Good Day BIO: 5 things to read on spring break

We hear a lot of folks are on spring break this week for Easter and Passover, so we want to share some spring break reading and podcasts in case you have some extra time this week. And if you don’t, we plan to pop in with news from time to time, so stay tuned. We’ll return to our regular publishing schedule on Monday, April 18. (362 words, 2 minutes)

5 things to read over spring break

1. U.S. vaccination effort prevented 2.2 million deaths, finds study

COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.2 million deaths and 17 million hospitalizations in the U.S., finds a new study from Yale University and The Commonwealth Fund. The vaccines also saved an additional $900 billion in health care spending. These findings “point to the tremendous power of vaccination to reduce disease and death from COVID-19,” says the study.

2. Methane emissions reached record high in 2021, say scientists

Methane levels increased by 17 parts per billion in 2021, “the largest annual increase recorded since systematic measurements began in 1983,” says new analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Luckily, we’ve got biotech solutions for that.

3. Alnylam CEO Greenstreet: ‘You can go faster alone, but you go far together’

We talked with Dr. Yvonne Greenstreet, who took the reins as CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in January 2022, about her path from medicine to leading a large pharmaceutical company, the importance of diversity in corporations, and how biotech can close health equity gaps—read our exclusive interview.

4. Biotech is #AlwaysInnovating

While the pandemic looks vastly different today than it did this time last year, we’re not in the clear yet—and with cases rising in half of U.S. states due to the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, per Axios, we need to continue to innovate to ensure we can keep the worst impacts low. Luckily, the global biotech industry is #AlwaysInnovating—and a new campaign launched by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Association (IFPMA) highlights the ongoing, holistic, science-driven response. Watch and share the short films and learn more at teamvaccines.ifpma.org. 

5. Giving away vaccine IP ‘could have negative impact on bioscience industry’

“Before infringing on the intellectual property rights of U.S. companies by implementing an ill-advised TRIPs waiver, let’s consider whether successful health outcomes aren’t better achieved by first addressing other challenges, such as the supply and distribution chains that move vaccines from the lab to the clinic,” writes Sharon Peterson, Executive Director of the Montana BioScience Alliance.

President Biden’s Monday: Meeting virtually with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, then giving remarks at 2:15 PM ET on new action to fight gun crime. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: Recess.