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Happy Friday! Isa here. As a Floridian, my school year always started in mid-August, so my internal clock is primed to consider this time as the end of summer. It’s a pain I want to treat with mango ice cream until the pumpkin spice destroys my front door.
Harris’ ‘new way forward’ in healthcare-laden speeches
Vice President Harris took the stage Thursday for the final night of the Democratic National Convention to accept the party’s nomination and mobilize voters for a “common sense” presidency that would protect health care freedoms.
“We are not going back to the days when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare. We are not going back to the days when he tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies could turn away people with pre-existing conditions,” Harris said to cheers from the crowd. (Trump has said he would not cut Social Security and Medicare and would not try to repeal the ACA “unless we can do something much better.”)
But like the other nights of the four-day DNC event, Harris mainly blamed voters for abortion rights and the Project 2025 blueprint he tried to reject, warning that Trump would appoint a national abortion coordinator. “Let’s be clear about how we got here,” Harris said. “Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom, and now he’s bragging about it.” Read more about the future battle in healthcare. —Sarah Owermohle
New Covid vaccines will be available soon
The Food and Drug Administration approved the latest Covid vaccines yesterday. The widely expected decision comes as Covid is rising in many parts of the country. The new shots, from Pfizer and Moderna, target the circulating Omicron variant KP.2 (one of the “FLiRT” variants, and a descendant of the JN.1 strain that dominated earlier this year).
The updated vaccines, Comirnaty and Spikevax, have been approved for people aged 12 and over. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children remain available under emergency use authorization for children six months through age 11 years. Novavax is still waiting for a decision from the FDA on its Covid vaccine. It is worth noting that although the chances of developing long Covid-19 have decreased since 2020 – vaccination helped – there is still a risk, including for children. Moderna and Pfizer said their updated vaccines would be available “in the coming days.”
One big number: $900 million
That’s how much some major donors have given Columbia University since 2010. Yesterday, the university announced that its medical school had received a $400 million donation to fund a new institute for basic biomedical research that would be named after alumni Roy and Diana Vagelos — in addition to what the couple had previously given. It is the largest donation given to the school, reports Usha Lee McFarling of STAT.
The Roy and Diana Vagelos Institute for Biomedical Sciences will support additional research in areas such as cell technology and gene therapy. The institute will also be a part of Columbia that bears the Vagelos family name. Roy Vagelos, former CEO of Merck, is the child of Greek immigrants and received his medical degree from Columbia in 1954 – on scholarships. “This is what inspired my career and I hope we can provide the same opportunities for others,” he said. Read more.
Unproven fibromyalgia test is withdrawn from the market
In 2021, STAT’s Eric Boodman told us about EpicGenetics, a company that used an aborted clinical trial at Mass General to sell a blood test for fibromyalgia. The FM/a test could diagnose the famously troublesome condition with 99% accuracy, the company claimed. (Experts found this questionable, especially since there are no proven tests for fibro).
Three years and a lawsuit later, EpicGenetics has agreed to stop marketing and selling the FM/a test, along with another that it claims could diagnose “immunodeficiency disease.” Fibromyalgia is very real. About 4 million American adults have it. Immunodeficiency disease, on the other hand… not so much, according to the lawsuit filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. EpicGenetics engineered the condition to sell its 100Sure Test, the lawsuit alleges. The company and its subsidiaries have denied any wrongdoing. But there are a series of companies linked to EpicGenetics leader Bruce Gillis’ name and making particularly bold claims. Read more here.
Like Clinicaltrials.gov, but for AI in healthcare
The use of artificial intelligence in hospitals is increasing, but how this is monitored (if at all) is entirely up to individual healthcare systems. Maybe implement a federal registry. Some researchers want a platform like clinicaltrials.gov, but for AI tools, reports Casey Ross of STAT. The Biden administration also proposed something similar in a White House AI blueprint last year.
If you’ve spent any time with my colleagues’ coverage of AI in healthcareyou can understand the stakes here. Providers try that Automate time-consuming administrative tasks such as documenting patient visits and responding to emails. But the next phase of AI adoption is expected to directly impact treatment decisions, an arena where biases can worsen inequalities and simple mistakes can lead to physical and financial harm. Without adequate oversight, such use of AI tools, especially by insurance companies looking to increase profits, could lead to further limitations in care and even harm to patients. So what does it take to build a registry and increase transparency? Casey tells us.
I just left Chow Town
Who among us hasn’t ordered a big bowl of pasta (with the intention of taking home a doggy bag) and then surprised ourselves by gulping down every last noodle? For Sophia Hua, an assistant professor of health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, the glut of spaghetti in a Denny’s booth led to a realization: People tend to eat and drink what’s put in front of them, even if it’s more than they were planning. For some, choosing a larger meal or drink is a way to get more bang for your buck (RIP, endless shrimp).
This overconsumption is a public health problem, Hua writes in a new First Opinion essay. And it can be worked on, perhaps even for the benefit of the restaurant industry. “Although obesity is a complex problem with numerous causes, reducing portion sizes is one of the tools we need to tackle the problem,” Hua wrote.
Remember Pear Therapeutics? The company pioneered FDA-approved prescription apps for the treatment of psychiatric conditions, including substance abuse. But Pear ran out of money and filed for bankruptcy last year.
Now the company’s apps are getting a new chance, reports STAT’s Mario Aguilar. Virtual addiction treatment company PursueCare purchased Pear’s substance use treatment apps and now offers them to its patients. Taking a step back, such technological approaches could be part of the solution to the country’s opioid epidemic, Mario says: “There’s a feeling that tools like apps can support people in healthcare.” And tying more directly to a provider for treatment may work better than if the products were marketed on their own. It takes some of the pressure off companies to turn treatment apps into money-makers in their own right. Read more.
What we read
- People with HIV cannot be categorically excluded from joining the military, judges, NBC News
- British cost-effectiveness agency gives negative assessment of the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, STAT
- 9 Hour Training, 24 Hour Shifts: Why Wisconsin Struggles to Find and Retain Assisted Living Workers, Sentinel Magazine
- Tome Biosciences, once a high-flying gene-editing startup, is floundering, STAT
- Nearly 60% of US baby foods don’t meet nutritional guidelines, study says: NPR
- Why You May Not Need a Checkup Every Year, STAT