Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Vaccine Mandates Are Working; Compassion Fatigue Among Medical Field Is At All Time High
The Washington Post: Vaccines Offer An Exit From The Pandemic. Mandates Work.
President Biden faces legal challenges to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule requiring the use of vaccines — or mandatory masking and testing — among employees in businesses with at least 100 workers. Soon after the rule was published last week, states, business trade groups and religious organizations filed suit, claiming it oversteps statutory and constitutional bounds. The courts must weigh their arguments against the administration’s assertion that the rule is a legal, temporary emergency response to a “grave danger” confronting workers. (11/8)
Newsweek: The Medical System Is At Its Tipping Point
During any pandemic, it goes without saying that a lot is expected of doctors and medical professionals. This is largely why we all regarded them as heroes over the past two years during our time of pestilence. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is no ordinary pestilence. Rather, it is a hyper-politicized one. Most people do not trust doctors—even before the pandemic—due to administrative and insurance-related factors. The quality of care in the U.S. health care system has radically deteriorated. When health care workers make it a point to note that their place of work is the "McDonald's of Medicine" and when there's a growing exodus to leave medicine as a whole, all resistance toward vaccinations should worry us. In a system that is already so weakened, there are simply too many negative factors to warrant optimism for the future of health care. (Daniel Lehewych, 11/8)
USA Today: Parents Should Welcome COVID-19 Vaccine For Their Children
The Food and Drug Administration voted last week to recommend Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, after the company reported that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on it Tuesday. As a pediatrician, I have spent months preparing for the task now at hand: vaccinating children whose parents have been eagerly awaiting a decision about vaccine approval. (Susan Hata, 11/8)
