Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Florida Will Endanger Kids By Ending School Vaccine Mandates; Susan Monarez Shares Her Side
Bloomberg: Florida Made A Vaccine Mistake. Now, It's Everyone's Problem.
Vaccine policy in the US is rapidly dividing into two opposing camps: state leaders who are prioritizing access to shots, and those who are taking increasingly aggressive steps to undermine confidence in them. (Lisa Jarvis, 9/4)
The Wall Street Journal: Susan Monarez: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The CDC And Me
I served for 29 days as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Senate confirmed me to ensure that unbiased evidence serves our nation’s health, and for doing that, I lost my job. America’s children could lose far more. (Former CDC Director Susan Monarez, 9/4)
The Washington Post: Covid Backlash Gave Anti-Vaxxers A Foothold. They're Taking It Too Far.
States are often called the laboratories of democracy, but Florida is on the path to becoming a petri dish. See the Sunshine State’s move this week to end vaccine mandates in public schools. (9/4)
CNN: Hawaii Governor: Kennedy Should Step Aside So We Can Save Lives And Rebuild Our Health Care System
As a father, a physician and a governor, it is my responsibility to protect every community in my state – especially the most vulnerable – from threats to their health and safety, and to advocate for the public health of the entire country. That is why I am making an appeal to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign as secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr. Kennedy’s actions as our country’s chief public health officer are not just irresponsible and misguided; they are dangerous. (Dr. Josh Green, 9/4)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: RFK (Again) Lies To Senators' Faces. Both Parties Should Demand His Removal.
How many times is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. going to be allowed to lie right to U.S. senators’ faces about his deliberate dismantling of America’s vaccine shields before they finally insist that President Donald Trump remove this dangerous anti-science zealot from the nation’s top medical post? (9/4)
Stat: FDA ‘Expert’ Panels Are A Threat To U.S. Health Care
Americans trust the Food and Drug Administration to make life-and-death decisions in the open. Yet in recent months, the agency has increasingly convened ad-hoc “expert panels” that meet without Federal Register notice, formal transcripts, standard conflict of interest reviews, or recorded votes. These expert panels have been tapped to help reshape policy on talc safety, infant formula, hormone replacement, and antidepressant therapy — without the guardrails that have long protected patients, markets, and the FDA’s reputation. (G. Caleb Alexander, 9/5)
