| | | |   | | | | | Anti-science campaigning widens the American political divide 
(STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES) With public trust in scientific institutions and their leaders at an all-time low, Republican campaign rhetoric around the coronavirus response — and prominent figures in it, like Anthony Fauci — has sharpened ahead of the midterm elections.
Conservative candidates for hotly contested congressional seats and gubernatorial races have called for Fauci to be thrown in jail, questioned the safety of vaccines, and pledged never to allow mask mandates and school closures again, as I report this morning.
There’s a fundamental rallying crying at the center: “It’s whether or not the federal government can ever close your child's school down again, or business, and whether or not you allow big decisions to be made on what scientists believe,” said Robert Blendon, a professor emeritus at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
While both parties’ spending on Covid-19 messaging has plummeted since the 2020 election cycle, Republicans’ ad buys are now outpacing Democrats on the subject, according to data provided by Ad Impact. GOP candidates have put nearly $46 million to Covid-related campaign ads compared to $159 million in the 2020 cycle; Democrats have channeled $17 million towards the topic, a sliver of the $476 million spent during 2020.
Some of the Covid-19 claims have thrown typically apolitical health organizations into the debate. In a rare move, the Minnesota Medical Association’s political action committee in September endorsed the state’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, current Gov. Tim Walz, over Republican nominee Scott Jensen, a physician who said earlier this year that he remains unvaccinated against the virus.
“The ongoing global pandemic and other critical healthcare issues are at stake this year and that compelled the organization to support a candidate who would best advocate for the health of Minnesotans,” the Minnesota Medical Association PAC’s CEO Will Nicholson said in a statement at the time. More here. | BIO’s CEO stepped down amid turnover and strife  (ALEX HOGAN/STAT; SOURCE PHOTO: MELISSA LYTTLE FOR STAT) Michelle McMurry-Health’s jarring departure from the top biotech lobby, announced this month, was set in motion this summer, scarcely two years after many heralded her appointment as a mold-breaking move for the industry, Rachel Cohrs reports with exclusive inside details of her departure. McMurry-Heath inherited her role amid member divides over drug pricing policies and involvement in social issues, tensions that didn’t lessen during her tenure as only the third BIO CEO and its first Black leader and woman chief executive. Her swift changes to the management structure and communications operation frustrated some and left others simply confused, said seven former employees. And just as the team was trying to figure out how to navigate the new operational structure at the beginning of 2021, BIO did a major round of sudden layoffs. At least 100 staff have left the lobby since McMurry-Heath took over in June 2020, according to Rachel’s review of LinkedIn data. That’d be notable in many organizations, but for BIO, which employed fewer than 200 people in 2020, it was a constant shuffle. What does that mean for the small-but-mighty industry group? Rachel writes that BIO’s board of directors clearly wanted a change in direction from most recent CEO Jim Greenwood, an affable former GOP congressman from Pennsylvania. But McMurry-Heath was a big pivot, and may have been set up for failure. That leaves an uncertain future for BIO, which still hasn’t quite settled its sense of direction on social issues, drug pricing and other industry priorities. Plus, industry giant PhRMA is always there for the disillusioned. “If BIO is now the place you don’t get paid as much, and it’s volatile, where you’re worried about this kind of unrest, why would you go?” said one lobbyist. Read more. | WHO finds 2.3 million women worldwide were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020 According to the WHO, 2.3 million women worldwide were diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 women died from the disease in 2020, making it the most prevalent form of cancer among women globally.1 Hologic is focused on making women’s health a priority through early detection and routine screenings for common and chronic conditions like breast cancer everywhere, every day. Learn how Hologic is transforming cancer screening and diagnosis for the most invasive cancers. | Regulators haven’t caught up on telehealth and online prescribing The rapid rise of telehealth during the pandemic has drawn increased investment from drugmakers hoping to boost fill rates and tap into a wealth of patient data — but it has also exposed gaps in the regulatory structure around e-prescribing, my colleague Katie Palmer reports.
When virtual visits are prompted by a drug ad, for instance, “telemedicine is kind of blurring the boundaries between manufacturer and prescriber,” said Nathan Cortez, a health law expert at Southern Methodist University. That makes it difficult to determine which federal or state bodies should take the lead in monitoring the new business model for lapses in medical ethics. “Like, who's minding the store here?”
There’s a growing concern that the gray area will led to excessive and unnecessary prescriptions. To avoid running afoul of laws laid out to prevent that direct link, drug companies directing people to telehealth portals rely on a labyrinth of connected business relationships and best practices.
For example: Patients who click a drugmaker’s ‘Talk to a doctor now’ button will often run into a pop-up that might disclaim liability for the consequences of provider care on the other side of that digital wall. Then they are linked to a third-party telehealth platform — getting paid by pharmaceutical clients. Read more from Katie, here. | Rochelle Walensky has Covid The CDC Director announced over the weekend that she tested positive for the virus and is isolating at home per her agency’s guidelines.
CDC said she is “up to date” on her vaccines and experiencing mild symptoms, but still attending meetings virtually. Her case comes amid growing concern that new variants such as BQ.1 could fuel a winter surge.
Walenksy tweeted Friday that “Respiratory viruses are on the rise across the United States,” and advised staying up-to-date on vaccines and staying home when you’re sick. | What we're reading - Epic’s overhaul of a flawed algorithm shows why AI oversight is a life-or-death issue, STAT
- Dove, other Unilever dry shampoos recalled over cancer risk, Bloomberg
- This summer’s Covid surge was bad for hospitals, STAT
- Opinion: We may have only a few months to prevent the next pandemic, The New York Times
| | | Thanks for reading! More on Thursday,  | |
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