Virologist Fights Funding Ban; Kennedy’s Covert Vax Risk Project; TrumpRx Lobbying

Alleging a “pattern of deception” in studies done more than a decade ago, the U.S. government proposed a ban on federal funding to a prominent coronavirus researcher whose recent work has spurred unproven accusations he helped start the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Ralph Baric, PhD, told Science he plans to appeal the recommended debarment.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been relatively silent about vaccines in recent months as the White House was concerned an anti-vaccine stance would hurt Republicans in the midterm elections. But behind the scenes, Kennedy has been leading efforts to look into his theory that vaccines are part of what’s fueling an epidemic of chronic diseases in the U.S., people familiar with the matter told the New York Times.

Deleted tweets reportedly revealed that President Donald Trump’s most recent nominee for surgeon general, Nicole Saphier, MD, criticized health policies put forth by Trump and Kennedy. The texts are said to include that Saphier suggested the current administration was hiding that measles was spreading widely enough for the U.S. to lose its “elimination” status until after the midterm elections. (CNN)

Pharmaceutical companies supporting the new White House prescription drug pricing program TrumpRx shelled out more than $130 million for federal lobbying last year. The massive spend by 17 companies was more than one-quarter of record lobbying dollars last year across the pharmaceutical and health product industry. “All I can say is that they’re spending a ton of money,” Olivier Wouters, PhD, an associate professor at Brown University who has researched the industry’s lobbying efforts, told OpenSecrets.

Medicare beneficiaries aren’t getting recently approved Alzheimer’s medications nearly as much as federal officials expected. Due to low uptake for lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla), Medicare is not forecasting significant spending on these drugs this year or next, a spokesperson for CMS told STAT. Two years ago, Medicare projected spending billions of dollars per year on the former drug alone.

The U.S. government recently convicted multiple postdocs from China for improper shipments of biological materials, triggering concerns in the research community. Scientists and other experts familiar with the cases agreed the government should enforce existing rules on labeling and shipping biological materials. But they worried prosecuting minor violations as felonies “criminalizes the routine practice of sharing samples and resources with colleagues.” (Science)

Questions about a potential treatment for hantavirus have resurfaced following an outbreak of the disease on a cruise ship. There’s no vaccine or specialized therapy for the disease, and promising projects were previously shelved due to lack of funding. (WSJ)

Scientists researching the compound nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) may be plagued by an excess of publicity. Though garnering interest in the wellness and longevity world — and among celebrities — due to claims of boosting energy and combatting aging, evidence isn’t yet conclusive. “As a hypothesis, as an idea, it’s very attractive,” Shalender Bhasin, MD, who directs the Boston Pepper Aging Research Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told NPR. “But we are still in the early stages of human studies and the health benefits of augmenting NAD+ are yet to be established in large human studies.”

Alcohol may be wreaking havoc on U.S. public health, but American society tends to look the other way. Alcohol also remains an awkward topic of conversation at the doctor’s office. (STAT)