Health stories in the news
Should you try to get infected with H1N1?
Donald McNeil writes in today’s New York Times about a debate on the Internet over whether people should deliberately try to get infected with influenza A/H1N1, “swine flu”.
The thinking is that it would be better to acquire immunity by being infected by the current strain of the virus, which appears to usually cause mild disease, than it would be to wait to be infected later when the virus may have mutated into a more dangerous form.
Proponents base their argument on the course of the 1918 Spanish flu, which, when it first appear in the spring it caused mild disease, but then returned in the fall in a far more deadlier form, killing tens of millions worldwide.
But most experts oppose the idea, McNeil writes. One said there is too much uncertainty about how this virus will develop. “You’d really be jumping into the unknown” if you decided to get infected deliberately, he said.
Another said, “I think it’s totally nuts.
- To learn more read McNeil’s article Debating the wisdom of “swine flu parties”.
Comparative Effectiveness: should the government say which treatment is better
New York Times reporter Barry Meier today writes about the impending battle over the Obama administration’s plan to spend $1.1 billion on studies comparing the effectiveness of different treatments for common conditions, such as back pain and heart disease.
Supporters of comparative effectiveness guidelines say they reduce unnecessary and ineffective practices that drive up healthcare costs and sometimes harms patients.
Opponents say such guidelines are often wrong, will deny patients access to treatments from which they might benefit, and will be used by government officials as an excuse to meddle in the practice of medicine.
In today’s article, Barry Meier describes how both sides of the debate gearing up for the fight.
- To learn more read Meier’s article: New effort reopens a medical minefield.
King County officials want tax to support public health
King County officials want Governor Chris Gregoire to revive a bill that would create public-health districts with taxing authority to help fund such agencies as Public Health – Seattle & King County, health reporter Kyung Song writes in today’s Seattle Times.
The bill died in the Legislature this year but could be brought back to life in a special session of the Legislature that Gov. Gregoire is contemplating convening next month.
King County Executive Ron Sims argues that the lack of adequate funding impairs local health officials ability to respond to swine flu and other outbreaks, Song writes.
- To learn more read Kyung Song’s article: New tax to battle disease?
Category: Health-care Policy, Influenza, Public Health
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