Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives: Too Many News Articles Have Conspiratorial Tone About Covid
CNN: Paxlovid Coverage Wrongly Suggests The Experts Blew It Again On Covid-19
What is alarming, at least to me, is the tone of some news articles that suggest the problem is new and has somehow been overlooked until now — rather than as a “Review Topic of the Week,” as the medical journal categorizes it. In medical journal parlance, a “review” denotes a roundup of existing work synthesized into a readable whole. It’s certainly not anything new or edgy. Yet the implication seems to be that somehow the experts have exposed the unwitting world to another of their mistakes — more boneheaded, uncaring care. (Sepkowitz, 10/17)
Newsweek: Inflation Is High, Why Do Republicans Want You To Pay More For Medicine?
Americans just won the long-fought battle to finally allow Medicare to negotiate the soaring cost of prescription drugs this August, but extreme Republicans are already working to put money back in Big Pharma's pocket by reversing this huge achievement. (Reps. Susan Wild, Chris Pappas and Steven Horsford, 10/18)
Stat: Why The U.S. Needs A Public Benefit Biopharma Industry
Because most disease indications are not blockbuster markets, the industry produces a narrow sector of all the “cures” needed. There are no treatments for 90% of all known diseases, and the health care economy is crumbling beneath the cost of the drugs that are produced. Moreover, few methods exist for prevention and early detection of common killers, and the industry has all but abandoned low-margin products like vaccines and antibiotics — until a crisis causes a stampede of reckless investment to push emergency development of products, as has occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic with testing, vaccines, and antiviral treatments. (Barbara Handelin and Sandra Heibel, 10/13)
The New York Times: What A.L.S. And Alzheimer’s Drug Approvals Have In Common
When faced with an incurable disease, many people are willing to try anything that may help. This is especially true when the person’s disease profoundly changes their way of life, such as with paralysis or memory loss, or if it could lead to early death. (Alison Bateman-House, 10/14)
