Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Tarring A Vaccine's Reputation Will Harm Everyone; Next Fiscal Response Is Long Overdue
Stat: Advancing A Covid-19 Vaccine Means Countering Science Denial
In the fractious public dialogue about Covid-19, one point of unity stands out: An effective vaccine is what’s needed to stop, or at least control, the pandemic. The anti-vaccine movement could derail that solution. To stop Covid-19, many people — most people, really — would need to have either survived infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, or been vaccinated against it. By sowing the seeds of doubt and denial, anti-vaxxers could influence many people not to get a vaccine, allowing the virus to persist and be persistently infective. (Jonathan M. Berman, 9/9)
USA Today: Rushing Coronavirus ‘Holy Grail’ Vaccine Could Turn Into A Curse
It would be the cruelest of ironies if Donald Trump's great bid for redemption after so many coronavirus failures — by rapidly producing a vaccine — also fails because of mismanagement. The president is banking on acquiring what his campaign advisers call the "Holy Grail" by Election Day. "We're going to have a vaccine very soon, maybe even before a very special date. You know what date I'm talking about," Trump teased Monday. It would be a totem of ultimate achievement over a virus that on Trump's watch has wrecked the economy and killed nearly 190,000 Americans, greater losses than any other nation in the world has suffered. (9/8)
Bloomberg: Covid-19 Vaccine Politics Demand More From Developers Like Pfizer, Moderna
As President Donald Trump repeatedly touts the possibility of a Covid-19 vaccine winning approval by Election Day, the companies he needs to make that happen are pushing back. And that’s a good thing all around. On Tuesday, nine major coronavirus vaccine developers — including Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, and Moderna Inc. — signed a joint pledge under which they committed not to submit their inoculations for Food and Drug Administration approval until they demonstrate safety and efficacy in a large, late-stage trial. It's an unusual statement; typically, the FDA is the one defending high standards, while drug manufacturers try to push boundaries. Unprecedented political pressure, combined with public unease over what some fear may be a rushed process, has forced a role reversal. (Max Nisen, 9/8)
The Washington Post: Kamala Harris Casting Doubt On A Pre-Election Vaccine Is Shameful
Democrats have accused President Trump of endangering public health with his grudging support for wearing masks. But this weekend, the Democratic nominee for vice president, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.) did something far worse. In a CNN interview, Harris repeatedly called into question whether it would be safe to take the coronavirus vaccines being developed under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed. (Marc A. Thiessen, 9/8)
The Washington Post: The Economy Needs Another Round Of Fiscal Support. Congress’s Impasse Has To End.
Congress returned from recess Tuesday with precious little time left before the first week of October, when the House and Senate legislative calendars call for lawmakers to recess through the Nov. 3 election — and two major tasks left to accomplish. On the first of these, avoiding a government shutdown when current spending authority expires Sept. 30, there has been progress: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have let it be known they favor rapid passage of a temporary bill that would keep federal workers paid and operations going at least through the election. On Congress’s second big job, however — delivering the economy another dose of fiscal support — an impasse continues. It has to end. (9/8)
Boston Globe: Federal Assistance Needed As COVID-19 Continues To Devastate Low-Income Households
As the Boston-area antipoverty and community action organization, ABCD has a birds-eye view of the pain of poverty sweeping the Boston neighborhoods and nearby cities and towns we serve — pain that mirrors the anguish felt throughout the state and nation. In a recent survey by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, millions reported that their households did not have enough to eat or that they were behind in paying the rent. The negative impact of the pandemic is particularly prevalent among Black, Latino, Native American, and immigrant households. These impacts reflect harsh, longstanding inequities — often stemming from systemic racism — in education, employment, housing, and health care that the coronavirus pandemic is intensifying. (John J. Drew, 9/9)
The Wall Street Journal: Medical Research’s Cross Of ‘Gold’ Imperils Covid Treatments
You’ve probably heard of the “gold standard”—randomized controlled trials—for evaluating new pharmaceutical therapies, including for Covid-19. Many treatments that showed promise in other studies have turned up muddy results in randomized controlled trials. But that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily ineffective. Doctors and regulators need to consider the totality of medical evidence when treating patients. (Allysia Finley, 9/8)
Los Angeles Times: Positive Coronavirus Tests Shock My Asymptomatic Patients
As a physician, I’m part of a COVID-19 task force that contacts coronavirus-positive patients and clarifies the next steps in their care. When I tell them their test result is positive, many react with puzzlement, saying they “feel fine.” So I was more than dismayed when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appeared to succumb to political pressure to change its COVID-19 guidelines and discourage testing of people who are asymptomatic. When the CDC recently issued new guidelines that no longer recommend testing people who feel fine but have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, the medical community and politicians across the country sounded an alarm. More than one expert said the guidelines had been revised for political, rather than scientific, reasons. (Zainab Saddi, 9/9)
Bloomberg: School Reopening In The Pandemic: Learning From New York City's Fiasco
New York City, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, and the largest public school district planning to begin at least some in-person instruction, has botched its reopening plans for the fall. Its mistakes are a cautionary tale for school systems across the U.S. that are struggling to balance the benefits of resuming their educational programs against the risks of spreading Covid-19.Piecemeal planning and poor communication by the New York City education department prompted pleas from dozens of principals, districts and community councils to push back the opening date, and, finally, provoked the threat of a teachers’ strike. (Andrea Gabor, 9/2)
The Hill: Pandemic Requires Partnerships Like Never Before
As the fall semester just begins, we have already seen colleges and universities try to open only to reverse course, while others undertake extraordinary measures to try to stay open. All the while, coronavirus cases keep rising around the country. As school leaders grapple with what to do, they must recognize their decisions have massive health implications for the cities and towns in which they reside — regardless of whether college students themselves are at serious risk of the disease. (Shirley M. Collado and Svante Myrick, 9/8)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Grocery Workers Still On The Pandemic Frontlines But Without Hazard Pay
In Missouri, frontline workers are continuing to show up for our communities every single day despite the very real dangers they still face. The men and women working in your local grocery stores are exposed to potentially thousands of customers per day, putting their health at risk to serve their communities. Without the courage of these essential workers at grocery stores, who continue to put themselves in harm’s way, our families would not have the food we need during this crisis. Given the growing risks as coronavirus cases continue to spread, it is time for the chief executives of every grocery chain in Missouri to step up and guarantee hazard pay for all of these frontline workers. (David Cook, 9/7)
The Hill: Congress Must Protect Kidney Disease Patients During The COVID-19 Pandemic
As we continue to combat the unprecedented health and economic emergency caused by COVID-19, it’s critical that we take every possible step to ensure the health of vulnerable patient populations, including the nearly 38 million Americans who suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD). Before this crisis erupted, kidney patients faced major obstacles accessing medical care. Now, with a growing body of research, government data and CDC warnings showing COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on kidney patients, especially minorities, policymakers must take proactive steps to ensure CKD patients can access care safely while avoiding exposure. (Paul Conway, 9/8)
