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Good morning and happy Monday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Let’s get to the news right away.
Big headaches await the next CDC director
Of course, that assumes the Trump administration can find the person to fill the role, which public health experts have long said would be a daunting task. And the need for mythic strength goes beyond nominations and recognition. STAT’s Helen Branswell writes this morning about the huge challenges ahead no matter who takes over the CDC.
There are career staff who are angry and distrustful. They will have to make a decision about whether to take a position on vaccines. And, of course, future directors have to convince us all that they are actually the ones making the decisions for the agency. Read Helen’s story about how things unfolded and what it will take to repair the agency’s battered trust.
meeting, meeting, meeting
STAT’s Daniel Payne wrote two articles Friday based on details of meetings with federal officials, lawmakers and the White House.
In a briefing for U.S. senators, FDA officials said they plan to focus the rest of this year on issues such as infant formula safety, food label updates and the definition of ultra-processed foods. Read more about what’s next and what it means for the midterm elections.
Meanwhile, White House officials are drafting legislation on drug pricing policy and working to share it with more than a dozen major drug companies, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Read more about President Trump’s efforts to rein in drug prices as part of his election year focus on affordability.
Raw Dairy Co., Ltd. denies any connection with the E. coli outbreak
Speaking of the FDA and food regulations, nine people have contracted bacterial infections caused by E. coli in recent months. The FDA interviewed eight people, all of whom said they felt sick after drinking raw milk or eating raw cheddar cheese. Seven also knew the brand of the product they consumed, “Raw Farm.” Three people have been hospitalized, with more than half of all cases affecting children under the age of five.
In an FDA update released last week, the agency said it had begun on-site inspections of the company and was not aware of any recent positive E. coli tests on its products. On Instagram that same day, Law Firm’s account expressed it differently. “It’s official. The results are 100% negative. From our sampling and the government’s sampling, there have been no positive tests in our retail stores,” company president Aaron McAfee said in a video. Raw Farm continues to sell and promote its products while expanding its following on social media. Another company’s post early in the investigation said, “We 100% disagree with the FDA’s false ‘possible association’ and extreme claims.”
Healthcare giants are cutting jobs
In recent years, America’s workforce has grown, primarily due to the health care industry. But a new analysis by STAT’s Bob Herman finds that large, for-profit health care companies aren’t driving job growth. Example: Eight large publicly traded health insurance companies, many of which also own clinics, pharmacies, and other non-insurance businesses, will cut a combined 20,000 jobs in 2025.
Bob analyzed the number of employees listed in the annual reports of the 50 largest publicly traded healthcare companies. Overall, overall employment growth has slowed, although there is wide variation across sectors. Economist Dean Baker said, “Health insurance is really designed for AI.” “I can’t help but think there will be significant job losses in this sector within the next three, four, five years.”Read more.
Lancet retracts influential paper on talc
The list of ways it interacts with talc, a clay mineral, is long. It is found in cosmetics, candies, and medicines in pill form. It is not inherently dangerous. Talc is safe to ingest. However, asbestos, a known carcinogen, is geologically adjacent to talc and can easily contaminate talc products. The FDA first considered regulations to limit asbestos in cosmetic talc products in the 1970s, but industry influences have continually delayed plans.
Last week, the journal Lancet retracted a 1977 paper that was used to fight the regulations. The original article, published without attribution, was found to have been written by a paid consultant for Johnson & Johnson. “There is no reason to believe that consumers’ past normal exposure to cosmetic talc has caused cancer anywhere,” the authors write. It is now known that J&J concealed the asbestos content of its baby powder products for decades.
“This unsigned commentary has been used to justify the continued sale of cosmetic talc for nearly half a century,” the two researchers wrote, noting that the company cited the paper in defense of lawsuits brought by people who developed cancer. The Lancet editors thanked the researchers for bringing the conflict of interest to their attention and said they believed staff at the time were unaware of the consultant’s affiliation.
what we are reading
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Ghost of Al Shifa Hospital, Wired
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NPR, Study Points to Ways Companies Can Reduce Teens’ Social Media Addiction
- First Opinion: Remembering Public Health Pioneer Barry Bloom: Scientists, Mentors, Mench, STAT
- Bring Me Bimagrumab, London Book Review
- First opinion: Washington on the brink of real PBM reform, STAT
