Opinion: Superspreaders take note: 7 chances to keep up the good work before herd immunity sets in
Like so many other Americans, we were green with envy as we watched football fans…
Category: First Opinion
.jpg)
Opinion: Sen. Rand Paul misunderstands transgender medicine. Here’s the truth
In a tense exchange on Thursday during the Senate confirmation hearing of Dr. Rachel Levine,…
Opinion: Primary care practices could be the Biden administration’s secret weapon in the fight against Covid-19
For a small-town physician, being given a supply of the Covid-19 vaccine can make a…
Opinion: Discarded drugs: a wasteful and costly problem that requires whole-of-government approaches
Controlling the rising costs of pharmaceuticals, particularly those administered by physicians, has been a top…
Opinion: CDC estimated a one-year decline in life expectancy in 2020. Not so — try five days
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made headlines last week when it announced that…
Opinion: Listen: Catherine Mezzacappa and Ruth Faden on vaccinations and pregnancy
This week on “The First Opinion Podcast,” I talk with Catherine Mezzacappa and Ruth Faden…
Opinion: Three steps can help companies speed FDA approval of new drugs
Drug developers see Food and Drug Administration approval as a difficult uphill climb, requiring large…
Opinion: Vaccine equity: If we build it, will they come?
In partnership with the federal government, California launched two massive Covid-19 vaccination sites this week….
Opinion: Lung transplants after Covid-19 raise difficult issues
When the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in the spring,…
Opinion: Federal law prohibits employers and others from requiring vaccination with a Covid-19 vaccine distributed under an EUA
Ever since the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for two new vaccines,…
Opinion: The pandemic slingshot: propelling from national crisis to a resilient health care system
A year into the Covid-19 pandemic and the U.S. is still battling this crisis. As…
Opinion: New CDC school opening guidelines fail to ‘follow the science’
President Biden vowed to “follow the science” in an effort to get kids back to…
Opinion: Eliminating buprenorphine training for doctors won’t solve the overdose epidemic
Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the U.S. was making some headway in fighting the drug…
Opinion: The effect of Covid-19 vaccines will — finally — be tested in pregnant people like me
The arrival of Covid-19 vaccines at the hospital where I work felt like a glimmer…
Opinion: Caregivers are missing from the long Covid conversation
Media reports describe the inarguable, if inconvenient, circumstances that follow us into the second year…
Opinion: Dental therapists: a solution for better access to dental care
Difficulty getting dental care is the norm in much of the United States, especially in…
Opinion: Listen: The inaugural First Opinion Podcast: Jay Baruch on writing about medicine
It’s now official. We’ve launched “The First Opinion Podcast.” In the inaugural episode, I talk…
Opinion: Listen: Lauren Powell on the intersection of Covid-19 and racism
In the second episode of STAT’s “First Opinion Podcast,” I spoke with Lauren Powell, the…
Opinion: Ultra-rare but not forgotten: New drug development paradigms to treat the rarest of diseases
In addition to the most visible effects of Covid-19 — tragic deaths, lingering illness, economic…
Opinion: What cancer survivorship can teach us about Covid-19
Take it from this cancer survivor: We need to start focusing on Covid-19 survivorship now….
Opinion: 3 ways the life sciences industries can eliminate bias in AI
Advances in the life sciences over the past decade have made it possible to manipulate…
Opinion: With the first dose, I need to be at peace with the vaccine. And let my body do the work
I normally arrive at the hospital thinking about protecting my patients. Today it was all…
Opinion: The NIH needs to ensure that women are equally represented in grant funding decisions
For U.S. researchers, the room where it happens —”it” being decisions about funding — is…
Opinion: A monument to our monumental suffering can help America heal from this pandemic
In the 56 weeks since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the United…
Opinion: A monument to our monumental suffering can help America heal from this pandemic
In the 56 weeks since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the United…
Opinion: With Covid-19 vaccines, ‘fair’ isn’t always fair enough
The success of Operation Warp Speed in delivering two effective Covid-19 vaccines in record time…
Opinion: The hazards of medicine by tweet: the case of anti-cytokine therapy for Covid-19
Positive news about a potential Covid-19 treatment — a drug that blocks the receptor for…
Opinion: Dear NHS: You need a control arm for Grail’s cancer test
A simple blood test able to detect 50 different cancers is the grail of cancer…
.jpg)
Opinion: A public option for health insurance could be a disaster, especially in times of crisis
In a step to help more Americans get health insurance, President Biden signed an executive…
Opinion: It’s time to fast track innovation in medical devices for children
When a baby arrived at Children’s National Hospital with a critically underdeveloped heart, it was…
Opinion: America’s addiction crisis, compounded by Covid-19, requires immediate action to save lives
Despite hard-fought progress in recent years, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and…
Opinion: Back to ‘normal’ isn’t good enough
With the anticipation of increasing distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, Americans are looking forward to a…
Opinion: Do the math: Vaccines alone won’t get us out of this pandemic
As Covid-19 vaccines are being rolled out across the U.S., Americans seem to be heaving…
Opinion: The Biden administration needs to look beyond ICER for evaluating drug therapies
As breakthrough drugs stream out of biopharmaceutical laboratories, how much they should cost and who…
Opinion: Youths of color are our future. Investing in their mental health must be taken seriously
Gonzales is a small city in central California populated mostly by Latino immigrant families and…
Opinion: It’s not the ‘British variant.’ It’s B.1.1.7
When President Trump referred to the “Chinese virus,” the media were quick to point out…
Opinion: A digital option is the right investment for at-home Covid-19 testing
The Biden administration’s recent investment of $230 million to expedite rapid production of the Ellume…
Opinion: Collaboration between the FDA and industry is essential to foster innovation in Alzheimer’s treatments
As the Food and Drug Administration moves closer to a decision about whether to approve…
Opinion: Telehealth’s critics have it right: The industry must evolve
For many people, January is a time for new beginnings. But for many telehealth patients,…
Opinion: The U.S. needs a National Vaccine Day
Vaccines don’t save lives. Vaccinations do. That is an essential lesson we have learned from…
Opinion: Public health is being undermined. These 10 actions can restore it
The year since the first Covid-19 case was identified in the United States has been…
Opinion: A buddy system can help doctors and nurses weather the Covid-19 maelstrom
Remember outings in elementary school or at camp? You were probably paired with another kid…
Opinion: NFL should discourage people from indoor Super Bowl parties
One of the cruelest aspects of Covid-19 is the danger it poses for joyous group…
Opinion: Truth and transparency after Covid-19: Mending the relationship between hospitals and the communities they serve
In April 2020, Víctor Santamaría was in an intensive care unit at Weill Cornell Medical…
Opinion: Mobilize family caregivers to speed the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines
Five years ago, I sat in a hospital lounge as a nurse laid out everything…
Opinion: Kids don’t need Covid-19 vaccines to return to school
The notion is out there that public school students should not return to in-person learning…
Opinion: Community health centers can help stamp out Covid-19
“If you are having difficulty breathing, go to an emergency room or call 911.” This…
Opinion: Debt from attending an elite medical school shouldn’t keep new doctors from working in underserved areas
A medical degree from one of America’s elite private medical schools adds prestige to a…
Opinion: If 2021 is to be the year of U.S. drug price controls, how should biopharma companies respond?
As the Biden administration assumes leadership in Washington and former President Donald Trump’s most-favored nation…
Opinion: HHS’s ‘sunset rule’ will save money and lives
There has been a lot of hand-wringing lately over a new regulation from the Department…