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Here are some important questions for you this Friday morning. How long will you continue playing Survivor?
Unrelated, but equally important: What is the connection between surrealism and dementia? Scroll down to find out.
Will the White House be able to distance itself from vaccine skepticism?
Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent his first year in office overhauling the federal government’s approach to vaccines. White House officials are trying to stop him and his Make America Healthy Again allies.
Some Trump administration officials have wanted to distance themselves from the topic, which appears to be relatively unpopular in a critical election year, pointing to December polls that confirmed strong bipartisan support for a childhood vaccination schedule in key Congressional districts. “The vaccine issue is almost over,” one White House official said.
But MAHA fanatics aren’t going down without a fight. Read STAT’s Daniel Payne and Chelsea Siluzzo for a deep dive into the brawl that’s erupting between Trump and Kennedy’s respective movements.
Will the FDA approve new e-cig flavors?
The Food and Drug Administration this week released draft guidelines suggesting the agency may soon approve additional e-cigarette flavors for sale.
The news has outraged public health experts, who worry that new flavors such as coffee, mint and cinnamon will appeal to children and undo the progress the United States has made in reducing youth e-cigarette use. The guidance policy has not yet been decided.
Adding flavors to the market is not a simple matter. That’s because experts agree that incorporating flavored products could help steer adults away from more dangerous cigarettes. And the FDA’s latest guidance instructs people to avoid sugary flavors like candy and fruit, avoiding the choices that fueled youth e-cigarette use in the late 2010s. Who will benefit from more vape flavors? And what evidence will manufacturers have to show to bring their flavors to market?
Read more from STAT’s Sarah Todd.
Possibility of “barfing” cancer cells and abnormal proteins
The discovery of an abnormal protein on the surface of cancer cells could provide scientists with an ideal immunotherapy target against solid tumors, according to research published yesterday in the journal Science.
Most immunotherapies work by attracting the immune system to specific markers on the surface of cancer cells in order to destroy them. This strategy does not work well against solid tumors because nearly all cell surface proteins are shared with healthy cells in vital organs. Src is a protein normally associated with cancer cells and may serve as one of the markers for potential drugs.
It’s not a therapeutic magic bullet, but it’s an exciting discovery. STAT’s Angus Chen provides an excellent review of the study, including the researchers’ best guesses as to why cancer cells “barfed” Src from inside the cell to the outer membrane.
FDA committee calls for next year’s flu vaccinations
Vaccine experts on an FDA advisory committee said Thursday that the FDA should direct influenza vaccine manufacturers to use strains recommended by the World Health Organization to administer shots next winter.
Vinay Prasad, the outgoing director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, previously floated the idea of requiring influenza vaccine manufacturers to conduct efficacy trials before approving new vaccines, but experts say this requirement is unfeasible given tight deadlines. However, the idea was not discussed at the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting.
In related news, the committee heard a report on how effective this winter’s flu shot appears to be. Although there were serious concerns that the delay in the emergence of the new H3N2 variant would significantly undermine the effectiveness of this year’s vaccinations, the CDC reported (in the online MMWR journal) that the vaccines were moderately effective in preventing hospitalization among vaccinated people. But representatives of manufacturers supplying influenza shots to the United States noted that number has been steadily declining, with 40 million fewer vaccines delivered to the market in 2025-2026 than four years ago. — Helen Branswell
Americans rate Trump’s efforts to lower drug prices more than Biden’s
Both the Trump and Biden administrations have made lowering drug prices a top priority. However, according to the latest KFF poll, President Trump receives more recognition for his efforts.
TrumpRx is at the center of the president’s efforts to lower drug prices, and he has heavily promoted the site at White House events. It’s worked: 41% of Americans say the Trump administration’s policies are likely to lower prescription drug costs, but the answer is unsurprisingly split along partisan lines, with 79% of Republicans and 11% of Democrats agreeing.
Only 31% of respondents were aware of the Biden law that would direct Medicare to negotiate lower prices. The law limits annual drug price increases, limits monthly spending on insulin for seniors, and limits annual out-of-pocket drug spending for individuals under Medicare Part D.
Read STAT’s John Wilkerson’s full overview of the poll and a fun quote from Mark Cuban on why Democrats don’t get the credit for their policies.
How surrealism can help us understand and live with dementia
Surrealism, a 20th century aesthetic and art philosophy, may offer a solution to vexing debates in dementia care, writes Jason Karawish, professor of medicine, medical ethics, health policy, and neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
People living with dementia, especially in the advanced stages, often have a hard time distinguishing between what is true and what is not. Surrealism rejects that dualism and uses a variety of techniques and media such as collage, painting, and photography to instead disrupt and question our rigid notions of “reality.”
Read more about how detailed cadavers and Andre Breton can help caregivers understand their patients’ dementia, by Karlawish.
