Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Alert Issued For Respiratory Problems From Florida's Red Tide
Red tide could cause people along certain parts of Florida鈥檚 Gulf Coast to to experience respiratory irritation, health officials said. The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County on Sunday recommended that anyone with chronic respiratory problems consider staying away from areas experiencing red tide, the Tampa Bay Times reported. They also advise people not to swim around dead fish, and to keep pets away from water, sea foam and dead marine life. (7/10)
Tampa Bay has become the state's epicenter of red tide, and Pinellas County health officials have issued recommendations to people with respiratory issues to avoid areas experiencing the blooms. Respiratory irritation related to red tide also was reported over the past week in Pinellas and Sarasota counties. (7/11)
Oregon and Multnomah County officials have pledged to undertake comprehensive reviews of their response to the unprecedented June heat wave suspected of claiming 115 lives in hopes of beefing up their emergency response and avoiding a similar outcome the next time around. Gov. Kate Brown鈥檚 office said Friday that she had directed the Office of Emergency Management to complete an expedited review involving multiple state agencies by the end of the month. Meanwhile, officials from Multnomah County, where the vast majority of the fatalities took place, said they would be conducting detailed death investigations that would inform a 鈥渄eep review鈥 by all departments to more effectively target resources in future events. (Sickinger, 7/11)
Saturday鈥檚 forecast of 132 degrees would have been among the highest temps recorded on Earth. It did not quite materialize, but dozens of 鈥渉eat tourists鈥 celebrated anyway. (Werner, 7/11)
Imagine a world where water is scarce in the West -- or at least stretches of the increasingly hot and dry landscape. A decades-long megadrought spurred by climate change, which has led to alarmingly low reservoir levels in the region, nearing or at records in some cases, add urgency to considering this consideration. (Jacobo, 7/12)
