Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Loneliness Is To Blame For Mental Health Crisis; We Must Prevent Pigs From Contracting H5N1
USA Today: Mental Health Is Bad For Americans. Depression And Isolation Are Why.
We all know this crisis exists. After the COVID-19 pandemic, record numbers of people have reported mental health challenges. About 20% of U.S. adults − nearly 60 million Americans − have a diagnosable mental illness. (Evan Feinberg, 5/9)
Bloomberg: If Pigs Get Bird Flu, We Could Be In For A Real Nightmare
The bird flu outbreak among dairy cows continues to generate alarm, despite reassuring news that pasteurized milk is unlikely to infect anyone with H5N1. Scientists can’t stop worrying about a nightmare scenario: that the virus will get into pigs and, from there, spark a human pandemic. (F.D. Flam, 5/8)
Stat: H5N1 Communication Has Been Strictly For The Birds
In the wake of pointed criticism about its failure to release new information about the growing H5N1 outbreak in livestock, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on April 21 — four weeks after the outbreak first hit the media — “data dumped” genetic information from cattle on its public database. The posted material further confused the public. (Sara Gorman, Scott C. Ratzan and Kenneth H. Rabin, 5/9)
Chicago Tribune: Did Sweden Do Better Than The US In COVID-19 Approach?
COVID-19 cases and deaths internationally have fallen to their lowest levels in four years. The data now permits a comparison between the controversial laissez faire strategy of Sweden and the more restrictive approach of the United States, which emphasized lockdowns, a strategy also adopted by most of Western Europe. (Cory Franklin, 5/7)
Stat: Unpaid Burden Of Caregiving Increasingly Falls On The Young
The intersection of the mental health crisis among young Americans and the growing burden of unpaid caregiving is generating an expanding, particularly vulnerable, and unacknowledged population: young people who act as caregivers for siblings with special health care needs, physically or mentally ill parents, ailing grandparents, or other loved ones. (Kimia Heydari and Romila Santra, 5/9)
