Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Even Among Health Care Workers, Getting Care For Long Covid Isn't Easy
Healthcare workers with long-COVID symptoms reported that their physicians shrugged off their concerns and that they struggled to get the care they needed, a new systematic review suggests. (Van Beusekom, 3/6)
Long COVID may be to blame for the worsening headaches, nausea, fatigue and sweats that accompany hangovers, a recent study shows. The peer-reviewed study done by researchers at Stanford University concluded that SARS-CoV-2 infection could be related to increased alcohol sensitivity. The group at Stanford鈥檚 Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome Clinic studied four patients to determine if their long-term COVID had any effect on them after alcohol consumption. (Limehouse, 3/6)
A new analysis of all-cause mortality of Hispanic and Latino adults published in Annals of Internal Medicine shows Mexicans and Central Americans were most affected by the pandemic. Participants were recruited from the Bronx, New York City; Chicago; Miami; and San Diego and were of Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and South American backgrounds. (Soucheray, 3/6)
Free COVID-19 tests are still available by mail, but the U.S. Postal Service says orders will be suspended after Friday. Since Nov. 20, residents have been eligible to receive up to two orders of four at-home COVID-19 tests via the USPS, meaning each home could receive up to eight tests. The offer is ending just as COVID-19 restrictions and recommendations from health officials have been significantly relaxed, but testing continues to be a central part of the recommendations made by state and federal officials. (Hernandez, 3/6)
What makes for good public health guidance? That鈥檚 the conversation I was having with a colleague in her 40s railing against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention鈥檚 erstwhile guidance about alcohol consumption for women of 鈥渃hildbearing鈥 years. The guidance, if followed closely, would mean that all women ages 15 to 49 should fully abstain from alcohol consumption unless they鈥檙e using birth control. That鈥檚 more than 77 million women in the U.S. alone. The CDC guidance was finally archived last year, along with a similar proposal from the World Health Organization. For good reason: It鈥檚 absurd. (Ashish K. Jha, 3/6)
