Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
The Ripple Effect Of Halting Fetal Tissue Research: Study Hunting For Cure For HIV Is Shut Down
The Washington Post: Trump Administration Halts Study That Would Use Fetal Tissue ‘To Discover A Cure For HIV’
The Trump administration has shut down at least one government-run study that uses fetal tissue implanted into mice even before federal health officials reach a decision on whether to continue such research, which is opposed by antiabortion groups. A senior scientist at a National Institutes of Health laboratory in Montana told colleagues that the Health and Human Services Department “has directed me to discontinue procuring fetal tissue” from a firm that is the only available source, according to an email he sent to a collaborator in late September. (Goldstein and Bernstein, 12/9)
Stat: HIV Research Halted After NIH Freezes Acquisition Of Fetal Tissue
The NIH confirmed the suspension on Friday to Science, which reported it affected two NIH labs, including halting an HIV research project. Spokespeople for the Department of Health and Human Services and and the NIH institutes with affected labs did not respond to STAT’s request for comment on Sunday. Researchers use fetal tissue to create mice with human-like immune systems — which is useful for biologists like Dr. Warner Greene who do HIV research. (Sheridan, 12/9)
In other news —
The New York Times: U.N. AIDS Agency Is In ‘State Of Crisis’ And Needs New Leader, Report Says
Independent experts investigating allegations of sexual abuse at the United Nations agency fighting AIDS have called for the appointment of new leadership, saying in a damning report that its executive director tolerated harassment and bullying in a toxic organizational culture. The agency, U.N.AIDS, was “in a state of crisis that threatens its vital work,” the expert panel said in its report, which was released Friday after a four-month investigation. The evidence of “a broken organizational culture is overwhelming,” it said. (Cumming-Bruce, 12/7)
