Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nov. 15 Is When We'll Reach 8 Billion Humans Alive: UN
The United Nations estimated Monday that the world鈥檚 population will reach 8 billion on Nov. 15 and that India will replace China as the world鈥檚 most populous nation next year. In a report released on World Population Day, the U.N. also said global population growth fell below 1% in 2020 for the first time since 1950. (Lederer, 7/12)
In other public health news 鈥
The Florida Health Department said Big Olaf Creamery is recalling its products amid an investigation into a multistate listeria outbreak that has killed at least one person. On Friday, the department shared a news article saying Big Olaf, based in Sarasota, had agreed to recall its products. A department representative said Big Olaf agreed Friday to stop production and conduct a recall. (Wile, 7/11)
The sandwich chain Subway can be sued over claims that it is misleading customers when it says its tuna products are "100% tuna," a federal judge in California said Monday. The suit, originally brought in January 2021 by Oakland-area resident Nilima Amin, claims Subway's tuna products 鈥減artially or wholly lack tuna as an ingredient鈥 and 鈥渃ontain other fish species, animal products, or miscellaneous products aside from tuna.鈥 (Wile, 7/11)
Some splash pads use recirculated water that鈥檚 disinfected before it鈥檚 pumped upward again. But their mechanisms can make appropriate disinfection difficult, especially in an environment frequented by children in diapers. Sitting or standing on the jets 鈥 a favorite pastime of children of all ages 鈥 can wash feces, dirt and microorganisms into the water and spray them into the air 鈥 or people鈥檚 mouths. (Blakemore, 7/11)
On monkeypox 鈥
As cases grow, monkeypox vaccine continues to be in short supply at the local level, including in Chicago and New York, which were the first cities to receive large shipments of doses from the US government. (Soucheray, 7/11)
Dr. Anne Rimoin is a UCLA epidemiology professor and has spent the last two decades in the Democratic Republic of Congo working on monkeypox. She said it was only when the virus spread beyond rural Africa that it sparked a global response. "This virus has been spreading in marginalized and vulnerable populations [in Africa] for decades, and we've done nothing about it," Rimoin said. "We have known that monkeypox is a potential problem for decades." (Shapiro and Wood, 7/12)
