If you haven't seen it yet, STAT's Covid-19 tracker is *really* good. State-by-state breakdowns, plus the daily change in # of new cases and # of new deaths.
Worth a look:
guys, I have *some personal news*
I'm incredibly excited to say I'm going to be a news editor at STAT's HQ in Boston, starting frighteningly soon!
Which means .. we need a new me. I can't gush enough about this beat or this team of journalists (!), so just apply already:
"Breaking new ground for a vice president, Kamala Harris is calling for sweeping action to curb racial inequities in pregnancy and childbirth," writes
@SciFleur
.
Read the
@statnews
interview with
@VP
here:
"He was not intoxicated when he arrived at the Los Angeles studio. In his dressing room, he said he found a bottle of Smirnoff vodka. He drank all of it. Then someone handed him a Xanax, he said, telling him it would 'calm his nerves.'"
EXCLUSIVE:
@DrPhil
presents himself as a crusader for recovery who rescues people from their addictions. But his show has put at risk the health of some of those guests it purports to help, a STAT
@BostonGlobe
investigation has found
President Trump has instigated an all-out crusade against the FDA at a critical point in the federal government’s fight against Covid-19.
Seriously eyebrow-raising new reporting from
@levfacher
:
Scientists are starting to roll out new blood tests for the coronavirus that, unlike current diagnostic tests, will help pinpoint people who are immune— and could signal who could be prioritized to return to work.
From
@DrewQJoseph
:
As part of his administration's
#coronavirus
response, Trump just invoked a wartime law that could give the federal government power to force companies to manufacture things like medical supplies.
🚨Wow.🚨
Several AI algorithms from Epic are delivering inaccurate or irrelevant information to hospitals about the care of seriously ill patients, contrasting sharply with the company’s published claims,
@caseymross
reports.
I went through bios for dozens and dozens of top health officials, senior advisers and aides over the last 30 years. Before now, very few have come directly from industry gigs.
Incredibly excited to show off STAT's new deep dive into pharma's influence on our elections.
@levfacher
and
@KaitlynLandgraf
show how widely the industry spends on thousands of *state* elections, not just federal — and the data viz is gorgeous.
This is fascinating -- Ohio state Rep. Beth Liston returned campaign checks from Pfizer and J&J to ensure no one could accuse her of being paid to advocate for Covid vaccines. From
@rachelcohrs
:
Pharma's usually united in its DC advocacy.
But with biosimilars, brands are competing directly -- and that's paralyzed trade orgs like PhRMA, BIO that rep all these co's.
A very deep dive into how the biz of biosims is affecting pharma's lobbying in DC:
Spurred by the coronavirus, federal officials have expanded access to addiction medicine far more quickly and thoroughly than any law Congress passed, even at the height of the opioid epidemic. Will the changes stick?
Really nice
@levfacher
story:
Exciting news: We're hiring!! I'm looking for an eager and driven reporter to join the great
@levfacher
and
@NicholasFlorko
covering the politics and policy of medicine from our Washington bureau. Details:
Today,
@rachelcohrs
dug into a fascinating irony in Washington: though so much of health care progress is based on peer-reviewed research, the studies that drive health policy are not just *not* reviewed — they're *paid for by lobbyists*. Her story:
“That it is being used for policy decisions and its results interpreted wrongly is a travesty unfolding before our eyes.”
🔥🔥🔥 story about the model so many are using to predict Covid-19 cases, from
@sxbegle
:
An incredible story from inside a Louisiana hospital besieged by Covid-19:
@levfacher
and
@HoganAlex
tell the story of the health care workers who are starting to get really, really frustrated that all the deaths they're seeing every day are preventable.
“There’s no back to normal for me. That notion of back to normal is just not even on the table for me.”
A poignant and heartbreaking story from
@DrewQJoseph
about how a "lost year" in 2020 isn't the same for everyone.
Utah officials went all in on hydroxychloroquine — even considering letting Covid-19 patients get it w/o a prescription. Then, just as quick, they scrambled to reverse course.
@DrewQJoseph
pieced together a *fascinating* case study from emails, docs:
There's a simpler, faster technique for diagnosing Covid-19 — and a California company says it's worked out some of the accuracy issues.
Really interesting look from
@sheridan_kate
at the science of LAMP testing, an alternative to PCR:
Want to know what the CEOs of companies like Pfizer, GoodRx, Teladoc, HCA, or One Medical made last year — and how it roughly compares to what their employees made?
Click through this fascinating, ambitious project from a whole team of STAT reporters:
Emergency medics are locked out of patients' medical records — unaware of critical information for care and even knowledge of a case's outcome, which deprives them of affirmation that their work matters. Important story today from
@MarionRenault
:
Redfield made a statement. Trump contradicted him, and then the agency walked it back. Then he reversed it again.
It's another example of the CDC's communication stumbles during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Great story from
@levfacher
:
There are already DOZENS of people running Biden's Covid-19 response, from all manner of perches and positions.
Here are the 10 you need to know, from the incredible
@rachelcohrs
:
*Incredible* investigation out this morning from
@rachelcohrs
and
@betsyladyzhets
about how little the NIH has to show for its work on
#longCovid
-- including how the NIH has obscured who is in charge and how it spent the money.
Last night's results in West Virginia will make that race *especially* interesting for the drug pricing debate --
Now it's Manchin, who's daughter runs Mylan, v. Morrisey, who's wife lobbies for BIO, Merck, and Novartis.
Must-read from
@levfacher
:
HUGE health journalism news today, gang:
@bobjherman
is launching a brand new newsletter! Health Care Inc. will feature original reporting about all the ways money is shaping health care. Sign up now and you’ll get it every Monday, starting next month!
Really, really smart
@HelenBranswell
story on what we've learned about the *astonishing* success of the Covid-19 vaccine development effort. As she writes, "sadly, there will be a next time."
Why don’t women biologists found biotech companies at the same rate as men?
A really interesting and important story about the effort to change those stats from
@sxbegle
:
Viruses are scary, sure. But as
@MarionRenault
explores so beautifully in this new piece, injecting people with engineered versions of viruses — measles, polio, etc — could actually kill their cancer. A truly fascinating story:
We're expecting data — soon — about Gilead's potential coronavirus therapy, remdesivir. But just how much will we be able to glean from the announcement? Here's what you need to know:
Beyond proud to share this incredible
@nicholasflorko
series today, looking at how prisons are refusing to treat people with hep C, a sometimes deadly disease, even though a simple cure exists. It's a REALLY important project, and very worth your time 1/
If you haven't read it yet, stop and go read this important piece of reporting from
@ruth_hailu_
The heart rate tracking tech in Fitbits and other devices may not be as accurate for people of color. A deep dive into the science and the implications:
Making an intravenous drug like remdesivir is not simple. Filling a vial requires different pieces — many made by other companies — to come together in a final product that's pure, sterile, and identical.
@DrewQJoseph
on whether GIlead can meet demand:
STAT has an *insanely* talented team of reporters in Washington covering everything from Biden's Covid response to drug pricing reform.
Literally just today, we published three amazing stories you cannot read anywhere else.
Drug makers love accelerated approval — but now, after the FDA's controversial Alzheimer's drug decision, it's under intense scrutiny.
@NicholasFlorko
has everything you need to know:
Right now, all 15 of the doctors in Congress are men. Thirteen are Republicans.
Meet the slate of Democratic women physicians trying to change that fact:
So thrilled to have
@rachelcohrs
joining our team in D.C., with me,
@NicholasFlorko
, and
@levfacher
! As Rachel says, very big things in store for STAT as we ramp up our coverage of the increasingly crucial intersections of politics, policy, medicine and science.
Some personal news: I'm thrilled to announce that next week I'm headed to
@statnews
to join their stellar D.C. team. 2021 is going to bring big things for STAT and important health policy debates in Washington. I can't wait to get started!
Congress is about to haul in Mark Zuckerberg for a showy inquisition.
They're just as mad -- or at least as loud -- about high drug prices. So where are the pharma CEOs?
Remember Kim Kardashian's posts about that morning sickness pill?
@pharmalot
scooped the contract between Kim's company and the drug maker.
All the juicy details:
🚨🚨🚨
SCOOP from
@NicholasFlorko
reveals military personnel vastly outnumber civilian scientists on Operation Warp Speed.
He details who's doing what and how much the army has already done to get ready for vaccine distribution:
Trump's spent quite a lot of time this week slamming the World Health Organization.
And as
@HelenBranswell
explains here, much of Trump's criticism is misplaced.
Eleven years ago, a baby girl died, inexplicably. This time, when her infant brother presented similar symptoms, doctors sequenced his genome — and got answers and a treatment in 13 hours.
A fascinating and really touching story from
@DrewQJoseph
:
"There won’t be a single moment, like jolting awake from a nightmare, and we won’t be finished for good with SARS-CoV-2."
The challenge,
@DrewQJoseph
and
@HelenBranswell
write, is recognizing what the "end" looks like:
I'm ridiculously excited for this launch — the new D.C. Diagnosis will give you everything you need to know about health and medicine in Washington, fresh off the presses Tuesday mornings. Sign up!
Starting next Tues: I'm relaunching STAT's DC newsletter, D.C. Diagnosis -- the revamped version will grace your inbox with the latest health policy news + original analysis from yours truly. Please consider signing up.() While you’re at it, send me scoops!
Most* people pay less than $5 per month for the drug. *But oh, yeah, some pay $11,002.
That and other "OMG" revelations from the pharma industry's new pricing websites, via
@NicholasFlorko
:
Gottlieb blushes when he's asked about being included as
#6
in Fortune's list of the world's 50 most important leaders -- "My mom sent it to me this morning."
Suddenly interested in what will happen when the government shuts down, particularly for public health?
My colleague
@ikeswetlitz
and I talked to the folks who ran FDA, CDC and NIH the last time the government shut down:
@levfacher
That story will undoubtedly leave you wondering: is FDA leadership ready to ward off the politicization and undermining of the agency?
This excellent
@NicholasFlorko
piece has the answer: No.
Guys, my editors let me write about patent policy!
And before you try to tell me that I'm a huge dork for loving IP policy, read this. Because Trump's new top patent expert will have a BIG role to play in the drug pricing debate:
HUGE news in biotech today.
@statnews
has everything you need to know and plenty more to come.
The news:
The giant risk the FDA just took:
What patients need to know:
Donna Shalala. Billy Tauzin. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey. Karen Ignagni. Brian Blase. Don Berwick.
@levfacher
talked to some of the biggest names in health policy about how Covid-19 is going to change the landscape forever.
Guys, in less than 30 minutes I will be on deck to answer all of your burning questions about what the midterms meant for health care.
Even more exciting,
@NicholasFlorko
and
@levfacher
will be there too! Sign up is here ⬇
IN ONE HOUR: Join STAT's DC team for a live chat on how health care issues like drug pricing played in key races? And what does the new, incoming Congress mean for policymaking around health, science, and medicine? Register here:
Since the start of Covid-19, nurses have been hailed as heroes. But two years into the pandemic, they want more than their neighbors banging on pots and pans.
Really nice piece from
@levfacher
about nurses capitalizing on their new power in Washington.
Worth your time this morning: It's the insulin, stupid.
The great
@levfacher
writes about how it's insulin pricing, not broader drug pricing issues, that has started to resonate on the Democratic campaign trail. His dispatch from Iowa:
How prepared is your county for an onslaught of
#coronavirus
?
STAT helped put together an *incredible* dashboard that helps assess the preparedness of every single U.S. county on a whole host of factors. Explore the data here:
Teens who need mental health care often fall off a "cliff" in their care when they turn 18.
It's a particularly difficult time for a person to drop out of or lose access to mental health services.
HHS Secretary Azar's first answer at his first congressional hearing is about Alaska's reinsurance program. Be still my heart!
(Shameless re-upping of my story from last year: )
FDA's advisors are debating Moderna's boosters today, and
@HelenBranswell
and
@matthewherper
have an excellent primer on the key questions they'll face:
Stop what you're doing and read this 🔥🔥🔥 story from
@NicholasFlorko
about how the culture and structure at the CDC have left it defenseless against Trump's attacks.
Repubs say fewer insurance rules will cure Obamacare's ills -- lower prices, more competition. Dems predict adverse selection, rogue bad actors.
I went down to Tennessee to suss out the real story, from the tiny insurer that's been exempt from ACA rules:
PhRMA's struggling to preserve its clout among Democrats,
@NicholasFlorko
writes in this deeply reported piece.
"Folks are getting tired of the antics," as one former aide put it.
Don't miss:
Doctors and other health workers are grappling right now with a momentous question: how activist should they be?
An *incredible* look at what it means to wear your white coat to a protest and whether that should be part of the job, from
@ruth_hailu_
:
Biden's historic appointment of Marcella Nunez-Smith could elevate health equity issues to the highest levels of government — if his White House really empowers her.
Really interesting reporting from
@levfacher
about what the role will actually mean:
The hope is that contact tracing can keep outbreaks at a wieldy simmer, and buy time until better drugs and vaccines arrive.
But as
@DrewQJoseph
points out, it’s going to take more people, more money, and more cooperation than the country has in place.
Fancy AI algorithms get a LOT of attention in health care — they warn docs of sepsis, hospitalization or other problems.
But it turns out it's really, really easy to muck them up.
This
@caseymross
investigation has huge implications for patient safety:
We are so lucky to have the incredible
@tarabannow
joining our team at STAT. Get ready for a ton of sharp, scoopy, and ambitious coverage of hospitals and insurance — I could not be more thrilled!
Folks, I’m very, very excited to be joining
@statnews
later this month to continue my coverage of hospitals + insurance. I’ve long been an admirer of the brilliant work STAT puts out. This team of reporters and editors is truly at the top of their game.
A few physicians with deep, sometimes undisclosed financial ties to Biogen are the most vocal defenders of the company’s questionably effective and costly Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm.
Great story from
@NicholasFlorko
today: