Top Page Links

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself — and measles

Posted on Author Publisher Comments Off on The only thing we have to fear is fear itself — and measles

 

  • An alarming editorial in The Lancet Infectious Diseases shows how outbreaks spread when social bonds become frayed.

 

  • Measles increased in 98 countries last year, with 229,000 cases reported. It’s a worsening global health crisis, even though measles can be prevented easily with the vaccine. The spread of disinformation, which is turning parents against vaccines, is driving new outbreaks “from the Philippines to France, from Ukraine to the USA.”

 

  • Similar dynamics are in play in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where MSF has reported violent attacks on health workers racing to stop the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak—and where rumor has it that Ebola is a government ploy. 

 

  • In both cases, people’s distrust in authorities—including government and pharmaceutical companies—is feeding the spread of disease. That distrust is not entirely irrational, The Lancet’s editorial board argues, but it’s wildly misplaced.

 

 

Publisher

Related Articles
Top Page Links

Challenges and Opportunities for Global Finance in 2021

Posted on Author publisher

How can you capitalize on emerging trends in global finance? Join a web conference hosted by NEST Financial Group to hear from successful industry players at Citi Holdings, Finastra, State Street, Capco, CloudFlare, Samsung SDS, Accenture, and more. They’ll discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping up for global finance in 2021, and how new technologies will […]
Top Page Links

Repealing CON Laws Saves Lives

Posted on Author publisher

By Sriparna Ghosh, Agnitra Roy Choudhury, and Alicia Plemmons, courtesy of the Mercatus Center   Imagine you have respiratory distress from an underlying non-COVID illness and are taken to the hospital. This hospital is subject to certificate-of-need (CON) laws, which means that there are government-imposed limitations on the number of CT scanners, respirators, and many […]
Top Page Links

“We are clearly moving away from an evidence-based approach to regulation.”

Posted on Author Erik Sass

  By Erik Sass TES Editor   One of the more confounding mysteries of U.S. public health regulation in recent years has been the crackdown on new forms of nicotine delivery, including e-cigarettes and vaping. On the face of it these new technologies, though still bad for human health, are vastly preferable to regular cigarettes, […]