Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Will Opill Be The First OTC Birth Control Pill?; Lax Lab Safety Procedures Could Cause Next Pandemic
Bloomberg: An Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pill? Make It Happen, FDA
On Wednesday, a panel of independent advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration unanimously voted in favor of approving over-the-counter availability for a birth control pill called Opill. Regulators at the FDA will now have to decide whether to follow their advice. They should. (Lisa Jarvis, 5/11)
The New York Times: The Pandemic Threat That Hasn’t Gone Away
In December 2014, two monkeys in outdoor cages at the Tulane National Primate Research Center, about 40 miles north of New Orleans, became ill with Burkholderia pseudomallei, a deadly bacteria in the federal government’s highest risk category, reserved for pathogens like smallpox, anthrax and Ebola. This is the category for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sees “significant potential for mass casualties or severe effects.” (Zeynep Tufekci, 5/12)
Bloomberg: Medicine And The Metaverse: Why VR Could Upend Health Care
To the uninitiated, “virtual reality” may summon visions of dystopian digital galaxies or zombie-slaying epics. Increasingly, though, VR is showing promise in real-world industries. In particular: It may soon revolutionize the health-care business. (5/11)
The Washington Post: Four Groups Who Should Still Be Testing For Covid
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet changed its stance on isolation and quarantine for people who test positive for the coronavirus, as some public health experts have advocated. But with the national emergency regarding the coronavirus soon coming to an end, the United States is shifting to start treating covid-19 like other infectious diseases. (Leana S. Wen, 5/11)
The Boston Globe: Doctors, Not Government, Should Decide When To Require Masks In Health Care
When COVID-19 was spreading virulently without vaccines or treatments, mask mandates were necessary to keep patients and caregivers safe. But while COVID still poses a serious health threat and people are still dying, society has more tools to handle it now. (5/11)
Houston Chronicle: Texas' Moms Need More Than Eight Weeks Of Medical Insurance
As we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about all the sacrifices Texas mothers consistently make for their children — and how the Texas Legislature can support moms by passing a policy proposal that has the backing of Gov. Greg Abbott and numerous maternal health experts. (Erica Giwa, 5/12)
Stat: Draft Rules To Protect Health Data Privacy Need Updating
A new rulemaking by the Biden administration seeks to lessen the harmful effects of abortion bans by protecting certain health data from being used to prosecute both clinicians and patients. But in the current draft, the rulemaking is designed to reinforce the privacy of reproductive health in states where abortion is legal and does little for those seeking abortion in states where it is illegal.(Eric D. Perakslis, Katie D. McMillan and Jessilyn Dunn, 5/12)
The CT Mirror: Social Media Is Bad For Your Mental Health
Social media is a topic that is up for debate all around the world. People should get to know better the effects it has on people’s lives. While social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok have undoubtedly transformed the way people communicate and interact with one another, it is also believed that the negative effects of social media far outweigh the positives. Social media is negatively affecting people all around the globe. (Emily White, 5/12)
