Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Ends Covid Czar Role As Pandemic Effort Ends
The Washington Post: Ashish Jha To Leave As Covid Czar As White House Winds Down Response
White House covid coordinator Ashish Jha will step down next week as the Biden administration formally ends the role, the latest marker that officials believe the virus threat has largely passed. “We now have the tools to manage COVID-19 and the virus no longer controls our daily lives,” President Biden said in a statement on Thursday, announcing Jha’s departure and thanking him for his work. Jha’s last day will be June 15, and he will return to his position as dean of Brown University’s public health school. (Diamond, 6/8)
Politico: Top Biden Covid Official Jha Set To Depart June 15
Jha — widely touted as an effective health communicator during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic — was brought on in April 2022 to replace Jeffrey Zients, who was later tapped as President Joe Biden’s chief of staff. His last day in the administration will be June 15, the White House confirmed. (Lim and Cancryn, 6/8)
More on the spread of covid —
CNN: Mysterious Covid-19 Lineages In US Sewers Could Offer Clues To Chronic Infections
As Covid-19 testing and other coronavirus tracking efforts peter out in the United States, wastewater surveillance has become the primary method to monitor early community spread of the virus. And there’s some evidence that close investigation of the findings could also help unravel some of the mysteries of long Covid. Genetic sequencing of wastewater samples from sewer systems across the country has uncovered dozens of unique strains of the coronavirus, with multiple mutations in unusual combinations. (McPhillips, 6/9)
Columbus Dispatch: A Virologist's Search For Answers: Curious Case Of 'Cryptic COVID' Leads To Columbus Area
A virologist in Missouri studying wastewater data in order to analyze the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 is looking for someone he says has had the disease for two years but doesn't know it. That search has led him straight to central Ohio. Marc Johnson, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, has traced what he calls a unique strain of the novel coronavirus to two locations: Columbus and Washington Court House. (Shuda, 6/8)
CIDRAP: Fatigue Can Lower Long-COVID Patients' Quality Of Life More Than Some Cancers
Long-COVID fatigue can diminish quality of life more than some cancers, suggests an observational study published yesterday in BMJ Open. ... Many long-COVID patients were seriously ill, and their average fatigue scores were similar to or worse than those of people with cancer-related anemia (low counts of oxygen-carrying red blood cells) or severe kidney disease. Their health-related quality of life scores were also lower than those of people with advanced metastatic cancers, such as stage 4 lung cancer. (Van Beusekom, 6/8)
Minnesota Public Radio: New Study From UMN Researchers Says An Existing Drug Is A Promising Treatment For Long COVID
Metformin, a medication typically used as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes, has shown promise as an effective treatment for long COVID, according to a study by University of Minnesota researchers published Thursday in The Lancet. But researchers caution that more study is needed before the drug can be prescribed as a treatment for people who currently have the illness. (Wiley, 6/8)
Houston Chronicle: 3D-Printed Lungs Helping Houston Researchers Study Aerosols
A 3D-printed replica of the lungs has been touring Greater Houston to help UTHealth Houston researchers study the health risks posed by small airborne particles that collect in the respiratory system. The system, known as the Mobile Aerosol Lung Deposition Apparatus (MALDA), is comprised of replicas of the three major sections of the human respiratory system. It was designed by Wei-Chung Su, an assistant professor of epidemiology, human genetics and environmental sciences at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. (MacDonald, 6/8)
Also —
ABC News: Accidental Shootings By Children Climbed During COVID. Why Is That Changing Now?
There have been at least 122 unintentional shootings by children across the country from January to mid-May, according data from Everytown. They have resulted in 54 deaths and 77 injuries. The numbers account both for children who accidentally shoot themselves, or others. The number of such shootings has decreased each of the past three years. There were 131 such shootings from January to mid-May in 2022. There were 141 in 2021, according to Everytown data. (El-Bawab, 6/9)
