Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Texas Hospitals Desperate For Nurses; Marijuana Legalization Should Focus On Medical Usage
Houston Chronicle: Texas' Nursing Shortage Is Costing Lives. Gov. Abbott Let It Happen.
Across Texas, hospitals of all sizes are in chaos, scrambling to quell yet another wave of COVID-19. As of Saturday, in the 25-county hospital region that includes Houston, there were more COVID patients in hospital beds — more than 2,700 — than at any point this year. A region with an estimated 9.3 million residents now has only 49 available intensive care unit beds, according to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council, a coalition of health care providers coordinating trauma care. (8/17)
Stat: Federal Cannabis Legalization Must Address Medical Use
Legislation to legalize cannabis at the federal level recently proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a group of Senate Democrats is long overdue. While it aims to fix injustices done to communities of color that have been most harmed by the war on drugs, it excludes one very important demographic: patients. (Jordan Tishler, 8/17)
CNN: It Was Easier To Donate A Kidney To My Husband Than To Keep Him Safe During The Pandemic
Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized an additional Covid-19 vaccine dose for certain immunocompromised people, including "solid organ transplant recipients" like Bryan. And on Friday, the vaccine advisers to the CDC voted to recommend it as well. This will offer a lifeline to a lot of families, but it also raises questions. Primarily, how much more protection will the third dose offer? What about people who received a single dose of Johnson and Johnson since, according to the FDA and CDC, there's not enough data on the J&J vaccine to consider additional doses. (Jen Reeder, 8/16)
