The hottest Public Health Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Health & Wellness Topics

Walking Phoenix

Chris Arnade Walks the World • 2 HN points • 03 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Public Health
  1. Phoenix has contrasting sides - while some parts showcase a version of the American Dream, others are plagued by chaos and despair, highlighting societal issues like drug addiction and homelessness.
  2. The experience highlighted the challenges of navigating through a city with broken infrastructure, lack of facilities, and intense disorder, impacting both residents and visitors.
  3. There was a clear call for more empathy, support, and community to address the issues of substance abuse, homelessness, and societal emptiness observed in parts of Phoenix.

A Monopoly on Poop

Eat Shit and Prosper • 1 HN point • 14 Dec 22
🏥 Health Politics Public Health
  1. The FDA approved Rebyota, a new treatment for serious gut infections that is basically just processed poop, but it comes with a very high price tag of around $9,487, sparking concerns about its affordability compared to existing fecal microbiota transplants.
  2. Fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) have been used effectively for years but face regulatory challenges, leading to limited access and insurance coverage, which leaves patients with expensive options like Rebyota.
  3. The FDA's new rules seem to restrict the use of lower-cost stool banks for FMTs, creating a monopoly for companies producing expensive versions, which raises questions about priorities in healthcare and profit vs. patient care.

COVID Still Makes Everybody a Little Bit Crazy

Freddie deBoer • 1 HN point • 13 Mar 24
🏥 Health Politics Public Health
  1. COVID has caused varying degrees of anxiety and extreme reactions in people, leading to polarized beliefs and behaviors.
  2. There are different extreme perspectives on COVID from both right-leaning skeptics and left-leaning individuals, each with their own set of beliefs and theories.
  3. There is a need to balance the accommodation of vulnerable populations like the immunocompromised with making sound public health decisions based on evidence and prevalence.

Case Studies and Research Insights on Microbiome and Disease Prevention( Part 6.5/11)

Gutsphere - Your Ultimate Guide to Optimal Gut Health • 0 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. The gut microbiome is linked to the prevention of specific age-related diseases like cardiovascular conditions and certain cancers.
  2. Specific gut bacterial strains can help metabolize cholesterol, lower its levels, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
  3. Research shows that a balanced microbiome rich in anti-inflammatory strains can help mitigate inflammation pathways and reduce the risk of cancer.
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How to Own the Libs on the Covid Conspiracy Argument

Anxiety Addiction & Ascension • 0 implied HN points • 23 Aug 22
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Public Health
  1. Show Bill Gates' video to challenge belief in Covid response - it reveals his acknowledgment of Covid's low threat to most people.
  2. Question why governments didn't act on public knowledge about Covid's low fatality rate early on - it exposes potential manipulation.
  3. Highlight global leaders' decisions contrasting with known data - it points to a deliberate, authoritarian agenda during the pandemic.

Sitting In Traffic Is A Problem Worth Solving

Cornerstone • 0 implied HN points • 10 Aug 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Public Health
  1. Sitting in traffic is a significant problem that needs addressing, especially in areas like Northern Virginia.
  2. Congestion pricing could be an effective policy solution to address traffic congestion by pricing the externality of time wasted in traffic.
  3. Dependency on cars for transportation poses risks like accidents and contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, emphasizing the need for better transit options.

Managing Endemic Covid

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 06 Apr 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. When your Covid symptoms abate, you're likely still infectious. Consider "test to leave" or wear a mask after feeling better.
  2. Even after recovering from a cold or flu, continue to wear masks to reduce the spread of illnesses.
  3. With endemic Covid, it's crucial to focus on post-symptomatic measures rather than blanket requirements on asymptomatic individuals.

How much would a vax tax be?

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 31 Jan 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Economists support the idea of implementing a tax on the unvaccinated as it aligns with basic economic logic and can improve overall welfare by making individual choices reflect their social consequences.
  2. The level of a vaccine tax on unvaccinated adults might vary depending on factors like vaccine efficacy, infectiousness of Covid-19 variants, and the health costs imposed on others. The suggested tax could be around $1,500 per annum for Canadian adults without three doses of the vaccine.
  3. The purpose of the proposed tax is not necessarily to increase vaccination rates, but rather to ensure that those who impose costs on others through being unvaccinated are the ones paying for these costs, thus internalizing the harm caused to others.

Insanity and weirdness

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 31 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. The global pandemic has brought unexpected challenges and changes in management approach, shifting towards individual risk management, which raises concerns about lack of tools to help people self-manage effectively.
  2. The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has unique characteristics that make it highly infectious but less severe, potentially leading to complacency and overlooking the risks of continued virus circulation and possible mutations.
  3. There is a risk of complacency and potential resurgence of the pandemic if steps are not taken to prepare for scenarios where the virus mutates to become more infectious and virulent, highlighting the importance of staying vigilant and prepared for the future.

The Rapid Test Epiphany

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 21 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Public health officials are now embracing the use of rapid tests for Covid-19, marking a significant shift in attitude after over 20 months of resistance.
  2. Rapid testing offers individuals the ability to know their Covid status and manage their risk when meeting in groups or with vulnerable individuals.
  3. Rapid testing, while helpful, may not be enough to fully prevent the spread of the Omicron variant and should be paired with other measures like social distancing and masking.

NSW vs Ontario: A month later

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 15 Sep 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. The comparison between New South Wales and Ontario shows a clear divergence in Delta experiences, highlighting the effectiveness of vaccines.
  2. Ontario faces challenges with schools reopening and colder weather ahead, which might test vaccine resistance.
  3. NSW seems to have shifted away from the Covid-Zero strategy, leading to interesting political and economic dynamics within Australia.

Supply of Rapid Tests

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 21 Aug 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Abbott destroyed millions of rapid test products due to a mistaken prediction of decreased demand, leading to supply shortages when demand surged again.
  2. Public health recommendations, like CDC's guidance on testing, heavily influence the demand for rapid tests.
  3. Vaccine mandates and the requirement for negative tests are increasing the demand for testing, highlighting the importance for governments to act promptly to ensure sufficient supply.

Resetting expectations

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 13 Aug 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. The previous plan of waiting for a vaccine and declaring victory is no longer feasible with the emergence of the Delta variant.
  2. In dealing with the Delta variant, it is important to flatten the curve to prevent overwhelming hospitals and buy time to vaccinate more people.
  3. Policies to address the Delta variant should include restrictions on non-essential gatherings, rapid testing in schools, encouraging mask-wearing, and providing support for those who cannot be vaccinated.

Vaccine Passports are unlikely to counter vaccine hesitancy

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 16 Jul 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Vaccine passports may not effectively address vaccine hesitancy due to their potential to act more as a punishment than a motivator.
  2. Implementing vaccine passports could lead to 'vaccine theatre,' where the requirement of proof of vaccination at events may not necessarily protect or benefit individuals.
  3. The use of vaccine passports may paradoxically lower the demand for vaccination by reducing the prevalence of the virus, making it a temporary solution rather than a long-term strategy.

Australia's Art of the Deal

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 11 Jul 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Negotiation strategies in deals should consider future promises and relationships, not just focus on the present moment.
  2. Australia's vaccine strategy, specifically with Pfizer, has put the country behind compared to some peers, highlighting the importance of making thoughtful deals.
  3. The global distribution of vaccines involves a complex 'grand deal' where richer countries pay for upfront costs, showcasing the economic considerations in allocating resources during a pandemic.

Australia's upcoming storm

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 26 May 21
🏥 Health Politics Public Health
  1. Australia's strict quarantine and closed borders may not be sustainable in the long run due to vaccine hesitancy and slow vaccination rates.
  2. Historical examples show that successfully keeping a respiratory virus out of Australia is extremely challenging.
  3. The alternative to Australia's current strategy is to give up on Covid-Zero and focus on containing outbreaks through testing, tracing, and vaccination while living with the virus.

The CDC's Big Surprise!

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 15 May 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. The CDC's decision to lift all restrictions for the vaccinated was surprising and hard to understand, leading to doubts and confusion about their motives and future decisions.
  2. Understanding the CDC's decision-making process is crucial for individuals and businesses to navigate through the changing guidelines effectively.
  3. The lack of a clear plan and sudden shift in policy regarding restrictions raised concerns, especially in areas with high COVID-19 cases, indicating the need for a more consistent and strategic approach.

Did exposure apps work?

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 14 May 21
🔬 Science Public Health
  1. Exposure notification apps have potential but were not very effective during the crisis due to lack of take-up and false positives.
  2. A study on the NHS app showed a 6% secondary attack rate for app-notified individuals who subsequently tested positive, similar to manually traced close contacts.
  3. The study highlighted the need for further improvements in exposure notification apps, such as tailoring notifications, specifying locations, and adjusting for the type of contacts for better efficiency.

Review of Michael Lewis's Premonition

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 09 May 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Social distancing as a pandemic control measure has only been accepted for about 15 years by epidemiologists and public health experts.
  2. Understanding first-order effects is crucial in formulating policies and responses, as they present fundamental insights that apply universally.
  3. The resistance to social distancing as a policy option before 2006 highlights the importance of prioritizing logical reasoning over data-driven decision making in certain cases.

Credentials versus passports

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 28 Apr 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. The distinction between a 'passport' and a 'credential' is important in managing individual risk and allowing economies to function with minimal restrictions.
  2. Denmark's digital app for showing negative test results, vaccinations, and previous infections can serve as a useful information substrate allowing markets to operate more effectively.
  3. There is value in using verified information as credentials rather than passports, as it provides organizations the flexibility to manage their own Covid-19 risks and policies.

The coming vaccine wall in Ontario

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 19 Apr 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Increasing vaccine supply is crucial to maintain vaccination rates and prevent the pandemic from resurging when needed.
  2. Extending the length between vaccine doses beyond 16 weeks presents uncertainties, and experts are still unsure of the outcomes.
  3. Monitoring the effectiveness of first doses over time and preparing for potential booster shots post-second dose are crucial for informed decision-making before July.

Ontario, a turn at being the worst

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 17 Apr 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Ontario is currently facing a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by new variants, particularly the B.1.1.7 or UK variant.
  2. The outbreak is primarily originating in workplaces that remain open, such as manufacturing factories and distribution centers, leading to high rates of infection.
  3. A proposed solution to counter the surge in cases is to mandate the use of N95 or better masks in all currently open workplaces in Ontario with more than 20-30 employees.

What are the barriers to sensible public health data?

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 14 Apr 21
🏥 Health Politics Public Health
  1. Having comprehensive public health data is crucial for running an effective health system and monitoring trends.
  2. Political leaders need to prioritize and commit to improving public health data systems for better outcomes.
  3. Implementing a balanced growth strategy instead of a 'big bang' approach can lead to more sustainable progress in developing national public health data systems.

What to make of AstraZeneca?

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 09 Apr 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. AstraZeneca has been linked to rare blood clot issues, particularly in younger individuals, presenting a challenge in vaccine distribution and risk assessment.
  2. The distribution of AstraZeneca vaccine is crucial due to its wide availability, but balancing the risk of blood clots against the benefits of vaccination is a complex task.
  3. Messaging around AstraZeneca vaccination plays a significant role in managing vaccine hesitancy and public perception, highlighting the need for a balanced approach and continual adjustment based on new information.

Is LTC screening worth it?

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 24 Mar 21
🏥 Health Politics Public Health
  1. A report questions the worth of routine asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in LTC facilities in Ontario due to low positivity rates and perceived costs and burdens.
  2. The report overlooks the potential benefits of preventing outbreaks through testing, especially considering the high-risk nature of LTC facilities.
  3. Suggestions in the report about transitioning to rapid antigen testing are met with skepticism regarding the claimed higher costs and operational challenges.

The Economist's Trigger

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 08 Mar 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Emotional reactions can be unpredictable and vary from person to person, sparking different responses even to the same triggers.
  2. Individuals may have differing perspectives on concepts like fairness and personal rights, leading to contrasting emotional reactions.
  3. Varying emotional triggers can highlight differences in values and beliefs, such as the balance between individual freedoms and social cohesion.

More on Vaccine Shopping

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 05 Mar 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Consider getting the first available vaccine rather than waiting for a 'better' one, as all vaccines help prevent severe illness.
  2. Factors like fear of getting sick with Covid-19 and fear of infecting others influence decisions on vaccine choice and timing.
  3. Public health officials should provide realistic information and choice on vaccine types to address individual preferences while considering public allocation rationale.

Help! How can I stop the spread of a “stomach flu” caused by Norovirus?

News from Those Nerdy Girls • 0 implied HN points • 17 Feb 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. To stop the spread of Norovirus, use bleach, wash hands, avoid sharing, close the lid, and stay home if possible for two days.
  2. Norovirus is highly contagious and causes symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headaches, and fatigue.
  3. Key tips to prevent Norovirus spread: clean with bleach, wash hands thoroughly, avoid sharing items, close the toilet lid, and stay home to recover and prevent further spread.

We need to plan for the worst

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 15 Feb 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. We need to plan for long-term strategies for managing Covid-19 as an endemic disease, considering the possibility that it might never fully go away.
  2. The ongoing mutations in the virus pose a challenge to achieving widespread immunity and point out the importance of developing effective treatments alongside vaccines.
  3. A diplomatic approach is needed in dealing with Covid-19, focusing on finding treatments that can make the disease more manageable in the long run, rather than relying solely on vaccine strategies.

What cheeses me off

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 27 Jan 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Vaccination has benefits beyond protection that are being overlooked, like conserving scarce vaccine doses by testing for antibodies in individuals who have already had Covid-19.
  2. Public health messages are simplistic and may not account for evolving situations, such as the potential for vaccinated individuals to spread the virus.
  3. Locking up vaccinated individuals without allowing them more freedom can hinder understanding their role in spreading the virus, and a lack of flexibility in responses may lead to behavioral challenges in the future.

Information provision and individual response

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 15 Jan 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. People's knowledge about COVID-19 symptoms and transmission mechanisms influenced their adoption of risk mitigation measures like mask-wearing and social distancing.
  2. Government actions such as messaging, mask mandates, and lockdowns played a significant role in changing behavior, with noticeable differences in behavior between countries with and without these measures.
  3. While knowledge was associated with increased protective measures, adoption of social distancing practices was not sufficient, indicating that other factors may influence this behavior.

The Liverpool Experiment

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 08 Jan 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. A large-scale Covid-19 testing experiment was conducted in Liverpool using a combination of PCR and rapid antigen tests, impacting almost 500,000 people.
  2. Confirmatory PCR tests for positive rapid test results had poor uptake, highlighting challenges in ensuring follow-up testing.
  3. The quality of rapid tests varied, emphasizing the importance of recording and evaluating batch and test type information to identify production issues.

Should you wait for the 'good' vaccine?

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 03 Mar 21
🏥 Health Politics Public Health
  1. The real choice between vaccines is to take the one available now and get a booster of the 'good' vaccine later.
  2. Governments should inform people about their vaccine choices and guarantee availability of booster shots in the future.
  3. Encouraging a portfolio approach to vaccine selection is more effective than promoting one vaccine over another.

How many minutes of exposure does it take to get COVID?

News from Those Nerdy Girls • 0 implied HN points • 10 Mar 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Exposure longer than 15 minutes increases infection risk, but shorter exposure with other risk factors can still lead to COVID infection.
  2. Factors like what the infected person was doing, presence of symptoms, ventilation, and proximity affect risk of infection.
  3. Wearing a mask indoors, even for brief periods, is a good precaution due to various factors that influence COVID transmission.

Digital Public Health Surveillance

Digital Epidemiology • 0 implied HN points • 19 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Public Health
  1. Chapter 8 of the digital epidemiology book is now released, focusing on digital public health surveillance.
  2. The chapter covers a variety of data sources like search queries, social media, and wearables.
  3. One important aspect discussed is participatory surveillance, along with future challenges and opportunities in digital public health surveillance.

Digital Cohorts and Trials

Digital Epidemiology • 0 implied HN points • 19 May 23
🔬 Science Public Health
  1. Traditional cohort studies and trials are essential in modern medicine and public health for studying the relationship between exposures and outcomes.
  2. Running conventional cohorts and trials can be costly and challenging due to low participation rates, retention issues, and data collection constraints.
  3. Digital cohorts and trials are conducted digitally, collecting data electronically, which helps in remote and siteless studies, making research more accessible and cost-effective.