Couple, Confronted By An ALS Diagnosis, Galvanized A Movement
When her husband first floated the idea of an advocacy organization for people diagnosed with ALS, Sandra Abrevaya responded in just two words: The first wasn’t suitable for print, and the second was “no.” Abrevaya had founded and run nonprofits in the past. She had experienced the toll they took on her as a parent, friend, and wife. And, since her husband’s ALS diagnosis months before, she’d been immersed in a crash course on the disease. She knew that within a few short years, he would require more care than their two daughters, a baby and a 2-year-old. “We’re obsessive and we work around the clock,” Abrevaya said. “Founding an organization, I knew what it would take out of us. And I thought: How in the world could we, or why would we, do that to ourselves when given one of the world’s worst possible diagnoses? I was absolutely opposed to it.” (Facher, 1/11)
The Wall Street Journal: Workers Sick With Omicron Add To Manufacturing Woes. ‘The Hope Was That 2022 Would Get Better.’
The Covid-19 Omicron variant’s spread among U.S. factory workers is slowing operations and stretching staff for manufacturers, leading some to consider unconventional, and sometimes expensive, solutions to keep operating. Mounting absences among Covid-infected workers are bringing masks back to some factory floors, executives said, while manufacturers shuttle available workers to jobs and plants where they are most needed. Companies are also redoubling recruiting efforts to fortify workforces already worn thin by high turnover in a tight job market. (Tita and Hufford, 1/10)
The Washington Post: Ambivalence Can Prevent Healthy Change. Here’s How To Deal With It
Ambivalence, which essentially means having conflicting feelings about something, makes many people uncomfortable. But it is a normal part of change, experts say. “With every change, people have some ambivalence, because change means moving out of something you’re comfortable or familiar with and into something that’s not familiar. It disrupts the person’s life a bit,” said Carlo DiClemente, professor emeritus in psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and author of “Addiction and Change.” Whether you want to lose weight, upgrade your diet, exercise more frequently, cut back on alcohol, quit smoking or something else, ambivalence about making that change will probably be part of the equation. Chances are, the ambivalence has less to do with the goal itself and more to do with the hard work and discomfort that may lie on the path to achieving it, said James E. Maddux, professor emeritus in psychology and a senior scholar in the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being at George Mason University in Virginia. (Colino, 1/10)
