Pediatricians beg for more federal help to fight wave of RSV
WASHINGTON — After two winters spent masked and 6 feet apart, pediatric respiratory viruses have returned with a vengeance, and pediatric hospitals, emergency room doctors and pediatricians are lobbying Congress and the Biden administration to provide more support.
Pediatric hospitals deal with a wave of respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, every year. But this year, the wave of RSV is more like a tsunami, because COVID-19 mitigation measures have driven down immunity among many children. For most children, RSV is mild and does not require hospitalization, but it can be severe, especially in infants and toddlers. There is no vaccine.
“This is our March 2020. This truly is an overwhelming wave,” said Daniel Rauch, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Hospital Care, of the current surge of respiratory illnesses.
Coupled with an earlier-than-usual flu season and a cold-weather uptick in COVID-19 cases, the RSV outbreak has children’s hospitals on the brink. Pediatric hospitals are seeing the highest influenza hospitalization rate going back a decade, said Jose Romero, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
—CQ-Roll Call
Mormon church expresses support for marriage equality law in surprising move
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday that it supports legislation to protect same-sex marriages.
In a statement posted on the church’s website, officials say that the faith’s doctrine related to marriage between a man and a woman “will remain unchanged.” However, the church will support the bipartisan effort to preserve the rights of same-sex couples as long as those rights don’t infringe upon what the church calls protections to religious freedom.
“We are grateful for the continuing efforts of those who work to ensure the Respect for Marriage Act includes appropriate religious freedom protections while respecting the law and preserving the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters,” said a news release from the nearly 17 million-member faith.
“We believe this approach is the way forward. As we work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious freedom together with the rights of LGBTQ individuals, much can be accomplished to heal relationships and foster greater understanding,” the Utah-based church added.
—New York Daily News
Free speech group says ‘chilling’ Texas bill would restrict books in schools
DALLAS — A national free speech organization is raising alarm over Texas lawmakers’ “dangerous escalation” of efforts to restrict what books are available to students at school.
This week state Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Cypress Republican, filed a bill that would create state-mandated ratings for school library books based on what’s age appropriate.
But such a system gives “unprecedented power” to government officials to dictate what students and families can read, which could be determined based on subjective and potentially politicized decisions, officials at PEN America said in a release.
It’s a “clear effort to intimidate publishers and police the circulation of ideas and information,” the statement continued. “The mere introduction of this censorious legislation is chilling.”
—The Dallas Morning News
Sweden passes controversial constitutional amendment on spying
STOCKHOLM — The Swedish parliament has passed constitutional amendments that have come under criticism for their potential impact on journalism.
The Riksdag in Stockholm voted by a large majority on Wednesday in favor of a government proposal that, among other things, makes foreign espionage a criminal offense and adds it to the penal code. The amendments also impose restrictions on the right to acquire information about Sweden's international cooperation for publication in constitutionally protected media outlets.
The changes will be effective Jan. 1, 2023, the Riksdag parliament announced after the vote. As of next year, it will also become punishable to provide information that could harm Swedish relations with other states or organizations such as the United Nations or NATO, according to broadcaster SVT.
The government says the purpose is to strengthen Sweden's security and close legal loopholes. Journalists, on the other hand, fear that the measures could affect the protection of sources and whistleblowers.
—dpa
