Brainstorm Health: Roche Spark Deal, Measles Outbreak, Kansas Abortion Ruling

Brainstorm Health Daily: April 26, 2019

Happy Friday, readers!

We’ve been making a point to include updates on the ongoing measles outbreak in this space. Days like today demonstrate why.

The resurgence of this highly contagious infectious disease, which has already struck some 700 people across nearly two dozen states, has now led to a widespread quarantines at the University of California, Los Angeles and California State University, L.A. Those are two of the most prominent universities in Souther California, and hundreds of students have now been quarantined in a preventive effort.

This recent rash of infection news, and growing concerns that public health responses may not keep pace with certain communities’ vaccine skepticism, has led presidential contenders from the left and right alike to speak out.

President Donald Trump himself issued a stark request on Friday: “They have to get the shot,” he told reporters. “The vaccinations are so important. This is really going on now, they have to get their shots.” (Notably, this is a bit of a departure for Trump, who has previously voiced skepticism about vaccination norms in their current form.)

Sens. Kamala Harris (of California) and Bernie Sanders, as well as several other Democratic 2020 contenders, have doubled down on their support of vaccinations, and against opt-out programs other than for very limited cases, in the outbreak’s wake.

Just how effective will a public pressure campaign be? That’s a more complicated question given the evidence that pushing back on anti-vaccination beliefs tends to solidify skeptics’ existing positions. The issue, when it comes to measles though, has officially made the national conversation.

Read on for the day’s news, and have a wonderful weekend.