Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: When Vaccine Is Available, Require Everyone, Especially Children, To Get It; U.S. Never Caught Up With Testing
Stat: When A Covid-19 Vaccine Is Available, All Americans Should Get It
My work as an emergency medicine physician has taken me to urban and rural areas on both coasts and in the middle of the country. No matter where I see patients, I hear excuses like these for not getting immunized against influenza: “Flu shots don’t work.” “I got the vaccination once and it made me sick.” “We don’t believe in vaccination.” “Vaccination is dangerous.” It puzzles me, then, that they’ve come to the emergency department because they are feeling awful with fever, chills, cough, body aches, and fatigue — in other words, with the flu — expecting a fix for something that could have been easily prevented. (Lauren S. Grossman, 5/12)
Modern Healthcare: COVID-19 Testing Problems Started Early, U.S. Still Playing From Behind
Four months since the first COVID-19 case was reported in the U.S., the demand for testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus still far outpaces the supply, even as test developers scramble to increase their testing capacity and new types of tests make their way into the market. Despite assurances early on from President Trump that everyone who needed a test would get one, and his more recent claim that the U.S. has tested more people than all other countries combined — an assertion that has been disproven — the reality is that very few Americans have gotten tested, including many who may have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. (Kelsy Ketchum and Leo O'Connor, 5/11)
The Washington Post: Patients Are Patients, Even Anti-Lockdown Protesters
As the covid-19 death toll in the United States rises, protests against pandemic mitigation measures have also increased. In recent weeks, some demonstrators have even directed their ire at nurses, calling them liars, fake nurses and worse. These are medical personnel who risk their lives daily, helping the ill recover and holding those who die. More than 9,000 health-care workers have contracted the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and at least 27 have died. In California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, protesters have demanded a return to life as it was before the lockdown, insisting on going back to work and expressing contempt for social distancing practices, mask-wearing and other measures intended to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Nina Shapiro, 5/11)
The Hill: Suggestion That Smoking Protects From COVID-19 May Be Dangerous To Public Health
A new pandemic generates anxiety and confusion and drives people to seek remedies that may have little scientific evidence of efficacy. Based upon a flawed interpretation of preliminary COVID-19 data, the hypothesis that cigarette smoking protects one from coronavirus has emerged... What is being overlooked is that the same data also show smokers are more likely to be admitted to the ICU, require intubation, or die from COVID-19 infection... The current misguided belief that smoking protects from COVID-19 infection may prove dangerous with significant negative effects on public health. (Dr. John Maa and Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, 5/11)
Los Angeles Times: Risks With Coronavirus Tracing Apps Go Beyond Privacy
Last week, the world got a preview of how Google and Apple’s contact tracing project might look and function. Some privacy and security experts have expressed cautious optimism that the effort could be a potentially useful tool to aid public health contact tracers while protecting privacy. The project modifies the iOS and Android systems to allow government health agencies to build apps that use a mobile phone’s Bluetooth communication capabilities. These apps would make it possible for a person who tests positive for the coronavirus to send out an “exposure” notification to the phones of other app users to alert them that their phones had been in the vicinity of the infected person’s phone during a given period. People getting this information could decide to self-isolate or get tested. The app would not reveal anyone’s identity. (Woodrow Hartzog, 5/12)
The Hill: Lessons From 9/11 Can Help Build Better Contact Tracing App
Our public health authorities have made clear that to keep COVID-19 infection levels down, we must strengthen our ability to identify, test, and isolate individuals who have been exposed to the virus. Contact tracing apps — which use mobile technology to track a person’s proximity to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus — could help us achieve these goals. The challenge is to develop tools that deliver real results without sacrificing civil liberties and personal privacy... Hard choices need to be made, but we have been here before. A similar tension between public safety and democratic principles arose after 9/11 when the U.S. harnessed new technologies to strengthen counterterrorism intelligence collection. (David Schanzer, David Hoffman and Shane Stansbury, 5/11)
The Hill: How Coronavirus Could Burst The Social Media Influencer Industry
Imagine becoming rich without showing up at an office or answering to a boss. You have no commute, except for paid flights to some of the most exotic locations on the planet for photos in the sun. Picture staying home and receiving shipments of designer clothing and jewelry to promote online. It sounds like a dream, but for a huge number of young adults who make money as influencers, this has been their reality. (Kristin Tate, 5/10)
Stat: Waiting For My Daughter Blueberry In The Year Zero Of Covid-19
Medicine is typically an intimate interaction with its one-on-one conversations and physical exams behind closed doors. Covid-19 is changing that as doctors and other clinicians are learning to care for patients while social distancing via telehealth. I was surprised to learn that this distanced care extends to intensive care units. (Christopher Magoon, 5/12)
The Star Tribune: Making Sense Of COVID-19 Fatality Rates
The case fatality rate for the seasonal flu is about 0.1 to 0.2%. It means that for every 10,000 people with a documented case of the flu, 10 to 20 will die. This method of calculation is often what people use if they casually cite a death rate. But it’s not the most accurate way to estimate your personal risk of dying if you become host to the agents of a disease. That would be the infection fatality rate. For the flu, by one account, it’s 0.04%. That means for every 10,000 people who are infected, whether they report it or not, four ultimately will perish. (5/11)
Boston Globe: The Race Is On For PPE In The Mass. Business Community
Governor Charlie Baker unveiled new rules on Monday that will require masks and more sanitation in offices and on factory floors, to guard against the spread of COVID-19.But finding all that personal protective equipment to meet the demand is easier said than done The state’s PPE shortage doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as bad as it was in March, when Baker ordered all nonessential workplaces to close, and hospitals scrambled to get gear for health care workers. (Jon Chesto, 5/11)
