Three of the country’s largest blood donation organizations have completed a study into whether individual risk assessments could replace the current three month waiting rule.
Health News Florida: Study Could Ease FDA Blood-Donation Restrictions For Gay Men
A pilot study with three of the nation’s largest blood donation organizations could help the FDA change its blood-donation restrictions for men who have sex with men. Current FDA guidelines say that men who have sex with men must wait three months before they can donate blood. The study by OneBlood, the American Red Cross and Vitalant will determine whether the FDA should replace its three- month waiting period with an individual risk assessment. (Prieur, 5/21)
NPR: Skepticism Of Science In A Pandemic Isn’t New. It Helped Fuel The AIDS Crisis
It’s been 40 years since the first U.S. AIDS cases were were reported, and some who experienced the early years of the crisis say the effects of denialism then have carried into the COVID-19 pandemic. (Benk, King and Advani, 5/23)
On mental health —
AP: On A Mission To Heal After Exposing Her Dad To Deadly Virus
For a year, Michelle Pepe awoke every day, recited the Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, and kissed a photo of her father. And coped with her guilt. “’Dad,” she says, “I’m so sorry that this happened.”“This” was COVID-19. … Hers is a common sorrow of the times. Around the world, countless people are struggling to shake off the burden of feeling responsible for the death of a loved one due to COVID-19. They regret a trip or feel anguish over everyday decisions that may have spread the disease — commuting to work, hugging parents, even picking up food. (Andres Henao and Wardaski, 5/24)
NPR: To Heal From Her Trauma, She Turned To Weight Lifting
When personal trainer and former competitive weight lifter Laura Khoudari experienced a traumatic incident that left her with PTSD, her response was to get back to the gym and train as hard as possible. She was participating in three sports, sometimes going to two training sessions per day. “When I was living with trauma, I was using [training] as a coping skill but in a non-healthy way. I was training all the time like I was preparing for battle because I wanted to be invincible against an invisible threat,” Khoudari recalls. (Mertens, 5/21)
In other public health news —
CIDRAP: CDC Confirms 163 Salmonella Illnesses Linked To Backyard Poultry
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 163 new Salmonella infections in 43 states that are linked to backyard poultry. A total of 34 people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been recorded. Case-patients range in age from less than 1 to 87 years, with a median age of 24. But a third of the cases occurred in children under the age of 5 years, the CDC said. Of 92 patients interviewed, 81 (88%) reported contact with backyard poultry before falling ill. (5/21)
NBC News: Nearly 1 In 10 Teens Identify As Gender-Diverse In Pittsburgh Study
The number of young people who are gender-diverse — including transgender, nonbinary and genderqueer — may be significantly higher than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers in Pittsburgh found that nearly 1 in 10 students in over a dozen public high schools identified as gender-diverse — five times the current national estimates. Gender diversity refers to people whose gender identities or gender expressions differ from the sexes they were assigned at birth, according to the American Psychological Association. (Avery, 5/21)
NBC News: ‘Mind-Boggling’: Pedestrian Deaths Surged In 2020, Despite Fewer Cars On The Road
Pedestrians deaths in 2020 increased by 21 percent from 2019 — the largest annual increase since such data collection began in the mid-1970s — according to a report released Thursday by the Governors Highway Safety Association. The figure is particularly striking because there were fewer drivers on the road for much of 2020, as Americans hunkered down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “All of the metrics indicate there were fewer people on the roads, and so you would expect to see fewer traffic deaths, but it’s the opposite,” said Richard Retting, a safety researcher the GHSA contracted to do the data analysis. “It’s kind of mind-boggling.” (Edwards, 5/21)
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