This week’s news roundup focuses on looking ahead for how we can continue to improve public health and make healthcare more effective and accessible for all.
#BumpDay Highlights Coronavirus And Racial Disparities In Pregnancy
In America, the death rate for pregnant women is increasing at a rate higher than every other developed country. This problem originates with structural racism, and worsens from health conditions and poverty. #BumpDay called attention to these unacceptable disparities. [via Forbes]
A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons
The Marshall Project has been monitoring the rate of COVID-19 in prisons. By July 21, there were over 70,000 cases confirmed, and over 700 deaths, highlighting the impact of the virus in correctional facilities. [via The Marshall Project]
Rapid, Cheap, Less Accurate Coronavirus Testing Has A Place, Scientists Say
The next generation of testing will focus on speed. While a faster test might have somewhat lower accuracy, the ability to test large groups of people more frequently might be the only way we can move forward. [via NPR]
Everything You Wanted to Know About Antibody Testing
A helpful break down of what it really means to get an antibody test, and what a positive or negative result might imply. [via City Limits]
Medical Student Couldn’t Identify Symptoms on Darker Skin Tones, so He Wrote a Book
Malone Mukwende, a 20-year-old medical student, noticed a pattern of being unable to translate how symptoms looked on darker skin tones. Alongside two of his professors, he wrote and published Mind the Gap: A Handbook of Clinical Signs in Black and Brown Skin, the title inspired by the London subway systems tagline of “Mind the Gap” calling out that if they didn’t take immediate action it continue to put people in danger. [via The Washington Post]