���ϳԹ���

Doctors take an oath to “do no harm.” That sadly doesn’t apply to the Trump administration officials who have thrown America’s medical research into chaos by freezing funds, halting grants and banning travel. (David Ignatius, 1/29)

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, “nothing justifies violence but …” became the first four words in nearly every social media takedown of America’s private health insurance system. But the public’s anger with our balkanized and profit-centric health care system didn’t start with alleged shooter Luigi Mangione or when Medicare or Obamacare were under threat. It’s haunted me for decades. (Daniel Zingale, 1/30)

It was the case that, thanks in part to disparate vaccination rates, counties that voted more heavily for Donald Trump in 2020 were also counties with higher covid-19 death tolls relative to their populations. (Philip Bump, 1/29)

Pharmacy deserts are a growing phenomenon, an analysis published last year in U.S. Pharmacist shows. A pharmacy desert is “described as a low-access community where the residents have to travel farther to get to the nearest pharmacy to fill their prescriptions.” (Laura Washington, 1/29)

For decades, Maryland has been a trailblazing state, with Baltimore at its heart. We’ve taken pride in using science to inform policies; yet in the fight for healthy, scientifically sound school start times, Baltimore and other counties in Maryland are falling behind. The detrimental effects of early school start times are widespread and well-known. Up to 70% of adolescents are sleep deprived, the effects of which are tied to myriad damaging health effects from chronic health issues to impaired school performance. (Aysheh Abuarqub, 1/29)