Viewpoints: Monarez Lays Out RFK Jr.’s Plan To Ruin Public Health Framework; Why Do So Few Women Take HRT?
Opinion writers tackle these public health topics.
The Washington Post:
Former CDC Officials Foreshadow How RFK Jr. Is Coming After Vaccines
Wednesday’s Senate testimony from two former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials delivered bombshell after bombshell. Susan Monarez, ousted as CDC director after less than a month, previously described her removal in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Her Senate testimony — alongside that of former chief medical officer Debra Houry — offered even more chilling details about what Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. intends to do to vaccines. (Leana S. Wen, 9/17)
The Boston Globe:
Long A Subject Of Fear, Menopause Hormone Therapy Can Be A Lifesaver
Menopause care, treatment, and awareness have come a long way since that 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study put fear in the hearts of middle-aged women and health care professionals alike. For years, many women were advised or chose to suffer through debilitating symptoms of midlife hormonal changes rather than risk health complications from taking hormones. (Kimberly Atkins Stohr, 9/18)
CIDRAP:
Four Tips For Understanding This Week’s ACIP Meeting
ACIP meetings have always been treated by the press and the public as sincere efforts to present and discuss vaccine-related information in a public forum. But what happens when the exercise isn’t genuine, and is instead ideological? When it’s vaccine policy theater with the outcome already decided, instead of scientific discussion? Before the next ACIP meeting, the Vaccine Integrity Project provides four helpful reminders. (9/15)
Stat:
Four Reasons Why Generative AI Chatbots Could Lead To Psychosis In Vulnerable People
As mental health researchers and clinicians, we believe that this risk is real. Though emerging reports are mostly anecdotal, we suspect research will eventually find that aspects of generative AI serve to reinforce delusional processes in vulnerable people. (Matcheri Keshavan, Walid Yassin, and John Torous, 9/18)
Newsweek:
Low Birth Rates Are Here To Stay—Until Our Economy Works For Everyone
The real reason people are postponing becoming parents or having another child stems from the fact that, compared to earlier generations, fewer of today's young adults have hit the major milestones of adulthood, like finishing school, living on their own, and finding stable jobs. These shifts are because of changes in the economy, as the value of the minimum wage has fallen, more jobs require higher education credentials while the cost of college has increased, and housing affordability has declined. Addressing these concerns is essential if U.S. policymakers want to increase birth rates. (Karen Benjamin Guzzo, 9/17)
