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The Trump administration reportedly plans to eliminate two essential CDC training programs, a decision that would weaken America’s public health defenses. The Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) and Laboratory Leadership Service (LLS) strengthen critical capabilities in local health departments and public health laboratories. Their elimination is shortsighted and risks public safety at a time when the nation’s ability to detect and contain health threats, including H5N1 avian influenza, is already strained. (Tom Frieden, 2/18)

You need medical care, but the earliest available appointment isn’t for weeks. Even if you could wait, you’d still have to take time off work, find childcare and somehow get to a clinic that’s an hour away. America has some of the best medical expertise in the world, but actually accessing that care is like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded. The most radical change the pandemic brought to the U.S. health care system was the near-universal embrace of telemedicine to deliver virtual care. (Kiki Freedman, 2/18)

On Jan. 20, the Trump administration issued Executive Order 14168 “From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” The aim of this new rule is to restrict gender and sex to two biological sexes and to assign strict definitions of who is male and who is female. Many of us learned a similar, simple definition in high school biology. But just like Mendel and his peas don’t fully explain the actual complexity of genetic inheritance, simple definitions for biological sex do not fully capture the human experience. (Dane Samilo, 2/18)

In our careers as pulmonary and critical-care doctors, we have witnessed a revolution in treating asthma, a disease that affects one in 12 Americans. Newer medications make it possible to reverse the course of the disease and bring people with severe asthma into remission. These new treatments mean that no one should die of an asthma attack. Yet we continue to see patients with life-threatening flare-ups in the intensive care units where we work. Shockingly, 10 people die of asthma daily in the United States. (Jehan Alladina, C. Corey Hardin and Alexander Rabin, 2/18)

Patients want to know, and clearly deserve to know, who is treating their injury or illness in every medical setting. Clarity and transparency have never been more important than they are today, when healthcare is delivered by a broad range of health professionals. Asking medical professionals to display their credentials and capabilities allows patients to make informed choices about their healthcare. American Medical Association (AMA) research shows that 91% of patients believe a physician's years of education and training are vital elements of optimal care. (Bruce A. Scott, 2/18)