Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Use Of Talc-Based Powder Tied To Ovarian Cancer, Study Says
NBC News: Study Links Talc To Ovarian Cancer, With Implications For J&J Lawsuits
New research published this week lends credence to the more than 50,000 lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson that allege its talc-based baby powder caused ovarian cancer. The analysis, released Wednesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that applying talc powder to the genitals was associated with ovarian cancer — and that the association was greater for people who used the powder frequently or for long periods of time. (Bendix, 5/18)
The Wall Street Journal: Influencers Are Saying Sunscreen Causes Cancer. They Are Wrong.
Some wellness influencers tout the sun’s natural healing powers. Others tell their followers to make homemade sunscreen or that sun protection prevents people from producing the vitamin D that they need. Consuming seed oils is what really causes sunburns, some say. (Calfas, 5/19)
KFF Health News: Journalists Broach Topics From Treating Shooting Victims To Sunscreen Safety
KFF Health News and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media in the last couple of weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances. (5/18)
On HIV/AIDS —
CNN: Moms With HIV Can Breastfeed If Taking Treatment And Virus Is Undetectable, Pediatricians’ Group Says
Each time LaTonya looks at framed photos of herself breastfeeding her baby son for the first time, she swells with emotion. As a mother living with HIV in Colorado, it was a moment she wanted to commemorate. “That’s how important it was to me to be able to breastfeed,” LaTonya said about the photos. “So, I wanted to make sure we had that forever.” (Howard, 5/20)
Stat: HIV Vaccine Remains Elusive. Immunologists Keep Trying New Ideas
HIV has long stumped immunologists looking to develop an effective vaccine. All of the most promising approaches pioneered in the past three and a half decades have ultimately failed, and only a few months ago, the last trial expected to potentially deliver a vaccine within this decade was shut down. (Merelli and Wosen, 5/17)
On veterans' health —
Stat: Black Vets Could Get Higher VA Benefits If Race Not Used In Lung Test
Removing a patient’s race from an equation used to assess lung function — a change called for by health equity advocates — would mean that the lung disease of nearly half a million Black Americans would be reclassified as being more severe, and that Black veterans could receive more than $1 billion in additional disability payments, according to a study published Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (McFarling, 5/19)
Military.com: Officers With Higher Rank Get Better Care Than Those With Lower Ranks At Military Hospitals, Study Finds
Officers who outrank their military physicians and personnel who have been recently promoted receive better attention and care in Defense Department health facilities than lower-ranking service members, new research on military emergency room visits has found. The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, also found racial bias in treatment and care in military ERs, with white physicians "exerting less effort" on Black patients. (Kime, 5/17)
