Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: State-Sponsored Bias Makes It Exhausting To Find Trans Care; More Ex-ACIP Members Speak Up
The New York Times: My Daughter Was at the Center of the Supreme Court Case on Trans Care. Our Hearts Are Broken.
There is something incredibly surreal about finding your family at the center of a landmark Supreme Court decision, from the robes and the formality to the long, red velvet curtains behind the justices. No mother imagines that her everyday fight to do right by her child would land her there. My daughter, L.W., came out as transgender late in 2020. She was just shy of 13. Four and a half years later, she is thriving, healthy and happy after pursuing evidence-based gender-affirming care. When the Tennessee legislature banned my daughter’s care in 2023, we fought back by suing the state. On Wednesday we found out that we lost that case. I am beside myself. Our heartfelt plea was not enough. (Samantha Williams, 6/18)
Stat: Four Major Threats To Vaccine Access In The U.S., Experts Warn
As former chairs of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), we are deeply alarmed by the growing politicization of vaccines — a public health innovation that has saved 154 million lives globally. While politicization of science is not new, the escalating distrust in science across the political spectrum, and its intrusion into the vaccine ecosystem, now threatens the very infrastructure that has long protected Americans from infectious diseases. (Grace Lee, Nancy Bennett, Jonathan Temte, Carol Baker and Jose Romero, 6/20)
Stat: What The MAHA Children’s Health Report Got Wrong About Our Work
In our little academic world, being cited is gratifying. It means someone actually read something we wrote, found it useful, and chose to build on it. So, we were both intrigued learning that two of our papers were cited in the MAHA report. Being cited in a major government publication is not just recognition, it’s also publicity. But in this case, not good publicity. Here’s why. (Steven Woloshin and Richard L. Kravitz, 6/20)
Stat: Addiction Treatment Must Prioritize Patient Safety, Professional Standards
One of us, Ryan, fights every single day to maintain long-term recovery from a substance use disorder that nearly cost him everything. The other, Teresa, lives with the permanent, aching void left by the loss of her beloved son Spencer at age 24 to a preventable overdose. This loss came after losing her 17-year-old son, Graham, in 2014 shortly after leaving rehab. Losing both of her children to this epidemic has left an irreplaceable emptiness. (Ryan Hampton and Teresa Cobleigh, 6/19)
Chicago Tribune: AI Therapy? We Won't Be Lying On That Couch.
Imagine — life is tricky, so much so that you decide it’s time to talk to a therapist. It’s a big step, but you collect your thoughts, close your eyes and dive in. Did you picture the person on the other end of this intimate, one-on-one conversation sitting in a chair on the other side of the room? Or did you imagine unburdening yourself to a bot on a distant server? (6/18)
