Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Measles Resurgence Is Just The Beginning; Potential Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise
The New York Times: Measles Is Back. What Comes Next Will Be Worse.
Reversing the new vaccine skepticism will require a dedicated effort. (4/25)
Chicago Tribune: This Potential Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Breakthrough Should Be Celebrated
One of the deadliest known cancers — pancreas cancer— may be far more treatable thanks to mRNA vaccines. (4/24)
Stat: Medical Education On Inequity Shouldn’t Stop With Tuskegee
Last December, news broke that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had awarded $1.6 million to a Danish vaccine research group to study the effects of the hepatitis B vaccine on infants in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau. The proposed five-year study compared outcomes between infants vaccinated at birth and those vaccinated at six weeks of age. As a medical student and researcher, I was shocked by the brazen inequity of the trial. (Uzma Rentia, 4/27)
The Washington Post: Driving This Herbicide Off The Market Won't Make People Safer
On Monday, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in Monsanto Company v. Durnell. John Durnell, a Missouri man who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, is arguing that glyphosate’s manufacturer, Monsanto, failed to warn users of the chemical’s danger. (Dan Blaustein-Rejto, 4/25)
Stat: Employment Contracts Harm Patients With Mental Illness
As I read over an employment contract for a job as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, one clause stopped me cold. If I left the practice, I’d owe $7,500 for every patient who chose to continue treatment with me. When I questioned the clause, the response came quickly, with irritation: “The practice owns the patients. You do not.” (Sarah Cady, 4/27)
