Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Covid Vaccines Should Have Saved More People; 988 Mental Health Line A Step In Right Direction
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccines Were A Triumph But Reached Too Few
Stop and reflect on the success of the coronavirus vaccines. While most vaccines take five to 10 years to develop and manufacture, the remarkable mRNA shots appeared in less than a year. (7/8)
USA Today: Call 988: New Suicide Hotline Can Help As Mental Health Crisis Worsens
Before COVID-19, nearly 40 million people in the United States were identified in 2019 as having mental illness. Worse, fewer than half (45%) received treatment. The stress of the pandemic has exacerbated this crisis, with isolation, stress and worsening access to treatment. (Dr. Jerome Adams, 7/10)
Modern Healthcare: Medicine Needs To Stop Sending Patients To War
"If cancer treatments won't help, how am I going to fight this?" The sheer emotion in this inquiry from a patient could fill an empty room. It's the distress of an irreconcilable paradox in care—a medical stalemate in a battle, void of victory. The perception is that the only remaining path forward is to "give up and let cancer win." (Dr. Joshua Jackson, 7/8)
Dallas Morning News: Texas Needs To Increase Investments In Children’s Mental Health Initiatives
In the aftermath of the killings of students and teachers in Uvalde, it is difficult to have a conversation about mental health that doesn’t morph into a call for hardening school buildings. However, Texas’ mental health system for children also needs significant additional resources. (7/11)
Dallas Morning News: We Have To Be Smarter In Our Approach To Veteran Suicide
It has been difficult to change the narrative surrounding veteran suicide. But to implement smarter policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs for suicide prevention initiatives, we have to do just that. Otherwise, the issue will remain a tired policy discussion that officials become numb to, and the lack of urgency and creativity in solutions will persist. (Cole Lyle, 7/11)
Stat: Secrecy: A Demon Of Gene Therapy's Past Bedevils Its Future
Twenty-three years ago, the field of gene therapy was bursting with the promise of breakthrough treatments. Then it was almost instantly derailed by the death of an 18-year-old clinical trial volunteer named Jesse Gelsinger after he received a genetically engineered virus that had been developed to treat his rare liver condition. (Eric B. Kmiec, 7/11)
