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Journal of General Internal Medicine
By Nirav Shah and Jason Wang

JAMA Network Cardio
By Mark Hlatky
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Lancet Series on Women’s and Children’s Health in Conflict Settings
A new four-paper series in The Lancet exposes the far-reaching effects of modern warfare on women’s and children’s health.
Alternative Dose Allocation Strategies to Increase Benefits From Constrained COVID-19 Vaccine Supply
Short-term and Long-term Educational Outcomes of Infants Born Moderately and Late Preterm
Trauma at School: The Impacts of Shootings on Students' Human Capital and Economic Outcomes
Trauma at School: The Impacts of Shootings on Students' Human Capital and Economic Outcomes
Far More Transparency is Needed for COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
With vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, on the near-term horizon, U.S. policymakers are focusing on how to ensure that Americans get vaccinated. This challenge has been compounded by reports that White House officials are exerting undue influence over the agencies that would ordinarily lead such efforts, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
School Reopenings and the Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Few issues in the policy response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have inspired as impassioned debate as school reopening. There is broad agreement that school closures involve heavy burdens on students, parents, and the economy, with profound equity implications, but also that the risk of outbreaks cannot be eliminated even in a partial reopening scenario with in-school precautions. Consensus largely ends there, however: the approaches states and localities have taken to integrating these concerns into school reopening plans are highly variable.
The Missing Piece -- SARS-CoV-2 Testing and School Reopening
On August 17, 2020, the Los Angeles Unified School District launched a program to test more than 700,000 students and staff for SARS-CoV-2. The district is paying a private contractor to provide next-day, early-morning results for as many as 40,000 tests daily. As of October 4, a total of 34,833 people had been tested at 42 sites. The program is notable not only because it’s ambitious, but also because it’s unusual: testing is conspicuously absent from school reopening plans in many other districts.
The Missing Piece -- SARS-CoV-2 Testing and School Reopening
On August 17, 2020, the Los Angeles Unified School District launched a program to test more than 700,000 students and staff for SARS-CoV-2. The district is paying a private contractor to provide next-day, early-morning results for as many as 40,000 tests daily. As of October 4, a total of 34,833 people had been tested at 42 sites. The program is notable not only because it’s ambitious, but also because it’s unusual: testing is conspicuously absent from school reopening plans in many other districts.
Video Consultations in Primary and Specialist Care During COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Even before the covid-19 pandemic, virtual consultations (also called telemedicine consultations) were on the rise, with many healthcare systems advocating a digital-first approach. At the start of the pandemic, many GPs and specialists turned to video consultations to reduce patient flow through healthcare facilities and limit infectious exposures. Video and telephone consultations also enable clinicians who are well but have to self-isolate, or who fall into high risk groups and require shielding, to continue providing medical care. The scope for video consultations for long term conditio
Initial Economic Damage From the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States Is More Widespread Across Ages and Geographies Than Initial Mortality Impacts
Abstract
Retaining VA Women’s Health Primary Care Providers: Work Setting Matters
When an experienced provider opts to leave a healthcare workforce (attrition), there are significant costs, both direct and indirect. Turnover of healthcare providers is underreported and understudied, despite evidence that it negatively impacts care delivery and negatively impacts working conditions for remaining providers. In the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system, attrition of women’s health primary care providers (WH-PCPs) threatens a specially trained workforce; it is unknown what factors contribute to, or protect against, their attrition.
Health Care Claims Data May Be Useful For COVID-19 Research Despite Significant Limitations
Although health care billing claims data have been widely used to study health care use, spending, and policy changes, their use in the study of infectious disease has been limited. Other data sources, including from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have provided timelier reporting to outbreak experts.
Health Care Claims Data May Be Useful For COVID-19 Research Despite Significant Limitations
Although health care billing claims data have been widely used to study health care use, spending, and policy changes, their use in the study of infectious disease has been limited. Other data sources, including from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have provided timelier reporting to outbreak experts.
An Impact-Oriented Approach to Epidemiological Modeling
Epidemiological modeling has emerged as a crucial tool to help decision-makers combat COVID-19, with calls for non-pharmaceutical interventions such as stay-at-home orders and the wearing of masks. But those models have become ubiquitous and part of the public lexicon — so Nirav Shah and Jason Wang write that they should follow an impact-oriented approach.
Association of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes With Risk of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Postmenopausal Women
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women in the U.S. and identification of sex-specific risk factors could enhance cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention. Pregnancy is an exposure unique to women: 85% of women give birth at least once in their lives, and up to 30% may experience an adverse pregnancy outcome (APO).
Fair Regression for Healthcare Spending
Abstract
Modeling Contact Tracing Strategies for COVID-19 in the Context of Relaxed Physical Distancing Measures
Stanford Health Policy’s Joshua Salomon, a professor of medicine and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and colleagues developed a mathematical model to examine the potential for contact tracing to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Hepatitis C Treatment in Prisons — Incarcerated People’s Uncertain Right to Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy
In a recent perspective published by the New England Journal of Medicine(NEJM), Stanford Law student Alexandra Daniels analyzed a growing body of federal litigation brought by prisoners with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) who are seeking access to treatment for their condition.
Operational Considerations on the American Academy of Pediatrics Guidance for K-12 School Reentry
There is general consensus among experts that K-12 schools should aim to reopen for in-person classes during the 2020-2021 school year. Globally, children constitute a low proportion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and are far less likely than adults to experience serious illness. Yet, prolonged school closure can exacerbate socioeconomic disparities, amplify existing educational inequalities, and aggravate food insecurity, domestic violence, and mental health disorders. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently published its g
Attacks on Public Health Officials During COVID-19
In June 24, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom remarked on a disturbing phenomenon: health officers are “getting attacked, getting death threats, they’re being demeaned and demoralized.” At least 27 health officers in 13 states (including Nichole Quick of Orange County in southern California, Ohio Health Director Amy Acton, and West Virginia Health Officer Cathy Slemp) have resigned or been fired since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Partitioning the Curve — Interstate Travel Restrictions During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis in the United States, government action taken to “flatten” the curve of disease transmission has varied dramatically among states, counties, and cities. The early epicenters — New York City, Washington State, and the San Francisco Bay Area — implemented aggressive measures in mid-March, many of which remain in place. Other states and localities opted for milder restrictions, acted much later, or barely intervened at all. Many states began unwinding restrictions weeks ago, although surging case numbers are prompting some to change course.
The Legal Authority for States’ Stay-at-Home Orders
In March 2020, when many U.S. states and localities issued their first emergency orders to address Covid-19, there was widespread acceptance of the government’s legal authority to respond quickly and aggressively to this unprecedented crisis. Today, that acceptance is fraying. As initial orders expire and states move to extend or modify them, legal challenges have sprouted. The next phase of the pandemic response will see restrictions dialed up and down as threat levels change. As public and political resistance grows, further legal challenges are inevitable.
Respecting Disability Rights — Toward Improved Crisis Standards of Care
In times of emergency, many legal strictures can flex. For example, to enable hospitals to respond to Covid-19, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently waived a swath of federal regulatory requirements. But though officials’ emergency powers are extensive, the ability to discard antidiscrimination protections is not among them. A hallmark of our legal system is that our commitment to prohibiting invidious discrimination remains steadfast even in times of emergency.