Viewpoints: More Dairy Workers Must Use PPE Against H5N1 Threat; Congress Can Open IVF Accessibility
Editorial writers discuss H5N1, 'Right To IVF', Dr. Fauci, and more.
Stat:
H5N1 Bird Flu: Protecting Dairy Farmworkers Key To Averting Crisis
Although a third U.S. dairy worker has been confirmed to be infected with the H5N1 bird flu, many dairy farms are still unwilling to use even freely offered personal protective equipment (PPE). This is cause for alarm. Working with a pathogen assigned a biosafety level of 3 — meaning it “can cause serious or potentially lethal disease through respiratory transmission” — with at best BSL 2 level protections is playing with fire. (Ranu Dhillon and Devabhaktuni Srikrishna, 6/12)
USA Today:
The Right To IVF Isn't Guaranteed - Or Affordable. Congress Has A Chance To Change That
While every single American should have access to IVF, this life-changing medical care has remained out of reach for millions. This could change dramatically with the "Right to IVF" legislation introduced in the Senate this month. It would establish a statutory right for patients to access IVF, require more insurance providers to cover fertility care, and ensure our service members and veterans have access to this treatment. (Dr. Paula Amato and Barbara Collura, 6/13)
USA Today:
Dr. Fauci Didn't Invent Social Distancing. CDC's Botched Covid Response Isn't On Him
In the early days of a pandemic, what we don’t know usually far outstrips what we do know. That’s the nature of new diseases – by definition, we don’t know much about them. (Dr. Ashish J. Jha, 6/13)
Stat:
To Make Public Housing Healthier, Replace Gas Stoves With Electric
The nation’s public-housing system provides homes to hundreds of thousands of low-income families, many of them Black or Hispanic. That makes availability and condition of public housing an enormously important factor in health equity. Replacing gas stoves and appliances in these home with electric ones would be an advance for equity. (Esther Agbaje and Tonya Curry, 6/13)
Stat:
After Chile Banned Tony The Tiger, Obesity Rates Did Not Improve
“In Sweeping War on Obesity, Chile slays Tony the Tiger.” So read the headline of a front-page story in The New York Times in 2018 on a dramatic step Chile was taking to fight obesity. With some of the highest obesity levels in South America, the country had begun enforcing strict regulations on Frosted Flakes and other foods that exceeded set thresholds for sugar, calories, salt, or saturated fat in 2016. (Paul von Hippel, 6/13)
