Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Congress Must Address AMR Immediately; Covid Had A Negative Effect On Superbugs
Scientific American: Antimicrobial Resistance Is Growing Because Of COVID
Antimicrobial resistance has been a long-standing pandemic of its own that has been overlooked. COVID has reinforced the urgency of breaking the culture of liberal antibiotic use. (Sumanth Gandra and Madhukar Pai, 11/18)
Stat: Congress: Confront The Superbug Crisis And Pass PASTEUR
In new research published this year in The Lancet, drug-resistant infections were found to be at least partly responsible for nearly 5 million deaths worldwide in 2019. In comparison, Covid-19 — an emergency that prompted a global response unlike anything in recent history — killed at least 3 million people in 2020. (Carlos del Rio, 11/21)
Stat: Removing Barriers To Biosimilar Adoption In The U.S.
Biosimilars, a much-lauded approach to reducing drug costs in the United States, are still underused here, even as they are proving successful in Europe. Why? Two key reasons are misperceptions of inferiority and the intricacies of U.S. market access. (Thomas Newcomer, 11/18)
Bloomberg: Medicare Plan To Negotiate Prescription Drug Prices Should Be More Ambitious
Next year, for the first time, Medicare will be allowed to start negotiating the prices of some prescription drugs. The policy is expected to lower out-of-pocket costs and save the US government almost $100 billion over a decade. (11/17)
Los Angeles Daily News: Hyperbolic Rhetoric About Fentanyl Stifles Responsible Policymaking
In August, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issued a warning about so-called “rainbow fentanyl,” calling it a “deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.” The resulting coverage in the media was all about sparking fear amongst parents nationwide and turning the public against policies of harm reduction. (Diane Goldstein, 11/20)
