Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: Higher Mortality Rates Seen In Hospitals Strained By Covid Patients
Hospitals with more COVID patients during the first pandemic wave in 2020 saw more patients who underwent surgery die afterward, a Journal of the American Medical Association study found. (Dreher, 7/19)
States with a large number of unvaccinated first responders “may face major workforce disruptions due to COVID-19 illness,” according to a study released Tuesday by researchers at the University of Miami. (Barr, 7/19)
On non-covid research —
Gestational diabetes is on the rise, climbing 30% between 2016 and 2020, according to a new study published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Chen, 7/20)
The type of coffee — whether instant, ground or decaffeinated — made no difference, but the results were described as inconclusive for the use of artificial sweeteners. The latest research does not prove that coffee alone was responsible for participants’ lowered mortality risk. Still, over the years, research has revealed a variety of health benefits for coffee, linking its consumption to a reduced risk for Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, depression and more. (Searing, 7/19)
Low-income Dallas seniors were seven times more likely to visit a food pantry in the year after becoming Medicare eligible, leading to better food security, according to a new study from UT Southwestern Medical Center. (Wolf, 7/19)
