Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Worries Rise Over New Covid Variants Spurred By China's Outbreak
Bloomberg: China’s Covid-19 Outbreak Has US Worried About New Variants
The US is concerned China’s runaway Covid-19 outbreak might spawn new mutations of the virus, as the world’s most populous country continues to grapple with the impact of loosening “Covid Zero” protocols that had kept the pandemic at bay. (Marlow, 12/19)
Reuters: U.S. State Dept Says Toll Of COVID In China A Concern For The World
The United States hopes that China can address the current COVID-19 outbreak as the toll of the virus is a global concern due to the size of the Chinese economy, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday. "The toll of the virus is of concern to the rest of the world given the size of China's GDP, given the size of China's economy," Price told a daily briefing at the State Department. (Pamuk, 12/19)
More on the spread of covid —
San Francisco Chronicle: Two Subvariants Now Account For Nearly 70% Of COVID Cases In U.S.
The two latest fast-spreading strains of the coronavirus. named BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, now account for nearly 7 in 10 of the COVID-19 cases in the United Stated, tracking by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. The two subvariants of the omicron variant totaled 69.1% of cases as of Saturday. (Beamish, 12/19)
CIDRAP: Study Challenges Notion That Omicron COVID Is Always Mild
Vaccinated or previously infected COVID-19 hospital patients had lower rates of severe illness and death than their unvaccinated, COVID-naive peers during both Omicron and Delta variant predominance. And while the unvaccinated had fewer poor outcomes during Omicron than in Delta, their risk was similar to that seen with previous SARS-CoV-2 strains, according to a study published today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 12/19)
The Atlantic: Consider Armadillo COVID
This past spring, Amanda Goldberg crouched in the leafy undergrowth of a southwestern Virginia forest and attempted to swab a mouse for COVID. No luck; its nose was too tiny for her tools. (Tayag, 12/19)
In other pandemic news —
The Washington Post: Chief Justice Roberts Temporarily Halts End Of Title 42 At Border
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Monday temporarily left in place a pandemic-era policy that allows the government to quickly expel millions of migrants from U.S. borders and had been set to expire Wednesday. Roberts’s brief order was an “administrative stay” that allows the court to consider an emergency application from Republican state officials who want the Title 42 policy to remain while litigation continues. (Marimow and Sacchetti, 12/19)
