Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RSV Vaccine Given During Pregnancy Transfers Protection To Newborns
NBC News: RSV Vaccination During Pregnancy Protects Newborns, Too, Study Suggests
Pregnant women who received an experimental vaccine from Pfizer for a respiratory virus called RSV passed their protective antibodies on to their newborns, according to research published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. What's more, Pfizer's researchers found that those antibodies appeared to provide the infants with a high level of protection against severe illness from the virus, according to an analysis conducted after a portion of the company's clinical trial was completed. (Lovelace, 4/28)
In other health news —
USA Today: As STD Rates Rise In United States, Doctors Emphasize Messaging
We spent the past two years focused on improving hygiene and healthy habits in just about every aspect of daily life. But that didn't necessarily extend to our sex lives. Reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases reached an all-time high for the sixth consecutive year in 2019 and though those numbers appeared to decline a bit in 2020, public health experts believe the pandemic helped obscure some of that total. With STD rates climbing, the country needs to take the STD crisis seriously and change its approach to reverse the trend, said David C. Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors. (Pérez Pintado, 4/27)
AP: Older People Fret Less About Aging In Place: AP-NORC Poll
The older you are, the less you fret about aging in your own home or community. That’s a key insight from a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, which found that U.S. adults ages 65 or older feel much better prepared to “age in place” than those 50-64, who are mostly still in the final stretches of their working years. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 4/27)
The Washington Post: How Stress Affects Your Brain And Body
We all know what stress feels like physically — though the symptoms vary by person. Some people experience shakiness or a racing heart, while others develop muscle tension, headaches or stomach aches. But what we might not realize is that our physiological responses to life’s stresses and strains can have deeper, less obvious, repercussions for just about every organ and system in the body. “I think people really underestimate just how big the effects are,” said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State University College of Medicine. When you experience stress, your brain triggers the release of a cascade of hormones — such as cortisol, epinephrine (a.k.a., adrenaline), and norepinephrine — that produce physiological changes. These changes, called the stress response or the fight-or-flight response, are designed to help people react to or cope with a threat or danger they’re facing. (Colino, 4/26)
CNN: Dietitians Are Using TikTok To Urge You To Stop Dieting
Many dietitians are making a plea you might have always wanted but never thought you would hear: Stop dieting. Now, you can find some of them on social media platforms such as TikTok, using the latest dances, trends and science-backed information to reach younger generations. These anti-diet dieticians want to steer people away from what they call "diet culture," which they say prioritizes smaller sizes over health and drastic restriction over lifestyle changes. (Holcombe, 4/24)
Also —
The Hill: Climate Change Could Spark Next Pandemic, Study Finds
As the global climate continues to warm, wild animals may be forced to relocate to areas with large human populations — increasing the likelihood of a “viral jump” that could cause the next pandemic, a new study has found. Different mammals will encounter one another for the first time during these journeys — called “geographic range shifts” — and in doing so, they will also share thousands of viruses, according to the study, published on Thursday in Nature. (Udasin, 4/28)
