Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Parents Struggle To Vaccinate Young Kids; Improving Sexual Health Can Prevent Monkeypox
The New York Times: The Wait For Little Kid Vaccines Is Over. Parental Exhaustion Isn’t
This week is a milestone for children who can’t remember a time before the pandemic, some of whom weren’t even born before 2020. Still, the vaccines’ availability comes with an asterisk for a lot of families. Anecdotally, many of my friends with preschool-age kids also have Covid in their homes right now, and while they’re glad vaccines are finally available for their children, that development strikes many as anticlimactic. (Jessica Grose, 6/25)
The New York Times: Monkeypox Could Exploit A Big Weakness In Sexual Health Care
Monkeypox infections are spreading rapidly in many countries, and the United States has, yet again, been caught flat-footed when confronted with another virus. Many problems with the Covid-19 response by the United States are being repeated: limited access to testing, contact tracing, vaccination and isolation support, and scant data from public health officials about how and where people are being infected. With infections currently concentrated among men who have sex with men, monkeypox has also exposed another critical vulnerability in the U.S. public health system: limited sexual health services in many parts of the country. That will make it more difficult to know how many monkeypox cases there are and to stop the virus from spreading. (Jay K. Varma, 6/27)
Stat: 'Black Swan' Outbreaks Can Prepare For Future Pandemics
In December 2021, one year into the Covid-19 pandemic, my colleague Alina Deshpande had the idea of searching historical disease records for potential “black swan” disease outbreaks. These are unexpected outbreaks notable for their duration, spread or severity. Why bother doing this? Identifying common features among exceptionally large outbreaks could serve as warning signs of future pandemics or unusually devastating outbreaks. (Nileena Velappan, 6/27)
Stat: It's A Bad Time To Further Cut Hospitals' Medicare Payments
As the U.S. slowly emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitals hope to get back to some semblance of normal. That won’t be possible with the 1% cut in reimbursement rates from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that is slated to go into effect July 1, which comes on the heels of a 1% cut in Medicare payments implemented in April. And these are in addition to an annual cut that CMS put in place with the Affordable Care Act to incentivize hospital productivity. (Cliff A. Megerian and Peter Pronovost, 6/27)
The Star Tribune: Needed Action On 'Forever Chemicals'
Research suggests that PFAS exposure at some levels may be linked to harmful health effects, such as reduced fertility or increased risk of some types of cancer. That's why a recent move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toward setting strict guidance levels for PFAS levels in the nation's drinking water is necessary and proper. Earlier this month, the EPA issued health advisories for four types of PFAS. While the advisories are not enforceable, the agency's move serves several worthy purposes: (6/26)
The Washington Post: Virginia Health Commissioner Wakes Up To Structural Racism In Disparities
Virginia’s top health official seems to have missed some of the voluminous research in recent decades demonstrating the link between racism and disparate health treatment and outcomes among African Americans. Actually, he seems to have missed virtually all of it. (6/26)
