first opinion
Tired: "Loneliness." Wired: "Social Health"
Adobe
Last year, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a national warning about an epidemic of loneliness. Loneliness comes with serious health consequences, including increased risks of heart disease, dementia, and premature death. The U.S. isn't the first country to recognize this problem: The United Kingdom appointed a minister for loneliness in 2018, and Japan did the same in 2021. But in order to appropriately address the growing, global threat, a policy shift is needed, argues social scientist and writer Kasley Killam.
It's time to update public strategy from reactively responding to loneliness, Killam writes, to proactively promoting social health, the dimension of an individual's overall health and well-being that stems from quality human connections. Researchers have found that people significantly underestimate how important relational factors are for longevity, but a shift in public messaging could turn that around. Read more on her proposals to tackle this public health issue.
environmental health
Vermont bans PFAS in menstrual and other products
Last week, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a law banning the use of PFAS (those toxic, infamous "forever chemicals") and other substances in menstrual products. Three states — Minnesota, Maine, and Colorado — have banned PFAS in pads, tampons, and cups, but Vermont is the first to add phthalates, formaldehyde, mercury, and lead to the list. The state's PFAS ban also applies to incontinence products, artificial turf, textiles, cookware, and children's toys.
The move comes about a year after the EPA proposed its first regulations on PFAS in drinking water. No PFAS are good PFAS — while 99% of Americans have the chemicals in our blood, they have been linked to cancer and other diseases, including kidney and liver disease, Crohn's disease, and thyroid cancer, along with other effects like low birth rates and decreased response to vaccines. To stay updated, follow STAT's environmental health reporting.
infectious disease
FDA approves Moderna's RSV vaccine
On Friday last week, the FDA approved Moderna's vaccine to protect older adults against respiratory syncytial virus, a.k.a. RSV. It's the company's second licensed product after its Covid-19 vaccine. In a Phase 3 trial of nearly 37,000 people, the vaccine was shown to be 83.7% effective against lower respiratory tract disease caused by the virus.
The vaccine, for adults 60 and older, arrives a year after two others from GSK and Pfizer were approved for the same age group. (Pfizer's vaccine received a second approval for pregnant people as well.) Read more from STAT's Helen Branswell on why Moderna says this vaccine is different from the rest.
washington
Fauci in the hot seat on Covid — again
STAT's Sarah Owermohle brings us this report from D.C.: Former top infectious disease official Anthony Fauci will appear before a House committee on the coronavirus pandemic this morning, where besides ongoing questions about shutdown measures and the virus' origins, he's likely to face new grilling about how he and other NIAID staff communicated with each other and the controversy-swarmed EcoHealth Alliance.
On Friday, staff Republicans released nearly 500 pages of transcripts from Fauci's January closed-door testimony, teeing up discussions today about masking, vaccine requirements, and gain-of-function research. But another recent testimony from Fauci's former senior advisor David Morens — over, in part, emails referencing "backdoor channels" to avoid federal record trails — is also likely to loom large today. Republicans last week requested more of Fauci's communications records during the early pandemic. Keep an eye out later today for more coverage from our Washington bureau.
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