Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Doctors Are Just As Confused As We Are About Vaccines; Access To Covid Shots Is Safe For Now
The New York Times: Confused About Vaccine Guidance? Doctors Are, Too
The future of vaccine policy is uncertain under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services, given his history of criticizing vaccines and his desire to change the childhood vaccine schedule. This week, many doctors watched nervously as his handpicked Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel met to debate multiple vaccines. (Daniela J. Lamas, 9/20)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Vaccines Hang By A Thread At CDC
Well, that was close. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted 6-6 Friday afternoon against adding a prescription requirement to its recommendations for coronavirus vaccines. (9/19)
The Washington Post: RFK Jr.’s Dismantling Of The Vaccine Schedule Has Only Just Begun
In a stunning display of procedural subversion, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly installed vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved to upend two cornerstones of the childhood immunization schedule. This week’s actions are the clearest demonstration yet that the health secretary intends to use his handpicked panel to erode the nation’s vaccine safeguards, undermining decades of scientific consensus and inviting the spread of devastating diseases. (Leana S. Wen, 9/19)
Stat: Trump's Health And The Medicalization Of American Politics
This obsession with Trump’s health is part of a broader transformation of American life by what the sociologist Peter Conrad described in a 2007 book as “the medicalization of society.” The concept originally referred to the tendency to recast more and more dimensions of human experience — from childbirth and addiction to shyness, boredom, and distraction — as medical problems in need of professional diagnosis and treatment. (Eric Reinhart, 9/22)
Stat: Injury Report Lists Violate Professional Athletes’ Privacy
Why has health data — perhaps the most private information in modern society — become so accessible? When it comes to professional athletes, the answer involves sports betting. (Trevan Klug, Yaron Covo, and Mihir Gupta, 9/21)
Stat: ENT Doctors' Group’s Endorsement Of Gun Silencers Is A Policy Mistake
The largest professional organization representing ear, nose, and throat doctors in the United States endorsed gun silencers last year, ostensibly as a way to prevent hearing loss caused by loud gunfire. (Aru Panwar, 9/22)
