Research Library

The number of anti-vaccine bills filed in Texas has risen, yet many Texans support vaccine policy. Fellow Kirstin R.W. Matthews and nonresident scholar Rekha Lakshmanan examine the stakes of legislative engagement in public health initiatives and provide a call to action for Texans to embrace public health as an act of freedom.

Drug companies that bypass distributors and offer generics directly to patients, like the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, could disrupt the pharmaceutical supply chain and ultimately save thousands of lives.

"Creating a global norm for PPA transparency is a zero-cost step to help provide energy for everyone and deliver on the low carbon future we all need," write the authors. Read their post about power purchase agreements on the Baker Institute Blog.  This article originally appeared in the Forbes blog on June 1, 2022.

"This is a moment to prioritise health over short-term political calculations," write fellow Peter Hotez, Rekha Lakshmanan
 and nine other experts in a Lancet commentary. Click here for their call for action against anti-vaccine rhetoric and COVID-19 misinformation, and five short-term recommendations.

Texans served by regulated electricity markets, especially by electric cooperatives, were much more satisfied with their providers’ performance during Winter Storm Uri than those in deregulated markets. In this post for the Baker Institute Blog, the authors offer possible explanations for the contrast in favorability.

Despite the demand for policies that mitigate the impact of severe weather, a majority of Texans seem opposed to one that requires consumers to pay for reserve electrical generation capacity.

Scenes of insurrectionists rummaging through offices and computers in the Capitol highlight the urgent need for Congress to up its IT security game. The authors recommend steps to adopt modern IT management and cybersecurity processes that are already used throughout the federal government.

Coronavirus cases in Texas may grow as the state expands COVID-19 screening and the consequences of delayed decisions to limit public interactions set in. "No one should be surprised lim or panic as the figures roll out," write the authors in the Baker Institute Blog.

In the second of a series of blogs on the coronovirus outbreak, the authors sound a note of cautious optimism: "We hope for a relatively optimistic outlook for the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, with the quick realization of all modifying interventions: earlier and broader testing, strict preventive hygienic and societal measures, a safe and effective vaccine, and effective therapies to treat the virus."  Read more at the Baker Institute Blog.