Exclusive: New details about a U.S. scientist’s obscured role in the ‘CRISPR babies’ scandal

Michael Deem and He Jiankui (ILLUSTRATION: ALEX HOGAN/STAT; PHOTO: RICE UNIVERSITY)

More than three years after Chinese scientist He Jiankui claimed to have created the world’s first CRISPR’d children, much is still unknown, including the twin girls’ current condition. Here in the U.S., an equally enduring mystery surrounds Michael Deem — the American researcher who appeared to be He’s closest collaborator outside China. STAT has learned that Deem may have been involved more extensively than previously reported. During the clinical trial in 2017 and 2018, Deem regularly received data about the research subjects, according to a source with knowledge of the project. Through his lawyers, Deem denied reviewing genetic data. “Deem only commented on Dr. He’s manuscripts,” Houston attorney Matt Hennessy told STAT. While still murky, a picture has begun to emerge of the circumstances surrounding Deem’s later exit from academia and his attempts at a second act. Read Megan Molteni’s exclusive in STAT+.

Malawi and its neighbors to begin mass vaccination campaigns against polio

Malawi will begin a major effort on Monday to prevent polio from again taking root in the East African country. A region-wide vaccination effort against the virus follows the late February discovery that wild polioviruses had made their way to Malawi from Pakistan, one of only two countries where wild polio still circulates. A 4-year-old girl was paralyzed on Nov. 19; testing later confirmed it was type 1 polio. It was Malawi’s first polio case in three decades and the continent’s first since being declared free of wild polio in 2020. Malawi’s vaccination rates were above 90% for polio before the Covid pandemic, but “we missed a lot of children who have not been vaccinated against polio with routine immunization,” Modjirom Ndoutabe, polio coordinator in the WHO’s regional office for Africa, told STAT’s Helen Branswell. Read more.

Public health workers feel Covid abuse

There’s a mountain of evidence showing the devastating toll of the pandemic on health workers. Now, new research lays bare the brutal impact on their counterparts in public health. A national survey of local health department workers turned up nearly 1,500 instances of harassment against public health workers between March 2020 and January 2021. The researchers also found at least 222 public health officials left their jobs during that time frame. Health officials said they were personally attacked, villainized, and their experiences often marginalized. At best, their work was underappreciated; at worst, it was blamed for broader problems. “No public health employee should be made to feel unsafe or devalued for doing their job,” study author Beth Resnick of Johns Hopkins told STAT’s Azma Hasina Mulundika. Read more.

Closer look: Is Ashish Jha what the U.S. pandemic response needs right now?

Ashish Jha is the new White House Covid coordinator. (ELISE AMENDOLA/AP)

When it comes to discussing the White House’s pandemic response on TV, there’s nobody as qualified as Ashish Jha. Whether he’s on “Sesame Street” or Fox News, the Brown University public health dean is a pitch-perfect pandemic adviser: clear, affable, and panic-averse. But the scope of his next job — steering the sprawling federal pandemic response — has some experts wondering whether someone with so little experience in government, policy, or logistics can rise to the task. Still, public health experts largely applauded his selection yesterday, arguing that Jha’s wide-ranging expertise is more an asset than his lack of government experience is a liability. Saskia Popescu of George Mason University compared Jha’s appointment to that of CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who has faced some difficulties. “I think if anyone’s up to the challenge, it’s him,” Popescu told STAT. Lev Facher and Damian Garde have more.

Tobacco use continues to fall, with some divides

Prevalence of 2020 cigarette smoking among U.S. adults, by urban-rural designation and by race and ethnicity. (MMWR)

Overall tobacco use has fallen among U.S. adults, the most recent CDC report out yesterday says, but almost 1 in 5 people (about 47 million of us) still smoke cigarettes, cigars, or pipes; puff on e-cigarettes; or dip into smokeless tobacco. That includes 31 million who smoke cigarettes. The 2020 National Health Interview Survey data show a drop from 2019, when the tobacco rate was 20.8%. At 19% a year later, that reflects the lowest prevalence recorded since 1965 (when it was 42%). But rates are uneven, with higher tobacco use in rural areas; among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native adults; individuals with less education and income; people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual; those who are uninsured or have insurance through Medicaid; people with a disability; or individuals who regularly experience anxiety or depression.

Controversial Alzheimer's drug looms large in D.C.

A congressional hearing yesterday to discuss roughly 20 different health policy measures turned instead into a debate about the FDA’s accelerated approval process for certain drugs — read Aduhelm — without clear evidence they prolong patients’ lives. One bill, favored by Republicans, would make it easier to secure. The other, from a Democrat, would make it simpler for the FDA to crack down on companies that don’t quickly complete studies proving the drug’s benefit. STAT’s Nicholas Florko has more.

Just hours earlier, Aduhelm came up when HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said Medicare premiums could come down “soon” after Medicare makes a decision by April 11 about covering the Alzheimer's drug, STAT’s Rachel Cohrs reports. It’s not a done deal, but Becerra previously said he’d explore an unprecedented mid-year discount. Medicare has proposed dramatically restricting who can get the drug, initially priced at $56,000 per year before its maker, Biogen, cut that in half.

What to read around the web today

Moderna asks the FDA for authorization for a second booster for all adults. New York Times
America is zooming through the pandemic panic-neglect cycle. The Atlantic
‘Is this what a good mother looks like?’ Washington Post
Alnylam sues Pfizer and Moderna for patent infringement in development of Covid-19 vaccines. STAT+
People with 'medium Covid' are caught in a gray area of recovery with little support. NPR
On Target: After a dry spell for cancer immunotherapy, a new target offers a beacon of hope. STAT+