Trump nominates three important health care leaders

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In peace! After reading Katie Palmer’s great story last week about the health and science community moving to Bluesky, I decided it was finally time for me to add another news platform. social media on my tablet. Find me and many of my STAT colleagues there.

Anyway, there’s a lot of news this morning, so let’s get to it.

Trump makes major health care choices

On Friday evening, President-elect Donald Trump announced a number of nominees for his administration, including three key health leaders:

CDC

Trump chose the doctor and Rep. Dave Weldon used to lead the CDC. Weldon has a history of supporting controversial, and in the opinion of many scientists, discredited ideas that link childhood vaccinations to rising rates of autism. “That’s troubling for an institution whose historic success has come from the use of vaccines,” STAT’s Matt Herper wrote over the weekend. STAT’s Lizzy Lawrence has more on Weldon.

General practitioner

Physician and former Fox News anchor Janette Nesheiwat will be appointed surgeon general. Unlike other candidates, he 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 teenagers, the speed of approval of early vaccines, and policies it is far from work.

Makary is also the CEO of the telehealth company Sesame, which connects consumers with doctors who can prescribe weight loss medications. If he is confirmed as FDA commissioner, he would lead the agency as it faces high-profile policy issues that could affect Sesame’s business. Read more from STAT’s team of reporters about the potential conflict.

Although Matt wrote that the CDC is “in big trouble,” under Weldon, he believes the FDA “may be fine” under Makary. Biotech and pharma leaders were more optimistic: “We dodged a bullet,” one biotech investor told STAT reporters. Read Matt’s Take on other biotech and pharma trends.

UnitedHealth moves money from their right pocket to their left’

UnitedHealth Group pays its physician practices significantly more than it pays other physician groups in similar markets for similar services, STAT reporters reveal in Part 5 of Health Care’s Colossus series. For some types of care, the company’s insurance assistance provides two times more than the average market price in its methods. One doctor said: “It’s really a game the way they change money from the right pocket to the left.”

As a reminder, UnitedHealth is the largest health insurance company in the country and the fourth largest company of any kind by revenue. The company argues in marketing materials that its management of medical providers provides greater efficiency, better coordination of care, and lower costs. But STAT’s findings reveal the implications of a growing conflict of interest: As a dominant insurance company and health care provider, UnitedHealth can earn higher profits by sacrificing higher prices for screening. core, operations and processes.

STAT discovered the payments in a first-of-its-kind audit with health auditing company Tribunus Health that reviewed UnitedHealth data as reported to the federal government. Read more in Part 5.

And I encourage you to check out the first few episodes if you haven’t already. They write how UnitedHealth turned a questionable coronary screening program into a gold mine; it promised a hands-on approach when you bought one Connecticut medical group, then promoted everything its doctors built; and its managers use tactics such as bonuses and ranking on leader boards to pressure doctors.

US confirms first case of H5N1 in a child

The CDC confirmed on Friday that a California child has been infected with H5N1 bird flu. As with the Missouri case that STAT’s Helen Branswell reported 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 names and infected animals or poultry, the California Department of Health said when the case was first reported. The child, who had only mild symptoms, is recovering. It’s the first confirmed case of H5N1 in a child in the US So far this year there have been 55 confirmed human cases of H5N1 in seven states.

None of the people he came in contact with tested positive for the virus, which is good news. But situations in which the source of infection cannot be identified are not stable, raising the specter of invisible transmission of the flu virus to which people are immune, STAT’s Helen Branswell, who covers disease contagious, explains this video.

In related news of concern, California health officials have found the bird flu virus in a sample of raw milk from Raw Farm in Fresno that was purchased at a grocery store. (Reminder: A study done earlier this year showed that drinking raw milk containing the bird flu virus can be dangerous.) Helen has the details.

This flu lineage may have returned from extinction

From one mystery to another, STAT’s Helen Branswell also brings us this report:

In the first year or so of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was very little flu activity around the world. During that period of social distancing, mask wearing, and international travel restrictions, one type of influenza B virus disappeared. Years ago, it was concluded that the B/Yamagata lineage was extinct. The part that protected against these viruses was also removed from flu shots.

Flu labs around the world are constantly looking for B/Yam, as it’s known in the flu, and now someone says they’ve spotted the virus. Adam Meijer, who heads the Dutch National Reference Laboratory for Respiratory Viruses, said several independent tests on patient samples had come back positive, although the lab was unable to grow the virus, or generate a genetic sequence from the sample. .

Arnold Monto, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan who pushed for B/Yamagata to be removed from the US flu shots, says that without genetic sequencing, it’s too soon to know. what to do with this report. Wenqing Zhang, who heads the WHO’s global influenza program, also reserved judgment, saying the Dutch lab will be looking for B/Yam viruses in the coming flu season, so while they circle “they shall be found.”

Study: Ethnic differences in hearing aid use

Black and Hispanic adults report lower hearing aid use than white adults, according to a study published Friday in the JAMA Health Forum. Overall, about 10% of black, 14% of Hispanic, and 30% of white participants said they had used a hearing aid in the past month. Racial differences persisted across the lower, middle, and upper classes.

The study was based on nationally representative data on more than 3,000 people over the age of 65 in 2022. “More research” is needed to fully understand how race, discrimination, economic status and other factors may interact. to prevent people from using. hearing aids, the authors wrote. (It will also be interesting to see if Apple’s new Airpod hearing aid feature changes the way people access this technology.)

Coughing goes up and Rand Paul plots power

There are two STAT stories published Friday afternoon that I don’t want you to miss:

• Influenza cases have increased sixfold in the US since this time last year. Experts say it is likely to return to the pre-pandemic cycle, but others worry that this season could be worse because of 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 the incoming chairman of the special investigative committee, reports STAT’s John Wilkerson. The libertarian senator is one of the most outspoken critics of scientists and the scientific community. Read more.

What we read

• The last meeting of the opinion of the Rep. Jennifer Wexton and the families who all started, 19th

• Many days are lost in the doctor’s office, New York Times

• Trump’s promise to roll back travel ban has scientists worried, STAT
• Georgians with disabilities are still being classified, despite being recognized by the state, KFF Health News
• Immigration reform to solve health care workforce crisis, STAT