Health
New COVID poll: Democrats have a ‘particularly negative’ outlook, are most likely to keep wearing masks
People are becoming more concerned about COVID-19 amid the recent uptick in cases and new variants, according to Gallup’s latest quarterly poll.
Gallup polled more than 5,000 U.S. adults between Aug. 29 and Sept. 5.
Thirty percent of respondents said they believe the pandemic is getting worse — up from 5% in late May/early June and 8% in February, according to a news release on Gallup’s website.
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Although Gallup noted that this is the “highest rate of pessimism” since July 2022, it is far more positive than in 2020, when up to 73% of Americans said the pandemic was getting worse.
Despite the increase of worried Americans, the largest share (41%) said they believe the COVID situation is improving.
Another 30% said it is remaining the same, Gallup noted.
About 25% of people in the U.S. said they are at least “somewhat” worried about getting infected with COVID, up from 18% in May/June.
Thirty-six percent are “not too worried,” and 37% are “not worried at all,” the poll found.
Thirty percent of respondents said they believe the pandemic is getting worse, up from 5% in late May/early June and 8% in February.
Despite the uptick, that is still less than half the share of people who were worried in 2020, when 59% were concerned.
Overall, the majority of Americans (53%) still believe the pandemic is over, although this is a decrease from 64% in May/June.
Outlooks vary by political party
Among political parties, all are more likely to say the COVID situation is worsening — but “Democrats have grown particularly negative about the trajectory,” stated the Gallup news release.
The share of Democrats who feel the situation has worsened has risen from 6% in May/June to 44% in September.
Among Republicans, only 16% believe the situation has gotten worse.
“Meanwhile, the smaller changes seen this quarter in Americans’ concern about getting the coronavirus and belief the pandemic is over can be attributed mainly to Democrats,” the Gallup release stated.
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Democrats’ concern about getting COVID rose from 26% to 41%; yet this fear did not rise for Republicans or independents compared to the last poll.
While 51% of Democrats thought the pandemic was over last quarter, only 35% feel that way now.
Meanwhile, 77% of Republicans and 57% of independents believe it’s over.
Most people are still not wearing masks, poll finds
The poll also asked U.S. adults about their stance on masking.
A little over half of respondents, or 55%, said they never wear a mask, while 45% still wear one at least some of the time.
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Of the 45%, only 6% wear one always or very often, 11% said they do so sometimes and 28% said they wear one only rarely.
Democrats are much more likely to wear a mask currently — 25% of the Democrats who answered the survey wear one at least sometimes, compared to 15% of independents and only 6% of Republicans.
Those who said they still do wear masks provided the following reasons for doing so, according to Gallup:
- 13% say they are immunocompromised and protecting themselves from COVID-19
- 35% say they are not immunocompromised but wear masks for protection anyway
- 11% say they are following CDC guidelines to wear one for other people’s protection
- 19% say they are protecting themselves from poor air quality
- 22% mentioned other reasons not related to COVID-19
COVID is ‘back on the radar,’ says Dr. Siegel
COVID is “back on the radar,” according to Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor — but the responses are mixed, from fear to denial to fatigue, he said.
“The most important thing, and this is what I tell my patients, is that we have tools now that we didn’t have before — rapid tests, Paxlovid, vaccines, even masks, which you can get some benefit from if a proper-fitting, high-grade mask is worn in a high-risk setting for a high-risk patient,” noted Siegel.
“I have the tools to help my patients, so for the most part, the worry is much less.”
While the doctor does not believe that COVID is over, he said that because there is “significant remaining immunity in the community,” the current version appears to be much more of an upper respiratory virus than the original.
“I have the tools to help my patients, so for the most part, the worry is much less,” Siegel said.
“The time for COVID hysteria — both among those who are petrified and among those who would deny it — is over.”
Cold and flu season plays a part, says Dr. Laura Purdy
Dr. Laura Purdy, a board-certified family medicine physician in Miami, said she believes the revival of the COVID conversation stems from entering cold and flu season.
“This time of year, patients in general have concerns about getting sick and what they can personally do to protect themselves,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“We’re going to see COVID cases because this is the time of year when people catch and transmit viruses more easily, and it seems most of the population is aware of that,” Purdy continued.
“So these concerns are valid, since we will most likely see a rise in numbers.”
“The time for COVID hysteria — both among those who are petrified and among those who would deny it — is over.”
For those who are concerned about the health risks of getting COVID, Purdy suggested taking protective measures.
“If that is getting a COVID vaccine, washing hands frequently or wearing a mask, they should do that,” she said.
Practicing good hygiene and handwashing practices is always a good rule of thumb during flu season, the doctor noted.
“Each person is going to pick and choose how they would like to protect themselves and others during this season,” Purdy said.
“If you have any questions or concerns about how you can best protect yourself and what to do if you get sick, consult your doctor,” she also said.
Context is key, says Dr. Brett Osborn
Dr. Brett Osborn, a neurologist and longevity expert in Florida, said there’s a need for context when considering the rise in COVID-related hospital admissions.
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“There has been a spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations during September — and the poll makes reference to the first week of September only — but the curve is already flattening,” he told Fox News Digital.
This is shown in the updated CDC data from Sept. 25, Osborn noted. “There has been a 4.3% decrease in COVID-related hospitalizations as of the most recent week.”
As time goes by, Osborn predicts that COVID-19 and its subvariants will closely mirror the flu.
“This is how I counsel my patients,” he said. “In that regard, there has not been a single patient in my practice who has voiced concerns about COVID.”
“COVID is here to stay. There is nothing we can do about this very basic epidemiologic fact.”
As far as the people who believe the pandemic is getting worse, Osborn described that as “a misrepresentation of reality.”
“This is simply a virus being a virus, nothing more,” he said.
“We can expect more of these sporadic peaks in the future, but they will likely be of low amplitude, as is the case here, and of far less clinical relevance than during the 2020 pandemic.”
The doctor added, “COVID is here to stay. There is nothing we can do about this very basic epidemiologic fact.”
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
Health
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Health
As bird flu spreads, CDC recommends faster 'subtyping' to catch more cases
As cases of H5N1, also known as avian flu or bird flu, continue to surface across the U.S., safety precautions are ramping up.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday its recommendation to test hospitalized influenza A patients more quickly and thoroughly to distinguish between seasonal flu and bird flu.
The accelerated “subtyping” of flu A in hospitalized patients is in response to “sporadic human infections” of avian flu, the CDC wrote in a press release.
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“CDC is recommending a shortened timeline for subtyping all influenza A specimens among hospitalized patients and increasing efforts at clinical laboratories to identify non-seasonal influenza,” the agency wrote.
“Clinicians and laboratorians are reminded to test for influenza in patients with suspected influenza and, going forward, to now expedite the subtyping of influenza A-positive specimens from hospitalized patients, particularly those in an intensive care unit (ICU).”
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The goal is to prevent delays in identifying bird flu infections and promote better patient care, “timely infection control” and case investigation, the agency stated.
These delays are more likely to occur during the flu season due to high patient volumes, according to the CDC.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Health care systems are expected to use tests that identify seasonal influenza A as a subtype – so if a test comes back positive for influenza A but negative for seasonal influenza, that is an indicator that the detected virus might be novel.
“Subtyping is especially important in people who have a history of relevant exposure to wild or domestic animals [that are] infected or possibly infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses,” the CDC wrote.
In an HHS media briefing on Thursday, the CDC confirmed that the public risk for avian flu is still low, but is being closely monitored.
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The agency spokesperson clarified that this accelerated testing is not due to bird flu cases being missed, as the CDC noted in its press release that those hospitalized with influenza A “probably have seasonal influenza.”
Niels Riedemann, MD, PhD, CEO and founder of InflaRx, a German biotechnology company, said that understanding these subtypes is an “important step” in better preparing for “any potential outbreak of concerning variants.”
“It will also be important to foster research and development of therapeutics, including those addressing the patient’s inflammatory immune response to these types of viruses – as this has been shown to cause organ injury and death during the COVID pandemic,” he told Fox News Digital.
Since 2022, there have been 67 total human cases of bird flu, according to the CDC, with 66 of those occurring in 2024.
The CDC recommends that people avoid direct contact with wild birds or other animals that are suspected to be infected. Those who work closely with animals should also wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE).
Health
Sick Prisoners in New York Were Granted Parole but Remain Behind Bars
When the letter arrived at Westil Gonzalez’s prison cell saying that he had been granted parole, he couldn’t read it. Over the 33 years he had been locked up for murder, multiple sclerosis had taken much of his vision and left him reliant on a wheelchair.
He had a clear sense of what he would do once freed. “I want to give my testimony to a couple of young people who are out there, picking up guns,” Mr. Gonzalez, 57, said in a recent interview. “I want to save one person from what I’ve been through.”
But six months have passed, and Mr. Gonzalez is still incarcerated outside Buffalo, because the Department of Corrections has not found a nursing home that will accept him. Another New York inmate has been in the same limbo for 20 months. Others were released only after suing the state.
America’s elderly prison population is rising, partly because of more people serving long sentences for violent crimes. Nearly 16 percent of prisoners were over 55 in 2022, up from 5 percent in 2007. The share of prisoners over 65 quadrupled over the same time period, to about 4 percent.
Complex and costly medical conditions require more nursing care, both in prison and after an inmate’s release. Across the country, prison systems attempting to discharge inmates convicted of serious crimes often find themselves with few options. Nursing home beds can be hard to find even for those without criminal records.
Spending on inmates’ medical care is increasing — in New York, it has grown to just over $7,500 in 2021 from about $6,000 per person in 2012. Even so, those who work with the incarcerated say the money is often not enough to keep up with the growing share of older inmates who have chronic health problems.
“We see a lot of unfortunate gaps in care,” said Dr. William Weber, an emergency physician in Chicago and medical director of the Medical Justice Alliance, a nonprofit that trains doctors to work as expert witnesses in cases involving prison inmates. With inmates often struggling to get specialty care or even copies of their own medical records, “things fall through the cracks,” he said.
Dr. Weber said he was recently involved in two cases of seriously ill prisoners, one in Pennsylvania and the other in Illinois, who could not be released without a nursing home placement. The Pennsylvania inmate died in prison and the Illinois man remains incarcerated, he said.
Almost all states have programs that allow early release for inmates with serious or life-threatening medical conditions. New York’s program is one of the more expansive: While other states often limit the policy to those with less than six months to live, New York’s is open to anyone with a terminal or debilitating illness. Nearly 90 people were granted medical parole in New York between 2020 and 2023.
But the state’s nursing home occupancy rate hovers around 90 percent, one of the highest in the nation, making it especially hard to find spots for prisoners.
The prison system is “competing with hospital patients, rehabilitation patients and the general public that require skilled nursing for the limited number of beds available,” said Thomas Mailey, a spokesman for the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. He declined to comment on Mr. Gonzalez’s case or on any other inmate’s medical conditions.
Parolees remain in the state’s custody until their original imprisonment term has expired. Courts have previously upheld the state’s right to place conditions on prisoner releases to safeguard the public, such as barring paroled sex offenders from living near schools.
But lawyers and medical ethicists contend that paroled patients should be allowed to choose how to get their care. And some noted that these prisoners’ medical needs are not necessarily met in prison. Mr. Gonzalez, for example, said he had not received glasses, despite repeated requests. His disease has made one of his hands curl inward, leaving his unclipped nails to dig into his palm.
“Although I’m sympathetic to the difficulty of finding placements, the default solution cannot be continued incarceration,” said Steven Zeidman, director of the criminal defense clinic at CUNY School of Law. In 2019, one of his clients died in prison weeks after being granted medical parole.
New York does not publish data on how many inmates are waiting for nursing home placements. One 2018 study found that, between 2013 and 2015, six of the 36 inmates granted medical parole died before a placement could be found. The medical parole process moves slowly, the study showed, sometimes taking years for a prisoner to even get an interview about their possible release.
Finding a nursing home can prove difficult even for a patient with no criminal record. Facilities have struggled to recruit staff, especially since the coronavirus pandemic. Nursing homes may also worry about the safety risk of someone with a prior conviction, or about the financial risk of losing residents who do not want to live in a facility that accepts former inmates.
“Nursing homes have concerns and, whether they are rational or not, it’s pretty easy not to pick up or return that phone call,” said Ruth Finkelstein, a professor at Hunter College who specializes in policies for older adults and reviewed legal filings at The Times’s request.
Some people involved in such cases said that New York prisons often perform little more than a cursory search for nursing care.
Jose Saldana, the director of a nonprofit called the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, said that when he was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility from 2010 through 2016, he worked in a department that helped coordinate parolees’ releases. He said he often reminded his supervisor to call nursing homes that hadn’t picked up the first time.
“They would say they had too many other responsibilities to stay on the phone calling,” Mr. Saldana said.
Mr. Mailey, the spokesman for the New York corrections department, said that the agency had multiple discharge teams seeking placement options.
In 2023, Arthur Green, a 73-year-old patient on kidney dialysis, sued the state for release four months after being granted medical parole. In his lawsuit, Mr. Green’s attorneys said that they had secured a nursing home placement for him, but that it lapsed because the Department of Corrections submitted an incomplete application to a nearby dialysis center.
The state found a placement for Mr. Green a year after his parole date, according to Martha Rayner, an attorney who specializes in prisoner release cases.
John Teixeira was granted medical parole in 2020, at age 56, but remained incarcerated for two and a half years, as the state searched for a nursing home. He had a history of heart attacks and took daily medications, including one delivered through an intravenous port. But an assessment from an independent cardiologist concluded that Mr. Teixeira did not need nursing care.
Lawyers with the Legal Aid Society in New York sued the state for his release, noting that during his wait, his port repeatedly became infected and his diagnosis progressed from “advanced” to “end-stage” heart failure.
The Department of Corrections responded that 16 nursing homes had declined to accept Mr. Teixeira because they could not manage his medical needs. The case resolved three months after the suit was filed, when “the judge put significant pressure” on the state to find an appropriate placement, according to Stefen Short, one of Mr. Teixeira’s lawyers.
Some sick prisoners awaiting release have found it difficult to get medical care on the inside.
Steve Coleman, 67, has trouble walking and spends most of the day sitting down. After 43 years locked up for murder, he was granted parole in April 2023 and has remained incarcerated, as the state looks for a nursing home that could coordinate with a kidney dialysis center three times each week.
But Mr. Coleman has not had dialysis treatment since March, when the state ended a contract with its provider. The prison has offered to take Mr. Coleman to a nearby clinic for treatment, but he has declined because he finds the transportation protocol — which involves a strip search and shackles — painful and invasive.
“They say you’ve got to go through a strip search,” he said in a recent interview. “If I’m being paroled, I can’t walk and I’m going to a hospital, who could I be hurting?”
Volunteers at the nonprofit Parole Prep Project, which assisted Mr. Coleman with his parole application, obtained a letter from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City in June offering to give him medical care and help him transition back into the community.
Still incarcerated two months later, Mr. Coleman sued for his release.
In court filings, the state argued that it would be “unsafe and irresponsible” to release Mr. Coleman without plans to meet his medical needs. The state also said that it had contacted Mount Sinai, as well as hundreds of nursing homes, about Mr. Coleman’s placement and had never heard back.
In October, a court ruled in the prison system’s favor. Describing Mr. Coleman’s situation as “very sad and frustrating,” Justice Debra Givens of New York State Supreme Court concluded that the state had a rational reason to hold Mr. Coleman past his parole date. Ms. Rayner, Mr. Coleman’s lawyer, and the New York Civil Liberties Union appealed the ruling on Wednesday.
Fourteen medical ethicists have sent a letter to the prison supporting Mr. Coleman’s release. “Forcing continued incarceration under the guise of ‘best interests,’ even if doing so is well-intentioned, disregards his autonomy,” they wrote.
Several other states have come up with a different solution for people on medical parole: soliciting the business of nursing homes that specialize in housing patients rejected elsewhere.
A private company called iCare in 2013 opened the first such facility in Connecticut, which now houses 95 residents. The company runs similar nursing homes in Vermont and Massachusetts.
David Skoczulek, iCare’s vice president of business development, said that these facilities tend to save states money because the federal government covers some of the costs through Medicaid.
“It’s more humane, less restrictive and cost-effective,” he said. “There is no reason for these people to remain in a corrections environment.”
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