Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Mosquitoes May Cause The Next Pandemic; Ignoring Period Talk At Schools Will Only Harm Girls
In many countries, mosquitoes are nothing more than a nuisance. But in others, they spread tropical diseases that kill聽at least 700,000 people a year 鈥 more than any other animal, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. Unfortunately,聽they鈥檙e likely to get deadlier. (Lara Williams, 4/24)
Republican state Rep. Stan McClain acknowledged that a broadly restrictive sex education bill he sponsored would prohibit students younger than sixth grade from learning about or talking about menstruation at school. (Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, 4/23)
While the聽Republican Party has been聽busy fumbling over their words and positions on abortion,聽many women are silently suffering as the drug mifepristone has been hanging in limbo due an unprecedented聽federal court ruling that would ban the drug nationwide. (Ashley Pratte Oates, 4/21)
Marburg could soon become the second virus in the past year to have experimental vaccine candidates ready for testing under an emergency use listing. Until this point, no licensed vaccines or treatments are available for Marburg. (Seth Berkley, 4/24)
Research now shows that addiction doesn鈥檛 鈥屸宮ean either being completely subject to irresistible impulses, or making totally free choices. Addiction鈥檚 effects on decision-making are complex. Understanding them can help policymakers, treatment providers and family members aid recovery. (Maia Svalavitz, 4/24)
Eighteen percent of Texas Texarkanans younger than 65 are living without health insurance. That鈥檚 nearly double the national rate, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. For their Arkansas neighbors, the rate of uninsured has trended downward in recent years. It鈥檚 now about 12 percent. (4/24)
During 2020鈥攊n the U.S. and in many other countries鈥攕uicide rates modestly declined, reversing a decades-long trend. We are learning that this is a pattern: Suicide rates typically go down in times of crisis. (Clancy Martin, 4/23)
In my first neuroscience course at Columbia University, I learned about the homunculus. This 鈥渓ittle man鈥 is depicted as an upside-down representation of the human body moving from toe to head in a portion of the cerebral cortex that controls movement.聽(Nico U.F. Dosenbach, 4/21)