A “pathogen-neutral” strategy

Also: Medicaid renewals are starting. Those who don't reenroll could get kicked off [View in browser](    [❤️]( March 21, 2023 Hi CommonHealth reader, I’ve been reflecting on what was happening in the world three years ago this month. It’s hard to forget March 2020. The coronavirus pandemic was just beginning to take shape. We were hunkering down at home, and we didn’t know what to expect. COVID is still with us. But with the widespread availability of vaccines, tests and treatments, it is not as dangerous for most people, or as disruptive to society, as it once was. Against this backdrop, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced that she plans to end the [state COVID health emergency]( — and the requirement that state employees be vaccinated against COVID. These measures end May 11, the same day the federal health emergency is scheduled to end. I recently spoke with Healey’s secretary of health and human services, Kate Walsh, about these changes. Walsh was CEO of Boston Medical Center for nearly 13 years — including in the grueling early days of the pandemic — before [joining the administration]( a few weeks ago Walsh acknowledged the years of suffering that the pandemic has caused, but she said it’s time to update COVID policies. She told me the state is pivoting to a "pathogen-neutral" strategy — in other words, treating COVID more like other contagious viruses. (As I reported earlier this month, state health officials also are planning to close the remaining [state-funded COVID testing sites](. "We have learned how to live with this, and work with this, and keep schools open, and worship with this, and go to bars and football games," Walsh said. I asked her if state officials would be prepared to respond if there were another COVID surge or a concerning new variant in the future. For example, would they quickly be able to ramp up testing again? "We certainly know how to do it," Walsh said. "So I think we'll be able to do that." You can read more about the implications of the end of the state's COVID public health emergency [here](. Whatever you think of the policy changes, I hope you, like me, are feeling better about things now than in March 2020. Priyanka Dayal McCluskey Senior Health Reporter [Follow]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [Medicaid renewals are starting. Those who don't reenroll could get kicked off]( With a pandemic-era rule expiring this month, people on Medicaid will have to re-qualify to keep their coverage. Language barriers, housing instability and computer literacy could stand in their way. [Read more.]( [Medicaid renewals are starting. Those who don't reenroll could get kicked off]( With a pandemic-era rule expiring this month, people on Medicaid will have to re-qualify to keep their coverage. Language barriers, housing instability and computer literacy could stand in their way. [Read more.]( [Opioids are devastating Cherokee families. The tribe has a $100 million plan to heal]( The fentanyl crisis is hitting young people hard, and the highest death rates are in Native American communities. The Cherokee Nation is working to help young families recover. [Read more.]( [Opioids are devastating Cherokee families. The tribe has a $100 million plan to heal]( The fentanyl crisis is hitting young people hard, and the highest death rates are in Native American communities. The Cherokee Nation is working to help young families recover. [Read more.]( [Sickle cell patient's success with gene editing raises hopes and questions]( A Mississippi woman's life has been transformed by a treatment for sickle cell disease with the gene-editing technique CRISPR. All her symptoms from a disease once thought incurable have disappeared. [Read more.]( [Sickle cell patient's success with gene editing raises hopes and questions]( A Mississippi woman's life has been transformed by a treatment for sickle cell disease with the gene-editing technique CRISPR. All her symptoms from a disease once thought incurable have disappeared. [Read more.]( [Maternal deaths in the U.S. spiked in 2021, CDC reports]( After years of high rates, the country hit a new high during the pandemic, far exceeding rates in other developed nations. Black women are at especially high risk. [Read more.]( [Maternal deaths in the U.S. spiked in 2021, CDC reports]( After years of high rates, the country hit a new high during the pandemic, far exceeding rates in other developed nations. Black women are at especially high risk. [Read more.]( [COMMENTARY: We are failing postpartum mothers — even though we know how to help them]( In the United States, it's almost as if we accept postpartum depression as an inevitable outcome, writes Chelsea Conaboy. We drop new parents in the stream, with a promise to catch them — if we can. [Read more.]( [COMMENTARY: We are failing postpartum mothers — even though we know how to help them]( In the United States, it's almost as if we accept postpartum depression as an inevitable outcome, writes Chelsea Conaboy. We drop new parents in the stream, with a promise to catch them — if we can. [Read more.]( What We're Reading 📚 Being an emergency room doctor may not be as coveted a position as it used to be, according to a [recent story in the Washington Post](. Applicants to emergency medicine training programs dropped 26% from 2021 to this year, according to National Resident Matching Program data, the Post reported. Doctors and industry associations say the declining interest is a symptom of a medical field in trouble. Emergency rooms are strained, [doctors are burned out]( and many students are thinking twice before choosing a career in the ER. As the story notes, the reality is a long way from the fictional world of "ER," the country’s most viewed TV show in the mid-90s. "It’s just frustrating to watch some of these brilliant minds get ground down by just the pressures of the system that they have very little influence and control over," Charlie, a medical student in New England, told the Post. "I really need to think about whether this is something sustainable that I can make a career out of." "There is just no reason for a rich country to have poor maternal mortality." — Eileen Crimmins, professor at the University of Southern California, about the [increase in maternal deaths]( in the U.S. ICYMI [Mass. lawmakers to wade into fierce debate over court-mandated mental health care]( Most mental health advocacy groups oppose a bill that would allow judges to compel people to get outpatient mental health care. But supporters say it could help in some cases. [Read more.]( [Mass. lawmakers to wade into fierce debate over court-mandated mental health care]( Most mental health advocacy groups oppose a bill that would allow judges to compel people to get outpatient mental health care. But supporters say it could help in some cases. [Read more.]( 🧠💥 Did you know...💥🧠 … Japan has coffee shops where patrons can [mingle with exotic animals]( — but some of the animals have "questionable origins." That’s according to researchers who studied the animals and discovered some of them are endangered and banned from international trade. In other words, these rare creatures probably don’t belong in a coffee shop. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? 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