Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Working Too Hard Can Kill You, Global WHO Analysis Says
CNN: Long Working Hours Killing Hundreds Of Thousands Of People A Year, WHO Says
Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year through stroke and heart disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In a global analysis of the link between loss of life and health and working long hours, WHO and the International Labour Organization estimated that in 2016, some 745,000 people died as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week. Most of the deaths were recorded among people aged 60 to 79, who had worked at least 55 hours between the ages of 45 and 74. (Woodyatt, 5/17)
In other public health news —
Fox News: Pacemakers Recalled Over Risk Of Electrical Short
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a recall of nearly 62,000 pacemakers that were distributed between April 2015 and February 2019 after it was discovered that moisture could get inside the device causing an electrical short. The agency said there have been 135 complaints, 135 injuries but no deaths related to the recall of Assurity and Endurity implantable pacemakers. The devices, made by Abbott, work to detect when the heart is beating too slowly, and then send signals to the brain to make it beat at the correct pace. If there is an electrical short in the device, it could spur wrong information, impact battery life, lose pacing function or require replacement. (Hein, 5/16)
CIDRAP: Irrigation Water Spotlighted As Likely Red Onion Salmonella Outbreak Source
A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation into a large Salmonella Newport outbreak linked to red onions from California's Southern San Joaquin and Imperial Valley growing regions found several contributing factors, with the main hypothesis that contaminated irrigation water may have been the source. The outbreak was unusual, because it was the nation's largest in more than a decade, with hundreds of related cases reported in Canada, and it involved red onions, which hadn't been linked to earlier foodborne illness outbreaks. The event that unfolded in 2020 sickened 1,127 people in the United States and 515 in Canada. (5/17)
The New York Times: Aspirin May Help Protect The Brain From Pollution's Toll, Study Suggests
Long-term exposure to air pollution has many health consequences, including accelerating brain aging and increasing the risk for dementia. Now new research suggests that short-term exposure to polluted air, even at levels generally considered “acceptable,” may impair mental ability in the elderly. (Bakalar, 5/17)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Study: Going To Dentist No Riskier Than A Drink Of Water
Many people have put off nonemergency procedures during the coronavirus pandemic, either because they feared contracting COVID-19 or because they heard the American Dental Association recommended dental offices refrain from performing them. A new study out of Ohio State University, however, has found that contamination while sitting in the dentist’s chair is very low. “Getting your teeth cleaned does not increase your risk for COVID-19 infection any more than drinking a glass of water from the dentist’s office does,” said lead author Purnima Kumar, professor of periodontology at Ohio State. (Clanton, 5/17)
NBC News: Carnival Cruise Line In 'Active Discussions' With CDC To Return To Sailing In July
Carnival Cruise Line is in talks with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is "working towards" restarting sailing in July, Carnival President Christine Duffy said Monday. With their close confines and larger share of passengers who are older and more vulnerable, cruise ships were the sites of some of the first coronavirus outbreaks outside China. (Popken, 5/17)
North Carolina Health News: Searching For Answers While Living With Long-Haul COVID
One day in late April, Perdensal Springs took longer than usual getting ready for her job transporting seniors for the nonprofit PACE of the Southern Piedmont. Lately, it’s been little things that get her tangled up: where she put her keys, had she made her lunch, what was her first stop. Prior to this job, Springs had worked in transportation for the Charlotte Housing Authority because she enjoyed helping seniors. But after being out with COVID for two months, working with the residents, some of whom have dementia, is a reminder of her own struggles with confusion and forgetting. (Newsome, 5/17)
Stat: How Ashish Jha Became Network TV's Everyman Expert On Covid
Chances are you’ve seen Ashish Jha during the pandemic, though you had never heard of him before. He seemed to come out of nowhere — bespectacled, professorial, his tie sometimes askew — and then he was everywhere, a fixture in living rooms across America. (Garde, 5/18)
