Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Anti-Vaccination Movement Optimistic They'll Find An Ally In Trump White House
Stat: Meeting With Trump Emboldens Anti-Vaccine Activists
The discredited researcher who launched the anti-vaccine movement met with Donald Trump this summer — and found him sympathetic to the cause. Now, with Trump preparing to move into the White House, leaders of the movement are newly energized, hopeful they can undermine decades of public policy promoting childhood vaccinations. At the most basic level, they’re hoping Trump will use his bully pulpit to advance his oft-stated concern — debunked by an extensive body of scientific evidence — that there’s a link between vaccines and autism. (Robbins, 11/30)
In other public health news —
Stateline: Lax Ambulance Rules Put Paramedics, Patients At Risk
Unlike school buses, ambulances are not regulated by the federal government. While states set minimum standards for how they operate, it’s usually up to local EMS agencies or fire departments to purchase the vehicles and decide whether to require their crew to undergo more stringent education and training. Some agencies demand that crew members in the back of an ambulance use lap and shoulder restraints for their patients and themselves, but many agencies don’t. In some places, ambulance drivers don’t receive any special training before they get behind the wheel, even though they must speed through traffic under tremendous pressure. (Bergal, 11/30)
Boston Globe: True Or False? Fat Is Bad For You
Why can’t we learn to love fat? The answer to that question is embedded in a bigger story, one about how our collective fixation on the components of food — like fat or salt or starch — rather than food itself, has warped our national diets. Over decades of hyperfocus, we turned our backs on actual fruits and vegetables in favor of mixed fruit “snacks” — 100 percent of your daily vitamin C! — and snack straws made of processed veggie powder. (Moran, 11/29)
The Associated Press: EPA Begins Process To Regulate Toxic, Widely Used Chemicals
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday released a list of toxic chemicals that will be the first reviewed under a recently enacted law that gives regulators increased authority to ban substances shown to endanger human health. (11/29)
