Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Climate Change Is Making Chronic Illness Worse; Trump's New Vaccine Order Targets Hesitant Parents
Stat: Climate Change Is Deadly For People With Chronic Diseases
The sky was a smoky grayish-orange and trees a few hundred yards away had turned to ghostly outlines. This July marked the third summer since I’ve lived in Chicago that the city was covered in a suffocating blanket of smoke from Canadian wildfires, and the air quality was breaking records: as high as 753 on the air quality index one afternoon, earning an “extremely hazardous” warning. Even with all our windows closed and two air purifiers running in different rooms, I was still getting headaches, a sore throat, and burning eyes. And my arthritis pain was worsening. (Lorraine Boissoneault, 8/12)
Stat: Trump Order On Vaccines Targets Undecided Parents
The White House fact sheet accompanying President Trump’s executive order, which he signed Monday, makes a claim worth examining: that most peer nations sustain high childhood vaccination rates through “public trust and education” rather than mandates. Let’s use trust as the test. (Katrine Wallace, 8/11)
The Washington Post: The Arrogance Of Trump's Vaccine Policy
The president is lying about the MMR vaccine. (8/11)
East Bay Times: WIC Use Drop Is A Warning, Not A Success Story
Every drop in participation represents a family with diminished access to healthy food, nutrition counseling and other critical health and social services. (Teon Hayes, 8/11)
The Washington Post: This Important Cancer Prevention Tool Is Tragically Underused
The HPV vaccine prevents not only cervical cancer in women, but also multiple cancers in men. (Leana S. Wen, 8/11)
