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morning. Just as Athena orchestrated the logistics of Telemachus’ journey in the first three books of The Odyssey, we hope the gods of the world orchestrate Silly Fields’ victory in Season 50 of Survivor. She earns money, but I don’t mind divine intervention to make sure of that.
Senior Fauci adviser indicted over origins of coronavirus
David Morens, a former top official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was indicted yesterday on charges of concealing records from a Freedom of Information Act request. Trump administration officials allege in legal filings that Morens concealed and falsified records to undermine arguments about the origins of the virus that caused the coronavirus pandemic, and received kickbacks for doing so.
Morens’ indictment comes after a lengthy parliamentary investigation into the Department of Health and Human Services’ response to the pandemic, particularly issues related to the origins of the virus. Read more about the indictment by STAT’s Washington team here.
Autism Advisory Committee finally reopens
STAT’s O. Rose Broderick attended the first meeting of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee in 19 months yesterday in Maryland. The commission is a federal advisory committee that Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reorganized in January with 21 new members.
Much of the substantive discussion revolved around how to define the category of severe autism. Approximately 25% of this widespread autism spectrum represents a diverse group of people with unique behaviors and needs, who often require 24-hour care, have high rates of self-harm, and are excluded from much of the existing scientific literature. As Rose writes, the meeting was mostly civil – until it wasn’t. Read on to find out what happened.
Food safety experts warn of USDA brain drain
The USDA announced last week that it would move about 200 Food Safety and Inspection Service positions from Washington, D.C., to cities in Iowa, Georgia and Colorado. Experts have warned that the move could lead to a brain drain of USDA leaders who would rather quit than ruin their lives and families.
Leading nutrition expert Marion Nestle provides useful context for the plummeting productivity after the USDA did the same thing at the Economic Research Service under the first Trump administration. Based on recent history, she wrote, “this move will eviscerate the agency, destroy its expertise, and render it dysfunctional for years to come.” Meanwhile, the advocacy group Consumer Federation of America warns that “further brain drain at FSIS will likely further delay long-overdue reforms on issues such as Salmonella.” — Sarah Todd
“Oh my gosh, things are about to get even worse.”
That’s what political scientist Miranda Yarber thought after looking at a new Commonwealth Fund report on health disparities between five racial and ethnic groups. The report covers the period 2022 to 2024 and finds promising signs for minimizing health disparities. However, given the upheaval and attacks on DEI over the past year, many experts worry that the documented benefits may not be long-lasting. Read more from STAT’s Anil Oza.
Who prescribes antipsychotics to people with dementia?
For older people, taking drugs such as antipsychotics increases the risk of delirium and falls. Despite this, prescriptions for drugs that affect cognition are rapidly increasing among older adults. A study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open analyzed data from 2008 to 2021 to determine where it’s happening. Researchers found that older adults are disproportionately prescribed these drugs in acute and post-acute care settings, such as emergency rooms and inpatient facilities. This is particularly true for patients with dementia, with 43% of antipsychotic prescriptions for patients with dementia initiated in the acute or post-acute setting during the study period. Nevertheless, the fact was that such visits constituted a much smaller proportion of the overall clinical experience.
There are some caveats. Researchers inferred where the prescription was written based on the patient’s most recent clinical visit. Still, the data also showed that once people were prescribed antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics, or anticholinergic drugs, more than half continued to take them a year later. The authors believe that this finding indicates that efforts to reduce these prescribing should focus on acute and post-acute settings.
Supreme Court hears case regarding ‘skinny labeling’
Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a volatile but important controversy known as “skinny labeling.” As STAT’s Ed Silverman explains, this is essentially a carve-out strategy in which generic drug companies seek regulatory approval to sell drugs for specific uses, but not for other patented uses for which branded drugs are prescribed.
While certainly unstable, this is an issue that could have real implications for healthcare. Without easy labeling, some experts predict that patients will face long-term increases in drug prices, which could ultimately lead to worsening health outcomes. Read more from Ed about what you need to know ahead of today’s discussion.
what we are reading
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Trump administration aims to punish adults with disabilities who live with their families, ProPublica
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Facebook has health fraud problem, New York Times
- Opinion: Why alternative medicine feels so much better than mainstream medicine, STAT
- Emergency care treated her allergic reaction. ER monitored her — cost $6,700, KFF Health News
- AIDS group sues Trump administration over non-disclosure agreement with Gilead STAT
