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good morning. The other night, I watched a shocking episode of “The Vampire Diaries.” A series of haunted, ghostly visions use disturbingly coercive and persuasive arguments to try to convince a teenage vampire to take his own life. Eventually the character is saved. Although this episode aired over a decade ago, I was struck by the many parallels to the current debate about the risks of AI chatbots and people having mental health crises.
STAT’s Mario Aguilar recently had an interesting conversation with Google’s clinical director about chatbot safety. Scroll down to read more.
The Trump administration is strengthening its stance against harm reduction.
New documents show the Trump administration is doubling down on its opposition to harm reduction services for illegal drug users, STAT’s Lev Fascher reports. In an open letter last week, SAMHSA warned grant recipients not to use federal funds to purchase harm reduction supplies such as sterile syringes, pipes and test strips. In a second letter of the same day, the agency warned against using certain addiction drugs without support services.
The agency emphasized that the Trump administration is “clearly reversing practices that promote harm reduction and illegal drug use and are inconsistent with federal law.” Read Lev’s article to learn what this change looks like and how it aligns with the evidence for addiction treatment.
New data on public trust in science
Two recent reports highlight some interesting trends in the public’s view of science.
The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found that most people (70% of a survey of 16,000 people in 16 countries) believe at least one of six conflicting or inaccurate health claims about food, vaccines, or medicines. And those rates are consistent among people with and without a college degree, and across demographic groups and political affiliations. At the same time, the survey found that people are far less confident in their ability to make informed health decisions or find answers to health questions.
Another survey released yesterday by the Annenberg Center for Public Policy found that nearly seven in 10 Americans say they have at least moderate confidence that vaccine scientists will act in the best interests of “people like you.” Of the 1,650 respondents, this is about the same proportion who trust medical scientists and scientists more broadly. This is much higher than the share of people who trust journalists (49%) and elected officials (36%).
Predicting the impact of new hepatitis B vaccination
Late last year, the Trump administration adopted a new policy recommending delaying hepatitis B vaccination for most infants. The decision reversed 30 years of policy that had contributed to a significant reduction in hepatitis B cases. And a new study published yesterday predicts that this change will result in more infants becoming infected, more children with chronic infections, and millions of dollars more in health care costs.
The two studies represent exactly the kind of research that the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which was flushed out last year and filled with political appointees, typically considers before making such recommendations. Infectious disease epidemiologist Arthur Rheingold told STAT’s Helen Branswell that the vaccine has “no evidence of any adverse effects or safety concerns.” Read more about what the future holds.
Google’s clinical director for AI and mental health
In the wake of a lawsuit alleging that Google’s Gemini chatbot drove a man to suicide, the company recently announced an update that more prominently displays a connection to a crisis hotline within the app when it detects someone at risk of self-harm. The stakes are clearly high, but Google’s clinical director Megan Jones Bell (pictured above) told STAT’s Mario Aguilar that she welcomes the challenge of making AI useful for people in mental health crises.
“Sometimes it seems like shutting something down is a way to prevent harm, but psychologically it can do more harm than good,” she said. Instead, she said, the company is working to better detect and respond to indirect signals that someone is struggling with their mental health. Read the conversation for concrete examples of how Google is working to make Gemini apps more secure in times of crisis.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. For TTY users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988.
Initial results on potential treatment of pre-eclampsia
Preeclampsia, which affects about 4% of pregnancies in the United States, causes high blood pressure in pregnant women, leading to life-threatening risks for them and their babies. Aspirin can alleviate some of that risk, but the only way to truly “cure” the condition is to deliver the baby, sometimes prematurely. The Cedars-Sinai team is working on ways to safely extend pregnancies in the earliest and most critically ill patients, and yesterday published positive results from a small pilot study in the journal Nature Medicine.
Researchers say the treatment is similar to kidney dialysis. They focus on a protein called sFIt-1, which is produced by the placenta. By designing an immune protein that binds to it and using a hemofiltration device, they were able to remove excess sFIt-1 from patients’ blood. In 16 patients, gestational age was prolonged by an average of 10 days. Although larger clinical trials are needed, the researchers (note that some of them have a financial interest in the study) found the results promising.
Valuable opportunity regarding serious health issues
Earlier this month, the EPA proposed a rule that would formally flag microplastics and pharmaceuticals in drinking water as threats worthy of federal attention. This is perhaps MAHA’s biggest environmental victory to date, but there is still much work to do before legally binding limits can be introduced.
“This could be the beginning of serious action on microplastics,” the former lawmaker writes in a new first-opinion essay along with policymakers and advisors. “Or it could end up being a headline aimed at appealing to MAHA voters, with little to no substantiation.” But as the MAHA coalition continues to push the environmental agenda on plastics, a rare bipartisan consensus is emerging. Read more about how the author believes politicians should take advantage of this opportunity.
(On another front of environmental health, the Supreme Court appeared to split yesterday on whether to block thousands of lawsuits alleging that the company that makes the herbicide Roundup failed to properly warn people that it could cause cancer. The Associated Press has more coverage on the case.)
what we are reading
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Mother Jones says the FDA may finally make it illegal to give autistic children electric shocks as punishment.
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Measles surge in South Carolina ends after nearly 1,000 cases, New York Times
- Statistics Bureau points out that RFK Jr. has a pattern of not being able to answer questions in the Democratic Party
- Trump and Congress cut funding for family planning programs. Can you maintain your float with Botox? NPR
- Big questions loom over Republicans’ new Medicaid work requirement, STAT
