Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Evidence Shows Vaccine Does Not Affect Fertility; Should Vaccines Be Mandated To Enter US?
Scientific American: COVID Vaccines Show No Signs Of Harming Fertility Or Sexual Function
Rumors and myths about COVID-19 vaccine effects on all aspects of reproduction and sexual functioning have spread like a Delta variant of viral misinformation across social media platforms, where people swap rumors of erectile dysfunction and fertility disruptions following vaccination. Yet studies so far have not linked the vaccines with problems related to pregnancy, menstrual cycles, erectile performance or sperm quality. The evidence does show that COVID-19 can involve problems in all of these areas. (Emily Willingham, 8/24)
The Star Tribune: Require Vaccine For Foreign Visitors
Plans are being developed to require vaccination against COVID-19 for all would-be foreign travelers to America. It's just sensible. First reported earlier this month by Reuters, the Biden administration is formulating a new system that would dovetail with the expiration of current restrictions on travel to the U.S. Those restrictions aren't set to end anytime soon, according to the White House. (8/23)
Stat: As Delta Spreads, It's Time To Put Children's Health First
As pediatricians, we are committed to putting children’s health first. Last year, though, when hospitals filled with adults with Covid-19, we turned our attention to caring for them. Across the country, pediatric units were closed to make room for sick adults. Our pediatric patients didn’t complain, and neither did we. Although kids appeared to be largely spared by the virus during the early phase of the pandemic, we saw with our own eyes the gravity of severe Covid-19-related illness in young people: more than 100 children in our hospitals’ ICUs required life-saving treatment due to Covid-19 and many more have persistent symptoms that affect their daily lives. (Sallie Permar and Jordan Orange, 8/24)
The Atlantic: FDA Delays Carry A Death Toll
This morning, the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine for use in people 16 and older. Although “the vaccine approval was the fastest in the agency’s history,” as The Washington Post noted, serious side effects have proved extremely rare. Nevertheless, anti-vaccine activists—and the politicians and pundits pandering to them—have criticized the accelerated approval process as rushed. Yet the problem with the FDA is precisely the opposite: The agency too often fails to recognize the danger of being too cautious. (Conor Friedersdorf, 8/23)
Kansas City Star: Missouri Father, 7 Kids Get COVID, Vaccinated Mom Healthy
From his Kansas City hospital bed, 42-year-old Ben Anderson, of Cameron, Missouri, has a message for those who, like him, have for whatever reason not yet gotten the COVID-19 vaccine: “These nurses, doctors, are overwhelmed. They are doing the best they can but the emergency rooms are so busy with COVID patients they can’t even stop to clean up the vomit from one patient before they get a code blue and have to run because someone is dying. They are not showing us that on the nightly news. People don’t get it. This is not the sniffles.” (8/24)
Los Angeles Times: Bring On The COVID Vaccination Mandates
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was the first to receive an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December. And as of Monday, it is the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive full approval from the FDA for people over age 16. It’s a milestone moment in the prolonged public health crisis. The status upgrade may not affect the lives of people who have already received one or two of the 200 million Pfizer doses that have been administered in the U.S., but it’s a game changer for the millions of Americans who aren’t vaccinated. (8/23)
USA Today: With Pfizer's FDA Approval, It's Time To Mandate COVID Vaccinations
Full FDA approval was announced Monday for Pfizer's BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination. An announcement for the Moderna vaccine likely will follow. With delta variant cases and hospitalizations increasing, particularly among the unvaccinated, it's time for employers and schools to mandate the jab for their workers. Only with a widespread, employer-based mandate will America turn this year-and-a-half pandemic into a virus that the nation can live with, much like Americans live with the flu. (8/23
The Washington Post: Why The FDA’s Full Approval Of The Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Could Be A Turning Point
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for those 16 years old and above. This long-anticipated regulatory change marks a crucial turning point in the effort to increase vaccine uptake.There are five reasons. First, though many employers, universities and government entities have already implemented vaccine mandates, others have been waiting for this official stamp of approval. United Airlines, the Pentagon and universities from Louisiana to Minnesota have all said they will institute vaccine requirements after full approval. A school district in Culver City, Calif., has already mandated inoculation of eligible students. I expect more schools to follow given the full approval, adding the coronavirus vaccine to the long list of childhood vaccinations that are already required for students to enroll. (Leana S. Wen, 8/23)
