Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Spokesperson Reinfected By Covid; Hillary Clinton Tests Positive
NPR: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Tests Positive (Again) For COVID-19
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Tuesday that she had tested positive for COVID-19. In a statement posted to Twitter, Psaki said she had two "socially-distanced meetings" with Biden on Monday and said he is not considered a close contact by CDC guidance. Biden tested negative with a PCR test on Tuesday, she said. "Today, in preparation for travel to Europe, I took a PCR test this morning. That test came back positive, which means I will be adhering to CDC guidance and no longer be traveling on the President's trip to Europe," Psaki wrote on Twitter. (Franklin, 3/22)
AP: Hillary Clinton Tests Positive For COVID; Bill Quarantining
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she has tested positive for COVID-19 with “mild” symptoms. On social media, the former Democratic presidential candidate said she was “feeling fine” and that former President Bill Clinton had tested negative and was quarantining until their household was fully cleared. (3/22)
In other news about the spread of the novel coronavirus —
CIDRAP: Study Shows Efficient Deer-To-Deer SARS-CoV-2 Transmission
A US study shows that white-tailed deer (WTD) inoculated with COVID-19–causing SARS-CoV-2 shed infectious virus for up to 5 days, resulting in efficient deer-to-deer transmission on day 3, findings the authors say highlight the potential for deer to become a reservoir for the virus. ... "Understanding the infection and transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in WTD is critical to prevent future zoonotic transmission to humans, (at the human-WTD interface during hunting or venison farming), and for implementation of effective disease control measures," the study said. (3/22)
CNN: How Protected Are We Against Covid-19? Scientists Search For A Test To Measure Immunity
In 2010, doctors told Ben Sobieck, now 37, that his kidneys were inexplicably failing. Shortly after, he had a kidney transplant and started on the lifelong medications that weaken his immune system to keep his body from rejecting the donor organ. They never figured out what caused Sobieck's kidney failure. But a decade later, he confronted another threat to his health: the Covid-19 pandemic. "I am on immunosuppressants that make me more vulnerable for serious Covid complications," said Sobieck, 37, who lives in Minnesota. "If you're immunocompromised, you may not have a very good response to the [Covid-19] vaccine." Seeking evidence that his immune system was working the way it should, Sobieck made an unusual request: He asked his nephrologist to do a blood test that gives a rough measure of antibodies, a type of protein the body creates in response to an infection or vaccine. Antibody titers reveal the concentration of a specific antibody found in someone's blood. (Ahmed, 3/22)
