Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: RFK Jr. Wants To Remake Rural Health Care; Preventable Deaths Will Follow Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric
USA Today: Kennedy And Dr. Oz: Rural America's Health Care Is Collapsing. Here's How We Transform It.
Despite higher rates of chronic disease in rural areas vs. their urban counterparts, rural America's health care infrastructure is collapsing. Since 2010, about 150 rural hospitals have closed or been converted to other facilities, and fewer than 4 in 10 rural hospital beds are typically occupied – substantially less than urban areas. Rather than repeating the mistakes of the past, President Donald Trump's administration will deliver unprecedented investments to rebuild rural health care infrastructure and address the root causes of the health care crisis facing rural America. (HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, 9/15)
Stat: I'm A Former CDC Director. I'm Deeply Concerned About The Future Of Vaccines In The U.S.
When I assumed leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the height of the Covid pandemic in Jan. 2021, I inherited an institution that had struggled with chronic underfunding for decades, limiting its ability to carry out the vital work it was created to do. In its 74th year, CDC tackled an unprecedented public health disaster, affecting 330 million Americans all at once. (Rochelle Walensky, 9/16)
The New York Times: Kennedy Said He Wouldn't Take Away Vaccines. This Week Will Be The Test.
This month, Mr. Kennedy testified before Congress, and repeated what he’d promised before his Senate confirmation: “I’m not taking vaccines away from anyone.” But this flies in the face of what Americans are experiencing. As a result of Food and Drug Administration restrictions on Covid vaccines put in place last month, vaccines are suddenly harder to get. (Danielle Ofri, 9/16)
Stat: The Autism-Tylenol Debate And Medical Paternalism In Pregnancy
News outlets reporting on this “controversy” have correctly identified that there is absolutely no scientific evidence for a causal link between Tylenol (or any other drug) and autism. Instead, multiple imperfect studies have found conflicting evidence: Some show non-causal associations between Tylenol use in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders; others show no association at all. Another way of saying this is: There’s no proof that taking Tylenol while pregnant causes autism. But we can’t say conclusively that it doesn’t. This is true of many common drugs. (Christine Hennenberg, 9/16)
Bloomberg: This Crackdown On Drug Ads Is Long Overdue
Americans are among the few people in the world bombarded with advertisements for medications most of us don’t need — New Zealand is the only other country that allows direct-to-consumer drug advertising. These policies have given pharmaceutical companies significant influence over consumer behavior when it comes to health. (Lisa Jarvis, 9/15)
