Viewpoints: Vaccine Hesitancy Must Be Addressed; US Health Depends On Reinstating Global Research Projects
Editorial writers dissect these public health issues.
Chicago Tribune:
The U.S. Must Concentrate On The Unvaccinated To Fight Measles Outbreak
In our lifetime, few medical interventions have been as effective as measles vaccination. Before a measles vaccine was introduced in the mid-1960s, hundreds of thousands, and in some years millions of cases occurred annually, often resulting in hundreds and sometimes thousands of deaths. (Cory Franklin and Robert Weinstein, 6/5)
Stat:
Ending U.S.-Global Health Research Partnerships Will Cost America
Global health threats don’t respect borders — they require strong collaborations and trust across partners. Yet a new policy from the National Institutes of Health blindsided U.S. researchers and could immediately upend the international research collaborations critical for understanding and responding to global health threats. (Denis Nash, 6/5)
Los Angeles Times:
MAHA Report’s Misrepresentations Will Harm Public Health And Hit Consumers’ Pocketbooks
Serious followers of healthcare policy in the U.S. didn't expect much good to emerge from its takeover by President Donald Trump and his secretary of Health and Human Services, the anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Michael Hiltzik, 6/4)
Newsweek:
Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Needs Teeth—Literally
The White House's Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment covers an array of chronic health concerns from obesity to diabetes, but it is missing the most common chronic childhood disease—cavities. Left unchecked, cavities impact academic, economic, and social outcomes, including lost school and work hours, lower self-esteem, and difficulty getting a job. With the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement charting its course, we cannot ignore the critical relationship between oral health and overall health and wellness. (David Healy, 6/4)
Stat:
Do You Remember The Human Genome Project? I'm Not Sure The Trump Administration Wants You To
9I’d be willing to bet that most of the U.S. population above the age of 35 has at least heard of the Human Genome Project. They might not be able to tell you much about the specifics of what it was, but they probably know that it was important (though they probably couldn’t articulate why) and that the goal was to sequence the human genome (whatever that is). After all, it was one of the top science, technology, and medicine stories of the 1990s and early 2000s; at the time, the press often compared it to the 1969 Apollo moon landing. (Zachary Utz, 6/5)
Miami Herald:
This Is Medicare Fraud Capital. Why Would Trump Give A Pass To Healthcare Exec?
In South Florida, which carries the disgraceful moniker of America’s healthcare fraud capital, holding perpetrators accountable matters. In an administration obsessed with slashing spending and poised to cut food stamps and Medicaid, Trump should have taken the sheer cost of fraud to taxpayers into account. (6/3)
