Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Newspaper's HPV Vaccine 'Expos茅' Scrutinized After Criticism
The Toronto Star鈥檚 front-page feature on the 鈥渄ark side鈥 of a widely-used HPV vaccine had all the makings of a blockbuster: a grim, gripping headline, vivid accounts from teenagers who died or were debilitated, a wrenching image of a woman holding a framed photo of her dead daughter. But it lacked a crucial component of any scientific investigation: good data. (Kaplan, 2/25)
Deaths from prescription narcotic painkillers have soared as the opioid drugs became more popular and powerful, a new federal study found. Four out of five people who used a prescription narcotic painkiller in 2011 to 2012 took pills equal to or stronger than morphine, according to statistics made public Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control National Center for Health Statistics. The percentage of people who took painkillers stronger than morphine, which include such drugs as fentanyl, hydromorphone, methadone and oxycodone, grew from 17% in 1999 to 37% in 2012, the study found. (Leinwand Leger, 2/25)