Olympic Injuries, U.S. Vaccine Disinformation, and Fake Drugs in Nigeria

Editors' Note

All eyes fell on Simone Biles as she powered through a calf injury to lead the U.S. gymnastics team to a gold medal during the Paris Olympics. Biles's injury, however, is all too common for women athletes. Highlighting the incidence and types of injuries among elite athletes, Liane Ong, Madeline Moberg, and Hailey Lenox of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation offer a gender comparison of sports-related afflictions.

Next, Emily Bass delivers the third and final installment in her series on how the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) came under political fire. She discusses the future applications of the program, writing, "Separating PEPFAR from its complex architecture and operations is like lauding the Apollo 11 moon landing without mentioning NASA."

Senior Fellow David P. Fidler then discusses how a previously undisclosed U.S. disinformation campaign against China during the COVID-19 pandemic prioritized geopolitics over global health, suggesting that disease threats do not escape superpower competition.

Zooming into the United States, journalist Sarah Muthler examines why Mississippi state regulations are stalling the opening of freestanding birth centers that could close health-care gaps for expectant mothers living in maternity care deserts.

Wrapping up the week, journalist Pius Adeleye sheds light on Nigeria's struggle with counterfeit drugs.

Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor