Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Workplace Dangers: Amazon Protest Takes Place Outside Bezos' Home
Fox Business: Amazon Workers Protest Outside Jeff Bezos' NYC Home For Better COVID-19 Protections
Amazon workers vying for stricter safety standards during the COVID-19 pandemic took their fight to Jeff Bezos' Manhattan home Wednesday. Protesters gathered outside the Amazon chief executive's multimillion-dollar Fifth Avenue residence to call attention to Bezos and other CEOs who they claim have made billions during the global health crisis while putting workers' lives at risk. (Genovese, 12/2)
AP: NBA: 48 Players Positive For Coronavirus As Testing Resumes
The NBA said Wednesday that 48 players have tested positive for the coronavirus since testing resumed last week. The league and National Basketball Players Association said 546 players were tested between Nov. 24-30 in the initial phase of testing after returning to team markets. That means about 9% of the tests were positive. (12/2)
In other public health news —
CNN: She's 102. She Lived Through The 1918 Flu And Now She's Beat Coronavirus — Twice
Angelina Friedman is a survivor, in every sense of the word. When she was a baby, she lived through 1918 flu. Throughout her life she survived cancer, internal bleeding and sepsis. In April, she survived coronavirus -- a virus that has taken nearly 1.5 million lives worldwide. And now, the 102-year-old New York resident just did it again. (Hughes, 12/2)
CNN: Churches And Covid-19: A Deadly Lesson From The 1918 Pandemic
To gather or not to gather has been the question at the forefront of the minds of today's religious leaders and their church members. During the 1918 influenza pandemic that ultimately killed 50 million to 100 million people, different answers to that same question resulted in either collective well-being or widespread, devastating loss. (Rogers, 12/3)
CNN: An Alabama Woman Is Raising 12 Kids After Her Sister Died From Covid
Francesca McCall and her younger sister Chantale had always promised to take care of each other's kids if anything ever happened to either. When Chantale died in September from Covid-19, her sister, who was already raising seven kids of her own, didn't hesitate to welcome Chantale's five children into her Birmingham, Alabama, home. (Williams, 12/2)
Also —
The Washington Post: A Third-Grade Teacher In Minnesota Donated A Kidney To Her School’s Custodian
Patrick Mertens needed a kidney, and, feeling desperate, his daughter, Kayla, posted a request on Facebook in January. Mertens, 64, a school custodian, hadn’t bothered asking his co-workers at Kimball Elementary School in Kimball, Minn., as he searched for a donor. He didn’t want to inconvenience any of the teachers at the school, and he thought they had already done enough for him by setting up a fundraiser to support his dialysis. (Melnick, 12/2)
The New York Times: Exercise 11 Minutes A Day For A Longer Life
Walking for at least 11 minutes a day could lessen the undesirable health consequences of sitting for hours and hours, according to a helpful new study of the ways in which both inactivity and exercise influence how long we live. The study, which relied on objective data from tens of thousands of people about how they spent their days, found that those who were the most sedentary faced a high risk of dying young, but if people got up and moved, they slashed that threat substantially, even if they did not move much. (Reynolds, 12/2)
KHN: During ACA Open Enrollment, Picking A Plan Invites New COVID Complications
People buying their own health insurance have even more to think about this year, particularly those post-COVID-19 patients with lingering health concerns, the “long haulers,” who join the club of Americans with preexisting conditions. What type of plan is best for someone with an unpredictable, ongoing medical concern? That question is popping up on online chat sites dedicated to long haulers and among people reaching out for assistance in selecting insurance coverage. (Appleby, 12/3)
