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Happy First Daughter's Day. I'm not the first daughter in my family, but I was always the oldest sibling in the house growing up. I often want to discuss that burden, but this weekend I watched the movie “Dìdi”. It was so lovely and reminded me that my little brother is a person too.
Anyway, the news: Anthony Fauci has been infected with West Nile virus. STAT's Helen Branswell tells you everything you need to know about the infection.
How Biden's $3.2 billion plan to fight the next pandemic became a reservoir for the virus
After COVID-19, the Biden administration was determined not to be caught off guard again. In June 2021, the government announced the Pandemic Antiviral Program, which would allocate $3.2 billion to multiple government departments and dozens of academic laboratories. As Anthony Fauci said that month, the aim was to create a “durable structure” to prepare for further pandemic threats.
But the structure was never built. Read STAT's Jason Mast to find out why grand plans and $577 million in taxpayer dollars may ultimately result in just a few papers and a few interesting molecules. (Learn about the failure of this important federal program and read the article, which includes a comparison of a box of Zika virus to Trader Joe's butter chicken.)
Social media gives glimpse into cancer care disparities faced by transgender people
We've written before about how the health care system doesn't systematically and consistently collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving major gaps in our understanding of transgender health. A study published Friday in JAMA Network Open used large-scale language models to analyze social media posts to fill in the gaps in cancer care.
“I am a 33 year old trans man with stage 4 ovarian/endometrial cancer…I cried and begged for years for a hysterectomy if I had one this would not have happened. I am filled with anger and depression,” one post read. “I was constantly misgendered and uncomfortable in the oncology facility while undergoing radiation…it made me feel unwelcome there,” another wrote.
Across more than 1,200 posts on Reddit, X, and YouTube about transgender people's cancer care, there were several key themes: lack of awareness (on the part of clinicians, such as misuse of pronouns, and on the part of patients about available medical services and cancer risks) and issues with access to care. While a study based on social media posts has limitations, the authors write that the study could provide “valuable insights to guide future efforts toward achieving equitable health care for transgender people.”
Doctor, can you fix the campus?
What do Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia have in common? Not only are they elite Ivy League schools struggling to respond to protests and encampments this year, but they all have chosen physicians as their new or interim presidents.
That may seem surprising, but it doesn't surprise Guy David, a professor of healthcare administration at Wharton. “I've seen firsthand how clinical decision-making and frontline hospital experience prepare physicians to be effective leaders,” David wrote in an essay for First Opinion. And it's not just about these three institutions, it's the overall phenomenon of physician leadership. Read on to learn more about the drivers and pull factors behind physicians taking the helm in organizations of all kinds.
Lessons learned from the Democratic National Convention for the future health care battle
After waiting late into the night again for Beyoncé to show up (she didn't 🙃), last week's national convention had two clear priorities for Democrats: protecting abortion rights and making America good again.
“Let's be clear about how we got to this,” Vice President Kamala Harris said of repealing Roe v. Wade. “Donald Trump handpicked justices on the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom, and now he's bragging about it.”
Read STAT's Sarah Owermohle's coverage of the major health topics at the DNC and the Trump campaign's response.
How has the ACA affected people involved in crime?
People who are incarcerated or have been incarcerated in the U.S. criminal justice system tend to have lower incomes, lack health insurance and higher rates of chronic disease. A study published Friday in JAMA Health Forum reviewed existing research to determine whether the enactment of the ACA and the expansion of state Medicaid programs had any impact on this population's access to care, insurance costs, and health and social welfare outcomes.
The evidence was mixed: researchers found that the ACA was associated with a decrease in the uninsured rate, but it was unclear whether more people had private or public insurance. Regarding access to health care, studies focused primarily on substance use and mental health treatment, but the evidence was mixed on whether people had better access to that care.
Does this sound vague? Clarification: This is a “scoping review,” which is different from the “systematic review” you often see in STAT. A scoping review is broader and more exploratory, while a systematic review seeks to answer specific questions. Essentially, the authors concluded that there is insufficient research on this population to know for sure how it has been affected over the years, and they called for more research on this at-risk group.
More free coronavirus tests planned for this fall
The federal government will roll out more free COVID-19 tests starting in late September, Department of Health and Human Services officials announced Friday at a press conference highlighting ways to protect against COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus disease ahead of the upcoming respiratory disease season. This will be the seventh round of free testing through Covidtests.gov, with people able to order up to four tests.
COVID-19 infections in the country have been surging in recent weeks. When asked why tests are not available now, David Boucher, director of strategic preparedness and response, said that given COVID-19 funding constraints, the Department of Health and Human Services wanted to be “a little strategic” about when to launch this round. COVID-19 infection rates are typically higher in the winter, and the Department of Health and Human Services wants test kits ready for the holiday season. Another program is underway to provide test kits to schools, libraries, senior care facilities and food banks, Boucher said. In total, the Department of Health and Human Services has distributed about 2 billion free test kits.
Helen Branswell
What we're reading
Teen murders, mold in walls: Unfulfilled promises plague public housing, KFF Health News
WHO announces first polio outbreak in 25 years in Gaza, paralyzing infant, Reuters
A harm reduction approach to dining out, STAT HPV vaccination uptake among U.S. teens stalls as cancer concerns grow, Bloomberg STAT readers talk mask bans, cancer screening, empathy and AI, STAT
