Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: AI In The Doctor's Office Isn't Scary — It's The Future; Stem Cell IVF Needs Guardrails Instead Of Fear
The New York Times: Stop Worrying, And Let A.I. Help Save Your Life
A.I. isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be to improve medicine. (Robert Wachter, 1/19)
Stat: Next Frontier In Reproductive Technology Demands Tough Conversations
In bioethics, emerging technologies often rekindle prior discourse. For example, gene editing discoveries around 2017 revived worries about enhancing children, such as making them more intelligent, first raised during gene therapy debates in the ’90s. We see the pattern again with the emergence of stem cells, which can be used to create sperm and eggs. (Zubin Master and Scott D. Rhodes, 1/20)
CIDRAP: Vaccine Myths That Won’t Die And How To Counter Them—Part 2
[Last week] we explored four key myths and why they don’t stand up to scrutiny. ... Today we’ll delve into five more that you also have likely encountered. The nine myths reflect those most frequently seen in my clinical practice and in discussions. Each has been studied extensively and refuted. Yet each persists, because misinformation travels faster than correction and because they tap into genuine fears. Study after study presents solid evidence to the contrary, as I illustrate below. (Jake Scott, 1/16)
Stat: New FDA Cell And Gene Therapy Oversight System Comes With Risks
At a Food and Drug Administration cell and gene therapy (CGT) roundtable last June, most speakers pushed for the agency to soften oversight of the field. It seems they got their wish. The agency recently released new documents announcing CGT oversight changes to make the system much more flexible. (Paul Knoepfler, 1/20)
The Washington Post: What We Know And Don't Know About Alcohol's Health Impacts
Binge drinking is harmful, but abstinence may not be necessary for everyone. (Leana S. Wen, 1/20)
