Bill Nye, egg prices, WHO and tuberculosis| STAT

What a pleasure to see and meet so a lot of you yesterday at STAT Breakthrough East in New York Metropolis! An enormous due to our incisive panelists and the various insightful conversations I both had or overheard.

STAT Breakthrough East

Tons of tales on the positioning proper now if you wish to make amends for what you missed — and you must — however listed below are some highlights:

One of many day’s recurring themes was that the return of President Donald Trump to the Oval Workplace has drastically modified the observe of science. That would have lethal penalties, in accordance with former Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention director Tom Frieden. Speaking about Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Frieden stated that messing with vaccines and measles is a public well being catastrophe ready to occur. Former Meals and Drug Administration lead Scott Gottlieb had an analogous message for the present well being chief.

Everybody desires the wildly standard GLP-1 medication to deal with diabetes and weight problems, and buyers are pouring cash into extra analysis. However there’s a catch, in accordance with well being executives from Ro and Well being Included. Ongoing employer issues over value and a scarcity of affected person adherence stay cussed obstacles to wider adoption.

Gene remedy pioneer Jim Wilson spoke about how the sphere is at the moment clouded with “irrational pessimism.” Wilson acknowledged that researchers nonetheless should reply questions surrounding the remedies’ long-term security. How would he assuage buyers? Learn on.

And at last: Invoice! Invoice! Invoice! Invoice! A panel about Invoice Nye the Science Man’s new journey — elevating consciousness about ataxia, a uncommon motion dysfunction — morphed right into a critique of Kennedy and different well being leaders. “We actually attempt in planetary science to avoid the politics. However man, it’s actually onerous proper now. That is so excessive.”

Incapacity rights underneath assault

The incapacity group has been on edge since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The administration has focused accessibility, however the principle focus of their ire has been curbing different variety, fairness and inclusion efforts. Possibly that is altering? Listed here are two disability-related gadgets in your consideration:

The Division of Justice rescinded paperwork Wednesday that offered steerage on implement the People with Disabilities Act. The paperwork helped establishments navigate incapacity rights regarding hospital visits, staff sporting masks and their rights through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Final fall, 17 states filed a lawsuit alleging that Part 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 — a cornerstone of incapacity rights laws — was unconstitutional. Incapacity advocates have picked up their public opposition to Texas v. Becerra in current months, saying it might show catastrophic for People with disabilities. To be taught extra about how this swimsuit might presumably torpedo the federal authorities’s skill to safe rights for individuals with disabilities, try my dialog with Claudia Heart, authorized director of the Incapacity Rights Schooling & Protection Fund.

WHO requires assistance on TB outbreak

Monday is World Tuberculosis Day, and the World Well being Group marked the event Thursday by releasing a grim assertion about how america’ retreat from world well being is imperiling efforts to struggle tuberculosis.

WHO reported that extreme disruptions within the tuberculosis response have been seen in quite a few nations, most notably in components of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Twenty-seven nations are going through breakdowns of their response. The information comes within the wake of Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service slicing funding for the congressionally created company U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth.

Earlier this week, Helen Branswell quoted what Handaa Enkh-Amgalan, a member of the WHO Civil Society Job Pressure on Tuberculosis, needed to say concerning the cuts: “We’re getting ready to a disaster, one that would reverberate throughout borders and generations if we don’t act decisively.”

DOGE focusing on layoffs for HHS analysis company

A small sliver of the Division of Well being and Human Providers that focuses on well being care high quality, outcomes and value is the most recent company to take a seat within the crosshairs of Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service.

The Company for Healthcare Analysis and High quality has about 300 staff and a price range of $369 million, however staff informed STAT’s John Wilkerson that the employees might quickly be lowered by 80% or 90% after DOGE cuts.

AHRQ does the sort of analysis that matches properly with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s broader well being plans — investigating continual illness and weight problems and pushing insurers to cowl free mammograms. Kennedy even glowingly spoke about plans to work with AHRQ throughout his affirmation listening to. Learn John Wilkerson’s story for extra.

Egg (value) drop? Not so quick

I cheered final weekend after I noticed egg costs at my co-op dropped from $8 to $5 a carton. Alas, I could have spoken too quickly: the current dip in wholesale egg costs might quickly reverse, writes former Meals and Drug Administration head Scott Gottlieb.

North American flyways sometimes stay quiet in February, however with spring approaching, wild birds are resuming their seasonal migrations, probably triggering renewed outbreaks of the lethal virus.

Shoring up the well being of poultry, and thus the American public, will not be a simple job, nevertheless. Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has proposed permitting the virus to unfold freely via flocks, however that technique is impractical and dangerous. Prevention is the very best methodology, and federal officers just lately launched a five-step plan, however political and technical realities would additionally complicate this technique. Learn extra to seek out out Gottlieb’s prompt answer.