New in @ScienceMagazine: The next pandemic may be deadlier than COVID-19. We argue that future generations deserve well-calibrated laws that empower health officials to act decisively while mindfully safeguarding constitutional rights & social values science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… 1/7
During the pandemic, over 30 states passed laws curbing health measures. Many state law reforms now allow the legislature to rescind executive health orders, shifting decisions from infectious disease experts to lawmakers ill-equipped to make rapid, science-based judgments. 2/7
The pandemic also unleashed more than 1000 lawsuits challenging COVID-19 measures put into place by health officials.
While health officials did overreach in some cases during the pandemic, state legislatures and courts have cut public health powers too deeply, seriously jeopardizing future emergency responses. 4/7
Sarah Wetter (@oneillinstitute) & I argue these events signal a need for legal modernization. Instead of weakening of public health powers, states should modernize laws to balance powers and rights more productively. 5/7
Executive health officials should have strong and flexible authority to respond to emergencies, but legislatures should be empowered to modify or end a declaration of “emergency” that goes on too long or tramples personal freedom too far. 6/7
Although states should remain the primary holders of emergency powers, expanding federal powers would provide a stronger baseline of national protections. 7/7
Braidwood ruling will cost lives. Tomorrow, you may wake up and not have cost free mammograms. Some 100 services are at risk like screenings for cervical, lung, & colorectal cancers, heart disease, & hepatitis, to tobacco cessation & STD counseling. 1X
In Sept, Judge O'Connor ruled the Preventative Services Task Force violated the appointments clause. He also ruled the PrEP mandate violated religious freedom
But he did not issue a remedy. Today, he issues a nationwide injunction against enforcing the ACA's primary care mandates
Task Force "A" or "B" recs all have high scientific evidence of significant benefit to patients. They keep us healthy, save lives, & are cost effective. Now a single lay judge is overturning scientific & medical judgements about effective primary care. And it applies nationwide
At #Roe's 50th anniversary, the nation is seeking new legal frontiers to safeguard reproductive freedoms. As the battle over abortion continues to evolve, I join Rebecca Reingold of @oneillinstitute in @JAMA_current to talk through key legal strategies:
To mark the anniversary, President Biden signed a memorandum to ensure access to medication abortion. Now, new FDA rules allow clinicians to prescribe mifepristone in pharmacies or dispense by mail. DOJ also clarified the lawfulness of sending abortion medications through USPS.
DOJ has suggested it might challenge state bans on abortion medications based on FDA’s power to set national uniform standards. Whether or not DOJ succeeds, states should not be able to pick & choose which FDA-approved medications to allow. That would cause grivious harm
The CDC was entirely warranted in requiring a negative test for all international travelers before departure from China, Hong Kong, or Macau. China has experienced explosive spread since abandoning its #ZeroCOVIDpolicy. This fully justifies the US response.
China can hardly complain because the government has conducted far harsher travel restrictions into China for nearly three years, including intrusive quarantines.
I'm not surprised Biden has COVID-19. The White House has loosened masking and distancing protocols & he's interacting with foreign leaders. Biden is elderly & vulnerable. He has all the advantages of being up to date on his vaccinations & on Paxlovid, we shouldn't be complacent
People of Biden's age can be seriously ill, or even die, despite being vaccinated. This is a sure sign the pandemic is far from over. The complacency among the American public simply isn't justified. Many Americans have not been fully vaccinated
The belief that Omicron sub-variants are relatively mild is wishful thinking. We need to take COVID-19 more seriously. This also highlights Congress' failure to fund the next generation of vaccines this Fall. Vaccines may be in short supply
White House predicts 1 mil cases in fall/winter, but has no clear plan to guide the nation on updating vaccines. By now we should have bivalent or multivalent vaccines targeting the original strain & omicron (which subvariant?) Companies are acting alone w/o FDA/CDC guidance 1/X
It's taking more time to develop COVID vaccines from scratch than targeted vaccines to fight omicron, the dominant strain. The promise of mRNA vaccines was their ability to nimbly change formula, but it isn't happening
We can't keep boosting every 4 months
We need better vaccines
It’s not acceptable the White House hasn’t been more aggressive in working with companies to update the vaccine to Omicron. Current vaccines aren't sufficiently effective against new sub-variants like BA.4/BA.5. We need spur development of better vaccines