The Big Picture

News in Brief

"HHS extends public health emergency for COVID-19" (CIDRAP).

"WHO warns covid 'nowhere near over' as variants spike in U.S., Europe" (WP).

"The power imbalance undermining global health — A landmark deal between rich and poor countries was supposed to help end the pandemic. It has done nothing of the sort" (Atlantic).

Preparedness

"Officials reorganize HHS to boost pandemic response" (WP).

"Why disasters are getting more severe but killing fewer people" (Vox).

"COVID-19 pandemic fuels largest continued backslide in vaccinations in three decades" (WHO).

Antibiotic Resistance

"As Big Pharma loses interest in new antibiotics, infections are only growing stronger" (KHN).

"How the pandemic screwed up our antibiotics — Antibiotic resistance was already a crisis. Covid-19 made it an emergency" (Vox; see also: CDC special report noted below).

Special Reports and Other Resources

CDC: COVID-19: U.S. Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022 [pdf] (July 2022)

"CDC's new report discusses changes in healthcare settings and other consequences of the pandemic that have worsened antimicrobial resistance in the US. The report focuses on COVID-19's impacts on tracking and data, preventing infections, antibiotic use, environment and sanitation, and vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. It finds that there was an increase of at least 15% from 2019 to 2020 in resistant infections starting during hospitalization, also noting that 'Because of pandemic impacts, 2020 data are delayed or unavailable for 9 of the 18 antimicrobial resistance threats.' It also provides an outlook and recommendations for the future of building public health capacity for antimicrobial resistance."

Summary from: The Pandora Report 7.15.2022

DOD: Strengthening Food Security in the Force: Strategy and Roadmap [pdf] (July 2022)

"On March 4, 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III released a message to the Force outlining his three key priorities: defend the Nation, take care of our people, and succeed through teamwork. To ensure the United States remains the world's greatest fighting Force, the Department of Defense (DoD) must continue to focus on ways to improve how we take care of our people.

In November 2021, Secretary Austin released a memorandum addressing economic security in the Force, and acknowledged challenges facing some of our Service members and families. Secretary Austin ordered immediate actions to address the issue as an initial step. He approved temporary increases of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) in high cost areas, extensions for Temporary Lodging Expenses (TLE), and the creation of the Military OneSource Military Leader's Economic Security Toolkit. He also directed actions that will enable the Department to address economic challenges over the long-term, including the development of a strategy and implementation roadmap dedicated to strengthening food security in the Force.

Challenges stemming from economic security manifest themselves in a number of ways, including reports of food insecurity. Food insecurity is commonly defined as when a person or a household does not have enough nutritious food to live an active, healthy life, and can range from relying on cheaper, less-nutritious foods to skipping meals.

This strategy and roadmap outlines a plan to address food insecurity, delivering a holistic approach that starts with an effort to understand the experiences of Service members and their families. These evidence-informed actions address a breadth of issues, and include goals across six lines of effort designed to: 1) increase access to healthy food, 2) enhance spouse economic opportunities, 3) review Service member pay and benefits, 4) reinforce financial resources and awareness, 5) encourage Service members and families to seek available resources and services, and 6) expand data collection and reporting."