Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Says Covid Still Evolving, Older People Should Stay Boosted
The Hill: White House COVID-19 Coordinator Says Virus ‘Still Evolving Rapidly’
As variants continue to circulate and develop, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha says the U.S. has “got to stay on top of this virus” as it quickly evolves. “We’re still in the middle of this pandemic,” Jha said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” (Mueller, 7/17)
ABC News: Biden Admin Stresses Vaccines For Older Americans As 'Most Immune Evasive' COVID Variant Spreads
The Biden administration is urging Americans, particularly older people, to stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines as “the most immune evasive” variant spreads throughout most of the country, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said on Sunday. (Ibssa, 7/17)
On calls to begin next-gen covid shots —
The Hill: BA.5 Spurs New Calls To Fund Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccines
There’s no Operation Warp Speed,” said Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research. “So it’s moving very slowly. But at least it’s moving.” Leana Wen, a public health professor at George Washington University, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed this week that the U.S. needs “urgent investment” in next-generation vaccines and “we need an ‘Operation Warp Speed Part 2.’” (Sullivan, 7/17)
Also —
San Francisco Chronicle: People Are Getting COVID Again And Again... And Again. Is This The New Normal?
As the Bay Area’s latest COVID surge threatens to be the biggest yet and the coronavirus continues to spin off new, immune-evasive variants, are repeated infections a part of living with COVID? Increasingly, experts fear, the answer is yes. (Echeverria, 7/17)
KHN: Boost Now Or Wait? Many Wonder How Best To Ride Out Covid’s Next Wave
Gwyneth Paige didn’t want to get vaccinated against covid-19 at first. With her health issues — hypertension, fibromyalgia, asthma — she wanted to see how other people fared after the shots. Then her mother got colon cancer. “At that point, I didn’t care if the vaccine killed me,” she said. “To be with my mother throughout her journey, I had to have the vaccination.” (Whitehead and Allen, 7/18)
And in California —
Los Angeles Times: 9 In 10 Californians Live In Areas With High COVID-19 Levels
Nearly 9 in 10 Californians now live in counties with a high COVID-19 community level, in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in indoor public spaces. (Lin II and Money, 7/17)
Bay Area News Group: COVID: Who Is Ending Up In The Hospital?
COVID hospitalizations are rising again after more than two months of persistently high case rates in the Bay Area and California. But the doctors who treat these patients are seeing consistent indications that for most, the disease is less severe than in earlier surges of the deadly virus that has killed more than a million Americans. (Rowan, 7/17)
Los Angeles Times: UC Irvine And Other Schools Reinstate Indoor Mask Mandates Amid Rising COVID-19 Wave
The University of California Irvine on Monday will require all students and staff to wear masks while inside campus buildings, following the lead of other colleges that have chosen to strengthen safety measures in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. (Newberry, 7/17)
