Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: The Current Vaccine Discussion Is Defective; Conspiracy Theories Won't Make America Healthy
When researchers report an apparent side effect or adverse outcome, they can be near certain that bad actors will twist their words to undermine their meaning. Some of those bad actors will argue that side effects mean vaccines are bad for everyone. Others will say that past assurances of safety are malicious deceptions. (Dr. James Hamblin, 3/26)
Shortly after the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the new Health Secretary, the Trump Administration issued a new executive order establishing the 鈥楳ake America Healthy Again鈥 (MAHA) Commission. A significant focus is on addressing the health of American children, including plans to investigate root causes of chronic disease and generate strategies for improvement. I鈥檓 a pediatrician and a mother of three young children, and I am concerned that the outlined plan will fail in helping our children achieve the administration鈥檚 goal of improving child health outcomes. (Lauren Palladino MD, 3/26)
In 2019, President Trump stood before Congress and the American people and聽pledged聽to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030. Now, his administration is聽reportedly聽considering dismantling a program 鈥 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention鈥檚聽Division of HIV Prevention 鈥 necessary to achieve that goal. Taking the CDC out of the fight against HIV would be a huge mistake. (Raynard Washington and Michelle Taylor, 3/26)
23andMe might have filed for bankruptcy, but the transformation it brought to health care over nearly two decades is irreversible. I鈥檓 a physician, scientist, and advocate for public health. I鈥檝e witnessed how empowering people with knowledge about their own biology drives meaningful health decisions and actions, something millions have now experienced firsthand. (Michael Mina, 3/25)
How did 23andMe go bankrupt? The same way bankruptcy was described by Ernest Hemingway in 1926: 鈥淭wo ways: Gradually, and then suddenly.鈥 (Matthew Herper, 3/24)
Also 鈥
March 25 marks the day seven years ago that a young gentleman, father and son named J鈥橝llen Jones was brutally slain at the hands of corrections officers at Garner Correctional Institute.聽Jones鈥 family and StopSolitaryCT have been working hard since then to get the State of Connecticut and DOC to release the video of his beating to the public.聽As a former corrections nurse I can attest it is of the utmost importance that people are made aware of what happened to Jones that day because brutal, neglectful and inhumane treatment resulting in unnecessary deaths continues to occur in our correctional facilities. (Karen Conley, 3/25)