Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: What's America's Role In Global Vaccination?; What Data Should Be Used For School Reopenings?
The New York Times: Biden, The World Needs Your Help To End The Pandemic
Last July, during the presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised the universal health care advocate Ady Barkan that he wouldn’t let intellectual property laws stand in the way of worldwide access to coronavirus vaccines. “The World Health Organization is leading an unprecedented global effort to promote international cooperation in the search for Covid-19 treatments and vaccines,” said Barkan. “But Donald Trump has refused to join that effort, cutting America off from the rest of the world. If the U.S. discovers a vaccine first, will you commit to sharing that technology with other countries, and will you ensure there are no patents to stand in the way of other countries and companies mass-producing those lifesaving vaccines?” (Michelle Goldberg, 4/23)
Stat: Use Real-World Data, Not Predictions, To Inform School Openings
The United States has exceeded 31 million Covid-19 infections (a messy data point) and is approaching 570,000 Covid-19 deaths (a more robust data point). Yet despite the abundance of data about the pandemic, the best available information is not usually what guides policymakers. Some policies are senselessly cruel, such as keeping family members from visiting loved ones dying of Covid-19. Others heighten disparities in income, health, and education. (Leslie Bienen, Eric Happel, and Monica Gandhi , 4/23)
Scientific American: How Real-World Data Can Help Us Better Prepare For The Next Pandemic
When we look back at the COVID pandemic, what will hindsight tell us? Will we remember the turn of the decade as the year that finally brought real change to pandemic preparedness, or will our eventual return to “normal” stymie our progress?Although epidemiologists have long warned about the potential for global pandemics, their admonitions have largely gone unheeded. However, industrialized animal farming practices, increased human-animal contact, globalization, decreasing biodiversity and other factors all point to the likelihood of another zoonotic disease (one transmitted from animals to humans) with pandemic potential. (Joseph Menzin and Peter Nuemann, 4/22)
New England Journal of Medicine: Covid-19 Vaccines And Pregnancy — A Conversation With CDC Director Rochelle Walensky
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 April 16, 2021, the editors are joined by CDC director and infectious disease physician Rochelle Walensky to discuss a new study of Covid-19 vaccination in pregnancy, as well as a phase 3 trial of Ad26.COV2.S. (Eric J. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., Lindsey R. Baden, M.D., Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., and Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D., 4/22)
