Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Diplomats In Vienna Struck By Havana Syndrome-Like Illness
BBC News: 'Havana Syndrome'-Like Mystery Illness Affects Vienna US Diplomats
The US government is investigating a series of health incidents in the Austrian capital Vienna involving its diplomats and other administration staff. More than 20 officials have reported symptoms similar to Havana Syndrome - a mystery brain illness - since President Joe Biden took office in January. (7/18)
The New Yorker: Vienna Is The New Havana Syndrome Hot Spot
Since Joe Biden took office, about two dozen U.S. intelligence officers, diplomats, and other government officials in Vienna have reported experiencing mysterious afflictions similar to the Havana Syndrome. U.S. officials say the number of possible new cases in the Austrian capital—long a nexus of U.S. and Russian espionage—is now greater than the number reported by officials in any city except for Havana itself, where the first cases were reported. (Entous, 7/16)
In news about global health industry shortages —
Noticias Telemundo: Catastrophic Medical Supply Shortages In Mexico
Child cancer patients and HIV-positive Mexicans have increasingly had to put life-saving treatments on hold as public hospitals run out of the medications they need. Activists say around 1,600 children with cancer have died from the lack of oncological meds. (Franco, 7/17)
The Guardian: Migration And Covid Deaths Depriving Poorest Nations Of Health Workers
In richer countries, the share of foreign-trained or foreign-born doctors and nurses has been rising for two decades. But the pandemic’s double blows of death and migration are leaving behind knowledge gaps in already fragile health systems, where poor pay and conditions are driving staff to leave, say advocates and health workers. Global health specialists are launching initiatives to protect medical staff, and incentivise them not to be enticed abroad. (Broom, Owings and Badr, 7/19)
