Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Red Cross Blood Donations Show Many Likely Had Covid But Didn't Know It
In the first week of March, more than 20% of blood donations from unvaccinated people had Covid-19 antibodies, according to data shared with CNN by the American Red Cross. Between mid-June 2020 and early March 2021, the American Red Cross tested more than 3.3 million donations from unvaccinated people in 44 states for the presence of Covid-19 antibodies. Overall, about 7.5% of the donations tested in that time frame were positive for Covid-19 antibodies, meaning the donors had likely been infected with the coronavirus at some point. (Bonifield and McPhillips, 3/16)
Out of 67 intensive care unit (ICU) patients who underwent simultaneous SARS-CoV-2 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) testing in Saudi Arabia, 8 (11.9%) had coinfections, according to a new Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease study. The study didn't find any anomalous symptoms or mortality rates, although the researchers say more data are needed around mortality. (3/15)
In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —
State health officials are warning that anyone who competed in or attended a youth wrestling tournament held on the Seacoast earlier this month may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should get tested. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced Monday they have identified potential community exposures related to multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated with the King of the Mat Wrestling Tournament, held Saturday, March 6, at the RIM Sports Complex in Hampton. (Feely, 3/15)
Joan Phillips, a certified nursing assistant in a Florida nursing home, loved her job but dreaded the danger of going to work in the pandemic. When vaccines became available in December, she jumped at the chance to get one. Months later, it appears that danger has faded. After the rollout of COVID vaccines, the number of new COVID cases among nursing home staff members fell 83% — from 28,802 for the week ending Dec. 20 to 4,764 for the week ending Feb. 14, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows. (Bailey, 3/15)
Utah reported its lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in more than nine months on Monday — 221. That’s down substantially from the previous day, when 396 new cases were reported. It comes on a day when fewer than 6,400 people were tested. But the last time there were fewer new cases was June 9, when that number was 196. The Utah Department of Health also reported no additional coronavirus-related fatalities. According to current information from UDOH, the last date on which there were no deaths was Sept. 15. (Pierce, 3/15)
Lately, an almost-forgotten emotion has been returning: Optimism. Along with another blast from the past: Impatience. The optimism comes, of course, from the vaccine rollout, which is picking up steam. The state will release updated figures Tuesday, but already roughly one out of every nine adults in New Hampshire has been fully vaccinated. (Brooks, 3/15)
