Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: US Is Entering A Painful Period As Medical Researchers Grapple With Federal Funding Freeze
Doctors take an oath to 鈥渄o no harm.鈥 That sadly doesn鈥檛 apply to the Trump administration officials who have thrown America鈥檚 medical research into chaos by freezing funds, halting grants and banning travel. (David Ignatius, 1/29)
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 鈥渘othing justifies violence but 鈥︹ became the first four words in nearly every social media takedown of America鈥檚 private health insurance system. But the public鈥檚 anger with our balkanized and profit-centric health care system didn鈥檛 start with alleged shooter Luigi Mangione or when Medicare or Obamacare were under threat. It鈥檚 haunted me for decades. (Daniel Zingale, 1/30)
It was the case that, thanks in part to disparate vaccination rates, counties that voted more heavily for Donald Trump in 2020 were also counties with higher covid-19 death tolls relative to their populations. (Philip Bump, 1/29)
Pharmacy deserts are a growing phenomenon, an analysis published last year in U.S. Pharmacist shows. A pharmacy desert is 鈥渄escribed as a low-access community where the residents have to travel farther to get to the nearest pharmacy to fill their prescriptions.鈥 (Laura Washington, 1/29)
For decades, Maryland has been a trailblazing state, with Baltimore at its heart. We鈥檝e taken pride in using science to inform policies; yet in the fight for healthy, scientifically sound school start times, Baltimore and other counties in Maryland are falling behind. The detrimental effects of early school start times are widespread and well-known. Up to 70% of adolescents are sleep deprived, the effects of which are tied to myriad damaging health effects from chronic health issues to impaired school performance. (Aysheh Abuarqub, 1/29)