Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RFK Jr. Ousts NIH Scientist Who Raised Alarm On Public Health Policies
The New York Times: Kennedy Fires N.I.H. Scientist Who Filed Whistle-Blower Complaint
Three weeks after a leading scientist at the National Institutes of Health filed a whistle-blower complaint against the Trump administration, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy fired her, according to her lawyer and a copy of the termination letter. Her dismissal was the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken against government scientists and environmental experts after they warned that administration policies were endangering public health and safety. (Mueller, 10/2)
MedPage Today: Kennedy Video On Death Rates Before Vaccines Ignores Other Harms Of Infection
Earlier this week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted a 7-minute video on X in which he promised to "shred" a chart displayed during his Senate hearing last month. Kennedy proclaimed that deaths due to some of the most common infectious diseases fell dramatically during the 20th century long before vaccines were widely used. But experts said Kennedy is comparing apples to oranges. The chart focused on infections, not deaths -- and infections have been substantially reduced by vaccination. (Fiore, 10/2)
On drug prices and tariffs —
Bloomberg: Alnylam Pulls TV Ad After Trump Crackdown On Drug Industry Spots
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. has stopped airing a TV commercial for its new heart medicine, a sign that the Trump administration’s crackdown on the industry’s ubiquitous drug ads is having an impact on the media landscape. Alnylam was one of many companies to get letters last month from the US Food and Drug Administration calling out what the agency believes are misleading commercials. (Smith, 10/2)
The Washington Post: Trump Claimed A Win On Drug Prices, But Big Pharma Also Scored
President Donald Trump celebrated a long-promised victory Tuesday, announcing that he had used the threat of tariffs to prod pharmaceutical giant Pfizer into cutting U.S. drug prices. But the deal, under which the company would sell some drugs in the U.S. at the same low cost as in other countries, delivered a win for Pfizer, too. In the two days since the announcement, the company’s stock jumped 14 percent as investors realized the new U.S. prices posed little threat to profits. (Whoriskey and Gilbert, 10/2)
Stat: Trump Medicare Rule Delays Fix For Drug Price Negotiation Loophole
The Trump administration is delaying a proposal to crack down on a loophole that allows drugmakers to avoid Medicare price negotiation on some of their products by making minor tweaks. (Wilkerson, 10/3)
On transgender care —
The Washington Post: Canadians With ‘X’ Passports Warned They Could Face Problems At U.S. Border
The Canadian government has updated its travel advice to warn citizens with gender-neutral passports that their documents may no longer be accepted at the U.S. border. “While the Government of Canada issues passports with a ‘X’ gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries,” Canada’s new travel advisory for the United States reads. “You might face entry restrictions in countries that do not recognize the ‘X’ gender identifier.” (Bisset, 10/2)
Also —
The Verge: Google Is Blocking AI Searches For Trump And Dementia
Google appears to have blocked AI search results for the query “does trump show signs of dementia” as well as other questions about his mental acuity, even though it will show AI results for similar searches about other presidents. When making the search about President Trump, AI Overviews will display a message that says, “An AI Overview is not available for this search.” (Peters, 9/30)
