Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
While Trump Travels The World, Runs For Reelection, His Germaphobia Is Put To The Test
Politico: The Purell Presidency: Trump Aides Learn The President’s Real Red Line
He asks visitors if they’d like to wash their hands in a bathroom near the Oval Office. He’ll send a military doctor to help an aide caught coughing on Air Force One. And the first thing he often tells his body man upon entering the Beast after shaking countless hands at campaign events: “Give me the stuff” — an immediate squirt of Purell. Two and a half years into his term, President Donald Trump is solidifying his standing as the most germ-conscious man to ever lead the free world. His aversion shows up in meetings at the White House, on the campaign trail and at 30,000 feet. And everyone close to Trump knows the president’s true red line. (Lippman, 7/7)
Stat: A Superbug Commands Attention, But Little Money For Research To Stop It
In the universe of scary drug-resistant pathogens that can kill, Candida auris is having a moment. The freaky fungus, which is behaving in ways scientists didn’t think fungi could act, has been garnering headlines because of its uncanny ability to resist multiple antifungal drugs and settle into hospital rooms so persistently it can take renovations to get rid of it. But while concern about the superbug has grown exponentially in recent years, funding for research to stop it has not. Scientists who work in mycology — the study of fungi — say there is precious little money available to study Candida auris. (Branswell, 7/8)
