Ex-NIH Workers Detail Grim Reality Of Crippled Agency In ‘Constant Chaos’
The former leaders and a researcher tracking the effects of funding cuts lament the loss of research critical to their mission and fear up-and-coming scientists won't seek government work. They also fear things haven't "bottomed out" yet. Plus: The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is on hiatus, despite being published during previous shutdowns.
Stat:
Former NIH Leaders Detail The 'Constant Chaos' They Left Behind
Jeremy Berg walked on stage sporting a curious look: a red tie patterned with a word cloud drawn from the applications of 197 researchers who vied to be part of a National Institutes of Health initiative aimed at accelerating junior scientists’ academic careers. (Broderick, 10/16)
NBC News:
Fired CDC Workers' Fates Hang In The Balance After Week Of Chaos
After a week of chaos and confusion, as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees described it, the fates of more than 600 workers hang in the balance now that a federal judge has temporarily blocked their terminations. (Bendix and Edwards, 10/16)
MedPage Today:
'Voice Of CDC' Goes Silent
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) isn't publishing during the federal government shutdown, a departure from the past, according to sources. CDC's flagship scientific publication "was published during every previous shutdown back into the 1990s, at least," Charlotte Kent, PhD, MPH, the most recent former editor of the journal, told MedPage Today. (Fiore, 10/16)
More on RFK Jr. —
The Hill:
John Thune Questions Robert F. Kennedy Jr's Medical Advice For Women
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said if he was a woman he wouldn’t take medical advice from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., citing recent claims the secretary made that President Trump endorsed. MSNOW’s senior Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali asked Thune in a Thursday interview whether the GOP was becoming a “party of no dissent,” noting that lawmakers like Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Susan Collins (Maine) — who are up for reelection — are among the few who have publicly disagreed with party leadership and the White House on some issues. (Choi, 10/16)
Stat:
Joe Kennedy III Split With Uncle RFK Jr. Over ‘Grave Concerns’ About U.S. Health
Joe Kennedy III has “great memories” of growing up with his uncle, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But the younger Kennedy’s “grave concerns about the safety and integrity of our health system” have moved him to condemn his uncle’s leadership as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, he said at the STAT Summit in Boston on Thursday. Those concerns prompted Kennedy, a former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, to call on his uncle to resign last month. He elaborated on his thinking in his most extensive comments on his uncle since the elder Kennedy took office. (Todd, 10/17)
On vaccines and funding cuts —
The Colorado Sun:
Colorado Joins New Multistate Alliance For Public Health Guidance
In the latest attempt to push back on changing federal health policy under President Donald Trump’s administration, Colorado has joined with 13 other states and one territory to form a new group called the Governors Public Health Alliance. (Ingold, 10/17)
The New York Times:
Harvard’s Wealth Is Growing, Despite Trump’s Attacks On Its Funds
In its latest financial report, Harvard said its endowment grew even bigger in the last fiscal year. But it still faces financial problems because of federal cuts. (Blinder, 10/16)
