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May 1, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

By Andrew I. Fillat and Henry I. Miller The headline, of course, is an aphorism dating from 1862 that was popularized by the charming 1992 Tom Hanks film, “Forrest Gump.” Stupid may be an innate characteristic, but dumbness is certainly an opportunity available to all. It can be especially surprising and sometimes infuriating when a person not thought to be stupid does some really dumb things. Back in college at our fraternity, we had an “award” for pledges who said or did dumb...

April 30, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

Forcing a restructuring of the current pharmaceutical supply chain is a terrible idea. Yet, as a recent Wall Street Journal editorial exemplifies, there is growing support for this ill-considered policy. And, these proposals are not simply mere academic musings. The Trump Administration may implement an Executive Order that would turn this idea into actual policy. Congress, not to be outdone, is also considering several proposals that would force federal agencies to purchase drugs and medical supplies exclusively from U.S. suppliers. If implemented, these “Buy...

April 28, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals

On ‘Supply-Chain Repatriation,’ It’s Buyer (and Nation) Beware By Scott Lincicome One of the most fashionable COVID-19 proposals being circulated by Washington politicians and pundits these days is the “repatriating” of global supply chains for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and “personal protective equipment” that have been “outsourced” over the past three decades, leaving America utterly dependent on foreign countries, especially China, for these essential products. Bringing that manufacturing back home, so the story goes, is the only way to ensure future “resiliency” in...

April 27, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals

The presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., may have ended, but his "Medicare-for-all" crusade marches on. Writing in The New York Times last week, Sanders argued that the coronavirus outbreak proved the government should take over our nation's health care system. Sanders isn't the only one championing "Medicare-for-all" in the wake of the pandemic. More than half of voters now say they support a single-payer system. But "Medicare-for-all" would not have improved our nation's response to the outbreak. Other countries with socialized medicine have struggled mightily to combat COVID-19. In fact, the United States would have been even...

April 27, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Innovation

How hydroxychloroquine toes the line between promise and 'happy talk' in the coronavirus fight By: Anjalee Khemlani After weeks of polarizing debate over the use of two generic anti-malarial drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, the Food and Drug Administration this week warned they were not “safe and effective” when used on COVID-19 patients. However, the hydroxychloroquine debate is far from over, as the drug gets qualified support from others deeply involved in the war against the coronavirus, and is used to treat COVID-19 patients...

April 22, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Innovation

Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are leveling off in hot spots like Seattle and New York. New infections should soon begin to decline, and many parts of the country will be able to start a phased return to “normal.” Yet without a vaccine, normality will look very different than it did before the pandemic. The medical community and the public are hungry for news about vaccines, but accounts of progress have been exaggerated. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of...

April 21, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals

Dr. Oz and other TV docs hit with new coronavirus symptom: tripping over their own tongues By Corky Siemaszko Three of America's best known TV doctors are taking their medicine after making inflammatory statements about the coronavirus. . . . . . Dr. Henry I. Miller, a former federal Food and Drug Administration researcher and a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco, said they are ubiquitous on television because the medium is looking for "pseudo-experts" who reflect the biases of...

April 20, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals, Radio

Dr. Henry Miller joins the John Batchelor Show to provide an update on the state of testing in the United States and rest of the world. Dr. Miller explains that antibody testing will determine the true amount of cases, and also explains that only reliable, largely-used tests will help in the fight against the coronavirus. Dr. Miller also explains the danger of inaccurate and bad testing, like a recent example from the United Kingdom where their recent antibody tests were...

April 16, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals

President Trump announced at the White House coronavirus press briefing on Tuesday that the United States will immediately halt all funding for the World Health Organization, because it had caused "so much death" by "severely mismanaging and covering up" the coronavirus' spread, putting "political correctness over lifesaving measures." Other government officials, health experts, and analysts also have raised concerns about the WHO’s bungled response to the pandemic, accusing it of being too trusting of the Chinese government, which initially tried to conceal the outbreak in Wuhan. Rather than taking Beijing to...

April 14, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Policy Proposals

The coronavirus pandemic is threatening to stretch many hospitals to their breaking point. Beds are filling up with stricken patients, and public health officials are concerned about whether we'll have enough doctors and other healthcare professionals to care for them. So they're scrambling to roll back years' worth of regulations on the healthcare labor market—many of which never should've been in place to begin with. There's no shortage of red tape for policymakers to cut to boost the supply of care...

April 13, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

Bill Gates announced on April 2 that his foundation would fund the construction of facilities to produce seven possible coronavirus vaccines. The Microsoft founder acknowledges that only two of those vaccines will likely succeed – and the foundation will thus waste billions of dollars on the failed candidates. That's a small price to pay to ensure the prompt delivery of vaccines, save countless lives and restart the economy, he says. And yet, "Billionaires should not exist," according to Sen. Bernie Sanders. "Every...

April 9, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Radio

Sally C. Pipes joined the the Pat Miller Show in Cincinnati, Ohio to discuss the enormous benefits of the American private sector in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic. Pipes breaks down how the private sector industries in the United States are pushing innovations in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic including necessary equipment and medical innovation. Click here to listen to the entire interview. ...

April 9, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Radio

The nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show brings back Dr. Henry Miller for his weekly appearance on updates and discussion on the novel coronavirus pandemic. Lars Larson and Dr. Miller look at the defective tests that many countries like the United Kingdom bought from China and how internal flawed testing in the United States led to a slow response to the coronavirus in the United States. ...

April 9, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Radio

Dr. Henry Miller continues his regular appearance on the John Batchelor Show to discuss updates with the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Miller talks about case studies from previous vaccines, and breaks down the different stages of testing a coronavirus vaccine including a safety study, random and placebo testing, and a larger controlled test group to ensure the vaccine is safe and how the Gates Foundation is helping to build large-scale manufacturing facilities for some of the vaccines being tested. Click here to...

April 7, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has rolled back regulations on hospitals and health care providers. Hospitals are no longer barred from treating COVID-19 patients in outpatient facilities. The feds are also freeing nurse practitioners, physician assistants and medical residents to provide more care on their own. CMS is even issuing waivers that allow hospitals to provide meals, laundry service and child care while health care personnel are working. Apparently, it takes a pandemic for policymakers to acknowledge that so...

April 6, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus, Multimedia, Radio

PRI Senior Fellow in Health Care Studies Dr. Henry Miller joins PRI's Next Round podcast with an update on the fight against the coronavirus. He offers much-needed perspective on what public health officials are doing to “flatten the curve,” efforts to find vaccines and treatments, the efforts of other countries to contain the virus, when we can expect to get back to business as usual, and whether we should expect more viruses like these going forward. https://youtu.be/1FlElnaB3Ps...

April 6, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance for healthcare facilities in response to the COVID-19 virus including asking all U.S. healthcare facilities to “explore alternatives to face-to-face triage and visits.” The CDC has issued this recommendation to help contain the spread of the virus, protect healthcare workers from unnecessary exposure, and protect the health of patients who do not require face-to-face medical visits (particularly patients with underlying health issues including those with heart, kidney and weakened immune systems). In light...

April 6, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

The new coronavirus outbreak has put enormous pressure on the American health care system. In response, federal officials and private insurers have rushed to improve patient access to video consultations and other forms of virtual care. It may have taken a public health emergency to bring “telehealth” to the mainstream, but these services are nothing new. We would do well to expand our reliance on telehealth long after COVID-19 is behind us. Telehealth involves the use of technology to deliver medical care...

April 6, 2020 Blog, Coronavirus

As the outbreak of the novel coronavirus continues to gain momentum in the United States, there is intense interest in the development of a vaccine. Several US drugmakers have begun working on a vaccine, independently or with federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health. The public is hungry for news about vaccines, and progress on their development is, at times, exaggerated. Fox Business reported: “We were able to rapidly construct our vaccine in a matter of about three hours once we had...