Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Pulling Out Of WHO Endangers Public Health In U.S.; Medicaid Lowered Standards In Nursing Homes
Stat: Cutting Ties With WHO Creates A Scientific And Leadership Vacuum
In yet another example of brash finger-pointing, President Trump called out China last week as the reason to terminate U.S. membership in and funding of the World Health Organization. The president cited WHO’s supposed too-warm relationship with China, which he said delayed the global response to the pandemic. (Ashish K. Jha, 6/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Nursing Homes, Coronavirus And Medicaid
A national tragedy began in March when Covid-19 killed 35 residents of Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash. Since then, more than 22,000 nursing-home residents have died in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Nearly half of all Americans who have fallen victim to the novel coronavirus lived in nursing homes. Politicians have made plenty of mistakes. Governors in several states, including New York and Pennsylvania, ordered nursing homes to take coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals and reversed the orders only after weeks of casualties. Families are suffering, forced to stare at their parents and grandparents through windows or talk only by phone. Overworked caregivers are at high risk of exposure. (Stephen A. Moses and Brian C. Blase, 6/1)
Stat: Covid-19 Has Exposed Cracks In The Global Medicines Supply Chain
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended the normal ways of doing everything from going to school to making sure countries have the medications their citizens need. It has also exposed vulnerabilities in the global medicine supply chain, leading to uncertainty, drug shortages, quality issues, and price volatility. (Anthony Lakavage, 6/2)
Bloomberg: Are Antibody Tests Accurate? No. Is The FDA Allowing Them? Yes.
Doctors, medical administrators and consumers are falling for misleading marketing of Covid-19 antibody tests. And the FDA has exerted almost no oversight over a hodgepodge of different tests that have come on the market since April, promoted with a blitz of direct emails to clinics and hospitals that tout the tests’ ability to detect past infections of SARS-CoV2. The FDA made the opposite mistake with the diagnostic tests meant to flag active infections. Those rolled out too slowly, when even imperfect tests would have saved lives at that early stage. There’s no reason to rush out antibody tests since there are no clear lifesaving benefits to detecting past infections — and obvious risk of harm if the tests give misleading results. (Faye Flam, 6/1)
The Wall Street Journal: The Lancet’s Politicized Science On Antimalarial Drugs
President Trump has often mentioned hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19. Last month he announced that he was taking the antimalaria drug, also known as HCL, as a prophylaxis after two White House staffers tested positive for the virus. Mr. Trump’s critics in the press seem to be on a mission to discredit the therapy. Now a prestigious medical journal may be joining in. The Lancet published a study on May 22 that purported to find a 30% increased risk of death for hospitalized Covid-19 patients treated with HCL or chloroquine, a related treatment. “Study says drug hailed by Trump is harmful,” the Washington Post reported. The World Health Organization suspended its HCL trial. France, Belgium and Italy announced they would prohibit the drug for the treatment of Covid patients. (Allysia Finley, 6/1)
ABC News: The Note: Trump's Quick Response To Protests Highlights Slow Response To Coronavirus
The president hesitated to mobilize military assets to help produce needed protective gear and add resources in the fight against the coronavirus, but he was quick to press for what would be a remarkable use of military force within our own borders, against U.S. citizens nonetheless, who are protesting police brutality. Of course there is a difference between protesters and rioters, but it is clear that this president views even peaceful and calm protesters differently depending on their message. (Mary Alice Parks and Alisa Wiersema, 6/2)
Stat: My Nightmare: Covid-19 Meets Racism Meets George Floyd's Killing
This is my nightmare: Covid-19 meets racism meets the killing of yet another Black person by a police officer. Some weeks back, in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, I had a discussion about worst-case scenarios with a colleague in emergency management. Top of mind for him as we head into hurricane season was the fear of a natural disaster in the midst of this pandemic. My biggest fear as a Black woman and public health leader was the all-too-likely murder of an unarmed Black person at the hands of police leading to mass protests amid the virulence of two infectious diseases: racism and Covid-19. (Lauren Powell, 6/2)
NBC News: Protests Could Spread Coronavirus. But A Second Wave Was Coming Before The Demonstrations.
A second wave of COVID-19 cases is coming. In some corners of the world, it's already upon us. This is not a vague projection by fevered anti-Trumpers. It's a reality proven by past pandemics. (David A. Andelman, 6/1)
The Baltimore Sun: Measles, Chickenpox And Other Diseases Could Make A Comeback Because Fewer Kids Are Getting Vaccinated
In the U.S. our children rarely fall ill to grave infections because they are protected by vaccines. Serious illnesses like measles, mumps, congenital rubella syndrome, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, rotavirus diarrhea, hepatitis (A and B), polio and bacterial meningitis are all preventable through routine childhood vaccinations. It is not magic that keeps our children safe from these many serious illnesses, it is vaccines — routine delivery of safe and effective vaccines. What will happen if we stop vaccinating or if we reduce our vaccination rates? These diseases will return. (James Campbell, 6/1)
Stat: Optimism, Not Evidence, Is Driving America’s Return-To-Work Strategy
Consensus seems to be emerging that businesses can safely reopen by checking the temperatures of people entering them and by putting in place environmental controls — from social distancing and wearing masks to improved air circulation — to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the workplace. This consensus is rational. It is convenient. And it is driven by the well-founded desire to bring life back to normal by reopening businesses, schools, places of worship, and more. (Rajaie Batniji, 6/2)
Lexington Herald Leader: Disinfectant To Stop COVID-19 Can Pose Dangers, Too
Disinfectants are selling like hotcakes: stores can’t keep them in stock. The first thing you may notice when you walk into a shop these days is the ripe smell of strong cleaning products, often masked with a fragrance. However, do we know how effective disinfectants are in fighting the coronavirus, and furthermore, are they safe? Should businesses and households pause to evaluate what types of disinfectants they are using, considering the inherent risks of most chemically based ones? (Kathy McDonald, 5/28)
San Francisco Chronicle: The Virus Does Not Discriminate, But Our Social Structures Do
More than 10 weeks into the COVID-19 public health order, more than 6,500 San Franciscans still have nowhere to safely shelter in place. Our city has followed one public health policy for those with housing and a separate one for people experiencing homelessness. The virus does not discriminate who it infects. Our social structures, however, do. (Olivia Park, Juliana Morris and Rupa Marya, 5/1)
