Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Covid Infection Doesn't Convince Unvaccinated; When Will The FDA Approve The Vaccines For Kids?
USA Today: My Unvaccinated COVID Patients Never Stop Believing Misinformation
I still don’t believe in it. These words, punctuated with gasping breaths, were said to me by my patient infected with COVID-19 when asked why he hadn’t yet been vaccinated against the virus. Hospitalized and hooked to continuous oxygen, he was adamant that no vaccines or precautions would have made a difference in his catching this illness. Further down the hall, another patient requiring oxygen to stay alive and similarly unvaccinated told me that he did not receive a shot because the media told him it was dangerous and ineffective. I stared at him incredulously. I have been doing a lot of that in recent weeks. (Thomas K. Lew, 8/9)
The New York Times: Covid Vaccines For Kids Can’t Wait
A few weeks ago I posted, on Twitter, that I was increasingly furious with the F.D.A. for taking so long to authorize Covid vaccines for children under 12. Then I deleted the tweet, because I know that as desperate as I am to get my kids inoculated, I’m not qualified to make judgments about how the F.D.A. collects safety data. The American Academy of Pediatrics, however, is qualified, and last week it sent a letter essentially calling on the F.D.A. to speed things up. “What has concerned us is there hasn’t seemed to be the same level of urgency in authorizing a vaccine for younger kids as there was for adults,” Dr. Lee Savio Beers, the president of the group, told me. Everyone believes that the F.D.A. should be prudent in evaluating vaccine safety. But at some point, too much institutional risk aversion is a risk itself. (Michelle Goldberg, 8/9)
Stat: Children Under 12 Can't Be Overlooked In The Fight Against Covid
“Vaxxed and waxed” may be the TikTok sensation of the moment, a rallying cry for plenty of Americans who — thinking the pandemic is at an end — are emerging from their homes and aiming to enjoy a carefree summer. But many families with children younger than 12 — ours included — continue to worry about wearing masks and social distancing, especially as the Delta variant continues to surge, increasing Covid-19 cases across the country. (Katie D. Schenk and Elizabeth A. Stuart, 8/10)
CNN: Kids Are Victims Of New GOP Bid To Politicize Pandemic
America is being forced yet again to learn the same, repetitive lesson of the pandemic: Fighting a raging, evolving virus with cynicism-laced politics rather than medical data only leads to the same result -- a prolonged national nightmare. School kids are the latest victims as Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott, the Republican governors of Florida and Texas, prioritize ideology over public health guidance. The governors are clashing with local officials who are resisting their orders banning school mask mandates, which appear to directly contradict traditional conservative resistance to distant, centralized power. (Stephen Collinson, 8/10)
The New York Times: Universal Masking Can Protect Students From Covid
Big questions loom over the upcoming back-to-school season: Should children be required to wear masks? Should children go to in-person classes at all? If we send children to school without masks, we increase their risk of acquiring Covid-19. Some could suffer illness or die. If we close schools, millions of children will suffer learning loss, and many of them may suffer lifelong effects on their physical and mental health. (Kanecia Zimmerman and Danny Benjamin Jr., 8/10)
The Boston Globe: When It Comes To COVID Vaccines, Look To The Founders For Answers
While COVID-19 Delta variant cases rise and cities like Washington and Los Angeles return to mask mandates, many Americans remain persistently divided about the best tool we have to leave such measures behind: vaccines. The unifying example the Founders set almost 250 years ago, when a deadlier disease required riskier measures, should serve as a model for today. By inoculating themselves then, they may have saved the Republic. General George Washington was fighting two foes when the Continental Army encamped at Valley Forge: the British and smallpox. Washington had seen the disease devastate American troops during the Quebec Campaign, and he knew that the Revolution would be dead in its cradle if his own troops fell ill. So America’s future first president got his command inoculated in our first such large-scale, government-led campaign. Washington’s actions saved his army to fight another day. (Jared Cohen, 8/10)
Bloomberg: India Isn't Ready For New Covid-19 Wave
Memories of India’s devastating second wave of Covid-19 are slowly receding. The pandemic has once again fallen out of the headlines; malls and mountain resorts are crowded with shoppers and tourists. Business activity is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, as it had been just before the second wave hit in March. In fact, just like then, many Indians seem to believe the worst of the pandemic is over. But we can’t be sure about that at all. Epidemiological models that predicted the second wave suggest that another, shallower wave might hit India as soon as this month. And the country isn’t nearly as ready as it thinks. (Mihir Sharma, 8/9)
