- The potential fallout of ending the COVID-19 emergency – HSPH News:Ending the COVID-19 public health emergency in May 2023 could make it harder for some people, depending on their insurance status, to access free vaccines and COVID-19 tests and treatments. This could lead to inequities and even to future outbreaks, according to experts. People could have to pay different amounts for COVID testing and uptake of free vaccines could be further quelled. Millions who became eligible for Medicaid under emergency declarations could also lose that coverage in certain states, which could lead to increased health inequities and more opportunities for the virus to spread.
- Coronavirus Roundup: The Emergencies Declared Due to COVID … – GovExec.com:The Biden administration plans to extend the COVID-19 national and public health emergency until May 11, but will give a 60-day notice prior to termination. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., an emergency medical physician, will be the ranking member on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
- The end is near: The COVID-19 National and Public Health … – Lockton: The Biden Administration has announced that the COVID–19 National Emergency (NE) and Public Health Emergency (PHE) will expire in May 2023. The end of these emergency declarations will bring new administrative burdens to plan sponsors as they unwind procedures put in place under the outbreak period guidance initially released by federal regulators in 2020. Employers should consider whether plan terms must be amended to return the plan to a pre–pandemic state and ensure appropriate records are retained that demonstrate compliance with COVID–era provisions.
- As many as 1 in 10 Coloradans may have been hit by long COVID, a … – Colorado Public Radio: Colorado officials have released an estimate of how many people in the state have been affected by long COVID–19, suggesting that as many as one in ten Coloradans have experienced it. Symptoms can last weeks, months, or even years after infection, and only 30 to 40 percent of long COVID patients have returned to their individual health baseline so far.
- The reality of long COVID in 2023 | TPR – Texas Public Radio: Dr. Monica Verduzco–Gutierrez is a professor and chair of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. After recovering from COVID–19, she found that she had long COVID, which left her unable to do simple tasks like walk around a mall. She now runs two long COVID clinics, where she helps patients manage their symptoms and adjust to their new realities.
- A scoping review of the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing … – Nature.com: This scoping review examined the impacts of physical distancing measures on vulnerable populations such as older people, children/students, low–income populations, migrant workers, people in prison, people with disabilities, sex workers, victims of domestic violence, refugees, ethnic minorities, and people from sexual and gender minorities. It found that physical distancing measures had unintended consequences such as prolonged loneliness, mental distress, unemployment, income loss, food insecurity, widened inequality, and disruption of access to social support and health services, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of different vulnerable populations.
- 8th Circ. Won’t Revive Lab Manager’s Disability Bias Suit – Law360
- Activist Alice Wong reflects on ‘The Year of the Tiger’ and her hopes … – NPR: Alice Wong, an activist and writer, discussed the start of the Lunar New Year and her hopes for the rest of 2023. She noted that while the past few weeks have been difficult, she believes there is hope in the work of activists and communities to bring about change. She encouraged people to continue to support one another, stay informed and make their voices heard.
- Covid-19 numbers rising as new ‘Kraken’ variant takes hold – Stamford Mercury: Covid–related hospital admissions are increasing again due to a new variant of the virus, XBB.1.5, nicknamed the ‘Kraken‘ due to its rapid spread in the U.S. at the end of last year. The highest rates of hospital admissions are currently in the south east of England with a rate of 8.67 per 100,000 people, and the Zoe study suggests daily symptomatic cases could now number 63,000 new instances a day.
- The most common Covid symptoms right now – and the one that means it’s ‘much more likely’ to be flu – Manchester Evening News: The new XBB1.5 ‘Kraken‘ variant of Covid–19 is slowly increasing its presence in the UK. If you have a sore throat and runny nose, you may have Covid, but if you have a fever it is more likely you have the flu.
- New potentially concerning COVID-19 variant, Orthrus Ch.1.1, found in SC – wpde.com: The CDC is tracking a new potentially dangerous coronavirus variant called Orthrus CH.1.1, which got its name from a variant tracker in Australia. It has a mutation seen in Delta and is present in the United States and South Carolina. Dr. Brannon Traxler with the Dept. of Health and Environmental Control said the variant has made its way to South Carolina in the past couple of weeks, but our trends in the state continue to trend downwards even with this new variant.
Daily News Pulse for March 13, 2023
Summary: Princeton students have seen an overall improvement in course satisfaction since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Japan, many people are still wearing masks despite the government’s easing of guidelines.
