Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: 'Tripledemic' Is Cause To Mask Up Again; Why Are Viruses So Bad This Year?
This 鈥渢ripledemic鈥 of flu, Covid and RSV is a reminder that even as the pandemic ends, the threat of seasonal respiratory viruses remains. Thankfully, our toolkit for tackling them is similar to what works to suppress Covid alone, starting with the most basic and flexible level of protection: masking. (Abdullah Shihipar, William Goedel and Abigail Cartus, 11/27)
Amid the holiday season, understanding the dynamics of how viruses surge and plunge helps explain why so many people, especially young children, are sick right now 鈥 or will be this winter. (Florian Krammer and Aubree Gordon, 11/28)
For three days, my 1-year-old grandson Monroe聽was treated for聽respiratory syncytial virus聽(RSV) in an empty infusion room in the emergency department of a large children鈥檚 hospital.聽(Coleen Hubbard, 11/24)
Have you ever been so sick you couldn鈥檛 get into bed? Yes, you read me right. I鈥檝e had the experience of being too sick to get out of bed before. But when COVID-19 hit me, I was too sick to get into bed. (Clarence Page, 11/27)
Also 鈥
The NYC Abortion Access Hub continues our city鈥檚 legacy of serving as a reproductive health refuge. Abortion is an essential part of basic reproductive health care, and access to abortion care is a public health issue. (Ashwin Vasan, Leslie Hayes and Laura Louison, 11/27)
Late on a Friday, I sit reviewing some of my patients鈥 old medical records instead of heading home to be with my family. I鈥檒l likely be doing it next Friday, and the one after that. This wasn鈥檛 my idea. The health system I work for discovered that some patients for whom CT scans were ordered never got them over the ensuing two to three years. (Walter J. O'Donnell, 11/28)