Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Surgeon General Derides Covid Vaccines; Experts Assure Their Safety
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo is urging more study of people who say they were injured by COVID-19 vaccines. A press conference in Tampa on Thursday, Ladapo also praised the federal government's decision in May, announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to no longer recommend COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. (Sheridan, 7/17)
In an analysis of 911 data, The Baltimore Sun found that, while behavioral health calls in Baltimore surged in the past two years, the number of those calls diverted to mental health services dropped more than 50%, leaving police officers to respond to situations they might be ill-prepared to handle. (Schumer, 7/17)
The Illinois Department of Public Health has doled out tens of thousands of dollars in fines to dozens of nursing homes throughout the Chicago area, including a handful where 鈥渟evere鈥 violations led to residents鈥 deaths, the agency announced this week. (Johnson, 7/17)
The St. Louis County Department of Public Health has confirmed its first West Nile virus-positive mosquitoes of the summer. The mosquito samples were collected from both north and west county. In 2023, the percentage of mosquitoes testing positive for the virus skyrocketed to 23%, up from just 2.6% the year prior. Last year, it was nearly 22%. (Mizelle, 7/18)
The Northeast has seen a rise in tick-related hospitalizations this summer. State health officials and scientists are working to mitigate the issue. Scott C. Williams, a chief scientist with The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said the increase in ticks can be attributed to warmer winters. (Hanzlik-Barend, 7/17)
North Carolina can seek federal funding to help its overloaded response efforts to Tropical Storm Chantal, which killed at least six people and left damage from flooding in its wake, as Gov. Josh Stein announced a state of emergency Thursday. ... Some rivers reached record-breaking levels from the storm, including the Eno River in Durham, one of several cities where some residents lost access to safe drinking water because of damage to the water system. (Seminera, 7/17)
