Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Lessons On Avoiding Another Crisis For Health Care Workers; Try Telling Cancer Patients To Socially Isolate Instead Of Getting Treatment
Boston Globe: Whistle-Blower Lays Bare Incompetence That Cost Lives
Health care workers at hospitals and nursing homes in Massachusetts were already protesting the lack of personal protective equipment to deal with COVID-19. Nurses in New York and New Jersey were photographed wearing giant plastic garbage bags for protection. And in the Port of New York, a container of 3 million N95 respirator masks ordered by Massachusetts was confiscated — diverted by federal officials. (5/15)
Stat: The Art Of The Pandemic: How Trump Walked The U.S. Into The Covid-19 Era
President Obama was bothered. It was the summer of 2009 and he was in a meeting at the White House to talk about preparations for an expected autumn outbreak of swine flu. Elbows on the table, he thumbed through the pages of a report on preparations for it. “So,” he asked no one in particular, “if you guys are so smart, how come you’re still making this in eggs?” he asked, referring to the nearly century-old process for making vaccines in chicken eggs. (Jason Karlawish, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times: A Nurse Died After Treating A COVID-19 Patient. Here’s How You Can Help Save Medical Workers Like Us
In the hospital emergency department where I work, we were starting to get used to our new normal, the regular flow of COVID-19 patients along with the everyday emergencies — heart attacks, strokes and trauma.And then, one of our own came into the emergency room sick. With COVID-19. (Mark Morocco, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times: Doctor Fights Coronavirus By Day, Loneliness By Night
As I make my way into my building’s elevator after a long hospital shift, a neighbor throws his arm out to stop me. “Sorry,” he says, “only one person per elevator.” Seeing my confusion, our doorman kindly but firmly corrects him. “Two per elevator is fine.” I take a step toward the open doors, but the passenger again holds up his palm. “Please,” he pleads, his eyes glancing frantically at my scrubs. “Please, just take a different one.” Speechless, I take the next elevator and arrive at my New York City apartment filled with my son’s toys, untouched since he and my wife moved out nearly 40 days ago. (Yamshon, 5/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: Why Is It So Hard For Retired Doctors To Volunteer In Coronavirus Crisis?
With COVID-19 patients straining resources and so many health care workers falling ill, I assumed my seven years as a family physician would be met with enthusiasm by the medical community.I was wrong. For the past month, I’ve spent hours looking for opportunities to help. I’d finish my day job and start sending emails to connect with networks of physicians. I looked in hard-hit New York but concentrated mostly in the San Francisco area, where I live. I quickly discovered plenty of opportunities for doctors like me overseas — but not in the United States. (E. Hanh Le, 5/15)
The New York Times: My Cancer Doesn’t Care About The Coronavirus
There is a checkpoint as you enter the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where I am being treated for cancer of the prostate and lymph nodes. With all but two sets of doors to the building locked shut, patients are corralled into an area roped off from the rest of the first-floor lobby. You are required to show your orange Hopkins patient identification card and proof that you have an appointment.Questions are asked. Questions that have become the norm in the new normal. “Have you had a cough?” “Have you visited New York or New Jersey in the last 14 days?” (Richard Goggin, 5/17)
The Wall Street Journal: Cut Through The Fog Of Coronavirus War
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made its first definitive statement last week describing a rare but disturbing condition in children related to Covid-19. Doctors in the U.K. first reported in April a spike in previously healthy children presenting with features similar to another rare condition, Kawasaki disease, whose symptoms include rash and fever and, later in its progression, inflammation of blood vessels. This is a reminder of how much we don’t know about Covid-19. We’ve learned a lot over the past two months as Covid-19 became an epidemic, with 1.5 million Americans diagnosed and more than 90,000 dead. New insights have translated into improved care. This knowledge is saving lives and will be especially useful if infections flare up again.Yet such data on patients isn’t being streamlined and shared with the public quickly. (Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, 5/17)
The Hill: Add The Death Of Common Sense To The Coronavirus's Toll
The coronavirus has claimed yet another victim, one that isn’t counted in the daily casualty reports. The victim this time is good old-fashioned common sense. Convicts in some states are being set free because the virus can spread quickly inside a prison. Okay — but a Texas hairdresser with no criminal record whatsoever is sent to jail for opening her salon when she was supposed to keep it closed. Does this make sense? (Bernard Goldberg, 5/17)
The Hill: Due To COVID-19, Thousands Of Low-Income Students Are Deferring And Dropping College Plans
The most promising solution we’ve seen yet for leveling the nation’s ballooning income and wealth gaps — first-generation students earning bachelor’s degrees — appears to be unraveling. Because of COVID-19, thousands of low-income students are deferring and dropping college plans, indicate multiple student surveys. Or, they are scaling back from a four-year college to a community college, where the odds of ever earning a four-year degree plummet. (Richard Whitmire, 5/17)
Dallas Morning News: Our Elderly Need Outside Connection, But Texas Nursing Homes Need To Take These Steps Before Reopening
As of last week, Texas’ 374 registered nursing homes have seen 1,332 cases of COVID-19 with 478 resulting deaths among residents and staff. That accounts for 43% of all coronavirus deaths in the state, a sobering reminder of the vulnerabilities seniors face both from age and the communal life of a nursing home. Data we gathered from multiple sources, including The New York Times, AARP and the Kaiser Family Foundation, demonstrate just how serious the problem is, concluding the number of nursing home deaths make up anywhere from 25% to 50% of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths. The numbers, while imprecise, make it clear that we must focus greater attention on protecting people living in nursing care centers. (5/17)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Prioritize Coronavirus Testing For Ohio Nursing Homes
Ohio coronavirus numbers released Thursday paint a shocking picture about rapidly rising coronavirus nursing home deaths. The 674 known coronavirus fatalities in Ohio long-term-care facilities now make up 44 percent of all coronavirus deaths in the state. And both the number and their percentage of all COVID-19 deaths in Ohio appear to be going up quickly.In the state’s prior weekly reporting May 6, there were 499 long-term-care deaths. That’s a 35% jump in fatalities in just one week. Further, it’s uncertain how accurate those numbers might be. Among other issues, the state has not mandated reporting on long-term-care coronavirus deaths prior to April 15. (5/17)
