Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study: Some Cancer Patients Who Got mRNA Covid Vax Lived Much Longer
Stat: MRNA Covid Shots May Boost Effects Of Cancer Immunotherapy
The study found that advanced cancer patients who received a Covid vaccine within 100 days before taking an immunotherapy drug during the pandemic lived longer than patients who did not, in a retrospective analysis. Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center presented the study at the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin on Sunday. The results are intriguing cancer immunologists and oncologists, who reacted with both excitement and caution. (Chen, 10/19)
Stat: Moderna Founder Says Attack On Science Won't Stop At MRNA Vaccines
Over the last year, venture capitalist Noubar Afeyan has watched his signature creation, Moderna Therapeutics, go from perhaps the world’s most celebrated company, hailed for helping ease a once-in-a-century pandemic, to a target of government officials promoting falsehoods about mRNA technology. Those attacks, Afeyan warned Thursday, would not end with Moderna or mRNA vaccines. They are a canary in the coal mine for a larger assault on science and expertise, he said. (Mast, 10/20)
CNN: First On CNN: City Health Officials Urge Vaccination, Criticize Federal Government Messaging
The Big Cities Health Coalition is the latest group to take a strong public stand in support of vaccination as a direct response to concerns that the federal government is limiting access and raising doubts. “We are united behind a simple message: get vaccinated,” the group wrote in a statement that was published Monday. It was signed by two dozen public health leaders from some of the nation’s largest cities, in both Democrat- and Republican-led states. (McPhillips, 10/19)
The Washington Post: Two Infectious-Disease Experts Say This Is When You Should Get Covid, Flu Shots
The Washington Post spoke to two infectious-disease experts about how they make their own decisions and how they talk about these issues with friends and family. Caitlin Rivers, an infectious-disease epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, is a 35-year-old mother of an 11-year-old and 6-year-old twins. She also writes a weekly newsletter that tracks covid, influenza, RSV and food recalls. Andrew Pavia is a 69-year-old pediatrics infectious-disease physician at the University of Utah. (Sun, 10/19)
CIDRAP: Protection From Flu Vaccine Around 50% For Southern Hemisphere, Data Reveal
In a precursor to what we might expect in the coming flu season in the United States and across the Northern Hemisphere, a new study shows flu vaccine effectiveness to be around 50% for both clinic visits and hospital stays for influenza during the 2025 Southern Hemisphere flu season. (Wappes, 10/17)
The Washington Post: Want To Get Vaccinated For A Trip? What To Know About Travel Clinics.
During Courtney Gardner’s first visit to a travel clinic, she learned about all the diseases she could catch on an upcoming trip to India: typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, hepatitis A, chikungunya, cholera, malaria. The litany of health risks wasn’t the biggest surprise; it was the $2,751 bill for the consultation and immunizations. “It was sticker shock,” said Gardner, 56, who lives in Maryland. “I’m grateful for the service, and I get that there’s a cost, but it had never occurred to me that it would be so much.” (Sachs, 10/15)
