Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Kamala Harris Has Kids, No Matter The Political Hot Takes
The New York Times: Attacking Kamala Harris For Not Having Kids Will Backfire
If you think that the concerns of parents and families will always be “abstract” to someone who doesn’t have children, you’re telling on yourself. It’s not simply that, by all accounts, Vice President Kamala Harris has a close, loving relationship with her stepkids. It’s that it’s possible for people who have basic empathy to understand the needs, aspirations and concerns of fellow citizens who aren’t exactly like them — and to commit to their well-being. It actually should be a requirement for presidential candidates to have compassion for people they’ll never meet. ... It should go without saying, but: Having children doesn’t necessarily make you a better person. (Jessica Grose, 7/23)
Politico: JD Vance Has A Bunch Of Weird Views On Gender
The one instinct that JD Vance and the rest of the New Right share is a deep skepticism about modern feminism and gender equality — or what the New Right calls “gender ideology.” Overt chauvinism that seeks to roll back much of feminism’s gains is one of the most obvious unifying threads of this varied movement, and Donald Trump’s choice of Vance anoints and entrenches it into the culture-war side of the MAGA movement. (Laura K. Field, 7/24)
The Atlantic: Biden Made A Healthy Decision About Aging
For months, I have wished that I could have Biden in my exam room, not as the president of the United States, but as a patient in my geriatrics clinic. Instead, watching from afar as he insisted on running, I wondered if his doctors were talking to him honestly about his concerning symptoms, and his disappointing odds of fulfilling the requirements of the office for another term. I hoped that if they were discussing his future, they were pointing out the advantages of taking charge in this situation, even when no available option was Biden’s ideal. But, given what they and the president said in public before he ended his campaign, I worried that little of this was happening. Despite the aging U.S. population, few clinicians are trained to care for aging bodies, much less to discuss the developmental stages of elderhood and identity-threatening realities of later life. (Louise Aronson, 7/24)
The New York Times: How on Earth Is There a Syphilis Epidemic in 2024?
The surge in congenital syphilis isn’t due to the infection’s many disguises; it’s because of failures of our health system and safety net. According to the C.D.C., nine out of 10 congenital syphilis cases in 2022 were preventable; lack of prenatal testing and timely treatment were the most common culprits, intersecting with social ills such as poverty, homelessness, substance use and incarceration. Because of systemic inequities, Indigenous, Pacific Islander and Black communities are hardest hit; 1 in 155 Native American births were affected by congenital syphilis in 2022. (Ina Park, 7/25)
Harvard Public Health: Small Sample Size Doesn’t Justify Lack Of Health Disparity Data
We know health disparities exist, but we don’t collect enough data on them—and small sample size is used as an excuse. Time for that to end. (Tran T. Doan, 7/24)
Stat: The DOJ Shouldn't Impede Sponsored Genetic Testing For Rare Diseases
It takes years for most people with a rare disease to learn what is ailing them. Their symptoms may be crystal clear, but the cause isn’t. Efforts by the Department of Justice — an agency not known for its medical expertise — will make things even harder for the millions of Americans, half of them children, with one of these diseases. (Emil D. Kakkis, 7/25)
