Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Pros, Cons Of Too Big A Relief Bill; US Is Moving In Right Direction On Vaccine Front
The Wall Street Journal: The Risks Of Skimping On Covid Relief
A big tempest is brewing in a big teapot over President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. Republican objections are to be expected. But some of the objections come from nominally Democratic economists, led by former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. This is a surprise. The Biden plan isn’t perfect. But with today’s enormous uncertainties, no one can possibly know what the “right” plan really is. (Alan S. Blinder, 2/17)
Los Angeles Times: U.S. Is Doing Better On COVID Vaccination Than It Might Seem
Vaccine shortages and precious doses wasted. Unnavigable systems for making appointments. A stark racial and economic divide in the distribution of shots. Scary virus mutants that may render vaccines ineffective. Protesters disrupting vaccination sites.It may seem at times that the high hopes for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout have fizzled since December, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization to the first vaccine. But step back for a moment and chew on this little factoid: In just two months, the U.S. has managed to administer 55 million shots — more than any other country — even during a chaotic time of plague and contentious presidential transition. (2/17)
Stat: Caregivers Are Missing From The Long Covid Conversation
Media reports describe the inarguable, if inconvenient, circumstances that follow us into the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic: In addition to hundreds of thousands of Americans killed by the disease, thousands of those who have “recovered” develop long Covid, a syndrome marked by symptoms such as cough, head and body aches, fatigue, loss of taste and smell, and “brain fog” that can linger — or disappear and reappear — for months after the main symptoms of Covid-19 fade away. It can occur even in those with initially mild cases of Covid-19. (Jennifer Olsen, 2/18)
New England Journal of Medicine: Vaccinating Children Against Covid-19 — The Lessons Of Measles
Imagine a highly contagious virus circulating in the community. Many infected children have fever and some general misery but recover without incident. Rarely, devastating complications occur, leading to hospitalization, severe illness, and occasional deaths. Susceptible adults fare worse, with higher rates of poor outcomes. Would you want your child vaccinated against this disease? You guessed we were talking about measles, right? As the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are rolled out to the highest-risk groups, the current stage of the Covid-19 pandemic is pregnant with possibility. (Perri Klass, 2/18)
JAMA: Vitamin D3 To Treat COVID-19: Different Disease, Same Answer
Given the lack of highly effective therapies against COVID-19, except perhaps for corticosteroids, it is important to remain open-minded to emerging results from rigorously conducted studies of vitamin D (despite smaller sample sizes and important limitations of some studies). However, taken together with existing randomized clinical trials of vitamin D administration in hospitalized patients with respiratory infection and critical illness, the results reported by Murai et al do not support routine administration of vitamin D in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. (David E. Leaf and Adit A. Ginde, 2/17)
The Wall Street Journal: My Mother Got Covid In A New York Nursing Home
My mother, Joan Morris, died of Covid-19, which she contracted at a Brooklyn, N.Y., nursing home. She arrived there Jan. 24, 2020. She came down with Covid symptoms the week of April 5. She was sent to the hospital on April 10, was diagnosed with Covid on April 11, and died on April 17. Last month the state acknowledged that 12,743 people died of Covid contracted in nursing homes because they were inexplicably put in harm’s way by the admission of new residents who were Covid-positive. My mother’s death was entirely preventable. (Kieran E. Morris, 2/17)
Los Angeles Times: Why California College Students Need Vaccine Priority
In Los Angeles, you can once again dine outdoors at a restaurant. Stores are open and freeways are buzzing. Construction sites are crowded on weekdays as are the beaches on sunny weekends. But our region’s dozens of university campuses remain closed with plans for remote education at least through summer — and continued uncertainty about the shape of fall. Nearly all university teaching throughout Southern California has been conducted remotely since March. This decision has promoted the safety of students, faculty, staff and the broader L.A. community, but it also comes at a cost. As we look ahead, the fall semester and higher education remain in jeopardy, despite the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Jennifer Mnookin and Eileen Strempel, 1/18)
The New York Times: Sending Flowers During Covid, For Many Reasons
Three weeks ago, Julia Gray, a florist, delivered a bright bouquet of flowers to a customer in Queens — spring colors, by request. Judging by the accompanying card, which the sender had carefully dictated to Ms. Gray by telephone, a familial falling out had taken place. The flowers were sent as an apology. “It was this young woman, sending flowers to her aunt,” Ms. Gray said. “She hadn’t seen her family for a year and a half.” When Ms. Gray told the recipient the flowers were from her niece, her face lit up. “People are realizing that time is of the essence,” Ms. Gray said. “You can’t hold a grudge.” (Carly Lewis, 2/17)
