Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Lessons About COVID Task Force Membership, Vaccine Confidence
Stat: Missing From Biden's Covid-19 Task Force: Mental Health Expertise
The unprecedented spike in depression and anxiety that has accompanied the coronavirus pandemic points to a glaring omission from President-elect Biden’s Covid-19 task force: Mental health expertise is nowhere to be found among the physicians, epidemiologists, and public health experts. (Roy Perlis, Matthew A. Baum and Katherine Ognyanova, 11/23)
Los Angeles Times: Put Nurses On Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board
Despite widespread distrust in American institutions, trust in nurses remains high — and could serve as a powerful tool in the fight against COVID-19, which poses the greatest health threat in a century. For 18 years in a row, Americans have rated the honesty and ethics of nurses highest among a list of professions in an annual Gallup poll. In 2019, 85% of respondents gave nurses a “high” or “very high” rating in trust, higher than any other profession. The public also holds nurses’ efforts to improve the U.S. healthcare system in the highest regard, above any other profession, according to a New York Times/Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health report on American values and beliefs about national health insurance reform. (Stacy Torres and Andrew Penn, 11/23)
CNN: How To Instill Public Confidence In A Covid-19 Vaccine
Few measures in preventive medicine can compare with the impact of vaccines. In fact, the only human disease ever eradicated, smallpox, was wiped out with a vaccine. Given the major health burden caused by the novel coronavirus, having a safe and effective vaccine would be a critical tool in mitigating that burden. (Walter Orenstein, 11/20)
Bloomberg: FDA's Remdesivir Fail Is A Warning For Pfizer And Moderna Vaccines
Less than a month ago, the Food and Drug Administration said hospitals could use remdesivir, a drug manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc., to treat patients with Covid-19. Remdesivir, sold under the brand name Veklury, was said to shorten recovery times and reduce the need for ventilators to facilitate breathing. Yesterday, the World Health Organization hit the brakes: It recommended that doctors avoid using the drug altogether. “There is currently no evidence that remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients,” the WHO noted, citing detailed studies it sponsored. “The evidence suggested no important effect on mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, time to clinical improvement, and other patient-important outcomes.” (Timothy O'Brien, 11/20)
The Wall Street Journal: Trump’s Gift To Joe Biden
Congratulations to drug companies for their tremendous work developing Covid-19 vaccines and therapies in record time. Their reward from the Trump Administration is a new regulation imposing drug price controls, which will make it easier for Joe Biden to go further next year. The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday finalized a “most-favored nation” rule requiring drug makers to give Medicare the lowest price they charge comparable developed countries. This means the feds will refuse to pay more for medicines than government-run health systems in Europe. Didn’t Mr. Trump campaign against socialism? (11/20)
The Hill: Will Biden Shut Down The Country And Throw Open The Borders?
Joe Biden was elected to be the steady, competent hand to guide the nation through COVID-19 health and economic crises, and perhaps heal social divisions. The president-elect has yet to reveal his plan for getting the pandemic under control, but sources close to him have indicated that it could entail a lengthy national lockdown in addition to other stringent measures. (Ira Mehlman, 11/22)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Biden’s COVID-19 Strategy Should Prioritize Low-Income Communities Like Philly’s
As America focused on the presidential election, COVID-19 cases surged. This alarming trend underscores the task now before President-Elect Biden and his COVID-19 Task Force: to “listen to science” and implement strategies that minimize pandemic-related suffering for Americans—particularly those living in poverty. The pandemic has hit poor communities like much of Philadelphia hard. Low-income individuals are the least able to forego work in order to care for high-risk loved ones, creating a trade-off between bringing home money to keep the heat on and bringing home the virus to loved ones. Virus-related hospitalizations and death have been higher in areas with greater poverty. (Joshua M. Liao and Amol S. Navathe, 11/21)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Missouri Needs A Dang Mask Order. Now.
Not that anyone should still need it, but there is now further proof of the effectiveness of wearing masks against the coronavirus. An ongoing St. Louis University study comparing infection rates of St. Louis-area counties where masks are and aren’t required confirms the obvious: Mask mandates dramatically lower the transmission rate. Even Missouri Gov. Mike Parson now encourages citizens to mask up. So why does he continue to resist implementing a statewide mask order, as other Republican governors have finally started doing? (11/22)
Louisville Courier Journal: Trust Nurses. Wear Face Masks, Wash Your Hands And Social Distance
It is well documented that for the 18th consecutive year, people trust nurses more than any other professional group (Gallup Poll, 2020). In Kentucky, nearly 90,000 of these dedicated professionals bring babies into the world, care for people before, during and after major surgeries and illnesses and provide comfort and clinical expertise as the end of life draws near. They also serve in myriad academic, business and industry and leadership roles. From licensed practical nurses to doctoral level nurse practitioners and beyond, these are the people residents of the commonwealth depend upon to help them live healthy lives. (Donna Meador and Delanor Manson, 11/23)
Des Moines Register: Native Mascots Need To Be Replaced At Iowa Schools
In NFL stadiums and in the high school bleachers of Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Florida, Washington, and every state in between, we have witnessed an evolution in mainstream views on the use of Native American mascots, nicknames, and imagery. Our Iowa school districts and communities have an opportunity to be on the forefront of this movement and should likewise evolve beyond the use of Native mascots. The use of Native symbols and likenesses is inarguably degrading and hurtful to Native people, who are forced to see themselves reduced to mere caricatures and forced to see their cultures co-opted for purposes divorced from Native self-determination. For nearly 30 years, mental health professionals have noted that the use of Native mascots is measurably detrimental to Native people. (Iowa Commission on Native American Affairs, 11/21)
