Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Lessons On Missteps, Mental Health During The Pandemic
Stat: Children And Families Need Resources To Address Trauma At Its Roots
Like many nations across the globe, the U.S. continues to combat the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration’s deficient response has elevated the emotional, physical, and economic harm suffered by families in America. As we move through this moment of collective trauma, we must adopt focused, evidence-based approaches to make our country whole again and ensure that these approaches prioritize a precious responsibility — our children’s future. (Ayanna Pressley and Carolyn B. Maloney, 10/21)
The Wall Street Journal: I Should Have Worn A Mask
For seven months I was very careful about mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. As someone with asthma, I knew I faced heightened risk. Then, at the Rose Garden nomination event for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and during debate preparations with President Trump, I let my guard down and left my mask off. I mistook the bubble of security around the president for a viral safe zone. I was wrong. There is no safe zone from this virus. (Gov. Chris Christie, 10/21)
The New York Times: America And The Coronavirus: ‘A Colossal Failure Of Leadership’
One of the most lethal leadership failures in modern times unfolded in South Africa in the early 2000s as AIDS spread there under President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki scorned science, embraced conspiracy theories, dithered as the disease spread and rejected lifesaving treatments. His denialism cost about 330,000 lives, a Harvard study found. None of us who wrote scathingly about that debacle ever dreamed that something similar might unfold in the United States. But today, health experts regularly cite President Trump as an American Mbeki. (Nicholas Kristof, 10/22)
The Washington Post: Suicide Rates During The Pandemic Remained Unchanged. Here’s What We Can Learn From That.
In late March, right as the crest of the first wave of the novel coronavirus approached, President Trump was pushing to reopen the economy. There would be “suicide by the thousands” within weeks if businesses stayed closed and people were out of work, he argued.The notion that economic shutdowns themselves could pose a greater threat to the health and safety of communities than the uncontrolled spread of a disease that has now killed more than 1 million people worldwide was and remains an important idea to consider.But asserting a fact doesn’t make it true. (Jeremy Samuel Faust, 10/21)
Stat: Hefty Price Tag For Remdesivir Ignores NIH Investment In Its Creation
Throughout the Democratic presidential primary, candidates cast a spotlight on the broken U.S. health care system and the high cost of prescription medicines. Bernie Sanders presented a sweeping plan that would allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Elizabeth Warren pledged to lower the price of several “critical public health drugs,” including insulin. An Andrew Yang campaign ad focused on high drug prices, suggesting taxpayers may be paying twice for medicines, an argument drawn from research I did with several colleagues. (Ekaterina Cleary, 10/22)
CNN: Anti-Vaxxers Use Century-Old Arguments In Covid-19 Pandemic
As we get closer to an effective vaccine for Covid-19, we should expect to see a renewed push of disinformation and vocal resistance from the anti-vaccination movement. Over the past year, seemingly endless conspiracy theories and misinformation campaigns have gained traction online amid rising Covid-19 infection rates worldwide. (Paula Larsson, 10/22)
Houston Chronicle: Death And Childcare — More Men Die But More Women Lose Work From COVID-19
COVID-19 has changed all our lives, but not equally for men and women. Two of the many differences fall in the areas of mortality and child care. Men in Harris County have died of COVID-19 in numbers 50 percent higher than women, per death certificates, though infection rates run parallel. By early October, we saw 1,161 male and 749 female reported COVID-19 deaths here, not including undiagnosed cases, and men are hospitalized at higher rates. (Elizabeth Gregory, 10/22)
