Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: How Likely Is It You'll To Be Exposed To Bird Flu?; Ozempic Can Do Much More Than Weight Loss
The New York Times: How Scared Should You Be Of Bird Flu?
How worried you should be about H5N1, the bird flu virus spreading on dairy farms in the United States, depends on who you are. (Jennifer B. Nuzzo, 6/19)
Bloomberg: Ozempic's Addiction-Fighting Potential Is Being Ignored
The anecdotes are increasingly impossible to ignore: Many people taking the new obesity drugs, whether Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy or Eli Lilly & Co.’s Zepbound, aren’t just eating less, they’re drinking and smoking less, too. (Lisa Jarvis, 6/20)
The New York Times: It’s Time To Ban Pharmaceutical Advertising
“Zofran girlies rise up.” Seeing that phrase on my screen as I idly scrolled TikTok made me stop and watch the whole video, but probably not for the reasons its creator wanted. (Jessica Grose, 6/19)
Scientific American: The World Desperately Needs A New Pandemic Treaty
Here’s why a pandemic treaty would be a win for people everywhere, in the Global North and South. Think of a pandemic treaty as a grand social bargain to protect future generations from the devastating and inequitable impacts of pandemics. (Lawrence O. Gostin and Alexandra Finch, 6/19)
Stat: Getting Ahead Of A Non-Alcoholic Beverage Boom Among Youths
While it’s great that more people are taking to heart public health messages that reducing alcohol consumption can improve well-being and extend life, an important lesson from vaping as a replacement for cigarettes is being overlooked: What may be good for adults may be harmful to kids. Without any meaningful restrictions on the sale of non-alcoholic beverages to youths, the country is just one JUUL-like marketing push away from a potential public health crisis. (Molly Bowdring, Aaron S.B. Weiner and Judith Prochaska, 6/20)
