Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
While Many Mysteries About Novel Coronavirus Remain, Scientists Have Learned Plenty
The New York Times: Six Months Of Coronavirus: Here’s Some Of What We’ve Learned
We don’t really know when the novel coronavirus first began infecting people. But as we turn a page on our calendars into June, it is fair to say that Sars-Cov-2 has been with us now for a full six months. At first, it had no name or true identity. Early in January, news reports referred to strange and threatening symptoms that had sickened dozens of people in a large Chinese city with which many people in the world were probably not familiar. After half a year, that large metropolis, Wuhan, is well-known, as is the coronavirus and the illness it causes, Covid-19. (6/1)
The New York Times: After 6 Months, Important Mysteries About Coronavirus Endure
In the time since the world’s scientists and public health officials first became widely aware of the new coronavirus in January, they’ve had six months to learn about it. They’ve reached many conclusions about the virus and the illness it causes, from the importance of wearing masks to contain it, to the unusual range of symptoms it provokes. But there are major gaps in scientific knowledge about the virus. In the half year that journalists of the health and science desk of The Times have been reporting on Sars-CoV-2, we have identified some of the enduring uncertainties. (6/1)
Reuters: WHO And Other Experts Say No Evidence Of Coronavirus Losing Potency
World Health Organization experts and a range of other scientists said on Monday there was no evidence to support an assertion by a high-profile Italian doctor that the coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has been losing potency. (Kelland and Parodi, 6/1)
The Washington Post: Is Coronavirus Weakening? Experts Say It Remains Lethal And Largely Unchanged.
The consensus among other experts interviewed Monday is that the clinical findings in Italy likely do not reflect any change in the virus itself. Zangrillo’s clinical observations are more likely a reflection of the fact that with the peak of the outbreak long past, there is less virus in circulation, and people may be less likely to be exposed to high doses of it. In addition, only severely sick people were likely to be tested early on, compared with the situation now when even those with mild symptoms are more likely to get swabbed, experts said. (Achenbach, Cha, Guarino and Janes, 6/1)
The New York Times: U.S. And Chinese Scientists Trace Evolution Of Coronaviruses In Bats
An international team of scientists, including a prominent researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has analyzed all known coronaviruses in Chinese bats and used genetic analysis to trace the likely origin of the novel coronavirus to horseshoe bats. In their report, posted online Sunday, they also point to the great variety of these viruses in southern and southwestern China and urge closer monitoring of bat viruses in the area and greater efforts to change human behavior as ways of decreasing the chances of future pandemics. (Gorman, 6/1)
The New York Times: How To Read A Coronavirus Study, Or Any Science Paper
A lot of people are reading scientific papers for the first time these days, hoping to make sense of the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re one of them, be advised the scientific paper is a peculiar literary genre that can take some getting used to. And also bear in mind that these are not typical times for scientific publishing. It is hard to think of another moment in history when so many scientists turned their attention to one subject with such speed. In mid-January, scientific papers began trickling out with the first details about the new coronavirus. By the end of the month, the journal Nature marveled that over 50 papers had been published. That number has swelled over the past few months at an exponential rate, fitting for a pandemic. (Zimmer, 6/1)
Los Angeles Times: Scientists To Choirs: Group Singing Can Spread Coronavirus
Scientists studying tiny exhaled particles that could transmit the coronavirus say a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision to drop warnings against choral singing is dangerous, risking more “super-spreading events” such as a Washington state choir practice linked to two deaths. The researchers say that the coronavirus can spread in respiratory aerosols, which may linger in the air for an hour or more, floating farther than the six feet commonly prescribed for social distancing. They say that choir members are particularly vulnerable to infection from airborne particles, because they exhale and inhale deeply to sing, often at close quarters in poorly ventilated rooms. (Read, 6/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Patients Lose Senses Of Taste, Smell—And Haven’t Gotten Them Back
Matt Newey was overcome with emotion clearing his deceased grandmother’s home in late April: He reached for her perfume, but he couldn’t smell a thing. “I loved her so much. I wanted to remember what she smelled like one last time,” said the 23-year-old, who recovered from Covid-19 in March. “It felt like I was losing that memory. It hurt.” Clinicians racing to understand the novel disease are starting to discern an unusual trend: one common symptom—the loss of smell and taste—can linger months after recovery. Doctors say it is possible some survivors may never taste or smell again. (Rana, 6/1)
ABC News: Having High Blood Pressure May Make Coronavirus More Dangerous. Here's What You Need To Know
High blood pressure, a common disease affecting about 45% of Americans, is sometimes called the 'silent killer' because it can lead to early death even without symptoms. But new research shows that people with high blood pressure may be more likely to be hospitalized and become severely ill with the virus that causes COVID-19. (Anoruo, 6/1)
CIDRAP: Lung Complications Noted In Half Of COVID-19 Surgical Patients
Of 1,128 COVID-19 patients undergoing surgery at 235 hospitals in 24 countries, 577 (51.2%) had pulmonary complications, and 219 (38.0%) of them died, according to an observational study published late last week in The Lancet. In the partially retrospective, uncontrolled study, researchers in the COVIDSurg Collaborative enrolled patients 7 days before or 30 days after surgery from Jan 1 to Mar 31. Of the 268 patients who died, 219 (81.7%) had pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or needed mechanical ventilation. The death rate was highest in patients diagnosed as having ARDS (102 of 162 [63.0%]). (Van Beusekom, 6/1)
Kaiser Health News: Neurological Symptoms: ICUs Become A 'Delirium Factory' For Covid-19 Patients
Doctors are fighting not only to save lives from Covid-19, but also to protect patients' brains. Although Covid-19 is best known for damaging the lungs, it also increases the risk of life-threatening brain injuries — from mental confusion to hallucinations, seizures, coma, stroke and paralysis. The virus may invade the brain, and it can starve the brain of oxygen by damaging the lungs. To fight the infection, the immune system sometimes overreacts, battering the brain and other organs it normally protects. (Szabo, 6/1)
San Francisco Chronicle: Long After The Illness Is Gone, The Damage From Coronavirus May Remain
The roulette wheel of infection that determines which COVID-19 patients live and die has gripped the world in fear, but researchers are looking into another insidious danger — that the disease could be inflicting lasting, even permanent, damage on its victims. Infectious disease specialists have learned that the health problems caused by the coronavirus sometimes linger for months, raising fears that the virus may have long-term consequences for people’s health. (Fimtre, 5/31)
