Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Covid Tracking: Unpredictable Funding Could Jeopardize Sewage Surveillance
More of America's sewage systems are tracking viral risks beyond the coronavirus, but unpredictable funding threatens the future of what's become an important surveillance tool for cash-strapped public health departments. Wastewater testing — supercharged by the creation of a national surveillance system in 2020 — has been one of the more reliable metrics for tracking COVID-19 spread since other data, like daily case counts and testing, became much more scarce last year. (Moreno, 3/16)
The nation's flu activity remained elevated last week, with an increase in test positivity, as levels of two other respiratory viruses—COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)—continued their steady declines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in updates today. In its respiratory virus snapshot of all three diseases, the CDC said illness levels remain elevated in many parts of the country. Sixteen jurisdictions are reporting high or very high activity, down from 22 the previous week. (Schnirring, 3/15)
Spring is nearly here, but the 2023-24 respiratory virus season isn’t over yet. Viral activity from flu, COVID-19 and RSV has fallen from the peak, but levels remain elevated. (Forster, 3/15)
Researchers are getting closer to understanding the underlying causes of long COVID and potential ways to definitively test for it. That would be a massive step toward unlocking a complex condition that's debilitated millions of Americans, mystified scientists and frustrated patient advocates who feel their struggles have been ignored. (Reed, 3/16)
An international draft treaty aimed at bolstering readiness for the next pandemic enters a final round of scheduled negotiations Monday, with key disagreements remaining about how much knowledge and product drugmakers must share with the world. (Snyder, 3/18)
Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: Covid And Medicare Payments Spark Remote Patient Monitoring Boom
Billy Abbott, a retired Army medic, wakes at 6 every morning, steps on the bathroom scale, and uses a cuff to take his blood pressure. The devices send those measurements electronically to his doctor in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and a health technology company based in New York, to help him control his high blood pressure. Nurses with the company, Cadence, remotely monitor his readings along with the vital signs of about 17,000 other patients around the nation. (Galewitz and Hacker, 3/18)
