Viewpoints: How Worried Should We Be About Avian Influenza?; New Ways To Manage Chronic Pain

The Boston Globe: Is Bird Flu The Next Pandemic? 
Just as the world is emerging from three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, went from simmering to a rumbling boil. Will bird flu, another fast-mutating virus that originates in animals, be the start of the next pandemic or is the capacity of the virus to gain human-to-human transmission still out of reach? (Nichola Hill, 2/21)

The New York Times: This Book Changed My Relationship To Pain
Physical pain is a universal human experience. And for many of us, it’s a constant one. Roughly 20 percent of American adults — some 50 million people — suffer from a form of chronic pain. (Ezra Klein, 2/21)

The New York Times: America Has Lost The War On Drugs. What Now? 
Drug use and addiction are as old as humanity itself, and historians and policymakers likely will debate whether the war on drugs was ever winnable, or what its true aims even were. In the meantime, it’s clear that to exit the current morass, Americans will have to restore public health to the center of its approach. (2/22)

The Boston Globe: Three- And Four-Bed Nursing Home Rooms Should Be Phased Out 
Studies have shown that single-occupancy rooms are best for nursing home residents, though some may prefer to live with a spouse or friend. Residents living in single-occupancy rooms tend to have lower rates of infectious diseases, better sleep patterns, fewer medication errors, and a greater sense of privacy and control, according to a 2021 report by national health care consulting firm Health Management Associates. (2/21)

Stat: Use 'Racial Privilege' To Measure And Understand Health 
When I go to a health care provider and check “Black” for my race or ethnicity, it means that my provider — before even seeing me — knows I have dark skin and “different” hair. But the biases or stereotypes emanating from my answer could include assumptions that I have no husband, limited education, or earn a low income or none. (Elizabeth A. Brown, 2/22)

Stat: The U.S. Needs To Build A Solid Biodata Infrastructure
An executive order from the Biden administration aims to build a robust bioeconomy “in a manner that benefits all Americans and the global community and maintains United States technological leadership and economic competitiveness.” The executive order acknowledged the importance of biodata to growing the U.S. bioeconomy and calls for “a biological data initiative.” (Tara O'Toole, 2/22)

The New York Times: The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?
The most rigorous and comprehensive analysis of scientific studies conducted on the efficacy of masks for reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses — including Covid-19 — was published late last month. Its conclusions, said Tom Jefferson, the Oxford epidemiologist who is its lead author, were unambiguous. (Bret Stephens, 2/21)