Opinion: Routine testing is essential to combat Covid-19 surges
As the latest surge in Covid-19 cases pushes cases and deaths higher — nearly 18…
Category: First Opinion
Opinion: My first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine got me thinking about time
I received my first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on a Wednesday, as soon…
Opinion: Let’s put the straw man of pandemic denial out of his misery
Listen to the chorus and you’d come to think that our biggest problem in responding…
Opinion: Covid-19 vaccines are safe. But let’s be clear about what ‘safe’ means
Unprecedented collaborative efforts in vaccine development have culminated in multiple vaccines being tested in advanced…
Opinion: Let the ultra-rich and influential skip the line for Covid-19 vaccines? Hear me out
It’s one thing to talk about vaccinating the majority of people living in the United…
Opinion: Looking back and looking ahead: Vioxx, drug safety, and the legacy of Sen. Michael Enzi
The prescription painkiller originally known as Vioxx may be making a comeback after its maker,…
Opinion: In the shadow of Covid-19 lurks the threat of a fearful measles outbreak
I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s. My mother had polio. I and all…
Opinion: As the pandemic rages, demoralization deflates health care workers
“There’s a surge in calls. We need more backup,” read the text I got last…
Opinion: Emergency use authorization of Covid-19 vaccines could hinder global access to them
Within the span of 10 days, regulators in the United Kingdom and the United States…
Opinion: To get the Covid-19 vaccine right, we must close the confidence gap and stop pathologizing communities of color
Broad skepticism about the safety and effectiveness of potential Covid-19 vaccines has created major challenges…
Opinion: Did the FDA understaff its review of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine?
In what is arguably the most important decision the Food and Drug Administration has made…
Opinion: STAT+: Talent, culture, and ethics are all necessary ingredients in the biotech recipe for success
Even as hopes soar that soon-to-be-distributed Covid-19 vaccines will help quench the global coronavirus pandemic,…
Opinion: On the road to herd immunity, vaccination speeds the journey
On a recent Skype call with my grandmother, I broached the topic of the fast-arriving…
Opinion: Emergency department physicians should have the right to due process protection. Many don’t
Your doctor should be your biggest advocate, doing what Ming Lin, an emergency medicine physician…
Opinion: Unaffordable prescription drugs: the real legacy of the Hatch-Waxman Act
How is it possible to have a prescription drug price crisis when 90% of prescriptions…
Opinion: Covid-19 is temporary. The health ramifications of failing to provide adequate economic relief may last decades
The rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine across the U.S. that began this week suggests that…
Opinion: Don’t repeat the mistakes of past vaccine distribution efforts
When it comes to planning how Covid-19 vaccines will be delivered to the people who…
Opinion: Racial disparities in Covid-19 are bad. They’re even worse in cancer
The currents of the racial justice movement and the Covid-19 pandemic have amplified persistent and…
Opinion: Let patients speak for themselves on the Biden task force and elsewhere
Ever since President-elect Biden named his Covid-19 task force, advice for improving its makeup has…
Opinion: Peer recovery programs are an integral part of addiction treatment, recovery
I still remember the charge nurse looking at me when I walked into the hospital…
Opinion: Trump’s ‘most favored nations’ experiment undermines care for millions covered by Medicare
President Trump and other administration officials have talked a big game about their new most…
Opinion: STAT+: In biopharma mergers and acquisitions, managing regulatory compliance early protects return on investment
Mergers and acquisitions have long been a vehicle for growth in the pharmaceutical industry. They…
Opinion: India’s drug regulator has failed the pandemic stress test. The U.S. should take notice
The Covid-19 pandemic has served as a stress test for drug regulators across the world….
Opinion: New data, dashboard provide information on Covid-19 hospital capacity
The surge in Covid-19 cases that began in early November has raised questions about how…
Opinion: Engage ‘willing skeptics’ to help increase Covid-19 vaccination rates
More than 250,000 people in the U.S. alone have died from Covid-19 this year. Researchers…
Opinion: To defeat Covid-19, we must acknowledge the fear it engenders
My career as a hospital epidemiologist has been based on science and evidence, which I…
Opinion: FDA: Leave the door open to Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant and lactating health workers
On Thursday, the FDA will review the near-term fate of the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine. It…
Opinion: The mental health dilemma: If technology is the problem, can it also be the solution?
The must-see Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma,” released early this year, draws attention to the…
Opinion: As a physician and a patient, I’ve seen the damage caused by the stigma of addiction. It must end
Although the disease of addiction is now obscured by the dark cloud of the Covid-19…
Opinion: A new rule that protects VA clinicians who practice across state lines should kick off a movement
Amid the pandemonium of a turbulent election and a resurgent virus, the Department of Veterans…
Opinion: Covid-19 vaccine safety and the public trust: lessons from Paul Meier and polio
Early results of the Covid-19 vaccine trials sponsored by Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca are welcome…
Opinion: Women’s perspectives and voices need more inclusion in Covid-19 media coverage
As media coverage of Covid-19 continues 24/7, it routinely ignores an important dimension of the…
Opinion: Drug companies’ payments and gifts affect physicians’ prescribing. It’s time to turn off the spigot
Each year, about half of all U.S. doctors accept money or gifts from drug and…
Opinion: Replace the ‘cold steel’ of hospital-bed shackles with the warmth of compassion
“Why do they have that cold steel on my son’s ankle?” The father of Jacob…
Opinion: Extending health care to all ethically and practically: lessons from Covid-19
The long-standing debate over whether health care is a right or a privilege seems particularly…
Opinion: A better way to roll out Covid-19 vaccines: Vaccinate everyone in several hot zones
Dear CEOs of Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, Thank you for rapidly mobilizing your scientific resources…
Opinion: Make science bipartisan again
The Biden-Harris administration faces daunting challenges. Chief among them is tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and…
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Opinion: Misguided federal regulations are likely to cause more pain in people already living with it
Hidden in the shadows of the Covid-19 pandemic is the U.S.’s drug epidemic, which is…
Opinion: Better collection, reporting of race and ethnicity data are essential for fighting Covid-19
This year has challenged Americans to confront their understanding of society and to start rewriting…
Opinion: Advice for the next CMS administrator’s first 100 days
This week four years ago, I was working for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid…
Opinion: The U.S. must support access to care and incentives for the innovation that transforms it
The deadly spread of Covid-19 around the world has highlighted the importance of innovation and…
Opinion: Every state needs emergency regulations to protect essential food workers
The darkest days of the pandemic are still ahead of us, as we head into…
Opinion: I worked hard to protect myself from Covid-19 and the flu. Yet I got both — at the same time
My painful excursion into the world of dueling infections started on a Tuesday afternoon with…
Opinion: Rethinking Black Friday to include end-of-life conversations
With more than 250,000 Americans killed by Covid-19, it’s time to think about reimagining Black…
Opinion: Add Covid-related myocarditis, mechanical ventilation, and death to this year’s football risks
Our fourth annual Football Injury Highlight Reel is taking a different tack this year. In…
Opinion: What the biopharma industry is doing to build confidence in Covid-19 vaccines
Over the last few weeks, the United States has surpassed 100,000 Covid-19 cases a day…
Opinion: Beyond burnout: For health care workers, this surge of Covid-19 is bringing burnover
Covid-19 is roaring back for a third wave. The first two substantially increased feelings of…
Opinion: OSHA’s ‘absurd reinterpretation’ of a regulation regarding workers and Covid-19
Workplace exposures continue to be a major driver of the coronavirus pandemic, something that the…
Opinion: Now is the time to innovate for more than 1 billion people with neglected tropical diseases
With the first results of multiple Covid-19 vaccine candidates giving hope to billions of people…
Opinion: CMS’s new rules on organ donation and transplantation ‘will bring chaos’
The United States had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to save countless additional lives each year by…