Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
1,300 Nursing Homes Had Covid Infection Rates Of 75% In 2020: Data
More than 1,300 nursing homes in the U.S., most of them for-profit facilities, experienced extremely high COVID-19 infection rates in 2020, according to a new report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services. For the OIG’s study, the agency took Medicare claims data to find nursing homes with beneficiaries who tested positive for COVID-19. The study looked at 15,086 nursing homes across the country. (Choi, 1/19)
More on the spread of covid —
In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, infected UK patients had a significantly elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) for at least 18 months, suggests a study of nearly 160,000 people published today in Cardiovascular Research. (Van Beusekom, 1/19)
A US military study suggests that people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and those with moderate or severe infections are at significantly higher risk for persistent symptoms for 1 to 6 months. In the observational study, published yesterday in JAMA Network Open, a team led by researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland estimated the risk of long COVID and greater healthcare use among 1,832 infected adults enrolled at a military treatment facility. (Van Beusekom, 1/19)
As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its fourth year, a negative result on a little plastic at-home test feels a bit less comforting than it once did. Still, you dutifully swab your nostrils before dinner parties, wait 15 minutes for the all-clear and then text the host "negative!" before leaving your KN95 mask at home. (Lupkin, 1/19)
In global covid news —
Japan will consider downgrading Covid-19 to the same category as seasonal influenza this spring, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Friday. Kishida said he had instructed Health Ministry officials to discuss the move and his administration would also review rules on face masks and other pandemic measures. (Jozuka, Ogura, Bae and Magramo, 1/20)
On the "tripledemic" —
Emergency room visits related to three of the most disruptive viruses — the flu, respiratory syncytial virus and Covid — are falling nationwide. (Edwards, 1/19)
Minnesota health officials are not seeing signs of more flu cases at a time when we usually get sick. The preliminary data from the weekly Influenza and Respiratory Illness Activity Report looking at Jan. 8-14 shows a decline in new hospitalizations for both influenza and the respiratory virus RSV. Outbreaks of respiratory disease in schools have also remained fairly flat for the past few weeks. (Wiley, 1/19)
