The role of enslaved people in the development of vaccines; a doctor explains why she asks her patients about religion

Expert opinion and perspective curated by First Opinion editor Patrick Skerrett ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

Sponsored by   With Juneteenth celebrations underway this weekend, historian Jim Downs reflects on the roles enslaved people played in the development of vaccines — often without their knowledge. Cancer surgeon T. Salewa Oseni explains why she believes it's important for physicians to talk with their patients about religion or faith. You can read these essays, and all of this week's First Opinions, here. Have an idea for an essay? Please send it to first.opinion@statnews.com. Never forget that early vaccines came from testing on enslaved people By Jim Downs Wikimedia Commons /STAT Smallpox vaccines, and other medical advances, originated as a direct result of slavery and abuses of enslaved people. Read More Why I ask my patients about their faith or religion By T. Salewa Oseni Adobe Religion or faith may be central to patients' identities or coping strategies. To provide holistic care, physicians must ask about them. Read More The irony — and ignominy — of medical conferences as superspreader events By Anand Swaminathan and Jessica Smith and Esther Choo Adobe Emergency physicians have seen the worst of Covid-19, so you might expect them to be careful when attending conferences. You'd be wrong. Read More Medical schools need to be part of the solution to preventing gun violence By David Velasquez and Jesper Ke Adam Berry/Getty Images By integrating gun-related safety into their curricula, medical schools could help doctors better understand, and even prevent, gun violence. Read More Sponsor content by Johnson & Johnson MedTech Empowering medtech to reimagine wellness in every-body As medicine continues to grapple with pervasive medical conditions that impact many lives, medtech provides an integrated approach that combines medical technology, software and biopharmaceuticals to rethink how we treat complex diseases. A medtech-led approach has the potential to transform the way care is delivered and enhance patient outcomes, but it will require unprecedented levels of industry collaboration. Learn how we're forging a new future through this important space. Understanding long Covid will take the lived experiences of long haulers By Zeenia Framroze Courtesy Zeenia Framroze Understanding long Covid will require gold-standard research plus the lived experiences of people with it and real-world evidence. Read More New report: gains in patient safety have stalled over the past decade By Christi A. Grimm and Ruth Ann Dorrill and Julie K. Taitsman Adobe A 10-year follow-up of a key patient safety study shows that hospitals have made few gains in protecting patients from harms. Read More Technology is expanding virtual access to health care. Here's how to ensure equitable outcomes By Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Ann Aerts Adobe Virtual health care can eliminate barriers to better health, but only if everyone has access to broadband internet and digital literacy. Read More Reformulating drugs helps profits more than patients By Ravi Gupta and Joseph S. Ross JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP/Getty Images Manufacturers tend to reformulate blockbuster drugs rather than those that are the most innovative or clinically meaningful. Read More Youth and gender-affirming care: let's start with 'do no harm' By Julie Morita and Donald Schwartz Julie Bennett/Getty Images To help youths questioning their gender, listen intently, use gender-affirming care, and don't turn to conversion therapy. Read More IP nationalism: the unexamined issue underlying the controversial WTO vaccine proposal and beyond By Cynthia M. Ho Adobe IP nationalism refers to countries engaging in actions to protect their domestic self-interest with respect to intellectual property. Read More Lessons from earlier pandemics: Vaccine panel must discuss imprinting among infants and toddlers By Steve Brozak and Richard Marfuggi Adobe Imprinting, seen after the Russian pandemic of 1889 and others, needs to be in the discussion of Covid-19 vaccines for infants and toddlers. Read More Sunday, June 19, 2022       1 Exchange Pl, Suite 201, Boston, MA 02109 ©2022, All Rights Reserved. I no longer wish to receive STAT emails Update Email Preferences | Contact Us | View In Browser