Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Infectious-disease detective Victoria Chu had only a few hours notice for her unusual assignment. Fly in a military helicopter to a cruise ship idling off the coast of San Francisco. Rappel down to the ship deck, then test passengers and crew for the deadly coronavirus that was spreading around the globe. It was early March 2020. The virus had already killed 14 Americans, including a passenger who had previously traveled on the ship. (Sun, 5/15)
Kevin Boyce was a homebody at heart. Just weeks prior, he was peeling off his heavy boots as he got home from work. He was sinking into the couch to watch TV with his wife. He was romping around on the living room floor with his now 2-year-old granddaughter. It was hard to believe he was now dying of Powassan virus. (Douglas, 5/12)
Nearly every day in Santa Fe, N.M., people released from jail trudge along a dangerous highway to get back to town. Jails often fail to offer safe transport options for prisoners. (Bogel-Burroughs, 5/12)
A new clinic, opened by a pulmonologist who lost his home in the Palisades blaze, is addressing the health issues developing among people exposed to the fires. (Baumgaertner Nunn, 5/13)
In the circular office designed by Charlap Hyman & Herrero, each and every room is a unique experience. (Schilling, 5/12)
Allan O鈥橞riant knows that providing clean drinking water to 125,000 customers can be a tall order. As the water treatment plant supervisor for Harnett Regional Water, he鈥檚 constantly balancing the need to disinfect the water supply with controlling potentially harmful byproducts. One of the challenges O鈥橞riant and his colleagues face is controlling trihalomethanes, a chemical liquid byproduct that forms when chlorine, used to kill microorganisms, reacts with natural organic matter in the water. (Atwater, 5/12)
For a pontiff, Pope Leo XIV is young. At 69, he鈥檚 seven years junior to his predecessor Francis when he became pope, and nine years to Benedict XVI before him. Still, the new pope is already older than many people are when they retire. And he is not simply adopting a new hobby. He is taking on a high-stakes, high-stress role that he is expected to occupy until death. (Agrawal and Ravindranath, 5/13)
