Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Stop Tiptoeing Around It — The US Has Already Lost Its Measles Status; Despite Fearmongering, Sunscreen Is Safe
CIDRAP: Call It What It Is—The US Has Lost Its Hold On Measles Elimination
There is an old rule of thumb: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you stop debating taxonomy and call it a duck. When it comes to measles, we have collectively decided not to do that. The careful phrasing is everywhere you look. The United States "may lose” its measles elimination status. The country's standing is "at risk." A panel "will determine" whether elimination should be held. That conditional tense is doing a lot of work, and I understand the instinct, since no one wants to be the doctor who calls it too early. But there is a difference between waiting for certainty and refusing to see what is already on the monitor. (Jess Steier, 6/24)
The Washington Post: Sunscreen Isn’t A Public Health Threat. Skin Cancer Is.
Every year, a safe-sunscreen guide sparks needless concern. (Misty Eleryan and Adam Friedman, 6/25)
Stat: Prenatal Down Syndrome Diagnoses Should Come With Accurate Facts
The genetic counselor handed me a tissue. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Whitten,” she said. “Eighty to ninety percent of people terminate these pregnancies. You can, too.” Twenty-three years ago, my husband, Tom, and I had just received prenatal screening results indicating our unborn child probably had Down syndrome. Instead of offering us actual counseling, she played a video about Down syndrome — and it was terrifying. (Michelle Sie Whitten, 6/25)
Newsweek: Washington And Pharma Are Helping China Win
"Do we want our prescription refills to be approved or denied by Chinese Communist Party-controlled pharmaceutical companies?" (Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, 6/24)
Stat: Landmark Court Case On Doctor-Patient Confidentiality Turns 50
Just before the bicentennial fireworks started, on July 1, 1976, the precedent-setting Tarasoff v. Regents of University of California case redefined patient confidentiality by introducing the concept of “mandated reporting” and codifying the ethical and legal “duty to warn.” (M. Sara Rosenthal, 6/25)
