Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Though Covid Endures, US Deaths And Hospitalizations Fall To Lows
U.S. Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths are hovering near new lows, providing fresh evidence that even as the virus endures it has become less damaging in a population with strengthened immune defenses. New subvariants are on the rise, and cutbacks in data reporting have clouded the view of recent trends. But the U.S. has broadly recorded declining numbers this year following a winter of less intense Covid-19 spread. (Kamp, 5/3)
In news from the WHO concerning covid —
Over the next week or so, the World Health Organization may declare a formal end to two long-running global health emergencies, Covid-19 and the mpox outbreak, after independent expert panels meet to assess whether these health events still merit being called Public Health Emergencies of International Concern. (Branswell, 5/4)
A panel of global health experts will meet on Thursday to decide if COVID-19 is still an emergency under the World Health Organization's rules, a status that helps maintain international focus on the pandemic. The WHO first gave COVID its highest level of alert on January 30 2020, and the panel has continued to apply the label ever since, at meetings held every three months. (Rigby and Farge, 5/4)
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that it has dismissed a senior scientist, known for his role as the head of an international mission to China to probe the origins of COVID-19, for sexual misconduct. (Farge, 5/3)
More covid news —
An analysis by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists of more than 350,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients reveals that racial and ethnic disparities declined but persisted in the era of vaccination. The researchers assessed data from the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) from 353,807 patients who had hospital stays at any point from March 2020 through August 2022. Vaccines were rolled out in December 2020. The group published its findings today in Clinical Infectious Diseases. (Wappes, 5/3)
The Florida House on Wednesday passed a bill that extends and expands the state’s ban on Covid-19 mandates, furthering Gov. Ron DeSantis’ resistance to Covid-related restrictions. (Sarkissian, 5/3)
Food and Drug Administration advisers have set their next meeting to decide how to make the next round of COVID-19 boosters available to the general public this fall, now that they're available for older adults and high-risk people. An FDA expert panel will meet June 15 to discuss and make recommendations on what strains to include in the "periodic updated" COVID vaccines this fall. (Gonzalez, 5/4)
The Biden administration will end the public health emergency for the coronavirus pandemic on May 11. ... Here’s how major health policies will be affected when the public health emergency ends. (Sun and Goldstein, 5/4)
