Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Vaccines To The Rescue In US; High Fives In Israel; Prevent A World Of Have Nots
The Washington Post: More Vaccines Are Coming. We Need A National Campaign To Persuade Those Hesitant To Take Them.
Vaccine-makers reassured Congress on Tuesday they will boost production and provide an additional 140 million doses in the next five weeks, overcoming the production bottlenecks that have crimped the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The next hurdle is vaccine hesitancy. Opinion surveys show the United States is drawing closer to the goal of broad public acceptance, but there is a ways to go. Every effort must be made to administer the vaccines as widely as possible. A pair of polls by Gallup and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show that from a low point last autumn, more Americans intend to get vaccinated or already have been. (2/24)
New England Journal of Medicine: The Real-World Effectiveness Of Covid-19 Vaccination
The continuing spread of SARS-CoV-2 remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. What physicians need to know about transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of Covid-19 is the subject of ongoing updates from infectious disease experts at the Journal. In this audio interview conducted on February 23, 2021, the editors discuss a new study from Israel that assesses the effectiveness of large-scale vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. (Eric J. Rubin, Lindsey R. Baden, and Stephen Morrissey, 2/25)
The Washington Post: Wealthy Nations Must Act To Prevent A Global ‘Vaccine Apartheid’
The world faces two possible futures: one in which all nations band together to bring covid-19 under control, and another in which the wealthiest countries emerge from the pandemic but developing nations do not. In this second scenario, two classes emerge — a vaccinated class and an unvaccinated class. The choices wealthy countries make now will determine which future takes hold. (Melissa Fleming and John Whyte, 2/24)
The New York Times: What Are The Vaccine Roadblocks Where You Live?
Two months into the largest vaccination campaign in American history, results are very mixed. Some 45 million Americans have received at least their first dose of a Covid vaccine, but those shots have not been equitably distributed. Black people in Mississippi accounted for 40 percent of Covid deaths but only 22 percent of vaccinations, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And in New York City, wealthier, whiter neighborhoods have far higher vaccination rates than poorer communities of color that have been much harder hit by the pandemic. The differences have sparked a debate over why it’s difficult to reach everyone who needs a vaccine: Is it caused by a lack of demand or by poor access to health care? (Jeneen Interlandi and Yaryna Serkez, 2/25)
The New York Times: America’s Nursing Crisis
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York this spring, Jessica Fink wanted to help. She’s been a nurse for 15 years, and she moved from Delaware to serve at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island. Ms. Fink told me she was “ready to contribute,” to care for Covid patients. But once she got to Stony Brook, where she worked in the I.C.U., she “felt very alone.” “We were so overloaded,” Ms. Fink said, that the hospital “couldn’t meet the demands.” (Theresa Brown, 2/25)
The Washington Post: Both Sides Of The School Reopening Debate Have It Wrong
Both sides of the school reopening debate have it wrong. We shouldn’t be debating whether schools are safe to reopen. Instead, we should ask whether in-person schooling is essential. If it is — as many Americans, including President Biden, insist — then we should treat schools as we do hospitals. That means doing everything possible to them make safer, starting with vaccinating teachers. The Biden administration has said that teachers should get priority for vaccinations, but leaves the decision up to the states. This is a mistake. If Biden’s 100-day goal is to get most K-8 schools open five days a week, he must make protecting teachers his top priority. (Leana S. Wen, 2/24)
CNN: What Covid Can Teach Us About Cancer
Over the last year, people have made so many sacrifices to protect their health, from taking care of kids amid school closures to staying isolated from our elderly loved ones. Concerns about family health have driven many of us to great lengths to ensure we stay safe during this public health crisis. We turned fear into action and that is worth applauding. The question is, can we take that pandemic mindset and apply it to other grave risks to our health? (Kathy Giusti, 2/24)
