Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Preparing For The Unthinkable': CDC To Teach Health Professionals What To Do In Case Of Nuclear War
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has scheduled a briefing for later this month on how to plan and prepare for a nuclear detonation.聽The briefing, for CDC employees, is part of a monthly series at the agency meant to "further strengthen CDC's common scientific culture and foster discussion and debate on major public health issues." (Hellmann, 1/4)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a notice touting a Jan. 16 briefing about the work that federal, state and local governments are doing in case of a possible nuclear strike. 鈥淲hile a nuclear detonation is unlikely, it would have devastating results and there would be limited time to take critical protection steps,鈥 the notice states. 鈥淒espite the fear surrounding such an event, planning and preparation can lessen deaths and illness.鈥 (Ehley, 1/4)
A spokesperson for the agency said planning for the event has been underway for months 鈥 in fact, since CDC officials took part in a 鈥渞adiation/nuclear incident exercise鈥 led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency last April, Kathy Harben said in an email. ... Still, the timing of the announcement was eerie, coming on the heels of back-to-back threats exchanged between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. (Branswell, 1/4)