Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Mosquitoes May Cause The Next Pandemic; Ignoring Period Talk At Schools Will Only Harm Girls
Bloomberg: Mosquitoes Are Poised To Swamp Our Health Systems
In many countries, mosquitoes are nothing more than a nuisance. But in others, they spread tropical diseases that kill at least 700,000 people a year — more than any other animal, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. Unfortunately, they’re likely to get deadlier. (Lara Williams, 4/24)
Los Angeles Times: Florida Wants To Bar 'Period Talk' From Schools. What Would Judy Blume Say?
Republican state Rep. Stan McClain acknowledged that a broadly restrictive sex education bill he sponsored would prohibit students younger than sixth grade from learning about or talking about menstruation at school. (Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, 4/23)
USA Today: Lost In The GOP's Abortion War: Mifepristone Actually Improves Fertility For Women Like Me
While the Republican Party has been busy fumbling over their words and positions on abortion, many women are silently suffering as the drug mifepristone has been hanging in limbo due an unprecedented federal court ruling that would ban the drug nationwide. (Ashley Pratte Oates, 4/21)
Stat: Vaccine Stockpiles Can Help Stop Potential Epidemics
Marburg could soon become the second virus in the past year to have experimental vaccine candidates ready for testing under an emergency use listing. Until this point, no licensed vaccines or treatments are available for Marburg. (Seth Berkley, 4/24)
The New York Times: Is There Still Free Will In Addiction?
Research now shows that addiction doesn’t mean either being completely subject to irresistible impulses, or making totally free choices. Addiction’s effects on decision-making are complex. Understanding them can help policymakers, treatment providers and family members aid recovery. (Maia Svalavitz, 4/24)
Houston Chronicle: Will Medicaid Expansion Help Texas? Visit Texarkana
Eighteen percent of Texas Texarkanans younger than 65 are living without health insurance. That’s nearly double the national rate, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. For their Arkansas neighbors, the rate of uninsured has trended downward in recent years. It’s now about 12 percent. (4/24)
The Atlantic: The Pandemic’s Surprising Effect On Suicide Rates
During 2020—in the U.S. and in many other countries—suicide rates modestly declined, reversing a decades-long trend. We are learning that this is a pattern: Suicide rates typically go down in times of crisis. (Clancy Martin, 4/23)
Scientific American: How Our Team Overturned The 90-Year-Old Metaphor Of A 'Little Man' In The Brain Who Controls Movement
In my first neuroscience course at Columbia University, I learned about the homunculus. This “little man” is depicted as an upside-down representation of the human body moving from toe to head in a portion of the cerebral cortex that controls movement. (Nico U.F. Dosenbach, 4/21)
