Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Is Shutting Down Covid Response Team
The Washington Post: White House To Disband Covid-19 Team
The White House will shut down its covid response team after the public health emergency ends in May, with some staffers already departing and national coordinator Ashish Jha likely to leave the administration once his team is disbanded, according to multiple current and former officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal operations. (Diamond and Pager, 3/22)
The Washington Post: More Testing Of Nursing Home Staff Would Have Reduced Covid-19 Deaths, Study Says
Insufficient coronavirus testing of nursing home staff was a driver of waves of coronavirus infections and deaths of elderly residents in 2020, the most vulnerable time before vaccines became available, according to a study published Wednesday. The study, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 1.1 million more staff tests per week nationwide would have saved 427 lives each week during the worst time of nursing home outbreaks, from November 2020 to mid-January 2021. ... The nursing home industry’s top trade association said this week that it was hamstrung by a lack of tests and prioritization from government leaders. (Rowland, 3/22)
Modern Healthcare: Hospitals Re-Evaluate Policies As State Mask Mandates End
After three years of strict federal and state policies, health systems are regaining the ability to make their own decisions on the use of masks and other personal protective equipment. As a result of declining COVID-19 infection and mortality rates nationwide, most states have ended executive orders and emergency mandates requiring universal masking for patients, visitors and workers in healthcare settings. (Devereaux, 3/22)
Slate: Long COVID: The Truth About It Is Emerging, And It’s Not What We Thought
Three years later, the research is catching up to the anecdotal reports and the early evidence, and a clearer picture of long COVID has emerged. It turns out that, like COVID-19 itself, a lot of our early guesses about it turned out to be considerably wide of the mark. This time, fortunately, the surprises are mostly on the positive side. Long COVID is neither as common nor as severe as initially feared. As the U.S. government moves to end the country’s state of emergency, it’s another reassuring sign that, as President Biden put it during his State of the Union address, “COVID no longer controls our lives.” (Wise, 3/19)
In updates on the flu —
CIDRAP: Global Flu Activity Declines With Greater Influenza B Proportions
In Europe, half of the countries are still reporting widespread activity, though in North America, flu has declined to levels normally seen at this point of the season. The WHO report roughly covers the end of February and into the first week of March. (Schnirring, 3/22)
