Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Wiping Out Measles Again Means Focusing On Parents In Developing Countries Who Really Want Vaccines; Time To Undo Ugly Trends Leading To Early Deaths Of Black Americans
Bloomberg: Eradicating Measles May Require A Focus On The Developing World
With all the outrage aimed at so-called anti-vaxxers for causing the current U.S. measles outbreak, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the vast majority of measles deaths worldwide happen to children whose parents desperately wanted to get them vaccinated but couldn’t. By focusing efforts on developing countries where the outbreaks are many times bigger and deadlier, some scientists think it might be possible to eradicate the virus soon, as they did 40 years ago with smallpox. (Faye Flam, 5/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Vaccines Made The Iron Lung Obsolete
Just off U.S. route 30 in western Nebraska, on Buffalo Bill Avenue, sits the Lincoln County Historical Museum. Inside is an unexpected exhibit that I think about as a cruel and unnecessary measles outbreak spreads in the U.S. The exhibit consists of a massive cylindrical iron lung, constructed of gray-green metal, manufactured in the 1930s by the Wiesner-Rapp Co. of Buffalo, N.Y. It was the first iron lung purchased in Lincoln County, to be used in St. Mary’s Hospital to treat children with polio, also known as infantile paralysis. (Bob Greene, 5/13)
The Hill: Institutionalized Racism Is Keeping Black Americans Sick
More African American men and women aged between 35-64 are dying due to heart failure compared to people the same age in other racial groups, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology said this month. Heart failure means that the heart is not pumping blood around the body the way that it should. Research has shown that institutional racism is one of the reasons African Americans acquire and die from cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure. (Ifeanyi M. Nsofor, 5/13)
Bloomberg: Cory Booker Gun Violence Plan Sets Standard For 2020 Democrats
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has released a plan to combat gun violence. Alongside some familiar proposals — including universal background checks on gun purchases and bans on semi-automatic rifles (“assault weapons”) and high-capacity magazines — he has some bolder ideas, and these could do even more to advance the cause of gun safety. His plan is a welcome addition to the debate on gun violence in the Democratic presidential campaign and in the nation at large. (5/13)
The New York Times: A Million Americans Need This Drug. Trump’s Deal Won’t Help Enough Of Them.
At first blush, the news that Gilead — the company that makes Truvada, the medication that prevents H.I.V. infection — will donate enough of the drug to treat 200,000 patients a year through 2030 seems like unequivocally good news. Some 40,000 Americans are newly infected with H.I.V. every year. Reducing that transmission rate is the key to eradicating the virus in the United States, as President Trump has vowed to do by 2030. And increasing access to Truvada is widely seen as the best way to do that. (5/13)
The Washington Post: California Wants To Teach Kindergartners About Gender Identity. Seriously.
Kindergarten is a German word that literally means “children’s garden.” Last week, California decided that their children’s gardens in public schools would include instruction on gender identity. The mind reels.It would be a mild understatement to say this is controversial. Religious conservatives fought this, as one might expect. But one doesn’t have to be a religious conservative to wonder if this isn’t a misplaced policy that says more about adults’ ideology than children’s needs. (Henry Olsen, 5/13)
The CT Mirror: Connecticut’s Public Health Emergency
Opioid-related overdose deaths in our state climbed 400 percent from 2012 to 2017, with over 1,000 deaths for each of the past two years. Fentanyl related deaths now account for over 70 percent of overdoses. Connecticut is in a public health state of emergency and it’s critical that our leaders find multi-pronged solutions to mitigate this epidemic. (Dita Bhargava, 5/10)
Kansas City Star: On Drug Monitoring, Missouri Is Still In A Class By Itself
Missouri leads the rest of the Midwest in the rate of opioids prescribed. No wonder, when every other state in the country has a statewide prescription drug monitoring program that allows doctors and pharmacists to identify and interrupt doctor-shopping and prescription drug abuse. Monitoring can also prevent fatal overdoses from mixing medications that should never be taken at the same time.Missouri still does not have such a system, principally because conservative lawmakers here fear that a government database could also be used to keep someone tagged with a possible addiction from buying a gun. (5/13)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa. Needs To Reform Guardianship System
Guardianship can be an important legal tool for very vulnerable, severely cognitively impaired individuals who need someone – usually a trusted family member – to step in to make financial, medical, and other decisions, if they are unable to do so. But guardianship should only be used when other less restrictive ways of supporting a person are not available. That’s because it is ripe for abuse, neglect, and exploitation in the wrong hands. (Karen Buck, 5/13)
Sacramento Bee: Spanking Should Be Illegal In California To Protect Children
In 2016, Gershoff co-authored a meta-analysis of over 50 years of research on spanking. It found that even mild spanking can cause significant harm, including increased aggression, mental health problems, anti-social behavior and cognitive difficulties. (Gil Duran, 5/11)
Arizona Republic: Arizona Senator Holds Out On The Budget To Force A Vote On Child Rape
It doesn’t seem as if Sen. Paul Boyer is asking for much. He wants to give victims who were sexually assaulted as children more time to hold their rapists accountable. More time to do what they can to ensure that other children, today’s children, are protected. Only in Arizona would such a thing be controversial. Controversial enough, in fact, that Senate President Karen Fann refuses to put the bill up for a vote. (Laurie Roberts, 5/13)
Sacramento Bee: Anti-Gun Violence Programs Make Communities Safer
Not only do we have a moral imperative to prevent gun violence, we also can save resources by stopping shootings in our communities. Gun violence brings high health care, law enforcement and criminal justice costs to California taxpayers. (Julius Thibodeaux, 5/12)
