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good morning. I’m a little in awe of all the great reporting STAT has published in my absence, including Bob Herman’s excellent series and Rose Broderick’s heartbreaking report on family caregivers. And July is no different! Help us catch up or just say hi: (email protected)
Medical workers protest during Ebola outbreak
The Associated Press reported yesterday that dozens of medical workers went on strike at an Ebola treatment center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The group, made up of epidemiologists, case investigators, drivers and grave diggers, claims that Congolese authorities have not paid them salaries or bonuses. read more.
Meanwhile, one American in the area tested positive for the virus and was sent to Germany for treatment. “As the outbreak continues to spread, there is an urgent need for a rapid response from local, national and international partners,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an online statement announcing the transfer. As of yesterday, there were 1,926 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of which 702 people had died.
Former FDA scientist talks about Zyn’s approval
People who use nicotine pouches like Zyn already know this. The nicotine itself dissolves in your mouth, but the pouch does not. But several years ago, when the FDA was considering approving the Zyn product, a company scientist told the agency’s toxicologist about the pouches. did melt. Toxicologist Kristi Leppanen worked on environmental studies of this product. For Zyn to receive FDA approval, Leppanen and his colleagues had to conclude that the product had “no significant impact” on the environment. She was worried and unsure of what the pouch was actually made of, but she didn’t come to that conclusion. In January 2025, the FDA cleared Zyn for sale.
“Basically, we didn’t do a proper evaluation,” Leppanen said. “People believe the FDA is doing more than it is.” For more information, read our colleagues at The Exam spoke with Leppanen and reviewed documents and records from the review process.
How to deal with America’s alcohol epidemic
To report on a multi-part series on America’s deadly alcohol epidemic, STAT’s Isabella Cueto and Lev Fatcher interviewed more than 100 health researchers, doctors, patients, industry officials, and lawmakers. They carefully reviewed scientific literature, addiction treatment protocols, legislation, public health guidance, and lobbying disclosures. In today’s article in the series, the two review the main recommendations for curbing excessive drinking and its associated harm.
- Screen early and often
- Adding “nudges” to the health system
- Get creative with fundraising
Read more about possible solutions. And for the data-conscious among you, STAT’s J. Emory Parker has put together 10 charts to help visualize the severity of the problem.
How to deal with America’s alcohol epidemic
To report on a multi-part series on America’s deadly alcohol epidemic, STAT’s Isabella Cueto and Lev Fatcher interviewed more than 100 health researchers, doctors, patients, industry officials, and lawmakers. They carefully reviewed scientific literature, addiction treatment protocols, legislation, public health guidance, and lobbying disclosures. In today’s article in the series, the two review the main recommendations for curbing excessive drinking and its associated harm.
- Screen early and often
- Adding “nudges” to the health system
- Get creative with fundraising
Read more about possible solutions. And for the data-conscious among you, STAT’s J. Emory Parker has put together 10 charts to help visualize the severity of the problem.
Risks of refusing newborn vitamin K injections
Vitamin K vaccination for newborns has been recommended worldwide for more than half a century. Regular injections to help blood clot have protected generations of infants from life-threatening deficiencies that can cause uncontrolled bleeding. But over the past few decades, an increasing number of parents are refusing vaccinations.
The government does not track uptake of these vaccines, but a group of U.S. lawmakers recently called on the CDC to do so. A ProPublica investigation found that the lack of data may underestimate the number of preventable infant deaths due to vitamin K deficiency bleeding.
A study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics supports the effectiveness of vaccination and the dangers of refusing it. In Sweden, the proportion of unvaccinated infants increased from 0.66% in 2006 to 1.5% in 2021. Babies who were not vaccinated had a significantly higher risk of bleeding, including in the brain.
Deepfake doctors already exist. What now?
Medical misinformation is usually treated as a content issue. People repeat and amplify falsehoods that need to be debunked, fact-checked, and contextualized. But AI-generated videos known as deepfakes are already complicating the story.
It’s unclear how widespread this type of AI content is, but in a new First Opinion essay, physician Henry Baer argues that this is no reason for complacency. “These attacks are cheap, highly scalable, and asymmetric; they can be created in minutes, can take hours to disarm, and their effects ripple across patients and facilities,” he wrote. Read more about how he thinks healthcare should respond.
what we are reading
- Rope-A-Dope, New Yorker
- We are living in a tick nightmare. It’s time for war, New York Times
- Dementia research replicates promising results following risk reduction strategy, STAT
- Democratic governors say proposed federal funding changes would harm reproductive health care, Stateline
- President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services abandons threat to withhold Medicare, Medicaid funding over transcare, NPR
