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Good day. A new study compared 23 species of monkeys that demonstrate recurrent same-sex behavior with 468 that do not. The researchers concluded that being gay is “part of normal primate social life.” And as a colleague said, I refuse to believe that there are 468 species of purely heterosexual monkeys.
More personnel changes on federal vaccine committees
Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday named two new members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory council. Both are obstetricians and gynecologists who have at times criticized conventional vaccine science. And while these new members are unlikely to dramatically shift the committee’s balance, they appear to steer the group further toward a vaccine-skeptical course.
The new appointments come as Kennedy is restructuring the committee and a working group within the ACIP is reviewing recommended vaccines for women during pregnancy. Read more from STAT’s Daniel Payne and Lizzy Lawrence about the two new committee members. (Hint: In July, one of them was a speaker on an FDA panel largely skeptical of antidepressant use during pregnancy.)
We also learned yesterday that HHS fired at least one member of a committee that advises the federal government on its vaccine injury compensation program. The move could indicate that, like the ACIP before it, the federal apparatus faces more changes. Read more from STAT’s Chelsea Cirruzzo.
Why more people than ever survive cancer
The five-year survival rate across all types of cancer has reached 70%, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. That’s a significant increase from the 50% of cancer patients living more than five years when the National Cancer Act was passed in 1971. The law catalyzed federal programs that supported cancer research and care.
“For someone like me, with decades in this field, it’s very gratifying to see,” said Marcel Van Den Brink, who directs City of Hope’s cancer center. Read more from STAT’s Angus Chen about what advances led to better survival rates and where more work needs to be done.
124
That’s the number of new measles cases that have been confirmed in South Carolina since Friday, bringing the total outbreak to 434, according to an announcement yesterday from the state health department. The vast majority of cases occur among minors and unvaccinated people. The state has begun offering free flu and MMR vaccines to the public.
The last time the United States saw more than 100 cases in a single week was at the height of the outbreak in West Texas last spring, former STAT contributor Meg Tirrell noted recently. (South Carolina’s outbreak began in October, but confirmed cases have increased in the last week.) While the entire Americas region lost measles elimination status in November, thanks to Canada, the South Carolina outbreak has also jeopardized that status in the US.
Trans rights are back in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments in two cases revolving around the participation of transgender girls and young women in sports. While it might be easy for viewers to frame the issue as a pillar of the “culture wars,” lawyers who spoke in court used similar scientific and legal arguments about what constitutes sex discrimination, as those heard in last year’s case over state bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth. (For a refresher on what science really tells us about sex and gender, read Megan Molteni’s seemingly everlasting explainer from this past January.)
As in the case of health care, a central question is whether excluding transgender girls and women from sports is considered sex-based discrimination. Experts agreed that the judges seemed willing to allow state bans, but the breadth with which they rule could have implications far beyond athletics. A sweeping decision could serve as a “rubber stamp” for other state laws targeting transgender people, as reporter Madison Pauley explained in Mother Jones.
Decisions will likely be made towards the end of the term in June. For more details on how the oral arguments went, you can also read detailed updates from the AP.
More infectious disease chaos
We’ve been writing a lot lately in this newsletter about vaccinating humans. But do you remember the bird flu? Today we have a First Opinion essay on poultry vaccination. Bird flu is expected to kill millions of animals this winter. Although egg prices have dropped, the problem has not gone away. Two veterinary scientists write that bird flu is one of the most serious threats to American agriculture this century. But we know how to prevent it: “Vaccinate animals.” Read more about the pros and cons of this approach and why it has not been implemented yet.
And another issue that has largely been overlooked: In late December, CMS announced that state Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program no longer have to report progress on vaccinating children and adolescents. As a result, one public health policy expert writes, the United States will have less information about vaccination rates when we need it most. Read more about how this could obscure the effects of the Trump administration’s changes.
what we are reading
Nurses’ strike enters second day at major New York City hospitals, AP
Lawsuit dismissed after Trump admin quietly returned tens of millions to Planned Parenthood, Politico
Should Medicare automatically pay for medical devices that the FDA considers “breakthroughs”? STAT How IVF Has Led to Record Numbers of Single Mothers in Their 40s, NPR Epic Sues Health Information Network Over Nearly 300,000 Records It Was Illegally Accessed, STAT
What is the word? Test your knowledge with today’s STAT Mini crossword puzzle.
