US Public Health Officials Have Hands Tied For Next Pandemic, Experts Warn
As the anniversary of the global pandemic declaration nears, health experts warn that restrictions passed in the wake of covid-19 will only make it tougher for the public health system to respond when the next virus attacks: “One day we’re going to have a ... pandemic far worse than covid, and we’ll look to the government to protect us, but it’ll have its hands behind its back and a blindfold on.”
The Washington Post:
Covid Backlash Hobbles Public Health And Future Pandemic Response
When the next pandemic sweeps the United States, health officials in Ohio won’t be able to shutter businesses or schools, even if they become epicenters of outbreaks. Nor will they be empowered to force Ohioans who have been exposed to go into quarantine. State officials in North Dakota are barred from directing people to wear masks to slow the spread. Not even the president can force federal agencies to issue vaccination or testing mandates to thwart its march. Conservative and libertarian forces have defanged much of the nation’s public health system through legislation and litigation as the world staggers into the fourth year of covid. (Weber and Achenbach, 3/8)
The Jewish News of Northern California:
In Our Annual Covid Checkup With Dr. Bob Wachter, It’s Time To Start Playing The Long Game
During the pandemic, UCSF Department of Medicine chair Dr. Bob Wachter emerged as one of the leading voices, both locally and nationally, that people could turn to for clear, concise information on the risks of Covid. On social media and in interviews, Wachter explained the data while humanizing the science by providing a look at his own personal decisions, from mask-wearing to whether to get on an airplane. On the three-year anniversary of California’s state of emergency declaration due to the spread of Covid-19, Wachter spoke to J. about where we are now. (Mirsky, 3/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Lockdowns Reduced Virus Spread By 56% But At Steep Economic Cost, Study Finds
The lockdown orders issued at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic helped reduce the spread of the disease by an estimated 56%, according to a new study from researchers at USC, UC Riverside and other schools. But the lockdowns also took a heavy toll on the economy. (Vaziri, 3/8)
More on the spread of covid —
The Boston Globe:
A New Study Found 59 Percent Of Long-COVID Patients Had Organ Damage, But Experts Say It’s Not That Simple
Nearly 60 percent of individuals with long COVID showed signs of organ damage a year after their initial illness, according to a recent study by researchers in the United Kingdom, the latest evidence of the virus’s long-term effects. (Kool, 3/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom Tests Positive For COVID, His Second Infection
California Gov. Gavin Newsom tested positive Wednesday for COVID-19 after exhibiting mild symptoms, according to his spokesman Alex Stack. Newsom will work remotely and self-isolate for at least five days, Stack wrote in a text message to reporters. He added that Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has tested negative. (Rosenhall, 3/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID In California: Protesters Force Sonoma Vaccine Clinic To Close
A small group of anti-vaccine protesters forced the closure of a COVID-19 vaccine clinic last Thursday at Sassarini Elementary School in the town of Sonoma, police said Tuesday. Three people “became unruly” at the site, Police Sgt. Scott McKinnon said, according to The Sonoma Index-Tribune. (Vaziri, 3/8)
On the 'tripledemic' —
Stat:
FDA Issues Rare Comment On Approval Of Covid And Flu Home Test
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization for the first at-home Covid-19 and flu combination test. The news came just days after the test’s maker, Lucira, filed for bankruptcy, blaming the FDA’s “protracted” approval process for its financial problems. (Trang, 3/8)
CIDRAP:
Global Flu Activity Declines, With Flu B Proportions Increasing
After peaking in late 2022, global flu activity continues to decline, though subtype proportions are shifting, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week in its latest update, which covers roughly the middle 2 weeks of February. Though the H3N2 strain was dominant earlier in the season, a slightly larger proportion of viruses in the latest reporting period were the 2009 H1N1 virus. Influenza B now makes up 41% of samples, and all characterized influenza B viruses belonged to the Victoria lineage. Influenza B levels typically rise in the latter part of the Northern Hemisphere flu season. (Schnirring, 3/8)
Reuters:
GSK Expects US Launch Of RSV Vaccine With No Supply Issues
GSK expects to launch its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in the U.S. this year without supply constraints and sees China as a major future market for the shot, a senior executive told Reuters. The drugmaker is racing rival Pfizer Inc to introduce the first approved RSV vaccine in the United States, where 14,000 people die annually of the lower respiratory tract disease caused by the virus. (Fick, 3/9)
Also —
CNN:
Viruses In Permafrost: Scientists Have Revived A 'Zombie' Virus That Spent 48,500 Years Frozen
Warmer temperatures in the Arctic are thawing the region’s permafrost — a frozen layer of soil beneath the ground — and potentially stirring viruses that, after lying dormant for tens of thousands of years, could endanger animal and human health. While a pandemic unleashed by a disease from the distant past sounds like the plot of a sci-fi movie, scientists warn that the risks, though low, are underappreciated. (Hunt, 3/8)
