Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Government's Secret Stockpiles Of Medical Supplies Could Save Lives In An Emergency
When Greg Burel tells people he's in charge of some secret government warehouses, he often gets asked if they're like the one at the end of the Raiders of the Lost Ark, when the Ark of the Covenant gets packed away in a crate and hidden forever. "Well, no, not really," says Burel, director of a program called the Strategic National Stockpile at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thousands of lives might someday depend on this stockpile, which holds all kinds of medical supplies that the officials would need in the wake of a terrorist attack with a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon. (Greenfieldboyce, 6/27)
A team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is plumbing the sewers of Boston and Cambridge, Mass., for microbes and other agents of human disease and suffering. The purpose: By testing raw sewage, public-health officials may be able to conduct a health checkup on a city or neighborhood in real time. (Ward, 6/26)
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the device, called AspireAssist. It’s a pump inserted into patients’ stomachs that allows them to drain a portion of the meals they eat. The product is proving to be controversial among bariatric experts. (Tate, 6/26)
Have an idea about how to make progress against cancer? The federal government wants to know, but the suggestion box closes next Friday. For months, the National Cancer Institute has been gathering research ideas from the public and experts around the country via a special portal, CancerResearchIdeas.cancer.gov. The suggestions are being funneled to seven working groups looking for the best opportunities for speeding up progress against cancer. But the NCI is facing a series of deadlines, so the portal will be shut down at end of the next work week. (McGinley, 6/24)
Personal genome sequencing may be the next great technology frontier in public health—but how do patients feel about knowing, sharing and acting on their genetic information? That’s a question researchers are exploring as more health-care providers, companies and research groups begin providing results of personal genome sequencing to patients and their doctors. (Landro, 6/26)
What led to the abrupt fall of FluMist -- the nasal spray version of influenza vaccine -- which until recently was considered the preferred alternative to the injectable vaccine for younger children? No one is quite sure, but there were hints of trouble for the past three flu seasons. (Appleby, 5/24)
