Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Changing Perception Of Covid Testing; Looking To Family Doctors To Provide Kids' Covid Vaccine
Stat: Shift Covid Testing From Draconian Punishment To Empowerment
Public health is at its best when it is pragmatic in the face of complex problems fraught with stigma and uncertainty, like moving in the direction of full vaccination in the face of many Americans’ entrenched or even defiant anti-vaccination sentiment. It is neither insightful nor actionable to so singularly promote vaccination to decision makers who must confront the here and now of various attitudes toward it. Viewing Covid-19 testing as a complementary harm-reduction approach can address the well-being of unvaccinated people while slowly building trust and confidence in Covid vaccines. (Amy Lauren Fairchild and Samuel S. Malloy, 11/2)
USA Today: Family Doctors Are Poised To Get COVID Vaccines To Kids Quickly
The United States is preparing to vaccinate approximately 28 million children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19. And amid a strained public health system, misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, this will be no easy task. Fortunately, the best resources available to move us toward this goal already exist: our nation’s family physicians. As federal, state and local governments prepare for the next phase of the vaccine rollout, it is critical that public health officials and policymakers further engage family physicians and their primary care colleagues to help increase vaccination rates and ultimately stop the spread of COVID-19. (Dr. Sterling N. Ransone Jr., 11/2)
The Tennessean: Parents Should Welcome COVID-19 Vaccine For Their Children
The Food and Drug Administration voted last week to recommend Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, after the company reported that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in children. As a pediatrician, I have spent months preparing for the task now at hand: vaccinating children whose parents have been eagerly awaiting a decision about vaccine approval. (Susan Hata, 11/1)
The New York Times: No, Vaccine Mandates Aren’t An Attack On Freedom
The Delta surge in Covid-19 seems to be receding. That’s good news, and not just because fewer people are dying. Fear of infection was one reason the economic recovery hit an air pocket in the third quarter. Resuming normal life will be a huge relief. But the U.S. right is, in effect, trying to keep the pandemic going. (Paul Krugman, 11/1)
