Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: How Many Years Should An Emergency Medical Residency Last?; Pharma Tariffs Will Be Disastrous
Less than two years ago, I completed a three-year emergency medicine residency and, after passing written and oral board exams, became a board-certified emergency physician. Now, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is claiming that three years of personal and financial sacrifice are not enough. (Blake R. Denley, 5/9)
Trump exempted pharmaceuticals from his first round of tariffs in early April, but recently declared that he intends to impose "a major tariff" on imported medicines "very shortly." These tariffs, he claims, will prompt pharmaceutical companies to leave countries including China and India and begin "opening up their plants all over the place." (Eric Feigl-Ding, 5/9)
The public health community read with great interest media reports about proposed changes to vaccine safety monitoring and newly proposed standards for approving new vaccines. The goals outlined in a Washington Post story on the subject are laudable: improving vaccine safety and strengthening the vaccine safety system. (5/5)
Within hours of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s keynote address in Washington commemorating Special Operations Forces Week, the Supreme Court did something that Hegseth and anyone who watches the court closely should have expected: allowed the military’s trans ban to go into effect on a temporary basis while the constitutional challenges make their way through the lower courts. (Kimberly Atkins Stohr, 5/8)
The Weinbergs traveled from their home in Hindman to Louisville for training that taught parents how to tutor dyslexic kids with the appropriate materials. She found 15 parents in Knott County whose kids were having similar problems. Mike Mullins at the Hindman Settlement School let them have a building free of charge, and in 1980, the after-school tutoring began. (Linda Blackford, 5/8)
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s suggestion to "do your own research" before accepting safe, evidence-based medical interventions, while failing to provide Americans with specific guidance about trusted sources, sparks confusion and anxiety. As the mother of young children, the daughter of a cancer survivor, and a neonatal critical care physician, I expect his remarks will leave families bewildered and doctors frustrated. (Brooke Redmond, 5/8)
