First Edition: May 10, 2022
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
Travel Nurses See Swift Change Of Fortunes As Covid Money Runs Dry
Tiffanie Jones was a few tanks of gas into her drive from Tampa, Florida, to Cheyenne, Wyoming, when she found out her travel nurse contract had been canceled. Jones, who has been a nurse for 17 years, caught up with a Facebook group for travel nurses and saw she wasn’t alone. Nurses had reported abruptly losing jobs and seeing their rates slashed as much as 50% midcontract. “One lady packed up her whole family and was canceled during orientation,” she said. (Norman, 5/10)
KHN:
Rural California Hatches Plan For Engineered Mosquitoes To Battle Stealthy Predator
Bryan Ruiz moved his family into a newly built home in this Central Valley farming center seven months ago and almost immediately found they were under assault. Mosquitoes bit and harassed them in broad daylight. He looked around, trying to find a water source where they were breeding, and noticed a freshly dug pipe, meant to drain water from the backyard to the front. He lifted its cap and inside found a small puddle in the drainage line, which didn’t have enough slope to fully empty. (Barry-Jester, 5/10)
ABC News:
Democrats Ready Vote To Legalize Abortion After McConnell Says National Ban 'Possible'
A critical week in the battle over abortion rights -- what activists are calling the "fight of a generation" -- kicked off in the U.S. Senate on Monday, with Democrats preparing to force a vote seeking to enshrine abortion rights into federal law, following last week's bombshell leak showing the Supreme Court's conservative majority ready to overturn Roe versus Wade. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on Monday on a motion to start debate on the Women's Health Protection Act, setting up the bill for a roll call vote on Wednesday -- but without 60 votes needed to overcome the Senate filibuster, the legislation is poised to fail, as a similar version did in February. Republicans are united against both the bill and lowering the threshold to break the Senate filibuster. (Cathey, 5/9)
ABC News:
White House Responds To Abortion-Related Protests At Homes Of Supreme Court Justices
The demonstrations sparked a response Monday from the White House that justices shouldn't have to worry about their "personal safety.""[President Joe Biden] strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest," press secretary Jen Psaki said in a Twitter post. "But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety." Republicans had accused the administration of not condemning violent threats after Psaki's initial response to protests taking place at the justices' homes. (Hutzler, 5/9)
The Hill:
Senate Passes Security Bill For Supreme Court Family Members
The Senate on Monday easily cleared a bill to extend security protections to the immediate family members of Supreme Court justices. The bill — spearheaded by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) — passed the Senate by unanimous consent, meaning all 100 senators had to sign off in order for it to pass without a formal vote.It still now heads to the House for passage. (Carney, 5/9)
Bangor Daily News:
Pro-Abortion Chalk Message Appears On Susan Collins’ Bangor Sidewalk
Sen. Susan Collins was confronted with a pro-abortion rights message Saturday night when an unknown person or persons wrote in chalk on the sidewalk outside her West Broadway home in Bangor, prompting a police response. “Susie, please, Mainers want WHPA —–> vote yes, clean up your mess,” the message read, according to a Bangor police report. WHPA refers to the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify the right to abortion into law and ban restrictions on abortion access. (Russell, 5/9)
AP:
Wisconsin Anti-Abortion Office Fire Investigation Ongoing
Police asked for the public’s help Monday in tracking down those who vandalized and threw two Molotov cocktails into the office of a prominent Wisconsin anti-abortion lobbying group’s office that was damaged by fire. No one has been arrested and there are no suspects in custody in the fire that was discovered early Sunday morning when someone driving to Madison’s nearby airport noticed flames coming from the office building, said Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes at a news conference. (Bauer, 5/9)
AP:
Running An Abortion Clinic While Waiting For Court Decision
The people who run America’s abortion clinics agree: There’s no job like it. There are the clients -- so many of them desperate, in need, grateful. There are the abortion opponents -- passionate, relentless, often furious. And hovering over it all are legal challenges, and the awareness that your clinic may be just a judicial ruling away from extinction. (Santana and Willingham, 5/9)
ABC News:
How Abortion Clinics Are Preparing For Possible Fall Of Roe V. Wade
The bombshell leak of a draft Supreme Court decision that could overturn Roe v. Wade was disheartening but not surprising to many abortion providers, who have been preparing for the possible end of legal abortion for years. Whole Woman's Health operates abortion clinics in Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota, Indiana and Texas. For Marva Sadler, the senior director of clinical services for the abortion provider, recent restrictions on abortion access in Texas offer a hint of what's to come if Roe is overturned this year. (Deliso, 5/9)
The Boston Globe:
Women Advise Young People About The Bad Old Days Before Roe
When the nurse offered to hold her hand, Ginny O’Brien didn’t understand how much she would need it. Then the doctor began the abortion procedure without anesthesia. “It was extraordinarily painful,” the 75-year-old Marblehead woman told a group of college students in Vermont last week. “They’re just ripping the inside of you out without any medication.” Just as vivid is the shame she felt when she was 23, when the doctor with the Eastern European accent shoved her legs together and chided her to use birth control next time. (Ebbert, 5/9)
Reuters:
Microsoft To Help Cover U.S. Employees' Travel Costs For Abortion
Microsoft Corp said on Monday that it would extend its abortion and gender affirming care services for employees in the United States to include travel expense assistance. Several companies, including Yelp Inc, Citigroup, Levi Strauss & Co, and Amazon.com Inc, have already pledged to cover costs for American employees who need to travel out of state for an abortion. (5/9)
AP:
Chicago Providing $500K To Expand Access To Abortion
The city of Chicago is providing $500,000 to increase access to abortion, particularly for poor people and people of color, as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to end the nationwide right to legal abortion. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that the money will go to providers as well as organizations such as the Chicago Abortion Fund and Midwest Access Coalition, which provide lodging, transportation, meals and other support to people seeking abortions. Funding will be available for Chicago residents and people from across the U.S. (5/9)
AP:
Idaho Lieutenant Governor Wants Harshest US Abortion Ban
Idaho Republican Lt. Gov. and gubernatorial candidate Janice McGeachin on Monday demanded that Republican Gov. Brad Little call a special legislative session to eliminate rape and incest as legal exceptions to Idaho’s abortion law. The Idaho law will go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide. (Ridler, 5/9)
Politico:
Republicans Splinter On How To Handle A Post-Roe World
As Roe vs. Wade teeters, Republicans are fractured about what to do next. The split may turn into a chasm if they take back full control of Washington in 2025. Some in the GOP now acknowledge they may eventually pursue national abortion restrictions should a majority of the Supreme Court follow through on its draft opinion overturning Roe, after spending several days trying to deflect by focusing on the document’s unauthorized disclosure. And there’s a range of opinions among Hill Republicans about what comes next: leave abortion policy to the states, pursue more modest restrictions or go all-out to install a ban nationwide. (Levine and Everett, 5/9)
Reuters:
Suburban Phoenix Is Cautionary Tale For Democrats Hoping To Galvanize Voters On Abortion
Laura Wilson is a mother of three who lives in the sprawling suburbs of north Phoenix, a hotly contested electoral area of Arizona that could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate after November's congressional elections. Wilson, 61, is pro-choice, voted for Democratic President Joe Biden, and knew all about the news last week that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision giving women the right to an abortion. Yet Wilson said she is undecided about who she will vote for this November, and abortion rights are not a priority for her. (Reid, 5/9)
Politico:
U.S. To Ask World For More On Global Covid Fight As Its Own Cash Dwindles
The White House is hosting a global Covid response summit this week — but the U.S. isn’t currently prepared to bring significant new money to fight the virus worldwide, according to two people familiar with the preparations. Some senior administration officials and health advocates said they fear the world will see the lack of renewed financial assistance by the U.S. as a retreat from the global efforts, and that could affect the Biden administration’s ability to drum up support from other countries. (Payne, Banco and Paun, 5/9)
The Hill:
In Shift, Democrats De-Link Ukraine Aid From COVID-19 Money
Democrats are moving to quickly pass nearly $40 billion in new Ukraine aid, which will not be linked to a stalled coronavirus package. ... The Ukraine aid will not be attached to a $10 billion coronavirus assistance package, a source confirmed. That package has been stuck for weeks in the Senate because Republicans are demanding an amendment vote to prevent the administration from lifting a Trump-era border health policy. (Carney, 5/9)
Houston Chronicle:
Democrats Call For Investigation As Texas Spends COVID Relief On Gov. Abbott’s $4B Border Plan
The Democrats, led by U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and Veronica Escobar of El Paso, wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that Abbott is stripping funding from “integral public sector resources” and spending it on Operation Lone Star, his border initiative. Abbott last month announced the state was pulling $495 million from various state agencies to fund the 10,000-member deployment. The agencies include the Health and Human Services Commission, the Juvenile Justice Department and the Department of State Health Services. (Wermund, 5/9)
USA Today:
COVID End Could Cost Medicaid Coverage For Up To 14 Million Americans
Millions of Americans who gained Medicaid health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic could lose coverage this year or next year when generous federal subsidies end, a new analysis found. Kaiser Family Foundation estimates 5 to 14 million Americans could lose Medicaid when states begin to unwind coverage after the Biden administration declares the COVID-19 public health emergency is over. The federal government provided billions in federal aid to states on the condition that they would not remove people from Medicaid until the public health emergency ends. The temporary measure to ensure Americans didn't lost coverage during the pandemic has extended more than two years. Kaiser projects sign-ups for full and partial Medicaid coverage will have swollen by 25% to 110 million by September's end. (Alltucker, 5/10)
Roll Call:
End Of COVID-19 Emergency Endangers Substance Use Treatment
Members of vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups could find it more difficult to get treatment for substance use disorders if the end of the public health emergency also brings the end of policies that allow health care providers to prescribe medications through video or audio calls, experts say. In the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic has begun, the Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed providers to prescribe the gold-standard addiction treatment to patients with opioid use disorder through telehealth without first doing an in-person evaluation that addiction experts say is a barrier to underserved communities. (Hellmann, 5/10)
Politico:
White House Adviser Susan Rice Tests Positive For Covid
White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice has tested positive for Covid-19 — the latest case amid a string of top U.S. officials who have contracted the virus. “This morning I tested positive for COVID-19. I’m feeling fine and grateful to be vaccinated and double boosted,” Rice tweeted on Monday afternoon. Rice said in the tweet she last saw President Joe Biden in person on Wednesday while masked, and “and under CDC guidance he is not considered a close contact.” (Hooper, 5/9)
ABC News:
Hospital Admission Totals Tick Up After Weeks Of Rising COVID-19 Cases
Following weeks of increasing infection rates, a growing number of Americans are heading into the hospital in need of care. On average, nearly 2,400 virus-positive Americans are being admitted to the hospital each day, up by 17% in the last week, according to federal data. Forty-one states and territories have reported increases of 10% or more in their daily number of COVID-19-related hospital admissions. (Mitropoulos, 5/9)
CIDRAP:
COVID Study: Omicron Patients Shed More Live Virus Than Those With Delta
Hospitalized South Korean patients infected with the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant shed more live virus 8 days after illness onset than those with the Delta variant, finds a study published today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. ... The authors said that the study, using culture positivity as a proxy for infectivity, may help explain the recent global Omicron surge. (5/9)
CIDRAP:
Study: Dogs Can Sniff Out COVID-19 Infections With High Success Rates
In a study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, researchers showed canine olfaction—or dog sniffing—was both highly sensitive and specific when it came to identifying patients with COVID-19, even those who were asymptomatic or presymptomatic. The researchers, based in Hawaii, exposed dogs to sweat samples from 584 participants (ages 6 to 97 years; 24% positive SARS CoV-2 samples and 76% negative SARS CoV-2 samples). Samples were collected from cotton pads runs cross the necks of participants, and the dogs had no prior history of scent training. During the first part of the study, the testing phase, the dogs detected SARS-CoV-2 from cotton pad samples with a diagnostic sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 92%. (5/9)
Los Angeles Times:
California COVID-19 Deaths Near 90,000
As of Friday, California had reported 89,851 cumulative deaths since the start of the pandemic, up 269 from the previous week. At this pace, the state is likely to surpass 90,000 COVID-19 fatalities this week. No state has suffered more total pandemic-related deaths than California. However, on a per capita basis, California has the 11th-lowest cumulative COVID-19 death rate — with 229.5 deaths for every 100,000 residents, according to data compiled by The Times. Roughly a year ago, a similar analysis revealed California had the 22nd lowest cumulative COVID-19 death rate of any state. (Lin II and Money, 5/9)
Bangor Daily News:
Maine's COVID-19 Hospitalizations Are Up 46 Percent Over Past 10 Days
Maine’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen 46 percent over the past 10 days. That comes as a surge in cases accompanying the spread of the so-called stealth omicron variant — BA.2 — gains a foothold in Maine, erasing for the moment gains the state made in reducing hospitalizations since the winter. There are now 209 Mainers infected with the virus in hospitals across the state as of Monday morning, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 205 the day before and up from 143 just 10 days earlier. It’s the highest Maine’s hospitalizations have been since Feb. 23 as they were falling off sharply from the peak set during the winter’s omicron-fueled surge in infections. (Burns, 5/9)
Houston Chronicle:
Texas Medical Center Ending Weekly COVID-19 Data Updates
The Texas Medical Center announced Monday that it will no longer be updating its COVID-19 dashboard each week, even as virus spread is increasing in the Greater Houston area. The medical center made the decision to end the updates, which have been a weekly staple for the past two years, after concluding that the virus can now be effectively managed. (MacDonald, 5/9)
AP:
Rare Cases Of COVID Returning Pose Questions For Pfizer Pill
As more doctors prescribe Pfizer’s powerful COVID-19 pill, new questions are emerging about its performance, including why a small number of patients appear to relapse after taking the drug. ... Could some people just be susceptible to a relapse? Both the FDA and Pfizer point out that 1% to 2% of people in Pfizer’s original study saw their virus levels rebound after 10 days. The rate was about the same among people taking the drug or dummy pills, “so it is unclear at this point that this is related to drug treatment,” the FDA stated. (Perrone, 5/9)
Stat:
Telehealth Aims To Crack Open Paxlovid's Prescription Bottleneck
After months of shortages, pharmacies across the United States are being stocked with drugs to treat Covid-19. Now, the bottleneck has shifted to getting a prescription — and patients and public health agencies are looking to telehealth for help. Last week, Massachusetts launched free televisits for state residents who have tested positive for Covid-19, including home delivery of Paxlovid, Pfizer’s oral antiviral, if prescribed. New York City has filled more than 16,000 courses of the drug through its home delivery program, 2,100 of which started with a free telehealth visit with NYC Health + Hospitals. And a growing number of virtual care companies are promoting televisits as a first-line resource for patients who have tested positive, advertising against Google searches for “Paxlovid” and partnering with testing companies that route patients to their providers. (Palmer, 5/10)
ABC News:
Emergent BioSolutions Discarded Ingredients For 400 Million COVID-19 Vaccines, Probe Finds
Between March 2020 and February 2022, vaccine-maker Emergent BioSolutions was forced to discard or destroy up to 400 million coronavirus vaccine doses due to the contamination of ingredients, according to a congressional report published Tuesday -- a figure that reflects more than five times what was previously disclosed by the beleaguered firm. (Bruggeman, 5/10)
Bay Area News Group:
San Jose Reinstates Mask Mandate For City Workers As COVID-19 Cases Rise
As the Bay Area braces for yet another COVID-19 surge, a few cities and agencies are reinstating indoor mask mandates as the region continues debating the worth of a patchwork of coronavirus-related health orders. Since late March, California’s case rate has nearly tripled and the Bay Area — which historically experienced a lower case rate than the rest of the state — has emerged as a COVID hotspot. Though cases are still one-tenth of what they were during January’s omicron surge, the region has more than three times as many positive cases than it did six weeks after the winter surge. That trend started in San Francisco around mid-March, followed by Santa Clara, San Mateo and a little later the other counties. (Hase, 5/9)
The Boston Globe:
Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge Schools Urging Students To Mask Up After Rise In COVID-19 Cases
School officials in Arlington, Belmont, and Cambridge are recommending that students wear masks indoors, following the CDC’s classification of Middlesex County as having a high level of COVID-19 transmission. Arlington’s superintendent, Elizabeth C. Homan, sent a letter to families on Sunday recommending the change, and Belmont’s superintendent, John P. Phelan, notified families on Monday. Cambridge Public Schools confirmed its recommendation Monday in a separate note to families signed by the “CPS Team.” (Andersen, 5/9)
The Atlantic:
How New York's COVID War Spun Out Of Control
“I had no idea I would need police protection,” Vasan told me in his first public comments about the lethal threats he and his family have faced in recent weeks. “It is surreal. I mean, I can only use that word.” Vasan, a primary-care physician and epidemiologist at Columbia University, began serving as the city’s health commissioner in mid-March. His early weeks on the job were relatively calm. Then, on the evening of April 4, roughly two dozen protesters assembled on his Brooklyn block. How they obtained his home address remains unclear. At first, the scene resembled scores of other pandemic demonstrations: anti-Biden flags, anti-mandate posters. A staccato chant echoed through the brownstone canyon: “We! The People! Will Not Comply!” Then the energy changed. A group of agitators climbed Vasan’s front steps, banged on his front door, and screamed racial epithets. Some hurled death threats. (Hendrickson, 5/9)
Houston Chronicle:
COVID Drops Texas Birth Rate Below Death Rate, State Data Shows
In the midst of the nation’s deadliest pandemic, Texas recorded more births than deaths every month since 2016 — with one exception. Provisional data from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that January 2021 was the only month when, statewide, the number of deaths was greater than the number of births. Nine months before in April 2020, the world was one month into the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, the seven-day average number of deaths from COVID-19 peaked in Texas, according to The New York Times, and vaccines had just become available to select groups of individuals. (Seline, 5/9)
NPR:
COVID Anti-Vaxxers Refuse Vaccines Despite Evidence
West Hansen pilots his muddy Subaru through the industrial landscape of Southeast Texas where he grew up — past Bible churches, donut shops and the silver industrial towers of the refineries. The longtime social worker says he's given up trying to explain to his clients how safe the COVID-19 vaccines are. "I've grown weary of it," he says. "I've realized that there's no convincing somebody once they have their mind made up." He pulls up to the neatly trimmed yard of a townhouse where Donna and Danny Downes are waiting for him in their living room. She is a work-at-home administrator for a fence contractor; he's a retired insurance salesman who is legally blind. They are devout Baptists. (Burnett, 5/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Think You Have Long Covid Symptoms? Here’s How To Get Help
You had Covid-19 weeks or months ago, yet you still aren’t back to normal. You can’t exercise the way you used to. You’re depleted after a day of work. Or you may have unusual sensations, like a racing heartbeat when you stand up and difficulty concentrating at times. Could it be long Covid? And if so, how can you find out and get the medical care you need? (Reddy, 5/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Cedars-Sinai Workers Begin Five-Day Strike Over Wages
Nearly a thousand workers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center started a weeklong strike on Monday for the first time in decades, demanding higher pay and better working conditions amid negotiations for a union contract. The previous three-year contract between Cedars-Sinai, a nonprofit healthcare organization, and the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West expired March 31 and the next round of negotiation is set to take place Tuesday. (Jha, 5/9)
Modern Healthcare:
Nurse Staffing Is Digital Health’s Newest Frontier
Amid a shortage of nurses, health systems are increasingly turning to digital health to fill gaps in scheduling. “Nurse staffing is more of a challenge now than it’s ever been,” said Eric Humphrey, chief human resources officer at Froedtert Health in Wisconsin. “It’s always been a challenge but with the pandemic we saw a lot of nurses choose to retire, others who decided to stay at home with their kids or work part time and some who just left healthcare altogether.” An analysis in Health Affairs from April found that the number of nurses decreased in 2021 for the first time in 18 years. And the problem could get worse. A McKinsey survey of nurses in February found that 32% are likely to leave the profession within the year. (Perna, 5/9)
Fox News:
Ohio AG Issues Warning About "Frankenstein Opioids," More Powerful Than Fentanyl
A dangerous, new group of synthetic opioids called "nitazenes" is rapidly spreading across the U.S. In Ohio, the state's Attorney General Dave Yost issued a warning about the prevalence of nitazenes as the Buckeye state saw an increase in the illicit drug. The drug, nicknamed "Frankestein opioids," can be 1.5 to 40 times more potent than fentanyl. It is not approved for medical use anywhere in the world but is currently being made in clandestine labs, according to a bulletin from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). (Goin, 5/10)
Bloomberg:
Guggenheim Latest Museum To Cut Sackler Name After Scandal
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum erased the Sackler family name from the institution, the latest museum to cut ties with the clan, which made billions selling opioids and contributed to a staggering public health crisis in the U.S. The Guggenheim’s Center for Arts Education dropped “Sackler” at the beginning of its name in recent weeks, according to web archives that show it listed as recently as April 28. It was removed on or before May 4, the records show. (Alexander, 5/9)
Fox News:
States Need More Resources To Meet Expected Demand For Crisis Hotline Reboot: Report
Instead of dialing 911, soon you can call 988 for a mental health emergency. But will states be ready? The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will be nationally available as 988 starting July 16, 2022, billed as the "911" for a mental health crisis. But there’s concern many states will not be ready to meet the expected increase in services, according to a recent New York Times report. "The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is awarding nearly $105 million in grant funding, provided by the American Rescue Plan, to 54 states and territories in advance of the transition of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline from the current 10-digit number to the 988 three-digit dialing code in July," per the United States Department of Health and Human Services press release. (Sudhakar, 5/9)
AP:
Kurt Cobain Guitar On Block By Colts For Mental Health Cause
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay spent years putting together his expansive guitar collection. On Monday, he announced one of his prized possessions — the Fender Mustang electric guitar used by the late Kurt Cobain — will be auctioned off to help support the team’s Kicking The Stigma mental health awareness campaign. Bidding will take place May 20-22 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City’s Times Square and a portion of the proceeds will go to Irsay’s initiative. (5/9)
Modern Healthcare:
Financial Training Linked To Health Improvement, Study Finds
Educating low-income single mothers about consumer finances led to lower stress and healthier lifestyle choices, a new study shows. Researchers from Creighton University tracked health metrics such as blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, perceived quality of life, hopefulness and lifestyle behaviors among women aged 19 to 55 who completed the academic institution's Financial Success Program , which provides personal finance training. (Hartnett, 5/9)
CIDRAP:
Overweight, Obesity Rose 18% In Kids Early In Pandemic, Study Finds
In the first 3 to 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of overweight or obese children and teens from low-income families in Ohio climbed from 38% to 45%, suggests a study presented last week at the European Congress on Obesity in the Netherlands. (Van Beusekom, 5/9)
Stat:
Study: Certain Racial, Ethnic Groups Should Be Screened Earlier For Diabetes
Widely used physician guidelines that ignore patients’ race and ethnicity could be doing more harm than good when it comes to catching diabetes in people of color. New research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday, suggests that people from certain racial and ethnic groups should be screened for diabetes at lower body mass index than non-Hispanic white people — a recommendation that contradicts recent guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force. (Cueto, 5/9)
Bloomberg:
South Africa Cuts Back Covid Vaccine Drive Amid Citizen Apathy
South Africa is scaling back its Covid-19 vaccination drive and may have to destroy doses because of a lack of demand from citizens even as the country heads into a fifth wave of infections. Take up has slowed to the point where keeping some sites running is unaffordable, said Nicholas Crisp, deputy director-general at the department of health and the person in charge of the program. Covid-19 vaccinations will need to be incorporated into South Africa’s standard medical programs, which means these specific shots will be less accessible, he said. (Sguazzin and Kew, 5/10)
USA Today:
Bahamas Sandals Resort Deaths: Americans Had Sought Medical Treatment
The three Americans who fell ill and died while at a Sandals resort in the Bahamas had been treated for symptoms at a hospital the night before, Bahamas police said Monday. Paul Rolle, Commissioner of Police, on Monday identified the two couples who became sick last week at Emerald Bay Sandals Resort and said they were from Florida and Tennessee. "They were all treated at different times, and they ate at different places," Rolle said at a press conference. "We are checking all of that and hopefully we will be able to determine whether it was some food or something else that caused it." (Stanton, 5/9)
NPR:
Doctors Without Borders Addresses Charges Of Racism Within Its Ranks
Doctors Without Borders is renowned for providing medical aid in some of the most challenging emergency zones around the world. But lately it has been grappling with another kind of challenge: racism within its ranks. On Feb. 7, the 50-year-old humanitarian giant, which also goes by its French acronym MSF, released to the public an internal report of the measures it's taking to address institutional discrimination and racism. This comes after current and former staffers reported hundreds of instances of abuse and discrimination to journalists and to a grassroots advocacy group that these MSF staffers had set up over the last two years. Their accusations included racial slurs aimed at local workers of color, segregation between local and international staffs, as well as unequal pay, benefits and opportunity for advancement for local staff and staff of color. (Lu, 5/9)