Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Psilocybin Businesses Are Sprouting As First Licenses Issued In Colorado
The Denver Post: Colorado Issues First Psilocybin-Related Licenses, Kicking Off Psychedelic Industry Rollout
Colorado regulators have issued the first licenses to individuals seeking to open psilocybin-related businesses. As of Thursday afternoon, the Department of Revenue’s Natural Medicine Division had approved seven license applications for prospective business owners, including one who wants to open a psilocybin mushroom cultivation and another who hopes to operate a healing center. Additionally, the division issued one license to a local who hopes to work in the nascent industry. (Ricciardi, 2/25)
More health news from across the U.S. —
NBC News: As Texas Measles Outbreak Grows, Parents Are Choosing To Vaccinate Kids
As the measles outbreak in Texas keeps spreading, parents who previously chose not to vaccinate their children are now lining up to get their kids the shots needed to protect them from the serious illness. “We’ve vaccinated multiple kids that have never been vaccinated before, some from families that didn’t believe in vaccines,” said Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock's health department. On Tuesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 124 cases of measles have been confirmed since late January, mostly in counties in West Texas, near the New Mexico border. (Edwards, 2/25)
NBC News: Utah Set To Become First State To Ban Fluoride In Public Water
Utah is gearing up to make history as the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems if Gov. Spencer Cox signs a bill to prohibit the addition of the tooth decay-fighting mineral. If signed into law, HB0081 would prevent any individual or political subdivision from adding fluoride "to water in or intended for public water systems." ... "The bill also repeals previous laws related to fluoridated water provisions, including sections about providing fluoridated water upon resident request and under emergency circumstances," the bill summary reads. (Alsharif, 2/25)
Iowa Public Radio: House GOP Advances Bill To Remove Civil Rights Protections For Transgender Iowans
Republicans on the Iowa House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill Monday that would remove civil rights protections for transgender Iowans from state law, as a few hundred people protested the bill at the Statehouse. (Sostaric, 2/25)
Iowa Public Radio: Cancer Report Finds Iowans Have High Rates Of New Cancer Diagnoses But Are More Likely To Survive
Iowa continues to have one of the highest rates of new cancer diagnoses in the country, according to the annual Cancer in Iowa report by the Iowa Cancer Registry. Iowa remains second in the nation, behind Kentucky, for the rate of new cancers, according the the report's age-adjusted data. (Krebs, 2/25)
The New York Times: As Poverty Rises In New York City, 1 In 4 Can’t Afford Essentials
A quarter of New York City residents don’t have enough money for staples like housing and food, and many say they cannot afford to go to the doctor, according to a report that underscores the urgency of an affordability crisis elected officials are struggling to confront. The report, by a research group at Columbia University and Robin Hood, an anti-poverty group, found that the share of New Yorkers in poverty was nearly double the national average in 2023 and had increased by seven percentage points in just two years. The spike is in part due to the expiration of government aid that was expanded during the pandemic. (Oreskes, 2/26)
KFF Health News: Los Angeles County Has Cut Homelessness, But Wildfires Threaten To Erase That Gain
As flames engulfed a nearby canyon, dozens of residents in a sober-living home fled to an unoccupied building about 30 miles south. The evacuees, many of whom were previously homeless, watched helplessly as their home burned on live TV. When they awoke on air mattresses the next morning, loss set in. Some feared uncertainty. Others were jolted back to lives they thought they’d left behind. (Hart, 2/26)
The New York Times: To Identify Suspect In Idaho Killings, F.B.I. Used Restricted Consumer DNA Data
New records show that the F.B.I. identified Bryan Kohberger as a potential murder suspect after tapping consumer databases GEDmatch and MyHeritage, which were supposed to be off limits. (Baker, 2/25)
