The AP (3/13, Swenson, Klepper) reported that “journalists, public health officials and tech companies” have sought to counter the “bogus claims about the virus, masks and vaccines [that] have exploded since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic a year ago,” but “much of the job of correcting misinformation has fallen to the world’s front-line medical workers.” The AP highlights that nurses are playing a key role in the effort, but concedes that “in some cases, it’s nurses and other health care workers themselves spreading misinformation. And many nurses say they encounter falsehoods about the coronavirus vaccine in their own families.”

Related Links:

— “Nurses fight conspiracy theories along with coronavirus “Ali Swenson and David Klepper, AP, March 13, 2021

The AP (3/12, Leicester) reported around the world, pediatric healthcare professionals are seeing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s mental health. In France, Japan, and other countries, physicians have reported increases in suicide attempts among children and teenagers. The AP adds, “Pediatric psychiatrists say they’re also seeing children with coronavirus-related phobias, tics and eating disorders, obsessing about infection, scrubbing their hands raw, covering their bodies with disinfectant gel and terrified of getting sick from food.”

Related Links:

— “Global rise in childhood mental health issues amid pandemic “John Leicester, AP, March 12, 2021

The Washington Post (3/12, Chiu) reported, “Several health-related organizations held a news conference Friday to raise alarm about the significant effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on Americans’ efforts to quit smoking.” In a report (PDF) released Friday, the “North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC) found a steep drop in calls during 2020 to the National Cancer Institute-operated portal that connects callers to local quitlines.” And “at the same time, the nonprofit noted, cigarette sales increased after years of steady decline, according to data from the Treasury Department.”

USA Today (3/12, Alltucker) reported, “Officials attributed the decline in calls…to stress, anxiety, depression and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

CIDRAP (3/12, Van Beusekom) reported a research letter published in JAMA Network Open suggests that the majority of COVID-19 survivors have “symptoms of major depressive disorder months after recovery.” The researchers “analyzed internet-based nonprobability survey and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) responses from 82,319 adult coronavirus survivors delivered in eight waves from June 2020 to January 2021.”

Related Links:

— “Half of COVID survivors note lingering signs of depression “Mary Van Beusekom, CIDRAP News, March 12, 2021

CNN (3/11, Maxouris, Sanchez, Almasy, McPhillips) reports one year after the WHO declared a pandemic, 10% of the U.S. population is vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. According to the CDC’s website, “at least 33.9 million Americans are protected with either a one-dose or two-dose vaccine.”

Related Links:

— “One year after the pandemic was declared, 1 in 10 Americans have been fully vaccinated “Christina Maxouris, Ray Sanchez, Steve Almasy and Deidre McPhillips, CNN, March 11, 2021