Doubts raised about rapid Covid tests’ reliability in early days after infection

The study included the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen test, authorized by the FDA. (JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES)

A new study raises significant doubts about whether at-home rapid antigen tests can detect the Omicron variant before infected people can transmit the virus to others. It’s a preprint, meaning it hasn’t been peer-reviewed, but the study looked at 30 people from settings including Broadway theaters where workers took both quick antigen tests (such as Abbott BinaxNOW and Quidel QuickVue) and a daily PCR test. On days 0 and 1 following a positive PCR test, all the antigen tests produced false-negative results, even though in 28 cases, levels of virus detected by the PCR test were high enough to infect others. This does not mean that rapid antigen tests are not useful, the researchers emphasize. The tests detected the virus in every case – it just took longer than with PCR. STAT's Matthew Herper has more.

CDC recommends 12- to 17-year-olds should get a Covid booster

An expert panel that advises the CDC on vaccines voted overwhelmingly yesterday to recommend that children aged 12 to 15 should get a Covid-19 booster dose five months after the second dose in their primary series. The 13-to-1 vote also changed the recommendation for 16- and 17-year-olds, saying they should get a booster as well, going beyond just a suggestion to do so if they wished. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the change later in the evening. Concerns were raised in previous meetings about the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis seen after getting mRNA vaccines, but the surge of the Omicron variant and the tsunami of cases it is causing appears to have changed minds on the committee. STAT’s Helen Branswell has more.

Blood test to predict preeclampsia may spot pregnancy complications early

Preeclampsia is a serious problem that usually surfaces late in pregnancy, posing a risk of preterm birth, stillbirth, and death. New research out yesterday in Nature shows how RNA sequenced from a blood sample could predict preeclampsia months before symptoms appear, holding promise for detecting this and other pregnancy complications before they cause harm. Scientists from academia and the biotech Mirvie analyzed cell-free RNA in blood from the mother, placenta, and fetus in more than 1,840 pregnancies in a diverse group of participants from three continents. They established a genetic timeline of a normal pregnancy and then compared gene activation. Thomas McElrath, an OB-GYN, study co-author, and member of Mirvie’s scientific advisory board, told me detecting preeclampsia is just the beginning. “Once we basically have a road map of normal cases, where there’s a deviation off of that map then becomes much easier to discern.” Read more in my story here.

Inside STAT: More top hospitals aren’t offering controversial Alzheimer’s drug

(alex hogan/stat)

Almost no one is prescribing Aduhelm, Biogen's controversial new Alzheimer’s treatment that roiled the health care landscape when regulators approved it last summer. Major health care systems such as the Cleveland Clinic made it clear almost immediately that they wouldn’t offer the new therapy, citing a lack of convincing evidence that the drug actually helps treat Alzheimer’s. Now, STAT has identified another 15 university-affiliated hospitals that aren’t offering the drug, including Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and the University of Michigan. The organization that negotiates supply contracts on behalf of more than 90% of the nation’s academic hospitals estimates their members are ordering just one to five vials of the medicine each day. “Is anyone buying it? Yes, people are. But it is so, so small that it’s almost negligible,” Steven Lucio, the senior principal of pharmacy solutions at the organization, Vizient, told STAT's Nicholas Florko. STAT+ subscribers can read more here.

Opinion: Recognizing obesity as a disease is a step toward health equity

When the American Medical Association recognized obesity as a disease in 2013, doctors and other health care workers began to pay greater attention to a condition that is a cause of death for nearly 1 out of 5 adults in America. Eight years on, U.S. policies have failed to catch up with medical understanding in addressing this public health crisis, Fatima Cody Stanford of Massachusetts General Hospital and Kelly Copes-Anderson of Eli Lilly write in a STAT First Opinion. They warn that without the right kinds of policy interventions, nearly half of Americans will have obesity by 2030 and communities of color will be hit hardest. “Congress has a historic opportunity to turn the tide,” they write, urging passage of the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2021.

Here’s an idea: Just sleep in

The pandemic’s been rough in countless ways for young people. Starting with near lockdown in the spring of 2020, their mental and physical health have suffered, sapped by less physical activity and more solitary time spent staring at screens. A new study published in JAMA Network Open finds a modest bright side to staying home from in-person school: Sleeping longer in the morning translated into better health and quality of life for Zurich high school students compared to a pre-pandemic poll. They got an extra 75 minutes of sleep every day and drank less caffeine and alcohol. They said their health was better, although psychological distress was still present. Based on these survey results, the researchers call for a later start to the school day for teenagers.