A virus bodega, DNC takeaways, and free Covid tests

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Happy Eldest Daughter Day. I am not the first daughter in my family, but I was always the oldest sibling in the house while growing up. I’m often willing to indulge in a discussion of that burden, but I saw the movie “Dìdi” this weekend. It was lovely, and a reminder that little brothers are human, too.

Anyway, the news. Anthony Fauci got West Nile virus. STAT’s Helen Branswell has everything you need to know about the infection.

How Biden’s $3.2 billion plan to fight the next pandemic turned into a virus bodega

After Covid, the Biden administration was determined not to be caught off guard again. In June 2021, it announced the Antiviral Program for Pandemics, which would spread $3.2 billion across several government divisions and dozens of academic labs. The idea was to create a “durable structure,” as Anthony Fauci said that month, to prepare for any more pandemic threats.

But that structure was never built. Read the story from STAT’s Jason Mast on how a grand plan and $577 million spent by taxpayers may ultimately result in just a few papers and a couple interesting molecules. (Come to learn about the failure of this critical federal program, and stay for the writing that includes a comparison between a box of Zika virus and Trader Joe’s Butter Chicken.)

A social media glimpse into cancer care disparities faced by trans people

We’ve written before about how, since health care systems don’t systemically or consistently collect sexual orientation and gender identity data, there’s a major gap in our understanding of transgender health. A study published Friday in JAMA Network Open used a large language model to analyze social media posts to fill the gap when it comes to cancer care.

“I have stage 4 ovarian/endometrial cancer as a 33 yr old trans man … If they had given me a hysterectomy like I cried and begged for years to have this would not be happening I’m beyond angry and depressed,” one post read. “I always was misgendered and uncomfortable at the oncology facility while having radiation therapy … which made me feel unwelcome there,” another read.

Out of more than 1,200 posts about cancer care from trans people on Reddit, X, and YouTube, there were a few key themes: a lack of awareness (on the part of clinicians as displayed by things like incorrect pronoun usage, and on the part of patients regarding what health care services are available and their risk of cancer) and issues accessing care. Despite the limits of performing research based on social media posts, the authors write that the study can still offer “valuable insight to guide future initiatives toward achieving equitable health care for transgender individuals.”

Doctor, heal thy campus?

What do Harvard, Penn, and Columbia have in common? Besides being elite, Ivy League institutions that have struggled to address protests and encampments this year, they’ve all chosen medical doctors as the new president or interim president.

It may sound surprising to you, but it didn’t surprise Guy David, a professor of health care management at the Wharton School. “I’ve seen firsthand how clinical decision-making and experience in the trenches of a hospital can prepare a clinician to be an effective leader,” David wrote in a First Opinion essay. And it’s not just these three institutions — it’s a whole phenomenon of physician leadership. Read more about the push and pull behind the rise of physicians at the helm of all different types of organizations.

Takeaways from the DNC on the health care fights ahead

After another late night of waiting for Beyoncé to show up (She didn’t 🙃), there were two clear priorities for Democrats at last week’s national convention: Protect abortion rights and make America feel good again.

“Let’s be clear about how we got here,” Vice President Kamala Harris said about the repeal of Roe v. Wade. “Donald Trump hand-picked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom, and now he brags about it.”

Read more from STAT’s Sarah Owermohle on the key health topics from the DNC and how the Trump campaign is responding.

How has the ACA affected people with criminal involvement?

People who are incarcerated or have been tied up in the U.S. criminal justice system disproportionately have low incomes, lack access to health insurance, and have higher rates of chronic illness. A study published on Friday in JAMA Health Forum reviewed existing studies to determine whether the enactment of the ACA and expanded state Medicaid programs had any effect on this population’s access to health care, insurance costs, and health and social welfare outcomes.

The evidence was mixed — researchers found that the ACA was associated with lower rates of being uninsured, but it was unclear whether more people were on private or public insurance. On access to care, studies focused mostly 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? To explain: This was a “scoping review,” which is different from the “systemic reviews” you’ll often read about in STAT. Scoping reviews are more broad and exploratory, while systemic reviews look to answer specific questions. Basically, the authors concluded there isn’t enough research on this population to know for sure how they’ve been affected over the years, so the authors called for more research on this at-risk group.

More free Covid tests are coming this fall

The federal government is going to distribute another round of free Covid-19 tests, starting in late September, HHS officials announced Friday during a press conference to highlight ways to protect against Covid, flu, and RSV in the coming respiratory illness season. This will be the seventh round of free tests through Covidtests.gov, where people can order up to four tests.

Covid activity in the country has been surging in recent weeks. Asked why the tests aren’t available now, David Boucher from the administration for strategic preparedness and response said HHS had to be “a little bit strategic” about when to launch this round, given constraints on Covid funding. Covid infection rates typically rise to higher levels in the winter, and the department wants people to have tests on hand around the holiday season. Boucher said a separate program providing tests to schools, libraries, seniors’ residences, and food banks is ongoing. HHS has distributed about 2 billion free tests in total, he said.

— Helen Branswell

What we’re reading

• A teen’s murder, mold in the walls: Unfulfilled promises haunt public housing, KFF Health News

• Baby paralyzed in Gaza’s first case of type 2 polio for 25 years, WHO says, Reuters

• A harm-reduction approach to eating out, STAT
• HPV vaccination stalls in US teens, raising cancer concern, Bloomberg
• STAT readers on mask bans, cancer screening, and empathy and AI, STAT