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Good morning! After reading Katie Palmer’s amazing story last week about health and science communities migrating to Bluesky, I decided it was finally time to add another social media platform to my list. Find me and a lot of it my STAT colleagues there.
Anyway, there’s a lot of news this morning, so let’s get started with that.
Trump makes important choices for health care
Late Friday evening, President-elect Donald Trump announced a slew of proposed nominations for his administration, including three key healthcare leaders:
CDC
Trump chose physician and former Rep. Dave Weldon to lead the CDC. Weldon has a history of supporting controversial and, in the opinion of most scientists, discredited ideas that linked childhood vaccines to rising rates of autism. “That’s troubling for an agency whose most historic victories have come through the use of vaccines,” STAT’s Matt Herper wrote this weekend. STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence has more on Weldon.
Surgeon General
Physician and former Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat will be nominated as surgeon general. Unlike some other picks, she has no history of criticizing vaccines. STAT’s John Wilkerson has more on Nesheiwat.
FDA
Trump tapped surgeon Martin “Marty” Makary to lead the FDA. STAT’s Rachel Cohrs Zhang collected seven examples from Makary’s history of criticizing the agency, including calling out the FDA’s decisions to approve boosters for youth, the pace of early vaccine approval and the work-for-work policies remotely.
Makary is also president of the telehealth company Sesame, which connects consumers with doctors who can prescribe compounded weight-loss medications. If appointed FDA commissioner, he will take the lead at the agency, which is grappling with policy issues that could have a major impact on Sesame’s business. Read more from a team of STAT reporters about that potential conflict.
While Matt wrote that the CDC is “in big trouble” under Weldon, he believes the FDA “might be okay” under Makary. Leaders in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors were slightly more optimistic: “We dodged a bullet,” one biotech investor told STAT reporters. Read Matt’s Take and more biotech and pharmaceutical responses.
UnitedHealth moves money ‘from their right pocket to their left pocket’
UnitedHealth Group pays many of its own physician practices significantly more than other physician groups in the same markets for comparable services, STAT reporters reveal in part 5 of Health Care’s Colossus series. For some types of care, the company’s insurance subsidiary pays twice the average market price of its own practices. “It’s really a game, the way they exchange money from their right pocket to their left pocket,” said one doctor.
As a reminder, UnitedHealth is the nation’s largest health insurer and the fourth-largest company of any type by revenue. The company argues in marketing materials that control over medical providers creates greater efficiency, better care coordination and lower costs. But STAT’s findings expose the consequences of a growing conflict of interest: As the dominant insurance company and health care provider, UnitedHealth can earn higher profits by paying itself higher prices for basic checkups, surgeries and procedures.
STAT uncovered the payments in a first-of-its-kind analysis with health analytics company Tribunus Health, which examined UnitedHealth’s own data as reported to the federal government. Read more in part 5.
And I urge you to check out the first few parts, if you haven’t already. They document how UnitedHealth turned a dubious artery screening program into a gold mine; it promised a hands-off approach to purchasing a medical group in Connecticut, then upended everything its doctors had built; and the managers use tactics such as bonuses and rankings to pressure doctors.
US confirms first H5N1 case in a child
The CDC confirmed Friday that a California child had been infected with the H5N1 bird flu. As with a case in Missouri reported by STAT’s Helen Branswell earlier this fall, the source of the infection is unknown. The child, who lives in Alameda County, southeast of Oakland, does not live on or near a farm. They had no known contacts with infected animals or poultry, the California Department of Public Health said when the case was first announced. The child, who had only mild symptoms, is recovering. It is the first confirmed case of H5N1 in a child in the US so far this year 55 confirmed human H5N1 infections have been recorded in seven states.
None of the child’s contacts tested positive for the virus, which is good news. But cases where the source of the infection cannot be identified are worrying, raising the specter of undetected transmission of a flu virus to which people have no immunity, explains Helen Branswell of STAT, who studies infectious diseases. this video.
In related disturbing news, California public health officials have discovered the bird flu virus in a sample of raw milk from Raw Farm in Fresno that was purchased at a store. (Reminder: A study earlier this year found that drinking raw milk containing bird flu viruses can be dangerous.) Helen has the details.
This flu lineage may have returned from extinction
From one flu mystery to another, STAT’s Helen Branswell also brings us this report:
In the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was very little flu activity worldwide. During that time of social distancing, mask-wearing and restrictions on international travel, one variant of the flu B viruses disappeared. In the years that followed it was concluded that the B/Yamagata line was extinct. The part that protected against these viruses was even taken from flu shots.
Flu labs around the world continue to look for B/Yam, as it is known in flu circles, and are now said to have detected the virus. Adam Meijer, head of the Dutch National Reference Laboratory for Respiratory Viruses, said several independent tests of a patient’s sample came back positive, although the laboratory was unable to culture a virus or generate a genetic sequence from the sample.
Arnold Monto, a veteran flu epidemiologist at the University of Michigan who pushed for the removal of B/Yamagata from U.S. flu shots, said that since there is no genetic sequence, it is too early to know what to make of this report. Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global flu program, also hesitated to judge, saying the Dutch laboratory will look for B/Yam viruses in the coming flu season, so if they circulate “they will be detected.”
Research: Racial disparities in hearing aid use
Older black and Hispanic people report using hearing aids less than older white people, according to a 2014 study published Friday JAMA Health Forum. Overall, about 10% of black, 14% of Hispanic and 30% of white study participants said they had used a hearing aid in the past month. The racial disparities persisted among low-, middle-, and high-income groups.
The study was based on nationally representative data from more than 3,000 people over age 65 in 2022. More “nuanced studies” are needed to fully understand how race, discrimination, socioeconomic status and other factors interact act to deter people from using hearing aids, the authors wrote. (It will also be interesting to see if Apple’s new “clinical-grade” Airpod hearing aid feature changes the way people access this technology.)
The whooping cough is rising and Rand Paul is making plans for power
Two STAT stories were published on Friday afternoon that you should not miss:
- The number of whooping cough cases in the US has increased sixfold since this time last year. Experts say it’s likely a return to the pre-pandemic cycle, but some worry this season could be more severe due to a decline in vaccinations. Read more from STAT’s Anil Oza.
- Rand Paul wants to investigate the origins of Covid-19, something he may be able to do as incoming chairman of a committee with unique investigative powers, STAT’s John Wilkerson reports. The libertarian senator is among the most outspoken critics of scientists and scientific bodies. Read more.
What we read
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In Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s emotional final meeting with the families that started it all: 19th
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So many days lost at the doctor, New York Times
- Trump’s promise to reinstate the travel ban has scientists deeply concerned, STAT
- Georgians with disabilities continue to be institutionalized despite federal oversight. KFF Health News
- An Immigration Solution to Address the Healthcare Workforce Crisis, STAT