Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Tyson Foods Will Open Health Clinics For Employees Near Some Meat Plants
Tyson Foods is planning to open medical clinics at several of its U.S. plants to improve the health of its workers and better protect them from the coronavirus. The Springdale, Arkansas-based company, which processes about 20% of all beef, pork and chicken in the U.S., said its plan to open the clinics near its plants was in the works before the coronavirus struck this year, but that they will undoubtedly help the company respond to the pandemic. (Funk, 9/3)
With the annual flu season about to start, it's still unclear exactly how influenza virus will interact with the coronavirus if a person has both viruses. Doctors around the world have seen some patients who tested positive for both influenza virus and the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. At least a couple of dozen cases have been reported 鈥 although that's not a lot, given that over 26 million people have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. (GreenfieldBoyce, 9/3)
Sara Tibebu tried bubble baths. She curated playlists of low-fi beats, followed guided meditation videos and paid for virtual therapy. In desperation, she even plucked and dried lavender to make sachets to place inside her pillowcase. But every night, she still found herself staring at the ceiling 鈥 wide-awake. For five months, all Tibebu has wanted is a decent night of shut-eye. (Brulliard and Wan, 9/3)
They are among the greatest victims of coronavirus, yet elderly people continue to be dismissed, despite growing evidence of the devastating effects the pandemic has had on them. Earlier this week, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he had heard people describing high Covid-19 death rates among older people as "fine." (Reynolds, 9/4)
In the months since salons and barbershops shut their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, some people have caved, spontaneously snipping their hair until it looked passable for a Zoom call. Others thoughtfully watched YouTube tutorials, ordered professional-grade equipment off Amazon and tried to copy experts.And a few (including this writer) decided to just avoid mirrors. (Kornfield, 9/3)
Actor Robert Pattinson and the cast and crew of 鈥淭he Batman鈥 had been outside London filming the superhero film for almost three months when production suddenly halted in March as the novel coronavirus spread through parts of Europe. At the time, the studio said that filming would shut down for just two weeks. Instead, the film didn鈥檛 return to set until earlier this week. Now, days after restarting production, the film has shut down yet again, this time because its star reportedly tested positive for covid-19, Vanity Fair first reported, derailing the studio鈥檚 hopes for another global blockbuster. (Peiser, 9/4)
A Texas woman says she was severely burned earlier this week after the聽hand sanitizer聽on her skin reportedly caught fire and exploded while she was lighting a candle. "Everywhere I had hand sanitizer on my hand, it just lit my hand with fire,鈥 Kate Wise told KHOU-TV in Houston. 鈥淚t obviously went all over my face. And, in like a matter of five seconds, my whole body was just consumed in flames.鈥 The nearby bottle also exploded when the flames spread, she said. (Stimson, 9/4)
In sports news 鈥
The Kansas City Chiefs examined the layout of Arrowhead Stadium and did some math. They talked with state and local health officials, monitored the spread of COVID-19 over the summer, then did some more calculations. All that work spit out the most seemingly random number: 22. That鈥檚 the percentage of capacity that the Chiefs will allow through the gates at Arrowhead next week when they raise their Super Bowl championship banner before opening the NFL season with a Thursday night game against Houston. The number equates to roughly 17,000 fans 鈥 another seemingly random number 鈥 in the cavernous stadium. (Skretta, 9/3)
Back in June, the Miami Dolphins opened up Hard Rock Stadium as a drive-in movie theater鈥攁nd as an experiment. The 500 or so people who paid $39 per car to watch movies like 鈥淛urassic Park鈥 on the stadium floor were also helping the team answer a question worth billions of dollars to the NFL: Is there a safe way to have fans at stadiums in 2020? (Beaton, 9/3)