Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: U.S. Food System Isn't Safe And FDA's Aversion To Regulating Isn't Helping; Protect Teens From Nicotine Addiction By Banning Flavored E-Cigs For Starters
Los Angeles Times: The Salinas Lettuce Recall Is What Happens With A Rollback Of Food Safety Rules
Once again, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning us to steer clear of romaine lettuce contaminated with the deadly E. coli O157:H7. This time it’s lettuce grown in California’s Salinas Valley that has hospitalized 28 people in 16 states. This marks the fourth outbreak of E. coli in romaine lettuce in just the last two years. These outbreaks lay bare an alarming truth that contradicts a century of germ consciousness and progress in public health in the United States: Our food system still is not safe. And the Trump administration’s aversion to safety regulations means that this will not be the last outbreak. (Frederick M. Cohan and Isaac Klimasmith, 11/25)
USA Today: Ban Flavored Vapes? That's Just A Start.
In just a few years, vaping has surged among teenagers and others. By some estimates, as many as 1 in 4 teens has vaped, which shouldn’t come as a surprise when vaping products are marketed in flavors like strawberries and cream, watermelon and root beer float. After initially saying he would back a ban on most flavored vaping products, President Donald Trump backed off after meeting with industry lobbyists and being told that such a ban would be unpopular with his base. Then he held a reality TV-like meeting Friday in which vaping advocates and opponents got into a shouting match. What the White House will decide remains unclear.In reality, a ban on flavored vapes, and a limited one at that, is only a start. (11/25)
USA Today: Don’t Destroy The Nicotine Vaping Industry
The vaping community is in crisis for all the wrong reasons. There has been a torrent of bad news over the past few months regarding illnesses and deaths caused by illegal vaping products. It has caused the government to do what the government does: respond to hysterical media coverage with a “ban first, ask questions later” mentality. When President Donald Trump announced his support of a flavor ban on nicotine vaping products in September, he was under the impression that “vaping” in general was killing people. Today, we know that the focus of the Centers for Disease Control investigation is not store-bought nicotine vaping products, but illicit marijuana oil cartridges containing a dangerous contaminant called vitamin E acetate. (Gregory Conley, 11/25)
The Wall Street Journal: PG&E Refuses To Get Burned
My physician’s office called to have me come in right away. I had scheduled a flu shot for the following morning, but the office had been informed that PG&E would cut power within an hour. The refrigerator would warm and the serum would be spoiled before day’s end. That early October shutdown affected almost a million households or establishments in California and was repeated two weekends later. PG&E is in a difficult spot. The last thing the company wants is to ignite a fire that causes loss of life and property. Yet it is also aware that people rely on it for power, which is no mere convenience. With temperatures near or below freezing in some locations, failing to provide power for heat puts Californians at risk—particularly the elderly, the infirm and children. Businesses close, food spoils and drugs become unusable. (Edward P. Lazear, 11/25)
Fox News: 'Medicare-For-All' Is Still Dems' Goal – Don't Be Fooled By Candidates' Dodges
“Medicare-for-all" is growing increasingly unpopular among the American people as they learn more about this cleverly named government takeover of our health insurance system and the serious harm it would bring about, polls show.As a result, many of the Democrats competing for their party’s presidential nomination are scrambling to soften their support for this radical restructuring of our health care system or highlighting their opposition to it. (Sally Pipes, 11/25)
USA Today: Superbugs Resistant To Antibiotics Are Killing Us But We Can Beat Them
By some estimates, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are already killing more Americans than car accidents and even opioid overdoses. And the situation is getting worse. In a report this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 35,000 Americans die from drug-resistant infections each year. Yet for a variety of reasons — including that hospitals often report cause of death as the illness that first brought a patient to the hospital rather than the resistant bacteria they acquired there — the CDC’s estimate is likely still too conservative. Other estimates place the number of annual deaths in the U.S. at 100,000 or more. (Andrew Read, 11/25)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Ga. Still Has Time To Improve Health Plans
This Medicaid proposal forces Georgians to work to get healthy, when it should be the other way around. It also leaves money on the table: the state could receive 90 percent of the funding to fully expand Medicaid, but the federal government only pays 67 percent for partial expansion. The state has requested the 90 percent rate but does not expect to receive it. (Taifa Smith Butler, 11/25)
Seattle Times: Opioid Treatment In King County Jails Can Reduce Crime And Suffering
Why are thousands of individuals suffering from opioid-use disorder passing in and out of our jails without getting help? Without appropriate treatment while incarcerated, addicted inmates will suffer harsh withdrawal symptoms and resort back to using drugs upon release. Worse yet, they may overdose, unaware their tolerance diminished while in jail. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, using medications in criminal justice settings “decreases opioid use, opioid-related overdose deaths, criminal activity, and infectious disease transmission.” Addiction experts now recognize this as the single best intervention for breaking the cycle and essential to recovery. The results of these programs speak for themselves: Benton County Jail’s MAT program is achieving a stunningly low recidivism rate of around 6% after treating more than 1,200 patients since January. (Dorothy Bullitt, 11/25)
